The Commander Review | Kevin Groh

Welcome to 2021! I’m kicking off the year with a book review. More specifically, I’m sharing my review on The Commander by Kevin Groh.

Publisher: Self-published | Date: 2021 | Genre: Science fiction

Plot: The young privileged son Carter Sanders, who grew up on the human colony Utopia Beta, is drafted for military service. Together with new comrades, he learns to be a soldier in the following two years.
In the military base Osilon he learns close combat, the handling of weapons, new technologies and strategic basics.

Utopia is a militarily organized and corporate planet at war with another species. Between huge skyscrapers, muddy mines and the slums of the lower cities, the reality is completely different from what Carter knows.

During his training, he has to deal with hostilities, friendship, and love and learns more about himself. Mean instructors, difficult lessons, dangerous training missions, and an unexpected battle turn the thoughtful young man into a deadly fighter whose name becomes a legend even before his training ends.

The Nothing Within by Andy Gielser

Hi all! Welcome back for another book review. Today, I’m sharing my The Nothing Within review.

Publisher: Humble Quill LLC | Date: 2019 | Genre: Science fiction

Plot: Root is… different.

Though raised in a fearful society that reveres tradition and conformity, she’s irreverent, outspoken, and deeply curious. Her blindness sets her even further apart.

Centuries after the Reckoning, a global biotech plague, savage chimeras still threaten human survival. After Root hears a voice that no one else can hear, she flees into the wilderness. Outcast and hunted, she must confront a dire threat to her people–and unravel the mystery of who she really is.

The Rise of the Altereds Review | Marisa Noelle

Having enjoyed the first book, I was intrigued to see how the story would develop for Silver and her friends. As always, second books leave me doubtful, and this one had a few points I wasn’t sure on. But, overall, it was a good read. I’m sharing my The Rise of the Altereds review – enjoy!

Publisher: WritePlan | Date: 2020 | Genre: YA/Science-Fiction

Plot: Genetic modification has been outlawed.

The remaining altered want revenge.

When Silver’s mother is abducted by a rogue scientist who releases a deadly new virus on the populace, she and her now unadjusted friends are faced with an impossible choice.

They can hide from the virus for as long as possible, or they can regain their abilities and take the battle to the mountains. But Silver doesn’t count on a new, rogue power growing within her. She can’t control it and soon all her friends are in danger. And there is something evil hiding in the snowy Sierras.

Can Silver learn to control her new, deadly power in time to rescue her mother as well as defeat the one who seeks to destroy them all?

Honor Bound Review | Rachel Caine and Ann Aguirre

Honor Among Thieves has been one of my favourite books this year. I’m delighted to be back with my Honor Bound review today!

*External links below are affiliate links, meaning at no extra cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase

Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books | Date: 2019 | Genre: Science fiction/Young Adult | Buy it here*

Plot: Zara Cole was a thief back on Earth, but she’s been recently upgraded to intergalactic fugitive. On the run after a bloody battle in a covert war that she never expected to be fighting, Zara, her co-pilot Beatriz, and their Leviathan ship Nadim barely escaped the carnage with their lives.

Now Zara and her crew of Honors need a safe haven, far from the creatures who want to annihilate them. But they’ll have to settle for the Sliver: a wild, dangerous warren of alien criminals. The secrets of the Sliver may have the power to turn the tide of the war they left behind—but in the wrong direction.

Soon Zara will have to make a choice: run from the ultimate evil—or stand and fight.

To Sleep in a Sea of Stars Review | Christopher Paolini

You all know that I’ve been the biggest Christopher Paolini fan for at least the last ten years. The Inheritance Cycle is usually makes it into my hand every year. I am so excited to be sharing this one with you today! Check out my To Sleep in a Sea of Stars review here!

Publisher: Tor Books | Date: 2020 | Genre: Science fiction

Plot: It was supposed to be a routine research mission on an uncolonized planet. But when xenobiologist Kira Navárez finds an alien relic beneath the surface of the world, the outcome transforms her forever and will alter the course of human history.

Her journey to discover the truth about the alien civilization will thrust her into the wonders and nightmares of first contact, epic space battles for the fate of humankind, and the farthest reaches of the galaxy.

Honor Among Thieves Review | Rachel Caine and Ann Aguirre

This is one of the strongest science fiction books I’ve read! Great characters; gripping plot and a sentient spaceship with a personality of his own! Keep reading to check out my review on Honor Among Thieves by Rachel Caine and Ann Aguirre.

Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books | Date: 2018 | Genre: Science fiction/Young Adult

Plot: Petty criminal Zara Cole has a painful past that’s made her stronger than most, which is why she chose life in New Detroit instead moving with her family to Mars. In her eyes, living inside a dome isn’t much better than a prison cell.

Still, when Zara commits a crime that has her running scared, jail might be exactly where she’s headed. Instead Zara is recruited into the Honors, an elite team of humans selected by the Leviathan—a race of sentient alien ships—to explore the outer reaches of the universe as their passengers.

Zara seizes the chance to flee Earth’s dangers, but when she meets Nadim, the alien ship she’s assigned, Zara starts to feel at home for the first time. But nothing could have prepared her for the dark, ominous truths that lurk behind the alluring glitter of starlight.

Starsight Review | Brandon Sanderson

After being introduced to Brandon Sanderson’s writing with Skyward, I was looking forward to seeing where the adventure went next. So today, buckle up because we’re in for a heck of a ride – here’s my review on Starsight.

*External links below are affiliate links, meaning at no extra cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase. Find more information here.

Publisher: Gollancz | Date: 2019 | Genre: Science Fiction | Buy it here*

Plot: All her life, Spensa has dreamed of becoming a pilot. Of proving she’s a hero like her father. She made it to the sky, but the truths she learned about her father were crushing.

Spensa is sure there’s more to the story. And she’s sure that whatever happened to her father in his starship could happen to her. When she made it outside the protective shell of her planet, she heard the stars–and it was terrifying. Everything Spensa has been taught about her world is a lie.

But Spensa also discovered a few other things about herself–and she’ll travel to the end of the galaxy to save humankind if she needs to.

Outre Review | D.J Adamson

Welcome back for another review! Outre is a short, fun read that involves mysteries and potential alien invasions. It’s not my usual kind of read, but I did enjoy it. Keep reading for my full review on Outre by D.J Adamson

Publisher: BooksGoSocial | Date: 2015 | Genre: Science Fiction

Plot: Outré is the first book in a trilogy titled Deviation. The trilogy offers different perspectives on what happened in Pinkerton, Iowa, in the year 1989. The goal of Outré is to take one event (a tornado), add another sent of events (women missing, people dead, animal mutilations, the possibility of aliens and alien abduction, others different than the norm) and come to a perspective of what could have happened.

This is Jack Cahill’s account. Fifteen-year-old Jack Cahill, along with his friends Pitts and Diddleman, are lead to believe it was not a tornado that destroyed a large area of Pinkerton but an alien abduction. Their “need to know” sets them on a quest of speculation, accusation, and investigation.

The concept for the trilogy comes from the question: Can we ever be sure that our perception of things is right?

Skyward Review | Brandon Sanderson

I’ve wanted to read Brandon Sanderson for a long time but never known where to start. When I saw that he had a new series out – science fiction rather than fantasy – I thought that was an ideal time to stop hesitating and pick up his books. Did it live up to expectations? Keep reading for my review on Skyward.

*External links below are affiliate links, meaning at no extra cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase. Find more information here.

Publisher: Gollancz | Date: 2018 | Genre: Science Fiction | Buy it here*

Plot: Defeated, crushed, and driven almost to extinction, the remnants of the human race are trapped on a planet that is constantly attacked by mysterious alien starfighters. Spensa, a teenage girl living among them, longs to be a pilot. When she discovers the wreckage of an ancient ship, she realizes this dream might be possible—assuming she can repair the ship, navigate flight school, and (perhaps most importantly) persuade the strange machine to help her. Because this ship, uniquely, appears to have a soul.

Book Review: Freezing Point by Grace Hamilton

Author: Grace Hamitlon

Title: Freezing Point

Publisher: Relay Publishing

Date: 2018

Plot: In the dawn of a new Ice Age, families everywhere are taking to the road to escape the frigid landscape—but you can’t outrun the cold. 

No one could have predicted the terrifying impact of human interference in the Arctic. Shifts in the Earth’s crust have led to catastrophe and now the North Pole is located in the mid-Atlantic, making much of the eastern United States an unlivable polar hellscape. 

Nathan Tolley is a talented mechanic who has watched his business dry up due to gas shortages following the drastic tectonic shifts. His wife Cyndi has diligently prepped food and supplies, but it’s not enough to get them through a never-ending winter. With an asthmatic young son and a new baby on the way, they’ll have to find a safe place they can call home or risk freezing to death in this harsh new world. 

When an old friend of Nathan’s tells him that Detroit has become a paradise, with greenhouses full of food and plenty of solar energy for everyone, it sounds like the perfect place to escape. But with dangerous conditions and roving gangs, getting there seems like an impossible dream. It also seems like their only choice.