Children of Memory Review | Adrian Tchaikovsky

Earth is failing. In a desperate bid to escape, the spaceship Enkidu and its captain, Heorest Holt, carry its precious human cargo to a potential new Eden. Generations later, this fragile colony has managed to survive, eking out a hardy existence. Yet life is tough, and much technological knowledge has been lost.

Then Liff, Holt’s granddaughter, hears whispers that the strangers in town aren’t from neighbouring farmland. That they possess unparalleled technology – and that they’ve arrived from another world. But not all questions are so easily answered, and their price may be the colony itself.

Publisher: Tor | Date: 2022 | Genre: Science Fiction

Eyes of the Void Review | Adrian Tchaikovsky

You know when you see the sequel for a much-loved book, and you have to drop everything to get straight to it? That was me when I received a copy of Eyes of the Void by Adrian Tchaikovsky. I adored the first in The Final Architects series and couldn’t wait to get back to the Vulture God and it’s crew. Here’s my full review.

Publisher: Tor | Date: 2022 | Genre: Science Fiction

Plot: After eighty years of fragile peace, the Architects are back, wreaking havoc as they consume entire planets. In the past, Originator artefacts – vestiges of a long-vanished civilization – could save a world from annihilation. This time, the Architects have discovered a way to circumvent these protective relics. Suddenly, no planet is safe.

Facing impending extinction, the Human Colonies are in turmoil. While some believe a unified front is the only way to stop the Architects, others insist humanity should fight alone. And there are those who would seek to benefit from the fractured politics of war – even as the Architects loom ever closer.

Idris, who has spent decades running from the horrors of his past, finds himself thrust back onto the battlefront. As an Intermediary, he could be one of the few to turn the tide of war. With a handful of allies, he searches for a weapon that could push back the Architects and save the galaxy. But to do so, he must return to the nightmarish unspace, where his mind was broken and remade.

What Idris discovers there will change everything.

The Necessity of Stars Review | E. Catherine Tobler

I looked back at the synopsis of The Necessity of Stars when I sat down to write this review, and I’m not certain what drew my attention to it. It’s a short book which explodes with a lot of important messages, but I can’t say for sure I understood everything.

Publisher: Neon Hemlock Press| Date: 2021 | Genre: General Fiction/Science-Fiction

Plot: Plagued by the creeping loss of her memory, diplomat Bréone Hemmerli continues to negotiate peace in an increasingly climate-devastated world, ensconced in the UN-owned estate Irislands alongside her longtime friend and companion Delphine.

The appearance of the alien Tura in the shadows of Bréone’s garden raises new questions about the world’s decline. Perhaps, together, Tura and Bréone will find a way forward… if only Bréone can remember it.

Darksight Review | DC Mallery

My attempt to get through my backlog of reviews continues today, as I’m finally sharing my review of Darksight.

*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: Black Opal Books | Date: 2019 | Genre: Science Fiction | Buy it here*

Plot: Audra Carter, a popular deejay in Manhattan, won’t let mere blindness keep her from living life her way, sometimes even riding her bicycle through town, relying on keen hearing and uncanny instincts to guide her. Her father, Jenson Carter, a neuroscientist, has devoted his career to finding a cure for her particular form of blindness. He now believes he has. With Audra and several other test subjects, Jenson takes his research to the next level, only to face apparent failure. Jenson becomes alarmed by several bizarre deaths involving the test subjects. He fears his experiment was hijacked by former colleagues with a secret agenda, but the police blame him for the deaths.

Audra is kidnapped and forced to survive a series of terrifying ordeals designed to hone a new and dangerous kind of vision that the hijacked experiment unleashed: Darksight. As Jenson races to discover the truth and find his daughter, Audra struggles to survive increasingly-deadly challenges. Will Audra master her mysterious Darksight and defeat her captors to keep both her and her father alive?

Osiris Review | E.J Swift

Good morning! I’m tackling my physical bookshelf today – shock horror! Here’s my review on Osiris by E.J Swift

Publisher: Night Shade Books | Date: 2012 | Genre: Science Fiction

Plot: Nobody leaves Osiris. Osiris is a lost city. She has lost the world and world has lost her…

Rising high above the frigid waters, the ocean city of Osiris has been cut off from the land since the Great Storm fifty years ago. Most believe that Osiris is the last city on Earth, while others cling to the idea that life still survives somewhere beyond the merciless seas. But for all its inhabitants, Citizens and refugees alike, Osiris is the entire world, and it is a world divided.

Adelaide is the black-sheep granddaughter of the city’s Architect. A jaded socialite and family miscreant, she wants little to do with her powerful relatives, until her troubled twin brother disappears mysteriously. Convinced that he is still alive, she will stop at nothing to find him, even if it means uncovering long-buried secrets.

Vikram, a third-generation storm refugee quarantined with thousands of others in the city’s impoverished western sector, sees his own people dying of cold and starvation while the elite of Osiris ignore their plight. Determined to change things, he hopes to use Adelaide to bring about much-needed reforms, but who is using who?

As another brutal winter brings Osiris closer to riot and revolution, two very different people, each with their own agendas, will attempt to bridge the gap dividing the city, only to find a future far more complicated than either of them ever imagined.

Tower of Mud and Straw Review | Yaroslav Barsukov

I said I was going to get more reviews done on time this year and check this out – right on time!! Welcome back for another book review, this time on Tower of Mud and Straw by Yaroslav Barsukov.

Publisher: Metaphorosis Publishing | Date: 2021 | Genre: Science Fiction

Plot: The queen ruined his life. He would do anything to reclaim it… or so he thought.

Minister Shea Ashcroft refuses the queen’s order to gas a crowd of protesters. After riots cripple the capital, he’s banished to the border to oversee the construction of the biggest anti-airship tower in history. The use of otherworldly technology makes the tower volatile and dangerous; Shea has to fight the local hierarchy to ensure the construction succeeds—and to reclaim his own life.

He must survive an assassination attempt, find love, confront the place in his memory he’d rather erase, encounter an ancient legend, travel to the origin of a species—and through it all, stay true to his own principles.

Climbing back to the top is a slippery slope, and somewhere along the way, one is bound to fall.

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.