Echo: A Space Opera Duology (Book 2) by Michael Listen The second installment of the Echo space opera duology is a satisfying end to a story that I found spellbinding and just plain fun to read. In the first book, the reader gets to know Kai Randall, a bit of a pirate with a good heart and a solid sense of justice. He becomes an unlikely hero when he rescues Shreya Aurelia, a scientist and military officer whom he rescues despite the beating she gives him during their first meeting. Added to those two are Perri Hasana, a young woman who has ambitions of being a pilot but is an apprentice to K ..read more

City of Orange by David Yoon This book sat on my Kindle for quite a while before I finally opened it up and started reading. This story grabbed my attention immediately from the beginning and wouldn't let me go until I finished it. It is fast paced, brilliantly written, and there are surprises on nearly every page.  City of Orange is a post-apocalyptic fiction about a man who wakes up and has no memories about anything before the moment of his awakening. In the place he finds himself, it appears everyone has abandoned their homes and moved away. As he moves through his unfamiliar world ..read more

The Forever War by Joe Haldeman Prior to reading Forever War, I had only read one other of Joe Haldeman’s novels. I'm afraid I didn't care for that one, and to avoid further discussion, I will decline to reveal the title. However, when I talked about that book with a friend, he told me I shouldn't give up on the author because he is an amazing writer and teller of stories. My friend recommended Forever War as an example of great Sci-Fi writing. So, as I was between books, I thought it would be a good time to take care of an obligation to myself and to my friend. From the moment I opened this ..read more

  Ares by Jayson Adams I learned about Ares from a Facebook ad that kept popping up on my timeline. I was further spurred on to read by the book's description. It promised a fast-paced tale of murder and intrigue on the first mission to Mars. No less, it promised a story set in the Cydonia region of the Red Planet, a place of much controversy and speculation. I read this book in just a few days, finding it to be an amazing story that moved so fast, I just did not want to stop reading. It is a great tale with well-developed characters. There are moments of great tension and several fun an ..read more

The Kuyper Rogue by C.P. Schaefer I received a copy of this book for free and am leaving this review voluntarily. What attracted me to read The Kuiper Rogue was the book's description. The author set the story on Saturn’s moon, Titan. I don't recall ever reading a story set on that particular world. The concept of a large research station, in this case, Gaia 3, got my attention and spurred me to download and read this book. I enjoyed the story for the most part. It is a combination of several concepts, including Hard Sci-Fi, Post Apocalyptic, Space Opera, Thriller, and Adventure. The action s ..read more

Echo: A Space Opera Duology (Book 1) By Michael Listen Every now and then, I discover a story that is so compelling, I cannot stop reading for hours at a time. Such a story unfolds in my mind like a movie and is filled with characters who jump off the page and become like real people I care about and invest in. I've been told there should be a surprise in every chapter, on every page, in every paragraph, and in every sentence. This work by Michael Listen is just such a novel. This story is supercharged with a full range of emotion, from gut-busting laughter at the humor to an evil character s ..read more

The Defector (Book 2 of the Apollo Murders Series) by Chris Hadfield It has been nearly two years since I read Hadfield's first novel, The Apollo Murders, a book I thoroughly enjoyed. While scrolling through the Kindle store, The Defector showed up on the list of books I might also like. Outside of the book being written by Hadfield, I was attracted by the cover art. I got into this story and found it to be a lightening paced tale of intrigue in a fascinating setting. It grabbed me from the opening and didn't let me down at all. Hadfield's writing style is like authors I enjoyed who wrote boo ..read more

Wine Dark Deep: Wine Dark Deep Book 1 By R. Peter Keith I downloaded this book for free from Kindle Unlimited and am leaving this review voluntarily. A couple of weeks ago, I realized I actually had a little time to read something that I wanted to read for a change. I had no promises for reviews and was between Honor Harrington books for the podcast, so I could just read for fun. I searched through my Kindle library to see if there was anything there I’d been putting off. I found this one that has been sitting on my reader for a few months. Seeing it was only 144 pages, decided to give it a l ..read more

Josh and Sen Save The Multiverse Book 1: The Path of One by D.P. Behling I received a copy of this book for free and am leaving this review voluntarily. What is the nature of the multiverse? Well, you never know what is going to happen next. You never know who you are going to meet. You never know who your enemies might be; even a little old lady in an elevator can be very dangerous. The book "Josh and Sen" tells the story of an unlikely pair of characters who have different goals but are forced to work together. There is some violence in the story, but the reader cannot help but laugh now an ..read more

The Age of Heroes by Mikhail Gladkikh I received a copy of this book for free and am leaving this review voluntarily. After reading this author's first novel, Out of Time, I wanted more from him. I was thrilled when he contacted me, telling me about his new novel, The Age of Heroes. I was surprised to learn it is a sci-fi tale set in the late Bronze Age, a time when people explained events they didn't understand through mythology rather than science. What I kind of expected was a retelling of the ancient stories of destruction retold for a more modern audience, i.e., the story from Homer's Il ..read more