Review: Icebreaker by Stephen William Hannah

The Book:

Inside their walls, the people are safe from exposure to the unnamed horror that broke the world long ago; but now Bear, the last scientist in Forgehead, takes a case that threatens to throw that safety into question. Someone has been terminally exposed to the phenomenon, despite never having ventured outside the walls. This has only happened once before - to Bear's father.

With the safety of Forgehead in question, and an opportunity to finally discover what happened to his father, Bear must leave the safety of the walls to unravel the mysteries left behind by the pre-cataclysm world; a task that will require him to join the Interloper Initiative, the team who crew the gigantic Crawler landships, the only vehicles that can roam the world outside the walls in relative safety. "Icebreaker" is the first entry in the Interloper Trilogy, a tale of horror and science charting the last days of a dying world, and humanity's endeavour to survive.

My Thoughts:

This is quality post apocalyptic science fiction, set in a future frozen Scotland - which gives it extra points from me!

We first meet Bear as he tries to investigate the case of a boy who has been terminally exposed to the mysterious Phenomenon. I was immediately drawn into the plight of these people, their future society on the verge of collapse, the unspeakable closing in on them.

Bear joins the team of Icebreaker, a giant crawling landship, and this is where things really get interesting. I loved the characters that we meet here, as well as the whole idea of the landships. There’s a lot of action, but also a lot of humanity, and Bear is a fascinating character who I really want to win!

Icebreaker is an excellent story. The concept is original, the characters memorable and the perilous world they live in is strangely compelling. Icebreaker is the first in a trilogy and I’m sufficiently hooked to want to read on, to see how everything evolves, and perhaps learn the truth behind what has happened to the world. At yet Icebreaker is a fully rounded story in itself, leaving just enough unanswered questions. The perfect balance.

A very good and enjoyable book which deserves to be noticed.

Review: Sisters of Mercy by Yuval Kordov

The Book:

Hannah-9 is a symbiote: a child of Heaven and Hell, bred in the bowels of the Last City. Implanted into an ancient, nuclear-powered war machine—a God-engine—she stalks the wastes with Rachel-3, her sister-in-arms.

Their mandate is absolute: to wage war against the Adversary, to purify the Earth, and to endure—until the radiation consumes them.

This is her story.

My Thoughts:

I came across this novella through the Self Published Indie Novella Competition (SFINCs) which is a sister contest to SPFBO (fantasy novels) and SPSFC (SciFi novels). Several reviewers were marking it down because they didn’t like that it included religious themes and some of the contestants were calling them out on their bias. So, always curious to see what the cause of all the drama was, I decided to read the novella and judge for myself.

Well I’m so glad I did for I would never have discovered this amazing author otherwise. This book is superb. Powerful and evocative prose mixes in with amazing worldbuilding and the two tragic characters at its core. My heart bled for Hannah and her sister Rachel, the world they had been born into and the tortures they had to endure. The spiritual aspect was their way of coping with their unfortunate lives, and certainly wasn’t overegged. It was in fact a powerful part of the worldbuilding and highlighted Hannah and Rachel’s inner vulnerability.

This a powerful novella that touches on some dark and disturbing themes. It challenges as well as entertains. It’s an excellent and beautiful bit of writing and I think a book that with time will recognise its own significance. The shorter length only adds to this impact.

You really need to read this book. It’s something quite special and I haven’t read anything this good or thought provoking in a long time.

I’d give it 6 stars if I could.

Review: A Dragon of the Veil (Warriors of Spirit and Bone Book 1) by Nick Snape

The Book:

Some lies are best left buried…

Science and magic are forbidden in Brandshold, where the Seven Gods' scripture dictates daily life. When spirit-magic erupts, disrupting an alchemical experiment, fear rolls across the realm and awakens the veil dragons buried deep beneath a forest, their existence struck from memory by the Gods.

Laoch, a veteran of the crusades, and Sura, an elf disowned by her tribe, stand as warriors of spirit and bone against the oncoming tide, while a queen shackled by the demands of the Gods’ Overseer, seeks to cut through his web of deceit and find the truth about her people’s past and the threat of the awakened dragons.

Drawn into a brutal world of soul-magic, forbidden alchemy, and divine weapons, together they uncover a terrible truth: the realm is held together by lies ‒ and they hide a far greater threat to their future. For the dragons are creatures that were built for the hunt, and their creators are hungry.

My Thoughts:

What a ride! And what an opening to what looks like an amazing new fantasy series.

I’ve already reviewed a few of Nick’s books on this blog – in fact I’ve become something of a fan - but this is the first of his fantasy that I’ve read. Suffice to say it lived up to my expectations.

The worldbuilding is superb, the characters compelling and as the action picks up pace I found myself being swept along in a thrilling chase. This was a thoroughly enjoyable book. But not without its moments of passion and sorrow. I became so involved with these characters that I felt their love, their tears, their terror as if I was right there with them. 

I particularly loved the mechanical dragons. What an excellent extra dimension. 

I thoroughly recommend this book and I’m looking forward to reading the rest of the series.

A solid 5 stars from me!

Review: Transition by Ian Patterson

The Book: 

Are you so sure you’re the painter, and not the painting?

Micah has a hangover, a looming deadline, and a very opinionated rat following him around the orbital station. No one else can see it—which is definitely not ideal.

Outside, the wealthy are fleeing Earth on seed ships. Inside, Micah’s team has days to perfect their gene-editing tech, or be left behind. On top of that, Micah’s unsure if reality is taking an extended vacation, or if his brain has finally short-circuited.

Equal parts absurdly funny, sharp-edged, and human, Transition explores the events that started The Narrator Cycle. Long before Nicholas, Dorothy, and Charon, there was Micah, a dying earth, a talkative rat, and a question—is reality such a fixed thing?

My Thoughts

Don’t worry if you haven’t yet read the Narrator Cycle. This book, which works as a prequel to those events works perfectly well on its own but I can guarantee after reading this one you will want to read the rest of them! You won’t be disappointed. They are all equally as good.

This is a relatively short read in itself but packs in so much. There are some interesting ideas at play here but for me it’s Micah who really makes it. He’s a compelling character and I loved spending time inside his head. It’s not often a character stays with you long after finishing the last page, but Micah is one of those people.

There’s a wonderfully surreal feeling to this book, not just the mutant talking rat, but I’ll leave it to you to find out what I’m talking about. 

All in all an excellent book which I thoroughly recommend.

Review: The Ocean Hugs Hard by Eric Avedissian

 The Book:

Surfside City, New Jersey. 1966. Cub reporter Harman Bass is cutting his teeth in the fast world of local journalism and getting out-scooped by the competition. Facetious, cocky, and always quoting Nietzsche, Harman isn't making any friends both in and out of the newsroom.

All that changes when the daughter of a prominent family is found dead on the beach, handing Harman the juiciest news story of the year. But she isn't any old beauty pageant queen; she's his high school girlfriend. Harman's dogged reporting into the young woman's death reveals pushback from the authorities and pulls the newshound into the resort's darkest corners.

After one of his sources is murdered, the routine story becomes dangerous and personal. Something watches Harman from the shadows, something ancient and hungry, worshipped by powerful men who kill to keep their secrets. Harman's job and life are soon threatened, and the once brash reporter must battle his boss, rival journalists, and his own sanity before filing what could be his last story.

My Thoughts:

The Ocean Hugs Hard is a wonderful genre mashup combining crime with horror in a 1960s American seaside resort setting. The claustrophobic small town atmosphere is really well described and the setting is immersive. The historic aspect added another great dimension although at times I felt Harman was viewing the world around him through a very 21st Century lens and as a result I wasn’t totally invested in the timeframe. 

Harman himself is a character with considerable depth and there was great poignancy to his recollections of his failed relationship with his teenage sweetheart who turns out to be the first murder victim. 

And then on to the horror aspects of the story. There was a distinct vibe very similar to British folk horror, which is a genre I love. I was pleasantly surprised to find this in an American setting. But I don’t want to say any more about this aspect of the story. You’ll just have to read it yourself to find out.

All in all a very enjoyable and compelling read. 

Review: Copper Skin Oaken Lungs by Adam Bassett

 
The Book:

For a thousand years, The Old Town has stood as humanity's last bastion against the maalkonis, malignant black mists that reduced the rest of the world to ash. They are kept at bay by rusty machines on the town's walls. In order to survive, the dwindling population depends on one another.

Since a young age, Justīne has embraced the harsh responsibilities that accompanied her apprenticeship on the last farm in existence. Her younger sister, Anna, is beginning her own apprenticeship as well. Learning engineering was not Anna's first choice, but the town's last mage fell to the maalkonis years prior, leaving nothing behind but confusing books and strange runes.

When food runs low during a particularly harsh winter, distrust spreads like a plague, and Justīne is blamed for it. As hunger leads to violence, she and her siblings are forced to flee The Old Town, embarking on a perilous journey into the very mists that had formed their cage. Their fight to survive in the dark develops into a hopeful mystery as they follow the breadcrumbs of a mage's efforts to save the world. Meanwhile something pursues them through the maalkonis...

My Thoughts:

This was a short yet thoroughly enjoyable novel, the first in what appears to be a forthcoming series, as its subtitled Copper and Ash Book 1. I do hope this is the case because this is certainly a world that I am curious to know more about.

The worldbuilding is probably the best bit about this novel. The concept of the maalkonis is quite unique and the atmosphere and sense of place is skilfully woven and immersive, both the old town where the story starts and then when Justine and her companions venture into the black mists that surround them.

There’s an interesting backstory to this world and I’d love to know more about the origins of the maalkonis and how it came to devastate the lands we find ourselves in. The technology which keeps the maalkonis at bay is also a fascinating element to this tale, especially with the danger of this ancient knowledge becoming lost. We are constantly reminded of the precarious nature of the old town’s survival which adds to the sense of peril. These are all aspects which could perhaps have been developed further had the novel been longer, and yet, as there is more to come in this series the unanswered questions compel me to read on.

Having said that this story is in itself well rounded with a satisfying conclusion and I certainly didn’t feel as if I was left hanging, which can sometimes happen at the start of a series.

So if you fancy a short but immersive read then this is one I can recommend.

Back into the fray

The publishing industry is tough, and since the pandemic it has only got tougher. There was a time when agent submissions were almost guaranteed a reply, if only a form letter, but these day’s you’re lucky to get a reply at all, and that in itself can be so disheartening – it’s like sending your work into a black hole to be swallowed up and never heard from again.

Then if you are lucky enough to get published it’s no guarantee of future success. I’ve now been published twice. Firstly Red Rock with Curious Fox in 2013 and then in 2022 The Sleepers was published by Bloodhound Books.

Yet between these books, and before and after, I’ve never stopped writing. I’ve never stopped sending stuff out. I’ve never stopped receiving rejection after rejection.

So, here I am again. A new novel is complete and winging its way out into the world. I’m back researching agents, looking for publishers with open submission windows, eyeing up competitions that might help me achieve my goal. And maybe, just maybe, this one will be my third time lucky!

Wistman's Wood, Dartmoor

Self Publishing Update (May 2025)

For the past few years, in fact, ever since I received my rights back for Red Rock and dipped my toe into this alternative world, this alternative route for my books, I’ve been working my way through the Science Fiction backlist and self publishing those novels through Amazon under my SF author identity Kate Kelly. 

It’s been an interesting project and the latest, and probably the last of these for a while is Permafrost which comes out officially today. Permafrost is a post apocalyptic SF thriller exploring themes of climate change and geoengineering. It’s a story I’ve very much enjoyed writing, and I’m glad to be sending it out into the world.

So what of self publishing in general? Well I’ve learned a lot. Firstly the actual production of the book is the easy part. Holding the book in your hands, flicking through the pages, looking at the cover you designed – it feels so satisfying.

But creating the book is only part of it. The really tough part, the bit I’m particularly useless at, is marketing. I’ve been experimenting with different things and for me, finding a community has been the most rewarding part. I’ve done this by participating in indie competitions such as SPSFC (Self Published Science Fiction Competition) which introduced me to the indie SF scene and I’ve met some great authors through this. I’ve taken part in group sales and Stuff Your Kindle events, and all these have helped shift a few copies of my books, but I have yet to truly find my readership.

And this is the key thing. Who are my readers? Where do they hang out? How do I make myself known to them?

If I ever manage to find the answers I’ll let you know. But in the meantime do check out Permafrost, and if you enjoy it please leave a review.

Amazon UK

Amazon US

Review: Phallic Obsession by Andrew May

The Book

The title story deals with the bizarre case of a disgraced professor of anthropology, Merrigan Blake, and her museum of sacred phallic iconography collected from all over the world. But there’s another, more sinister side to Dr Blake’s obsession – one that involves a vast conspiracy by an evil race of reptilian humanoids. It’s all in her mind, of course, but that makes it no less dangerous – as naïve student David Gracewell discovers when he’s drawn into her world of crazy paranoia. The collection also contains two other stories on related themes, “The Cult of Zagoth” and “The Masculine Cross”. All three stories deal, at least in part, with the academic study of phallic symbolism, particularly in an occult or pseudo-religious context. But THIS IS NOT EROTIC FICTION. There are no explicit sex scenes, and very little use of “non-academic” sexual terms.

My Thoughts

Andrew is a master of the weird fiction genre and these three tales are no exception. Deliciously wicked and Gothically sinister these three tales will make you shiver. It’s a short book and a quick read, a thoroughly enjoyable foray into the macabre.

Review: Transcendence by Ian Patterson

The Book:

Nicholas, Charon, and Dorothy are separated, and stranded in a cosmos they don’t understand. Behind is a City that would kill them, and the cooling gulf of rage that split them. Their only landmarks now are the distant stars, galaxies, and antique wooden doors that litter the plane. Through each door, the promise of a new world brims with possibility, but all they find are dead ends. A translucent tunnel extends before them and shows their direction. Or does it determine it? Are they in control of their decisions, or is something else guiding them? And who, or what, is the Narrator?

Cosmic in scale and scope, Transcendence follows on from the events of Transference. As Nick and Dorothy search the cosmos for each other, and answers, they find the signs of manipulation by an outside hand. Will they reconnect? And how far are they willing to go to be in charge of their own story?

My Thoughts:

Transcendence is the second book in the Narrator Cycle by Ian. I’ve previously reviewed his first book, Transference on this blog and I’ve been fortunate enough to get my hands on an Advanced Reader Copy of this, the sequel prior to its release in May 2025.

Transference is a hard act to follow and often a second book can fall short but I’m happy to say that in this case that doesn’t apply. Transcendence is sufficiently different to feel fresh. The reader is presented with a whole new galaxy of ideas, and yet the significance of what has already happened isn’t played down. This is a book ambitious in scope and deftly executed. The story is gripping, the characters compelling. Really good quality science fiction like this is quite hard to come by and I genuinely couldn’t put it down. 

I don’t want to say too much because I don’t want to give away any spoilers but the ending was really strong.

I absolutely love these books and I know you will too!

Review: The Brookwood Boys by Patrick Larsimont

The Book

Can the dead talk to the living?

Surrey, England, 2019

Tennessee soldier Maurice ‘Mouse’ Forsyth has been watching over Brookwood Cemetery ever since his untimely death in 1917. For over a hundred lonely years, he has become the caretaker of lost souls, welcoming the good as well as the evil, the damaged, the mad and the bad.

But now something strange is happening. For the first time, Mouse seems to be able to communicate with the living. The head gardener’s teenage son, Luke, has seen him.

Overwhelmed, Mouse tries to find a way to communicate with him. But before he can, Luke’s friend Matilda – a sad girl who has often been seen alone in the graveyard – goes missing.

Mouse wants to help Luke, but he has never interfered with the world of the living before.

Leaning on the other spirits in the military cemetery, whose sad past lives are gradually revealed, Mouse is determined to find Matilda.

But the outcome may not be what he was hoping for…

Will Mouse find a way to speak to Luke? Can he help discover what happened to Matilda?

And will the Brookwood ghosts finally find peace?

My Thoughts

A unique and poignant tale. I was immediately drawn to the character of Mouse, and all the other denizens of Brookwood Cemetery. Their stories were both powerful and moving. The historical aspects were skilfully woven into the narrative, all thoroughly researched and fascinating. It is an unusual book, quite different from Patrick’s Josh McNabb stories, but still with the strong thread of Military History throughout. 

I felt that this book was a wonderful testament to all those brave souls who may linger in other military cemeteries, much like Brookwood.

Do give it a read. You won’t be disappointed.

Review: Kara by Peter Beard

The Book: 

An Anonymous Message. A Mysterious Symbol. A Sinister Plot.

Can Kara finally learn the truth? When the time comes, will she want to?

For over ten years Kara was a Hunter – the highly trained individuals with the ability and resources to find people, no-matter where they tried to hide. But after killing her best friend in a tragic accident, her world collapsed in on itself, and Kara spiralled.

Recovering, and keen for a distraction to keep her mind from wandering, Kara turned her attention to something that had intrigued her for as long as she could remember – to the mysterious symbol on her wrist. Determined to learn more, she began a hunt of a different kind – a hunt for answers.

But three years of searching yielded little information, and she began losing hope of ever discovering the truth.

But then, unexpectedly, she receives an anonymous message – a message pointing her to a highly secretive prison on the outskirts of the Kuiper Belt. What she finds changes everything, and leads her down a path that puts her, and the people around her, in danger.

Can she learn the origins around the strange marking, all whilst unravelling a sinister plot that threatens to send a peaceful world back into chaos?

My Thoughts:

A fine bit of space opera. Lots of set action pieces which are well paced and gripping but with a slowly unravelling mystery at its heart. The clues and reveals come in at just the right pace to draw you in.

Kara is a really interesting character and I found her immensely relatable. I also loved her relationships with family and friends which were complex and well drawn, particularly her friendship with Anya.

All in all a thoroughly enjoyable romp through the solar system. I look forward to the sequel.

Review: Woe to the Victor by Nathan H Green

 

The Book:

Earth’s been destroyed, but the fight’s not over! Award-winning writer Nathan H. Green, author of The Galileo, and Treason’s Temple, brings his degree in aerospace engineering to space combat in this action packed, hard science-fiction thriller.

It’s Earth’s last day and Captain Lewis Black drifts though space, watching it burn.

The pilots under his command are dead. The war with the Maaravi is lost. Air hisses into space from around the stump of his severed arm.

In the distance a Maaravi ship approaches. Whether to torture him for information, capture him as a prisoner, or take him as a trophy, he’ll have one last chance to hurt them.

Natasha Palmer, lead engineer on the failed Reaper missile program, knows humanity’s last, desperate, plan won’t work. She’s got one chance to change that, but it will mean a leap of faith beyond all others.

Humanity is vanquished, but some battles bring only woe to the victor.

My Thoughts:

Another Military SF and another finalist in SPSFC3. Again I can see why. This books is pure action but is so well written that I found it compelling. The whole backstory into the alien attackers is fascinating and the futuristic warfare very convincing. But there was a poignancy to it, the tragedy of Earth’s situation, the human cost. 

If you’re a fan of the genre this is one for your list!

I’ve noticed that quite a few excellent Military SF books have been turning up in the SPSFC contests. I wonder if this is because mainstream publishing is steering clear of the military genre. I’m so glad that these authors have chosen to self publish because their books are really very good.

Review: The Scorching: Just Press Play by Nick Snape

The Book:

On an Earth devastated by The Scorching climate event, the Drathken land their giant plantships with the promise of healing the planet. Joshua Nkosi vlogs and jokes his way through an easy life guarding a deep-sea mining operation while watching old vids. That is until, he and his modded octopus partner, Marc, get caught up in a plot to steal radiation rich materials from the seabed, fuelling the terrorists’ plan to destroy a Drathken plantship, and ultimately put an end to the alien/human alliance.

Nkosi and his sarcastic tentacled buddy are forced to enter the Burnout Zone, only to come face to face with humanity’s stark future when the hunt for the terrorist’s lab takes a devastating twist. As conspiracies deepen and the jokes fly, Nkosi and Marc enter a dark journey of discovery—one they decide humanity desperately needs to listen to.

My Thoughts:

This is another quality piece of SF from Nick Snape, set in the same world as ‘The Scorching: The World in My Hands’ which I have reviewed below. That book was a hard act to follow but this one, although quite different, didn’t disappoint. In fact far from it.

There is a lot of action, lots of excitement, and an underlying mystery to be solved. But it is the characterisation that really sets this one apart. Especially Marc!!! Marc had to be my new favourite character ever!

The other thing I loved about this book was the emotional ride it took me on. A good book makes you feel and resonates with you long after you turn the last page, and this book is a little bit heartbreaking, and I love that about it.

Nick is a relatively new author on my radar but I’m so glad I discovered these books. He writes fantasy too and I’ll be exploring some of that next.

Review: Children of the Black by WJ III Long

 

The Book:

As humanity's bloodiest conflict ends, those left behind struggle to carve a path free of its shadow, but old hates die hard. Under the weight of this new future, a former soldier and a young psionic girl fight to scrounge up enough credits to keep their meager lives on track when a figure from the past offers them a way out. All they have to do is find the remains of a once-promising enemy research project, one whose failure still shakes the souls involved to this day.

Success would mean an end to all their problems, but in this universe, few things are as deceptive as an easy gig.

My Thoughts:

One of last year’s finalists in SPSFC3 and reading it I can see why. This is a space opera with a strong military vibe. There’s lots of action as would be expected but what sets this one apart is the humanity of the characters especially the relationship between the main character, Claude and the young blind girl, Vision. This really gives us an insight into the more human side of this former soldier and these characters all really come to life.

This really is an excellent book and one I strongly recommend, especially if you are looking for Military SF that gives you that something extra.

Review: Turn Left at the Mooncrow skeleton by Linda Raedisch

 The Book:

"Welcome to Planet 5372, a uniquely dystopian world where the unlikely heroes include a handful of shambolic university students and their taciturn landlord. Raedisch's layered writing and photographic attention to detail make this slice-of-life archaeological adventure entirely believable." ---Clarissa Simmens, author of Parallel Universe Cafe and Other Poems

For the past two hundred years, the colonists marooned on Planet 5372 have been confined to a volcanic basin the size of New Jersey. Outside the Basin lie the uninhabitable (some say haunted) ruins known as the Outer Cities. Bored with campus life at the colony’s only university, twenty-year-old Numi rents a room from Kelda, an uneducated, thirty-something carpenter whose movements are closely monitored by the “shingles” or neighborhood deputies. Numi doesn’t mind running interference between the reserved Kelda and his rambunctious tenants, but the two can never be more than friends. Numi’s an up-and-coming academic, and Kelda’s a Tyrrhenian, a descendant of the manual laborers who cleared the toxic vegetation from the Basin.

As Halloween approaches, Numi is still summoning the courage to confront Kelda with her suspicion that he’s mixed up in the black market trade in “magical paraphernalia,” mysterious carved objects left behind by the planet’s indigenous, supposedly extinct inhabitants. Time runs out on Mischief Night when Kelda disappears, leaving a trail of blood behind him.

Numi faces a decision. She can report her suspicions to the shingles, or she can follow her landlord to the one place she thought she could never go: the Outer Cities.

My Thoughts:

This book is a fellow contender in SPSFC4 (The Self Published Science Fiction Competition) and it caught my eye because it involves a population of people called Tyrrhenians, which is also the case with my entry into this contest, The Arid Lands.

Needless to say our Tyrrhenians are all very different.

But on to the book.

This is a delightful read, well written with vivid worldbuilding. It’s a slow burn of a book and I very much enjoyed immersing myself into the world the author has created. At its heart is an archaeological mystery through which the history of this planet is gradually revealed, but I also loved the characters that inhabit this world. I found Numi particularly relatable and the undercurrent of simmering attraction between her and Kelda was skillfully done.

All in all a very enjoyable read.

I hope this books goes far in SPSFC4. It deserves to.

Review: The Scorching: The World in My Hands by Nick Snape

The Book

A lonely PA, a rebellious teenager, two ordinary people on a deadly journey to save humanity.

The world is heading towards global collapse as The Scorching takes full effect. Salvation vessels orbit the Earth, waiting to transport the chosen few away from danger and to start again; ten plantships grown by an alien species for the wealthiest and most powerful, or those lucky enough to be selected by lottery. The rest remain behind, their future dependent on the Drathken finding a solution to Earth’s problems.

Jenna, Personal Assistant to a prominent oil mogul, feels privileged to be among the saved, never questioning her good fortune.

While Seth suffers, forced to leave his friends behind as his family takes their place aboard their luxurious ship.

Yet not all is well on board. Dark secrets lurk in the corridors and depths of their respective ships, dragging Jenna and Seth into a world of malice and violence they thought they had left far behind.

My Thoughts

This is quality Science Fiction. It felt like a really quick read but not because it was a short book, more because I found it immensely readable and difficult to put down.

There are some excellent ideas at play here – just what good SF should have. I loved the idea of the plantships taking the colonists towards their new lives and the steadily unfolding realisation of what dark secrets their ships hold.

The story is told from two very different characters, each on a different plantship and although their paths never actually cross their revelations mirror and compliment each other.

It’s a cleverly structured story with great characterisation and sense of place. I can’t wait to read more by this author.

A new cover for The Arid Lands

 

Review: Fugitive Zero by Jay Ishino

 The book:

On the moon of M3, Eira is a police officer at one of the best departments in the seven galaxies. Only there’s no crime on Mygaria, the planet M3 oversees, and the department has no budget.

Jeysiran lives in what seems like paradise. Mygaria is known for its gorgeous beaches and sparkling pink ocean. But the truth is the ocean is toxic, and Jeysiran’s best friend is dying.

When Jeysiran illegally leaves Mygaria to fulfill a promise, it’s up to Eira to bring her to justice. As Eira gets closer, time is running out for Jeysiran to deliver information that just may hold the key to the future of Mygaria.

My thoughts:

A pacey, fun novella. Short and sweet. A thoroughly enjoyable read. The two main characters, Eira and Jeysiran were engaging and compelling and the toxic oceans of Mygaria and the plight of Jeysiran’s best friend added poignancy and urgency to her quest.

There is a fascinating world being created here and my only criticism is that I felt that this novella was possibly a bit too short and as such the worldbuilding potential was not fully realised. There were quite a few aspects of this society that I feel would have benefitted from more explanation. But this didn’t stop me enjoying this novella. A cracking little story.

Dragons of Dunmoray is published!

 Dragons of Dunmoray is now available on Amazon in both kindle and print formats.

Amazon UK

Amazon US