Brainbox by Christian Cantrell

Description: When the Earth begins cooling unexpectedly, humanity is left with only a few degrees of habitable latitude along the planet's equator. After establishing themselves as the three remaining powers in the world, the Americans, Chinese, and Russians eventually turn on each other in hopes of securing the last of the Earth's resources for themselves.

In an attempt to break the decades-long stalemate, the American military turns to Miguel dos Santos -- a brilliant Brazilian roboticist -- for help in creating the ASRA, or Autonomous Self Replicating Asset. The secret to the ASRAs is their neurological processors, also known as the brainbox, which enables the machines to "combine the logic and reasoning of a computer with the desperation and hate of the human soul." But as Miguel reluctantly carries out his orders, it becomes clear that he has other plans for what remains of humanity.

This short story (about 7,500 words) is both a technological and psychological thriller which unfolds across a landscape as exotic and unpredictable as it is dystopian and barren.


Review 3.5 of 5 Stars

Brainbox is a short story that I had actually picked up quite a while back. Life has been crazy, but I had a few free moments and decided to plunge on in. The author's description of the story gives a pretty good basic overview. In the end it was a story that took a really intense set of circumstances to try to teach us that we should all play nice together as humans. It was interesting, but I think it could have been fleshed out in some places. Anyway, keep in mind that it is a short story so if you have a few minutes and enjoy Mr. Cantrell's work you might want to give it a read. As for me I'm giving it 3.5 stars because though it was interesting in places, it was somewhat predictable and I didn't really feel I was surprised by any of it. I read and loved Containment, but to me this just wasn't the same caliber of story.

Review Postings Delayed Due to Move

I just wanted to give an update. I just moved for the second time in three months (on purpose, not because of anything bad lol), but had to find a permanent place since I had rented a temporary place for three months to move back home. Anyway, I'll have a new review up by this weekend and things should get back to normal.

Thanks so much for your patience.

TJ

Water (The Akasha Series) by Terra Harmony

Book Description:  Elemental powers in the palm of her hand…and it won't be enough to save her. When Kaitlyn Alder is involuntarily introduced to a life of magic, she becomes part of an organization hell-bent on saving the Earth. Her newfound life holds promises of purpose, romance, and friendship, but the organization divides and a rogue member holds Kaitlyn hostage. Now one of the most terrifying men the human race has to offer stands between her and Earth's survival.





Review 2 of 5 Stars:

I'm an avid reader and it took me forever to get through this book.  I originally picked it up because of the mention of controlling elemental powers and saving the planet. It sounded like a good idea, but I was turned off by the non-consensual sex in relation to the characters and how it was presented. I'm giving it two stars because it was pretty much technically correct from a writing standpoint, but I really lost interest in what had originally gained my interest about this book because of the way it was presented. It really seemed as if there were two very divergent story lines going and the two never did mesh together for me. There may be others who would enjoy this book, but let's just say it wasn't for me.

From Chaos Born (In Her Name: The First Empress, Book 1) by Michael R. Hicks

Book Description: 

CHAOS

For long ages, the Kreelan race has been ruled by war. Only the priests and priestesses of the ancient martial orders prevented total annihilation as countless times civilizations arose, only to collapse again into savagery.

RISE OF THE DARK QUEEN

Near the end of the Fourth Age, a powerful warrior from a brooding fortress deep in the Great Wastelands began her bloody rise to power. Syr-Nagath, known as the Dark Queen, began a brutal war of conquest across the face of the Homeworld, secretly planning to destroy the martial orders and resurrect the dark ways of her race’s apocalyptic past.

A CHILD FORETOLD

What the Dark Queen did not anticipate was the birth of Keel-Tath, a child unlike any other. A child foretold in an ancient prophecy, who was destined to wield the powers of the ancient orders and unite her race.

A child the Dark Queen must kill, no matter the cost…

Review 5 of 5 Stars

From Chaos Born is the first book in the third trilogy that Michael R. Hicks has done in the In Her Name series and is a prequel that takes us back to the time of the first empress of the Kreelan civilization to observe the beginning of the changes to the Kreelan culture and honor system that will eventually lead them to human space far in the future.  I really enjoyed it and it was interesting to see the societal struggles that this race faced as it was developing and reaching for the stars in an endless cycle of destruction. Syr-Nagath, the Dark Queen, is truly a brutal character with no redeeming qualities as far as I could tell.  Of course, though, in its slanted way this story is about good trying to triumph over evil as has been the rest of the series.  This is a story of hope for an embattled people who have carried on for generations watching their civilization rise and fall. In Keel-Tath there is hope and prophecies of greatness as well as warnings of dire events to come.  Since this is a beginning to a story that we've already witnessed in the current books of this series I was really glad to see that it didn't founder and the storytelling was as strong and imaginative as in the previous books. Can't wait to read the next one when it comes out.

Final Battle (In Her Name: Redemption, Book 3) by Michael R. Hicks

Book Description: In the final book of the In Her Name: Redemption trilogy, Reza Gard awakens in a hospital on Earth after having been in a coma for months. Charged with murder and high treason, he finds himself the scapegoat for a daring plot to assassinate the President of the Confederation.

Escaping with the help of Jodi Mackenzie, who is now hunted for what she knows about the death of the president, Reza discovers that something is deeply wrong with the Empire: the warriors have lost their will to fight. Compelled to step into a trap set for him and Jodi, the two once again find themselves bound for Erlang.

But this time it is to meet Tesh-Dar, who has been taken prisoner. Captured and sentenced to death, Reza can only watch as a human armada gathers for a strike against the Kreelan homeworld. But the human fleet - and humanity itself - will be doomed to utter annihilation unless he can reach the Empress in time...

Review 5 of 5 Stars

Altogether this has been a great series and I was thoroughly disappointed when I reached the end of Final Battle, the last book in Michael R. Hicks' In her Name: Redemption trilogy because I truly didn't want the story to end. Reza is a fantastic character who is incredibly interesting and easy to empathize with while reading. There's a lot going on in this book and I think Mr. Hicks did a great job of wrapping it all up, though I can only hope that there's another book after this one that will delve into other issues that would lead to a spoiler alert if I were to discuss them here.  Once again there's lots of action, intriguing characters and a gritty feel to the portions of the story that need it.  These stories are filled with so much that it has become more difficult to review them for those who have not read the others in the series as I truly don't want to give away too much and take away from the reader's enjoyment of their own discoveries and realizations. This is great science fiction / fantasy (as there are some elements that could be considered fantasy by some) and I thoroughly recommend it.  Mr. Hicks is a very good writer and I greatly enjoyed this book and the series as a whole.  So 5 stars for Final Battle and 5 stars for the In Her Name Redemption trilogy as a whole. If you're looking for something fresh and well thought out that will whisk you away to another place and time this may well be a story for you.

Confederation (In Her Name: Redemption, Book 2) by Michael R. Hicks

Book Description: In Book 2 of the In Her Name: Redemption trilogy, Reza Gard has been banished from the Kreelan Empire and is once again a stranger in a strange land as he returns to the human Confederation. Befriended by a marooned Confederation naval officer leading a desperate fight against the Kreelans on a distant colony world, she reunites Reza with Nicole Carré. With their help, he fulfills his childhood dream of becoming a Confederation Marine.

Reza will need all the help he can get, for dark forces are at work at the heart of the Confederation, and Reza becomes a pawn in a lethal power struggle that leads him back to the planet Erlang. There, a heartbreaking reunion awaits him, along with the discovery of an ages-old power that the Kreelan Empire will stop at nothing to control.

Review 4 of 5 Stars

Confederation, Book 2 of the In Her Name: Redemption trilogy has us following Reza Gard as he tries to acclimate to being human.  I enjoyed the book, but didn't find it to be as gripping as Empire, the first book in the trilogy. However, it is a necessary piece in an evolving story. There's a lot of exploration of the human attachments that Reza makes and though he is still the proud and dangerous warrior that we know him to be, he is also out of his element in his dealings with his own kind shall we say. That isn't at all unexpected at this point in the story and though I completely understood the reasoning behind all of that and how it affects the story arc, I just wasn't as drawn in by this volume as I was with Empire and the fascinating Kreelan culture. Book 2 is more about exploring humans at their best and worst and there's a lot of character and relationship building taking place to set up for the third book. As with the other books in this series by Mr. Hicks it was quite enjoyable and I dove into the next one right away. It really picks up after the second half of the book and propels the reader forward toward the third book, but the start of this one was a little slower paced. I'm further ahead in the reading than I am in the reviewing, but can comfortably say that this series will be one I read over in the years to come and will wait expectantly for new stories in the fascinating universe created by the author.

Empire (In Her Name: Redemption, Book 1) by Michael R. Hicks

Book Description: Empire is the coming-of-age story of Reza Gard, a young boy of the Human Confederation who is swept up in the century-long war with the alien Kreelan Empire. Nightmarish female warriors with blue skin, fangs, and razor sharp talons, the Kreelans have technology that is millennia beyond that of the Confederation, yet they seek out close combat with sword and claw, fighting and dying to honor their god-like Empress.

Captured and enslaved, Reza must live like his enemies in a grand experiment to see if humans have souls, and if one may be the key to unlocking an ages old curse upon the Kreelan race. Enduring the brutal conditions of Kreelan life, Reza and a young warrior named Esah-Zhurah find themselves bound together by fate and a prophecy foretold millennia before they were born.

Review 5 of 5 Stars

I read the In Her Name: The Last War series before beginning on the Redemption trilogy so I could read it in chronological order and am really glad I did.  I feel it gave me a better understanding of the Kreelan culture before beginning Empire. That said, the character building and overall storytelling involved in this book was fantastic. The story is compelling, harsh and brutal at points while allowing the reader to love the same characters who sometimes make the harshest decisions as well as delivering a love story to rival some of the classics. It's so easy to tell someone why you didn't like a book, but when a writer produces a story that really has that extra something so captivating that it draws you in to where you sit up all night reading even knowing full well that you have to be up early for work and that you'll be tired all day it's harder to express. How do you share that with someone else?  So, I'll do my best to tell you that it was heartwarming and fascinating to follow Reza. You share his fears, friends, struggles, accomplishments, love and heartbreak as he grows up in the alien culture of the Kreelans that become more his family than any he had ever known. Mr. Hicks has created a host of interesting and complex characters to draw the reader into this story. Tesh-Dar became a favorite character while reading The Last War trilogy and I was glad to see her and other intriguing characters were explored much more in depth in Empire. It was a great read and I'll be sad when I run out of books in the series.  Mr. Hicks has done an outstanding job of telling his tale. If you love great storytelling I'm sure you'll enjoy Empire.