Sisterhood of Dune - Will Update Later in the Week

Hi. This week I'm changing jobs. What that means is that I'm working two jobs and reading Sisterhood of  Dune, which is a pretty decent size book. I'll have the review up by the end of the weekend at the latest. Thanks for your patience.

The Power Behind the Throne by S.K. Nicoll

Book Description: In the year of HRH The Queen's Diamond Jubilee comes a fiercely controversial story that exposes evil at the heart of the British establishment.

Three of the UK's most powerful men will stop at nothing to protect the monarchy... and that includes the murder of American architectural student Jack Hollander, the one man who can prevent Prince Charles from fulfilling his destiny.



Review - 4 of 5 Stars:
I don't read a lot of political thrillers. I'm essentially a science fiction / fantasy geek who likes a little mystery or romance from time to time, but I do like to drop into other genres occasionally if I spot something interesting. I read the first 89 pages of this book on Ms. Nicoll's web page and then bought the book because I was curious to see how it ended, which turned out to be a good purchase. Her story of Jack Hollander's adventures was definitely interesting and entertaining. All in all it was well-written and moved along at a good pace. I was interested in the predicament of the main character, young Jack Hollander and his lady love, as well as his unwitting involvement in an international intrigue through no fault of his own. Mr. Hollander's situation takes him into unexpected situations with plenty of twists, turns, and excitement to keep the reader interested. I would hate to give away more than that, but I really enjoyed the ending. If you enjoy political thrillers, I think that you'll enjoy this one.

The Saga of the Seven Suns: Veiled Alliances by Kevin J. Anderson

Book Description: Based on the legendary science-fiction series by acclaimed novelist Kevin J. Anderson, THE SAGA OF SEVEN SUNS: VEILED ALLIANCES acts as a revelatory prequel to the Saga novels Hidden Empire and A Forest of Stars. In this fantastical volume, the human race begins its expansion into outer space only to discover that for centuries a multitude of other planets have been interacting on a cosmic scale. Now as Earth attempts to become a player in this new arena, her ambassadors are thrust into a foreign world of alien life forms, backstabbing politics, lustful relationship, bitter feuds, family rivalries, and a deadly quest to become the supreme force in the universe.



Review 4 of 5 Stars:

The Saga of the Seven Suns series is a favorite in my household. So, when I saw that the prequel was out, the book I was had been reading was abandoned to the nightstand and I dove into one of my favorite universes. As a follower of the series I was pleased with Veiled Alliances and consider it an excellent addition to the story as a whole. For a new reader to the series, I would suggest starting at book one, Hidden Empire, as Veiled Alliances did have some spoilers for what comes in the series. The original series was a fantastic journey of exploration and I would definitely read the original books before going back to the prequel. However, I consider it a must have for the collection if you enjoyed the series. All in all it was a great read and a pleasant trip back to one of my favorite places.

Containment by Christian Cantrell

Book Blurb: As the Earth's ability to support human life begins to diminish at an alarming rate, the Global Space Agency is formed with a single mandate: protect humanity from extinction by colonizing the solar system as quickly as possible. Venus, being almost the same mass as Earth, is chosen over Mars as humanity’s first permanent steppingstone into the universe.

Arik Ockley is part of the first generation to be born and raised off-Earth. After a puzzling accident, Arik wakes up to find that his wife is almost three months pregnant. Since the colony’s environmental systems cannot safely support any increases in population, Arik immediately resumes his work on AP, or artificial photosynthesis, in order to save the life of his unborn child. Arik’s new and frantic research uncovers startling truths about the planet, and about the distorted reality the founders of the colony have constructed for Arik’s entire generation. Everything Arik has ever known is called into question, and he must figure out the right path for himself, his wife, and his unborn daughter.


Review 5 of 5 Stars:
Wow! Let me start by saying that I know I'm a science geek. My greatest challenge in writing this review is not to gush on what I've just finished reading and give it away with spoilers. So, I'm going to try to keep it simple. The main character was easy to relate to, the science was intriguing, and I loved the problem-solving aspect of the book as a whole. It was witty, had twists, mystery, deception and intrigue all wrapped into a great story. About 3/4 of the way through the book, I was hoping that my assumptions were correct about what was really happening as I sped forward to the conclusion. I can't tell you how disappointed I was when I tapped the screen the last time and there were no more pages. I tapped it twice more just to make sure. All in all this was a great read if you enjoy science fiction that is really based on science.

Serengeti by Peter Cawdron

 
Blurb: Serengeti is the first of three novellas exploring alternatives to the Rare Earth Hypothesis in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence.

The Serengeti is a generation star-ship, venturing out above the Milky Way, searching for signs of alien intelligence. The crew discover far more about the nature of sentient life than they imagined possible.  

Review - 4 of 5 Stars:
I'd previously read Anomaly and had really enjoyed it. So, I was excited to read Serengeti. As I had hoped, Peter Cawdron did a good job writing Serengeti and it caught my interest right away. It suited me fine that it was heavy on science as it explored whether man should search for other life in the universe, among other things. I very much enjoy stories that make me think so the fact that it wasn't an action story did not bother me in the least. I especially liked that in addition to the scientific question being explored, it explored the reactions and feelings of the characters as they were faced with the reality of their small part in this ongoing project. There was plenty to think about. I'm also a sucker for a science fiction love story, even a heavily cerebral one. I read the whole thing in about two hours. I realize this novella is the first of the series, but it seemed as if it could have benefited from being expanded a bit more. I'm hoping that Mr. Cawdron will give us a little more story in the next one. I'm intrigued by what might have happened next. That said, I thoroughly enjoyed what I read and look forward to seeing the next one in the series.

The Fringe Worlds (The Human Chronicles - Book One) by T.R. Harris

Book Blurb: Adam Cain is an alien with an Attitude!

After all, how would you feel if you were abducted by aliens and transported into a strange, new universe away from your home, your family -- everything familiar to you? Would it make you happy? Not likely!

Now imagine you're stronger, faster and more coordinated than every alien you encounter. Would you start kicking some ass? Of course you would!

This is the story of Human superiority in the galaxy, a gritty, realistic profile of a young Navy SEAL who doesn't like aliens very much -- and he makes them pay for disrupting his happy life back on Earth!

Review - 4 of 5 Stars:
An interesting romp through the galaxy.

All in all this wasn't bad for light reading. It moved along at a pretty good clip for a book that was trying to set up for future books. The writing was good, the characters were interesting enough and it did offer a little different viewpoint of humans out in the universe. At times, though, it seemed like the author had watched a little too much Farscape during the writing process. Since that thought kept running through my head while I was reading it, I'm mentioning it here. I'm not going to go into why self-published authors should pay close attention to the editing process since it doesn't really affect the storyline. Having said that, there's every possibility that I'll read the next one just to find out what happened. I basically liked it, but have other books to finish before I get back to the series.

Tabloid Reporter to the Stars by Eric James Stone

Book Blurb: Lawrence Jensen is a disgraced science reporter forced to earn a living working for a tabloid. Then he wins the lottery to pick the journalist who will go on mankind's first interstellar mission. It's his shot at redemption -- but can he ever overcome his past?

Review - 3.5 of 5 Stars:
As you can probably tell from the title this wasn't a masterpiece of modern fiction to be passed down through the years, but it was fun. The writing was pretty good and all things considered I was not sorry that I had read it. It was fairly cheesy, but made me smile on more than one occasion and I did manage to make it all the way to the end.