This book is a wide-ranging and rather loose-jointed epic fantasy with so much variety in species, settings, and magical powers that it lacks cohesiveness. Characters and even whole species appear and disappear at the whim of the author, and readers are prevented from forming an emotional grasp of the most important conflict of the story: […]
“Thrill Switch” by Tim Hawkin
Welcome to a Sci-Fi version of Silence of the Lambs. It involves the psychological conflict of a detective trying to persuade a convicted serial killer to help solve a continued —or new — killing spree, never sure whether her incarcerated client isn’t still functioning in the cyberworld. The writing is in first person, so we […]
“Cut from Stone” by Brendan O’Meara
The start of a Fantasy Military Action series, this book is mainly concerned with the training of a Special Ops team and their first live engagement. It presents a sanitized version of the usual training-up-to-fight plotline. Competition is minimized, bullying and hazing are not present. These are people focused on becoming the best of the […]
“Breach of Contract: Shattered Stars Book I” by Vance Huxley
This is a great adventure/action novel, a reworking of an old storyline set in a dystopian future. It is the story of a group of renegades brought together in a military unit who use their disparate talents and irreverent attitude to succeed where no other unit can, much to the dismay and horror of their […]