Review - "Conquest" by B.V. Larson

I have now completed the fourth novel in the Star Force series. It was a bit downhill from the last "Rebellion" so it fits me perfectly well that the author hasn't finished his fifth book yet. I need a break...

A bit about the book

"Conquest" is the next chapter in the intergalactic war between living beeings and the Makros, the machines. In this fourth novel Riggs has brought peace to Earth, but again for a price. The Makros don't trust him anymore and have decided to get rid of both him and Earth once and for all. The war about Earth starts up again and this time the war scene is Star Force's main base on Andros, Bahamas.

At the same time as the Makros returns Riggs gets into trouble with his girlfriend Sandra. She is convinced there is romance in the air between him and his comm's leutenant. On top of that somebody tries to assasinate Riggs. Is it one of his own marines? While the battle between humans and machines goes on at Earth, Marvin - the willfull robot - has been equipped with a space ship and creates strange happenings around the galaxy. Earth gets unexpected help and Riggs takes even bigger risks. Will human kind and  biological beings survive the machines this time?

My evaluation

This is the first time in the series where I get disappointed. I have maybe had too high expectations about this book? I do like the concept very well and the humour which Larson so successful has incorporated as a valid part of the story, but - this fourth book makes me seriously wonder if I want to continue reading. It gets tiring reading about killing the Makros again and again. Tactics of war takes over from clever humor and fairytale replaces Science Fiction.

Marvin, which earlier was as unpredictable as a teenager in full bloom, is now predictable. The relationship between Riggs and the two "leading ladies" - Sandra and Jasmine - gets foolish after a while and is not very credible. On top of this the digital version I've got of this novel is full of writing errors, strange sentences and completely wrong words. It seems like the last editions aren't done and I feel I read an unfinished book. A few times this gets so annoying it takes my focus away from the action.

I don't know if I'll try out the next one in the series, "Battlestation". Time will show..

My rating

(-) of 5


Format: Kindle Edition
File Size: 523 KB
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
Language: English
ASIN: B006LX3QP6

Pic of the day: View from our tent - Safari Botswana

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Review - "Rebellion" by B.V. Larson

Just finished the third novel in the "Star Force" series. This is something as original as a funny Sci-Fi series, and I haven't seen any of those for some years now.

A bit about the book

Kyle Riggs is still the head of Star Force, a group of more or less volunteers who defends Earth against invasion from space. To keep the peace with the Macro's - a race which entirely consists of machines - Riggs has made a deal with them. The result is that Star Force for a short period of time will act as assasins for the Macros. After the deal is fulfilled the Macros will leave Earth in peace. This, however, does not happen. Instead Riggs & Co. are forcibly sent on a new mission to do genocide towards the Centaurs.

"Rebellion" is the turning point in the great galactic war between all living creatures and the machines. Star Force is still, forcibly, fighting for the Macros, but for how long? In this third novel Kyle Riggs learns just what kind of war Earth is involved in, and now he is going towards loosing his conscience. Should humans do genocide towards another race to save themselves? Riggs and the Star Force are in for a challenge, and in addition to the war going on they have a brain box which completely does its own stunts - the robot called Marvin...

My evaluation

I caught myself laughing out loud several times on the plane reading the book. Maybe it's just me, but I find a hilarious hero in Kyle Riggs. He isn't a super human "knows it all - does it all", but with his enhanced body he surely knows how to survive. And in between he has some really good ideas. This is actually something as rare as a funny Sci-Fi novel. The story is compex enough, even if Larson writes in a very easy and sometimes naïve way. Here you don't find greatly described worlds with lots of details. This is more hands-on combat, tactics, humor, a little love, sarcasms and improbabilities mixed with action scenes and a strange robot going his own ways.

This novel is, as both of the previous ones in the series, an easy read without it never getting bad for that reason. Larson engages me totally with his writing, and even if I personally ain't a huge fan of details of star wars and war tactics the novel doesn't overdo it at all. This is a Sci-Fi series for those who find Peter F. Hamilton and his likes too heavy and detailed. This is also a series for those who wants to try the Sci-Fi genre but are allergic to too much technical stuff. This series is not complex at all! I liked this novel very much, and I think Larson just writes better and better as the story develops. I have already started book 4 in the series - "Conquest" - the preliminary last one.

Review of the first two books in the series you'll find here:

1. Swarm
2. Extinction

More books from the same author - B.V. Larson - you can find HERE and you can click the above youtube link to hear the author talk about his books and his experience with publishing with Amazon.

My rating

of 5


Format: Kindle Edition
File Size: 535 KB
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
Language: English
ASIN: B005IQZ8UI

Not quite spring yet - but promising..!!

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Very good and FREE ebook: Sci-Fi/Action-Thriller!!!

I've got to share this Christmas gift :-) One of my favourite authors, Michael R. Hicks, will give away his "Season of the Harvest" for free! If you haven't read anything by this author earlier, this is the time to get one of his very best novels! The genre is a mix of Sci-Fi/Fantasy & Thriller/Action.

Click HERE to read my review of the novel. I gave it 5 of 5 stars!

The offer is only valid December 21.st through 23.rd, so you have to decide quickly :-) You'll find the e-book on Amazon!

Happy read!

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Review - "Ready Player One" by Ernest Cline

Sci-Fi/Fantasy

This was actually something as rare as a cool book! I'm not a "gamer", but this novel was really for me after all! Who could imagine.. I just loved it, and read it in just 2 days.

A bit about the book

"Ready Player One" takes place in the nearest future. The world has changed to a far worse place to stay, but luckily there is the enormous virtual game called Oasis. Here humans can log in to play, go to school, earn money and even meet other peoples avatar. Oasis substitutes real life, and it is in this virtual world people socialize and live their preferred lives.

For Wade Watts, the novel's main character, Oasis is a far better place to spend time than in his aunt's trailer in a trailer park stack several stories high. His family is dead, and it's only because Wade can supply his aunt with some money earned in Oasis that she lets him stay - in a little cupboard on a mattress..

Together with millions of other people on earth, Wade dreams about finding the three keys hidden somewhere in the enormous Oasis universe. The founder of the virtual game, James Halliday, is now dead. He has left his whole fortune to the fortunate one who can solve the puzzle, find the keys and open the final Oasis gate. The challenge is to find these keys, and stay alive! Because even though your identity in Oasis is thoroughly hidden, dangerous things happen around Wade and his fellow contestants.

My evaluation

Here are no spoilers! The novel was SO well written, that it would be a shame to reveal the storyline. It is not as expected - that is all I have to say :-) Again, this is really a cool story! It is packed with action, puzzles, nerd romance and nostalgia from The Eighties. And it is this heavy 80s nostalgia that really captures me. I worked for IBM from 85-92, and have known the PC since its very first beginning. I remember games played on huge floppy discs with 128k RAM. And the novel picks it all up.

This super energetic cyber quest will give any data nerd the feeling of being the authors twin soul. I feel so at home with the puzzles about 80s music, movies and actors. To read this book was a great joy! A must-read for data nerds and lovers of the 80s !!!

Rating

of 5

I have been really lucky with picking great books lately !!! :-)

Hardcover: 384 pages
Publisher: Crown; First Edition edition (August 16, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 030788743X
ISBN-13: 978-0307887436

Pic of the day: Lovely sunset from the beach just accross the road from our house

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Review - "The Reality Dysfunction" by Peter F. Hamilton

Genre: Sci-Fi

A one word review: WOW! Just had to :-)

A bit about the book

This is the first book in Hamilton's "The Night's Dawn" trilogy. In AD 2600 the human race is finally beginning to realize its full potential. Hundreds of colonized planets scattered across the galaxy host a multitude of prosperous and wildly diverse cultures. Genetic engineering has pushed evolution far beyond nature's boundaries, defeating disease and producing extraordinary spaceborn creatures. Huge fleets of sentient trader starships thrive on the wealth created by the industrialization of entire star systems. And throughout inhabited space the Confederation Navy keeps the peace. A true golden age is within our grasp.

But now something has gone catastrophically wrong. On the primitive colony planet Lalonde a renegade criminal's chance encounter with an utterly alien entity unleashes the most primal of all human  fears. An extinct race which inhabited the galaxy aeons ago called the phenomenon "The Reality Dysfunction." It is the nightmare which has prowled beside man since the beginning of history.

My evaluation

This is a brick! Close to 1300 pages in total, and it sure is sci-fi! But a modern classic sci-fi in a way that captivates you. This is an extraordinary feat of storytelling on a truly epic scale. You either love it, or you hate it. What is for certain, I will start the next book in the series this evening! 

The first 200 pages is, I must admit, difficult to absorb. Hamilton builds a broad specter of characters, planets and subplots simultaneously. These pages you need to read in one go. It is easy to loose control over who is where and why. But as the story develops, everything fits perfectly together and all the different pieces have their own purpose of doing that. 

I cannot say that Hamilton is a wordsmith. Sometimes he spends a lot of words describing details that seems on the side of the main storyline and it can be a bit heavy here and there, but the book is like an exquisite dish full of different spices and ingredients. Everything is necessary to give you the full fantastic flavour of it. The story has a tremendous depth to it - neural implants linking whole societies, living space ships, the dead souls possessing the living and waging inter galactic war.......where did he think all of that up? And with truly likeable and interesting main characters?

It is just a great start of a trilogy, and I cannot wait continuing this space opera :-)

My rating

of 5

Paperback: 1256 pages
Publisher: Orbit; Reprint edition (October 8, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0316021806
ISBN-13: 978-0316021807
 

 Pic of the day: One truly lazy kangaroo I met outside Perth :-)

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Review - "In Her Name: Dead Soul" by Michael R. Hicks

Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy & Romance

I got the welcoming opportunity of being one of the beta-readers of this book, and boy was I happy being chosen. I have been anxiously awaiting Hick's new book in the "In Her Name" series, and I was far from disappointed!!

About the book (from Amazon)

Three years after the brutal first contact encounter with the alien Kreelan Empire, the human Confederation is desperate for a victory. With over a dozen worlds under siege by legions of Kreelan warriors, President McKenna orders the Confederation military to deliver a victory to give humanity hope.

Roland Mills, Valentina Sikorsky, Ichiro Sato and his wife Steph, along with the irrepressible General James Sparks are once again at the sharp end of the spear in a mission to take back the colony of Alger’s World from the alien invaders before it’s too late.

But overwhelming firepower may not be enough. For leading the invasion of Alger’s World is Ku’ar-Marekh, a Kreelan warrior priestess with dreadful powers, whose spirit is trapped between life and death. Feared by the warriors of the Empire, she is known as the Dead Soul...

My evaluation

Hicks has done it again. This is an excellent novel, and one among the very best I've read in this genre! This sixth book in the "In Her Name"-series holds the same quality as my favourite Sci-Fi/Fantasy trilogy, which also happens to be Hicks first three novels in the same series - "In Her Name: Empire, Confederation & Final Battle". Thinking of it, I may put "Dead Soul" on the very top! This is a true pageturner, and I only had a short night between the first and last part of the book. I could not put it down!

The new Kreelan warrior - Ku'ar Marakh - is frighteningly scary, even compared to her blue companions. Allison as an early teenage "mini-heroine" develops beautifully throughout the story. I was very happy to meet Valentina Sikorsky again - the girl with the enhanced body and extended functionality from the previous book "First Contact". And Roland Mills, he is the perfect hero! The humans can finally match the blue warriors in warfare, with Ichiro Sato as "the chosen one" commanding fleet officer.

Hicks has his own beautiful way of developing unique characters, and it is brilliantly done! They have a wonderful depth to them, and they are so credible you may wonder where he picks them :-) In this novel you get everything - the fight between the Kreelan race and humanity, love and sacrifice, tactical warfare and hand-to-hand combat. You don't have to read the other books in the series to thoroughly enjoy this one, it stands very well on it's own two feet, but I recommend you spending time on each and every one "In Her Name" books. You will not be disappointed! 

No one above, no one even close! Being a reader is so enjoyable and rewarding when you find authors like Hicks!

Happy read! :-)

My rating

of 5

Format: Kindle Edition
File Size: 441 KB
Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
Publisher: Imperial Guard Publishing, LLC (October 1, 2011)
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
Language: English
ASIN: B005S0WJ7Y

Yes - Hicks definately nailed it... :-)

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Review - "Divergent" by Veronica Roth

 Genre: YA/Fantasy

This book I ate raw! It's not often that I plan to read "a bit" and finishes a book in one go like I did this one. The fact that this is Roth's first novel is quite amazing!

About the book

Beatrice lives in dystopian Chicago, a society divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue - Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent).

On one appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is—she can't have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.

During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles to determine who her friends really are—and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes infuriating boy fits into the life she's chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she's kept hidden from everyone because she's been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers a growing conflict that threatens to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves… or it might destroy her.

Veronica Roth's own blog you'll find HERE

My evaluation

This novel is the first of a trilogy, where the next one in the series - Insurgent - is planned published May 2012. This novel stands, however, very well on its own two feet. The story is conclusive, even though you can feel the next book lining up. "Divergent" represents a kind of mix between "Enders Game" by Orson Scott Card and "The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins without giving you the feeling of a spin-off. The story is quite unique!

The fact that this novel is Roth's first takes me as a surprise. Her writing and language really enthralled me from page one. I was not able to put the book down, despite starting it after a rather busy girlie weekend trip to Copenhagen. And that really tells it all :-) Roth ables in a fantastic way to build a dystopic world which you really feel and see. Tris is a truly believable main character and the challenges that she and her society struggles with get real in all its madness.

This is a pageturner for sure! You get spiralled away from page one, and the story definately picks up even more speed after Tris has made her choice. The challenges she has to handle are both personal and society related. During these (Norwegian) election times one can start wondering - which of the fractions can you really trust? Who keeps their promises, and last but not least - do any of these fractions have an underlying motive for their actions?

It's difficult not to review this book without any spoilers. If you love YA/Fantasy/Dystopian novels, you just have to make time for this book! If you in any way liked "Enders Game" or "The Hunger Games" you definately have to read this book. I hope I get my message through :-)

My rating

of 5

Format: Kindle Edition
File Size: 501 KB
Print Length: 496 pages
Page Numbers Source ISBN: 0062024027
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books (May 3, 2011)
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
Language: English
ASIN: B004CFA9RS

A collection of items I found along the fjord...

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Review - "Catching Fire" by Suzanne Collins

Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy, YA

Every year in Panem the Capitol shows the reality program "The Hunger Games" where two teen "tributes" from each of the twelve surrounding districts are put to fight to the death. Katniss and Peeta, the tributes from the poor district Twelve, have both survived the games the year before (read "The Hunger Games, book 1). In this extremely anticipated sequel Katniss returns to her district and finds out that she is more in the center of attraction than ever.

The president Snow from The Capitol pays her a visit, and Katniss starts to fear that even if she survived the games, she is still in danger. She has come to be known among all the districts as the one who defied The Capitol. In the last Hunger Games she was able to force The Capitol to accept two winners, and that way saved  her friend Peeta in the process. She has become a symbol of rebellion!

"Catching Fire" starts with Katniss and Peeta's mandatory Victory Tour through the districts, where Katniss - oblivious or not - ignites rebellios thoughts with the common people. Then there is the Qarter Quell coming up, and the preparations for the 75th hunger games. Every 25th year The Capitol holds a special surprise for that particular game. Finally there is the 75th games themselves. To avoid any spoilers I will not go into any further details, but the story definately evolves!

"The bird, the pin, the song, the berries, the watch, the cracker, the dress that burst into flames. I am the mockingjay. The one that survived despite the Capitol's plans. The symbol of the rebellion."

A fan made book teaser!

 My evaluation

This is a GREAT read! After reading the "The Hunger Games" I was afraid that Collins couldn't keep up with the same high standards, since book number one was so amazingly good. Boy was I wrong! The author manages continously to impress with even new twists and turns in the story. You an only wonder where she gets her ideas from.. The triangle relationship between Katniss, Peeta and Gale kept me excited through the whole story. Who would she choose? Based on what? And, what would I have done?

The focus in this number two in the series is very different from the first book. The plot is  much more complex and ambitious. There is a bigger picture of both corruption, manipulation and rebel tendencies present here. All the time with Katniss as the narrator. Catching Fire didn't just hold the same qualities as The Hunger Games, it even surpassed the first book in my opinion. The main twist for the 75th Quarter Quell is the really big surprise of the story! What a genious Collins is :-)

Read and enjoy! This is definately not a waist of time!

My rating

of 5

Format: Kindle Edition
File Size: 479 KB
Print Length: 391 pages
Page Numbers Source ISBN: 0439023491
Publisher: Scholastic Press; 1 edition (June 1, 2010)
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
Language: English
ASIN: B003O86FMW

Pic of the day: Remnants of a summer... Malta

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Review - "Speaker for the Dead" by Orson Scott Card

Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy

This is book number two in "The Ender's Game" series. It follows Ender Wiggin, a young genius who used his military prowess to all but exterminate the "buggers," the first alien race mankind had ever encountered. Wiggin then transformed himself into the "Speaker for the Dead," who claimed it had been a mistake to destroy the alien civilization. 

Many years later, when a new breed of intelligent life forms called the "piggies" is discovered, Wiggin takes the opportunity to atone for his earlier actions. This long, rich and ambitious novel views the interplay between the races from the differing perspectives of the colonists, ethnologists, biologists, clergy, politicians, a computer artificial intelligence, the lone surviving bugger and the piggies themselves. 

Added to this rich novel we also have the romance between Ender and a young woman who calls for a Speaker because of her father. This young woman is the main reason that Ender decides to settle down for good on the planet Lusitania and join the other inhabitants in studying the "piggies" to avoid their extinction.

"...But when it comes to human beings, the only type of cause that matters is final cause, the purpose. What a person had in mind. Once you understand what people really want, you can't hate them anymore. You can fear them, but you can't hate them, because you can always find the same desires in your own heart." 

My evaluation

This novel is completely different from "Enders Game", but in my opinion more complete and - in lack of a better word - mature. Card's understanding of human relations makes the reader empathize and even sympathize with the characters in the book. You cannot avoid being entangled in the lives and the fights these people are subjected to. There is a good reason this novel too got both the Hugo and the Nebula award...

It would be very sad if the readers and the lovers (which I know come by the thousands) of "Ender's Game" ignore "Speaker for the Dead" and the two following books in the series only because Card has another focus in these books. Because this one is as difficult to put down. It is a truly fantastic story with trustworthy and very richly developed characters who questions our excistence. Like in "Ender's Game" it explores alienation and misunderstandings, but it is a richer - and also slower - book. As far as I am concerned it's also even better!

My rating

of 5

Format: Kindle Edition
File Size: 609 KB
Print Length: 416 pages
Page Numbers Source ISBN: 0812550757
Publisher: Tor Books (November 30, 2009)
Sold by:  Amazon Digital Services
Language: English

 Blog-Pic: Abstract found by the fjord

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Review - "Heirs of Mars" by Robert Lewis

Genre: pure Sci-Fi

The dream that was Mars has become a nightmare for the children born there. Asher roams the vast canyons of Mars in search of dying souls ready for digital reincarnation. But his strange profession has its perils. Those who fear the newborn clones have hunted Asher and his friends for years, claiming the lives of countless innocents, including his daughter. 

Claudia hosts the two most popular shows on two worlds, exhausting herself to educate the children of Mars and risking her life to raise the morale of the entire population. But when one of her cohosts is brutally murdered, she'll stop at nothing to avenge his death and make Mars safe again for everyone.

Brought together in a moment of tragedy, Asher and Claudia lead a group of scientists, clones, and bikers on a high-octane charge across frozen deserts and over raging volcanoes to end the first war on Mars.

"Heirs of Mars" follows the lives of six men and women (not all of them entirely human) from the dusty wind farms of the Valles Marineris to the shining city of New Troy, and from the ancient tunnels beneath the Noctis Labyrinth to the sandy highways where daredevils race on single-wheeled motorcycles for a fleeting glimpse of fame and freedom. 

 

 

My  evaluation

It was revealing to read a pure Sci-Fi novel for a change! This novel reminded me of why I love this genre :-) To begin with I found it a bit difficult to relate to all the different "persons" - or rather personalities that was introduced. But I soon picked up the story and was blown away in great speed. It is both a humouristic and futuristic novel. Its characters were all well developed and was actually more than interesting.

 

If you remove all of the science fiction window-dressing, this is a well-written story about a lot of people during the worst week of their life. The human vs. robot storyline was significantly less fun than the clones vs. humans one, so I was pleased that more time was spent following it. I flew through this book, and it's because there were so many little moments when I felt Lewis did things just right.

The story picks up a few rather important subjects, such as cloning, ethics and what actually make a person human.. It's a good introduction to the Sci-Fi genre. It's a rather easy read with not too many overly technical descriptions and complexities.

 

My rating

 

 

Format: Kindle Edition
File Size: 484 KB
Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
Publisher: Joseph Robert Lewis (October 28, 2010)
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
Language: English
ASIN: B0049H94G6

 

Pic of the day: Having fun with my macro lens :-)

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Review - "The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins

Genre: YA, Sci-Fi/Fantasy

This is the first book of the Hunger Games trilogy. It introduces sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives in a post-apocalyptic world in the country of Panem where North America once existed. This is where a government working in a central city called the Capitol holds power. 

In the book, the Hunger Games are an annual televised event where the Capitol chooses one boy and one girl from each of 12 districts to fight to the death. The Hunger Games exist to demonstrate that not even children are beyond the reach of the Capitol's jurisdiction. 

Katniss, from what was once Appalachia, offers to take the place of her sister in the Hunger Games, but after this ultimate sacrifice, she is entirely focused on survival at any cost. It is her teammate, Peeta, who recognizes the importance of holding on to one's humanity in such inhuman circumstances. 

I don't want to spoil for those of you you haven't read the series, so I will not get into details of what's happening in the games. Children fight and they die. Some are good, some are bad and a few are even worse. You will not be able to put this one down for sure..

A film teaser based on the book - yes, I do look forward to this movie!

My evaluation

No way around this - the book is brutal! Young people that are forced to kill each other to survive cannot be anything else. Despite of all the suffering, Collins manages the unbelievable - to write an enthralling story which is very alive with people who cares for each other. It's a book about fighting to death, but it is also a story about love, compassion and thoughtfulness. 

You should definately read this book! The language is lovely, the main character Katniss is a strong, honest and resourceful girl, the surroundings are brutal - yes, but described with care. The violence is neither exaggerated nor disregarded. This is a strong story that got me thinking. How far can a human person go to survive without destroing himself in the process?

My rating

of 5 - and strong one too!

Format: Kindle Edition
File Size: 482 KB
Print Length: 384 pages
Page Numbers Source ISBN: 0439023483
Publisher: Scholastic Paperbacks; 1st edition (September 1, 2009)
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
Language: English
ASIN: B002MQYOFW

 Pic of the day: Sea weed from one of the Norwegian fjords

 

Review - "DreamWar" by Stephen Prosapio

Genre: Sci-Fi

This story takes place in our dreams! An interesting concept. For those of you (like me) who have seen and enjoyed the movie "Inception" with Leonardo DiCaprio, Dream War will be spot on!

The main characters in the novel are Nadia & Drew, a quite normal couple - and Hector Lopez. Lopez is trained to connect to the dreams of known terrorists to be able to read their minds. This way any terrorist attach can be stopped before it has even started. At least that is the plan... As it turns out  it isn't just Lopez who wander around in the dreams of these terrorists. And it isn't just terrorists dreams that are invaded. All people are in fact vulnerable for dream intruders!

Nadia and Drew have for some reason got a silver medallion which protect them against dream intruders. This medallion is a treasured object among several factions in this story. During the novel we end up in Italy, by the Vesuvius. What is it that actually hides in this sleeping, but still not quite dead volcano? Why are continously more silver medallions turning up? And who the hell is Luzveyn Dred?

"Given the mysteries of the human mind, it was perhaps inevitable that the CIA would one day invade our dreams.

Since the beginning of human history, dreams have been considered an element of the supernatural world. The Jewish Torah and the Christian Bible tell stories of them used as divine messages, warnings, and visions. Mohammed claimed to have received much of the Koran from dreams.."

My evaluation

If you are in search of a different book, this one is definately worth checking out! I was thoroughly in doubt whether Prosapio managed to put the whole story toghether towards the end, but he did that brilliantly! This is Sci-Fi mixed with known elements and actual political events, and it makes the story very credible. Maybe you should think twice about what to wish for in your dreams...?

My rating

of 5

Format: Kindle Edition
File Size: 505 KB
Publisher: Noble Publishing; 1 edition (July 14, 2010)
Sold by:  Amazon Digital Services
Language: English
ASIN: B003VTZXAY

 Pic of the day: Dream sky, Calgary

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Review - "Season of the Harvest" by Michael R. Hicks

Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Thriller/Action

What if the genetically modified crops that we increasingly depend on for food weren’t really created by man? What if they had a far more sinister purpose?

FBI Special Agent Jack Dawson investigates the gruesome murder of his best friend and fellow agent who had been pursuing a group of suspected eco-terrorists. The group's leader, Naomi Perrault, is a beautiful geneticist who Jack believes conspired to kill his friend, and is claiming that a major international conglomerate specializing in genetically modified organisms is plotting a sinister transformation of our world that will lead humanity to extinction.

As he pursues the truth, Jack is drawn into a quietly raging war that suddenly explodes onto the front pages of the news, and discovers that Naomi's claims may not be so outrageous after all. Together, the two of them must battle a horror Jack could never have imagined as he learns the terrifying truth behind the old adage that "you are what you eat..." 

My evaluation

This book is REALLY good! And I do not normally misuse big letters...! I was originally in doubt about a fantasy/thriller book based on the subject GMO's (Genetically Modified Organisms), but boy was I wrong! The tempo in this book is fantastic. This is non-stop action, and always something new. Something different. 

At the same time Hicks manages to develop his characters in his own, marvellous way. There is just somehing about his understanding of how to build stories and credible characters in them that is unique.

There is quite a bit of research done prior to this book which makes it not only very believable and interesting, but also educating and thought provoking. Parts of the story takes place in my parts of the world, at Svalbard Global Seed Vault - a secure seedbank which preserves a wide variety of plant seeds in an underground cavern. It's Sci-Fi all right, but with enough realism you begin to wonder if it could really happen to us. A must read!

My rating

of 5 - and a very strong one, too :-)

Click on Hicks and be transferred to the author's own page about "Season of the Harvest".

Format: Kindle Edition
File Size: 547 KB
Sold by:  Amazon Digital Services
Language: English
ASIN: B004MME1RU

Pic of the day: Spring flower from my garden

Review - "Extinction" by B.V. Larson

Genre: Sci-Fi

Earth's Star Force Marines invade an alien world!

In the second book of the Star Force series, Kyle Riggs has another bad year. The Nano ships have a new mission--one that sentences their pilots to death. Meanwhile, the governments of Earth want to steal Star Force's Nano technology for their own. Worst of all, Earth has made a promise to the Macros, and the machines are coming to collect.

EXTINCTION is the story of Earth's entry into an interstellar war between living creatures and machines. To buy the peace, we've signed up with the machines....  

My evaluation

This is the second book in the StarForce series, and I have to say - the story is picking up! It feels like the author has settled more with his writing, and the story picks up both speed and action. Caught myself laughing out loud several times. The story is still written in "first person" form. This makes an interesting twist to the story. "I" is a cool guy :-) I gave book 1, Swarm, a 3+. This is definately a 4! Give me book three, Rebellion!

My rating

of 5

Format: Kindle Edition
File Size: 1090 KB
Sold by:  Amazon Digital Services
Language: English
ASIN: B004UBFVPO

Pic of the day: A cool building in Houston