Juggling Audiobooks: A Fun and Frustrating Pastime

Fun, because, well, audiobooks are awesome! Frustrating because I get my audiobooks from the library and my tastes run to long books. We're talking books that literally take a work week or more worth of hours to get through.  

Just can't seem to finish

For one, I'm working through Brandon Sanderson's Stormlight Archive books, I'm on Oathbringer (have been for a few months now), and after I got booted from the first borrow, I've since been plagued by incredibly bad timing on hold releases and my tendency to not check my email in time to download them. I'm now on another 6 week wait list because Libby decided I must not really want to borrow it and dropped my hold. 😂

But really, borrowing these has been a game changer for me. I can't afford a subscription or to buy the sheer volume of audiobooks I would want to consume, but loading them on my phone with Libby, I can get close!

Just finished

As for recent finishes, I've just completed the audiobooks for the Caraval Trilogy by Stephanie Garber. Holy cow, great series!  Lots of fun, magic, and immortals. Highly recommended in audio, but I would have liked it in print, too. The first one takes us to the mysterious Caraval games with Scarlet, the older sister. The second, Legendary, with Tella, the younger one. And the third ties it all together, giving us a very well named Finale for both sisters. 

On it now

Next, and currently, I'm listening to the Battlefield Earth audiobook by Galaxy Audio. I'm on Part 6 now, where it's getting really good. Terl has found his leverage. Johnny Goodboy Tyler has lost his. I'm looking forward to the coming chapters, having already read this many times in the past. 

There's also a blog, videos (including about the making of the audiobook), and a listing of more books by L. Ron Hubbard, who was a very prolific writer of fantasy and later science fiction, including the one I'm reading, which he called his attempt at writing pure science fiction. If you read or listen to this, you can learn more about what that means by listening to the foreword. In the audio, it's read by Stefan Rudnicki (links to books he's narrated), one of my favorite narrators, who read Ender's Game and the other books in that series.

With that, back to reading (or listening)!

Drop a comment to let me know what you're reading or to chime in on these.

Middle-Grade Review: My Best Friend Runs Venus by Katrina S. Forest

My Best Friend Runs Venus
By Katrina S. Forest
Genre: Science Fiction
Age category: Middle Grade
Release Date: June 1, 2019


Description:
At 12.9 years old, number-obsessed Kade Walker has never heard of death. Literally. But neither has anyone else he knows. Kade is one of hundreds of kids "living" across the solar system through robotic avatars while their real bodies sleep in pods on Earth. Unfortunately, robot bodies can be hacked.

One day during an (innocent!) experiment, Kade unwittingly breaks a major security wall and releases an infamous hacker. The madwoman targets all the royal avatars, including Kade’s best friend, Princess Tamika of Venus.

If Kade and Tamika don’t want to become the hacker’s puppets, they’ve got to stop her fast--even if it means waking up on Earth to fight with bodies they never realized could be hurt.


My Review:
In My Best Friend Runs Venus, there’s a lovely blend of sci-fi, adventure and whimsy. The main characters are a couple of pre-teens who have been paired up as companions and sent to Venus via robotic avatars to run the planet. Their curiosity gets the better of them, and they activate a teleporter that releases a dangerous criminal who is intent on taking over their sims and destroying the status quo.

Had I read this as a kid, I think I would have loved it. As it is, I just really liked it, which isn’t all that different, really. I very much enjoyed the planet hopping, the banter between Kade and Tamika, the illustrations, and the imaginative technology that made everything possible: the flavor sticks, the teleporters, the avatars, the environmental overlays. And I thought the story was well executed and well organized. Just overall good!

Still, the idea of sending children to rule the planets of the solar system was interesting, but I couldn’t help but sense the unfairness of it all. The kids are essentially locked into sleep pods and expected to live out their lives as their avatars. The companions are basically the appointed best friend of each of the royals, and they aren’t even allowed to look human, that that seemed to bother Kade too much.

Through it all, I had questions. Did the parents go about their lives on the home world when not overseeing their children? Who else is on each of the planets? How are these children going to have families of their own and keep humanity going if they are living virtual lives? As an adult reader trying to understand the world, these kept me wondering. Would a young reader ask the same? I don’t know.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I would recommend it to younger readers who enjoy science fiction and adventures, particularly those who like imagining the possibilities of space colonization. Adults looking for a lighter read may also enjoy this, particularly if they enjoy middle-grade fiction.

I received the review copy of this book from the author via Lola’s Blog Tours.

About the Author:

Katrina S. Forest is a teacher by day, author by any-other-time-she-can-get. Her work has sold to a variety of magazines, ranging from Flash Fiction Online to Highlights to Children. She loves nerdy conventions and believes video games can be a force of creative good instead of evil.

You can find and contact Katrina S. Forest here:
- Website
- Facebook
- Twitter
- Goodreads
- Amazon

Katrina S. Forest's Top Ten Best Friends in Books: Tour Stop for My Best Friend Runs Venus

This is my stop during the blog tour for My Best Friend Runs Venus by Katrina S. Forest. This blog tour is organized by Lola's Blog Tours. The blog tour runs from 3 till 16 June. See the tour schedule here.

For my stop I'll be sharing a top ten list from the author!

Katrina's Top 10 Favorite Best Friends in Books

This is a tricky one! My tastes are pretty varied, so this list will probably end up looking like a hodgepodge of genres and age levels. There's a couple graphic novels that spring to mind, too, when I think of powerful friendships in fiction. I think my favorites actually aren't the ones where the characters get along great and everything is wonderful between them. I prefer friendships in which two characters struggle--where one or both of them genuinely messes up big time, and the other might struggle to offer forgiveness.
So, with that in mind, here's my list. In no particular order, of course: 

1. Kate Harker and August Flynn from This Savage Song/Our Dark Duet by Victoria Schwab 

2. Momoko Ryugasaki and Ichigo "Ichiko" Shirayuri from Kamikaze Girls by Novala Takemoto.

3. Miaka Yuki and Yui Hongo from Fushigi Yuugi by Yuu Watase

4. Milo and Tock from the Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster

5. Leo Pellissier and George Dumas from The Jane Yellowrock series by Faith Hunter

6. Prince Aleksandar and Deryn Sharp from the Leviathan series by Scott Westerfeld

7. Harry Potter and Ron Weasley from the Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling

8. Elijah Baley and R. Daneel Olivaw from the Robot series by Issac Asimov

9. Cece and Laura from El Deafo by Cece Bell

10. Marie and Lena from I Hadn't Meant to Tell You This by Jacqueline Woodson

Wow, great list, Katrina! And now for a look at Katrina's new book (and a giveaway).

My Best Friend Runs Venus
By Katrina S. Forest
Genre: Science Fiction
Age category: Middle Grade
Release Date: June 1, 2019

Description:
At 12.9 years old, number-obsessed Kade Walker has never heard of death. Literally. But neither has anyone else he knows. Kade is one of hundreds of kids "living" across the solar system through robotic avatars while their real bodies sleep in pods on Earth. Unfortunately, robot bodies can be hacked.

One day during an (innocent!) experiment, Kade unwittingly breaks a major security wall and releases an infamous hacker. The madwoman targets all the royal avatars, including Kade’s best friend, Princess Tamika of Venus.

If Kade and Tamika don’t want to become the hacker’s puppets, they’ve got to stop her fast--even if it means waking up on Earth to fight with bodies they never realized could be hurt.

You can find My Best Friend Runs Venus on Goodreads.

You can buy My Best Friend Runs Venus here.

Artwork
This book includes some artwork, check out a few of the illustrations that are included in the book below:

About the Author:
Katrina S. Forest is a teacher by day, author by any-other-time-she-can-get. Her work has sold to a variety of magazines, ranging from Flash Fiction Online to Highlights to Children. She loves nerdy conventions and believes video games can be a force of creative good instead of evil.

You can find and contact Katrina S. Forest here:
- Website
- Facebook
- Twitter
- Goodreads
- Amazon

Giveaway
There is a tour wide giveaway for the blog tour for My Best Friend Runs Venus. One winner will win a signed copy of My Best Friend Runs Venus along with a $25 Amazon gift card.

For a chance to win, enter the rafflecopter here:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Sci-Fi Review: Armada by Ernest Cline

Armada
by Ernest Cline

Description:
Zack Lightman has spent his life dreaming. Dreaming that the real world could be a little more like the countless science-fiction books, movies, and videogames he’s spent his life consuming. Dreaming that one day, some fantastic, world-altering event will shatter the monotony of his humdrum existence and whisk him off on some grand space-faring adventure.

But hey, there’s nothing wrong with a little escapism, right? After all, Zack tells himself, he knows the difference between fantasy and reality. He knows that here in the real world, aimless teenage gamers with anger issues don’t get chosen to save the universe.

And then he sees the flying saucer.

Even stranger, the alien ship he’s staring at is straight out of the videogame he plays every night, a hugely popular online flight simulator called Armada—in which gamers just happen to be protecting the earth from alien invaders.

No, Zack hasn’t lost his mind. As impossible as it seems, what he’s seeing is all too real. And his skills—as well as those of millions of gamers across the world—are going to be needed to save the earth from what’s about to befall it.

It’s Zack’s chance, at last, to play the hero. But even through the terror and exhilaration, he can’t help thinking back to all those science-fiction stories he grew up with, and wondering: Doesn’t something about this scenario seem a little…familiar?

At once gleefully embracing and brilliantly subverting science-fiction conventions as only Ernest Cline could, Armada is a rollicking, surprising thriller, a classic coming of age adventure, and an alien invasion tale like nothing you’ve ever read before—one whose every page is infused with the pop-culture savvy that has helped make Ready Player One a phenomenon.


My Review:
As with others who've read this one after absolutely loving Ready Player One, I must say this one is a step down. It feels rushed or under edited in places (not full of errors, but not as polished as I was hoping).

I did like the premise of Armada. The main character sees a spaceship from a game he's been playing, then finds out the game is based on real life. And then, in a nod to The Last Starfighter, he's recruited to battle against the unstoppable enemy. As with Ready Player One, there are a lot of these nods, but they don't as easily fit into this story as they did in that one.

I also thought some of the connections between the characters and the ease of some of the reunions were a bit too easy to be believable. I read the bit from the author at the end and it seems to imply this might become a movie. I think it might translate well to the screen, and perhaps that intent is why the book doesn't dive as deep as it could, only enough to prove the concept for the movie makers.

Overall, I enjoyed the story, but it isn't the amaze-fest I experienced upon reading Ready Player One for the first time. Fans of the 80s, and of video gamers using their skills to save humanity in particular, might enjoy this, but they shouldn't try to measure it with the same stick they used for Ready Player One lest they be disappointed.

I borrowed the audiobook from the library.


About the Author:

ERNEST CLINE is a novelist, screenwriter, father, and full-time geek. His first novel, Ready Player One, was a New York Times and USA Today bestseller, appeared on numerous “best of the year” lists, and is set to be adapted into a motion picture by Warner Bros. and director Steven Spielberg. His second novel, ARMADA, debuted at #4 on the NYT Bestseller list and is being made into a film by Universal Pictures. Ernie lives in Austin, Texas, with his family, a time-traveling DeLorean, and a large collection of classic video games.

http://www.ernestcline.com 

 Twitter@erniecline 

 Goodreads

YA Review: Love is the Drug by Alaya Dawn Johnson

Love Is the Drug
by Alaya Dawn Johnson

Description:
Emily Bird was raised not to ask questions. She has perfect hair, the perfect boyfriend, and a perfect Ivy-League future. But a chance meeting with Roosevelt David, a homeland security agent, at a party for Washington DC's elite leads to Bird waking up in a hospital, days later, with no memory of the end of the night.

Meanwhile, the world has fallen apart: A deadly flu virus is sweeping the nation, forcing quarantines, curfews, even martial law. And Roosevelt is certain that Bird knows something. Something about the virus--something about her parents' top secret scientific work--something she shouldn't know.

The only one Bird can trust is Coffee, a quiet, outsider genius who deals drugs to their classmates and is a firm believer in conspiracy theories. And he believes in Bird. But as Bird and Coffee dig deeper into what really happened that night, Bird finds that she might know more than she remembers. And what she knows could unleash the biggest government scandal in US history.

My Review:
Love is the Drug is an amazing and beautiful book. Heartbreaking, chilling, and as real as fiction can get.

There are tones of thriller, science fiction, and young adult romance with some heavy themes adding a greater depth than most young adult fiction. I particularly enjoyed how Bird grows from who her mother wants her to be into who she really is.

I borrowed this audiobook from the library. I found the narrator's voice smooth and beautiful, and she performs this story flawlessly.

Strongly recommended.


About theAuthor:

Alaya (pronounced ah-lie-ah) lives, writes, cooks and (perhaps most importantly) eats in New York City. Her literary loves are all forms of speculative fiction, historical fiction, and the occasional highbrow novel. Her culinary loves are all kinds of ethnic food, particularly South Indian, which she feels must be close to ambrosia. She graduated from Columbia University in 2004 with a BA in East Asian Languages and Cultures, and has lived and traveled extensively in Japan.

Author Links:

Goodreads  |  Author's Page  |  Amazon

More Books by this Author:

  

Hard Sci-Fi Review: Saturn Run by John Sandford and Ctein

Saturn Run
by John Sandford,  Ctein

Description:
The year is 2066. A Caltech intern inadvertently notices an anomaly from a space telescope—something is approaching Saturn, and decelerating. Space objects don’t decelerate. Spaceships do.

A flurry of top-level government meetings produces the inescapable conclusion: Whatever built that ship is at least one hundred years ahead in hard and soft technology, and whoever can get their hands on it exclusively and bring it back will have an advantage so large, no other nation can compete. A conclusion the Chinese definitely agree with when they find out.

The race is on, and an remarkable adventure begins—an epic tale of courage, treachery, resourcefulness, secrets, surprises, and astonishing human and technological discovery, as the members of a hastily thrown-together crew find their strength and wits tested against adversaries both of this earth and beyond. What happens is nothing like you expect—and everything you could want from one of the world’s greatest masters of suspense.


My Review:
Great hard fiction. After the story, there is a rundown of how they did their calculations for the space travel and relative positions of the two spacecraft. It was fascinating.

Folks who like the writing style of Orson Scott Card (Ender's Game) sci-fi would likely enjoy this. It reminds me of how the Formic Wars story plays out. Not the same story, but the slow action, the focus on the science, and the brought to life personalities of the main players.

I borrowed the audiobook from the library.


About the Authors:

John Sandford was born John Camp on February 23, 1944, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He attended the public schools in Cedar Rapids, graduating from Washington High School in 1962. He then spent four years at the University of Iowa, graduating with a bachelor's degree in American Studies in 1966. In 1966, he married Susan Lee Jones of Cedar Rapids, a fellow student at the University of Iowa. He was in the U.S. Army from 1966-68, worked as a reporter for the Cape Girardeau Southeast Missourian from 1968-1970, and went back to the University of Iowa from 1970-1971, where he received a master's degree in journalism. He was a reporter for The Miami Herald from 1971-78, and then a reporter for the St. Paul Pioneer-Press from 1978-1990; in 1980, he was a finalist for a Pulitzer Prize, and he won the Pulitzer in 1986 for a series of stories about a midwestern farm crisis. From 1990 to the present he has written thriller novels. He's also the author of two non-fiction books, one on plastic surgery and one on art. He is the principal financial backer of a major archaeological project in the Jordan Valley of Israel, with a website at www.rehov.org. In addition to archaeology, he is deeply interested in art (painting) and photography. He both hunts and fishes. He has two children, Roswell and Emily, and one grandson, Benjamin. His wife, Susan, died of metastasized breast cancer in May, 2007, and is greatly missed.

Goodreads  |  Website  |  Amazon

---

As for Ctein, all I found was this image on his Amazon page.

Sci-Fi Review: Area X: The Southern Reach Trilogy: Annihilation; Authority; Acceptance by Jeff VanderMeer

Area X: The Southern Reach Trilogy: Annihilation; Authority; Acceptance

by Jeff VanderMeer

Description:

Annihilation is the first volume in Jeff VanderMeer's Southern Reach trilogy, Authority is the second, and Acceptance is the third.

Area X-a remote and lush terrain-has been cut off from the rest of the continent for decades. Nature has reclaimed the last vestiges of human civilization. The first expedition returned with reports of a pristine, Edenic landscape; all the members of the second expedition committed suicide; the third expedition died in a hail of gunfire as its members turned on one another; the members of the eleventh expedition returned as shadows of their former selves, and within months of their return, all had died of aggressive cancer.

This is the twelfth expedition.

Their group is made up of four women: an anthropologist; a surveyor; a psychologist, the de facto leader; and our narrator, a biologist. Their mission is to map the terrain and collect specimens; to record all their observations, scientific and otherwise, of their surroundings and of one another; and, above all, to avoid being contaminated by Area X itself.

They arrive expecting the unexpected, and Area X delivers-they discover a massive topographic anomaly and life forms that surpass understanding-but it's the surprises that came across the border with them, and the secrets the expedition members are keeping from one another, that change everything.

After the disastrous twelfth expedition chronicled in Annihilation, the Southern Reach-the secret agency that monitors these expeditions-is in disarray. In Authority, John Rodriguez, aka "Control," is the team's newly appointed head. From a series of interrogations, a cache of hidden notes, and hours of profoundly troubling video footage, the secrets of Area X begin to reveal themselves-and what they expose pushes Control to confront disturbing truths about both himself and the agency he's promised to serve. And the consequences will spread much further than that.

It is winter in Area X in Acceptance. A new team embarks across the border on a mission to find a member of a previous expedition who may have been left behind. As they press deeper into the unknown-navigating new terrain and new challenges-the threat to the outside world becomes more daunting. The mysteries of Area X may have been solved, but their consequences and implications are no less profound-or terrifying.

My Review:

Ultra-creepy. 

This is not a book you would want to read if you want to feel good or encounter a happy ending. It is the book for you if you want to be left thinking, to experience the ultra-weirdness of an invader that may destroy the world, but heal it in the process, or to unravel a mystery through the eyes of those who may or may not solve it. 

I very much enjoyed this, perhaps even loved it, but I feel this book is probably easier to take as an audiobook. I might have had trouble getting through it in print, especially at first. Still, fans of hard science fiction, thrillers, and mysteries might find this a fascinating but terrifying read. The build is slow, but the dread it brews by the end is almost palpable.

If you're wondering, the movie Annihilation is based on this trilogy and takes its name from the first of the books. That movie, however, took some liberties to deliver a happy-ish ending, though those glowing eyes as the Biologist and her hubby embrace certainly promise something dire.

About the Author:

Called "the weird Thoreau" by the New Yorker, NYT bestseller Jeff VanderMeer has been a published writer since age 14. His most recent fiction is the critically acclaimed novel BORNE, which has received raves from the NYTBR, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, and many more. Paramount Pictures has optioned BORNE for film.

VanderMeer's Southern Reach trilogy was one of the publishing events of 2014, the trilogy made more than thirty year's best lists, including Entertainment Weekly's top 10. Paramount Pictures has made a movie out of the first volume of the Southern Reach, Annihilation, slated for release in 2018 and starring Tessa Thompson, Oscar Isaac, Gina Rodriguez, Natalie Portman, and Jennifer Jason Leigh.

His nonfiction appears in the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, the Guardian, and the Atlantic.com. VanderMeer also wrote the world's first fully illustrated creative-writing guide, Wonderbook. With his wife, Ann VanderMeer, he has edited may iconic anthologies. He lives in Tallahassee, Florida, with two wonderful cats. His hobbies include hiking, reading, and bird watching.

Author Links:

Website  |  Amazon  |  Goodreads

Classic Review: Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut

Slaughterhouse-Five
by Kurt Vonnegut


Description:
Selected by the Modern Library as one of the 100 best novels of all time, Slaughterhouse-Five, an American classic, is one of the world's great antiwar books. Centering on the infamous firebombing of Dresden, Billy Pilgrim's odyssey through time reflects the mythic journey of our own fractured lives as we search for meaning in what we fear most.


My Review:
Just a fantastic book, but also convoluted, lyrical, and thought-provoking.

I very much enjoyed this story, and I think I'll be quoting "so it goes" long into the future. It's rather dark, but there's a message of never ending, a comfort, that Billy Pilgrim's journeys through time and the resulting mantra convey. And added to that, I'd never heard of Dresden before listening to this book. Scary stuff, and heartbreaking.

Despite it being fiction, the real experiences the author draws from are historically accurate, and to be honest, I wouldn't have read a non-fiction book on the subject, but add in time travel and aliens and I'm all in, so there's that.

Overall, strongly recommended to folks who enjoy time travel books, with some off color bits and dark humor.

I borrowed the audiobook of this from library.


About the Author:

Kurt Vonnegut was born in Indianapolis in 1922. He studied at the universities of Chicago and Tennessee and later began to write short stories for magazines.

During the Second World War he was held prisoner in Germany and was present at the bombing of Dresden, an experience which provided the setting for his most famous work to date, Slaughterhouse Five (1969).

Visit his Amazon page for a more thorough rundown of his works and his Goodreads page for more about his interesting history. 

Amazon  |  Goodreads  |  Website

YA Sci Fi Review: Across the Universe (Across the Universe #1) by Beth Revis

Across the Universe (Across the Universe #1)
by Beth Revis


Description:
A love out of time. A spaceship built of secrets and murder.

Seventeen-year-old Amy joins her parents as frozen cargo aboard the vast spaceship Godspeed and expects to awaken on a new planet, three hundred years in the future. Never could she have known that her frozen slumber would come to an end fifty years too soon and that she would be thrust into the brave new world of a spaceship that lives by its own rules.

Amy quickly realizes that her awakening was no mere computer malfunction. Someone—one of the few thousand inhabitants of the spaceship —tried to kill her. And if Amy doesn't do something soon, her parents will be next.

Now Amy must race to unlock Godspeed's hidden secrets. But out of her list of murder suspects, there's only one who matters: Elder, the future leader of the ship and the love she could never have seen coming.


My Review:
I picked this little gem up from the library a short time ago, and I must say, it’s fantastic!
Based on the 10k plus number of reviews on Goodreads, I feel that I may be joining the fandom a bit late, but better late than never!

I very much enjoyed the young romance paired with the sci fi and the sociopolitical themes. The author nails it, both on the scientific believability and the emotional investment I felt as the book progressed. I’m almost afraid to pick up the second one, but I probably will.

The audio was great, but I think this one would read well, too.

Overall, highly recommended. There’s a lot of depth to this.


About the Author:

Beth Revis is a NY Times bestselling author with books available in more than 20 languages. Her works include young adult science fiction and fantasy titles, as well as nonfiction books on writing and publishing. A native of North Carolina, Beth is currently working on a new novel for teens. She lives in rural NC with her boys: one husband, one son, and two massive dogs.

Follow her on Twitter or Instagram at @bethrevis, or on Facebook at fb.com/authorbethrevis.

Amazon  |  Goodreads  |  Twitter  |  Website

Sci Fi Review: Earth Awakens (The First Formic War #3) by Orson Scott Card, Aaron Johnston

Earth Awakens (The First Formic War #3)
by Orson Scott Card, Aaron Johnston


Description:
The story of The First Formic War continues in Earth Awakens.

Nearly 100 years before the events of Orson Scott Card's bestselling novel Ender's Game, humans were just beginning to step off Earth and out into the Solar System. A thin web of ships in both asteroid belts; a few stations; a corporate settlement on Luna. No one had seen any sign of other space-faring races; everyone expected that First Contact, if it came, would happen in the future, in the empty reaches between the stars. Then a young navigator on a distant mining ship saw something moving too fast, heading directly for our sun.

When the alien ship screamed through the solar system, it disrupted communications between the far-flung human mining ships and supply stations, and between them and Earth. So Earth and Luna were unaware that they had been invaded until the ship pulled into Earth orbit, and began landing terra-forming crews in China. Politics and pride slowed the response on Earth, and on Luna, corporate power struggles seemed more urgent than distant deaths. But there are a few men and women who see that if Earth doesn't wake up and pull together, the planet could be lost.


My Review:
Exciting and politically charged conclusion to The First Formic War.

Ok, what I liked most in this were the thrills and the acts of heroism in the face of impossible odds. Then add in the excellent narration, consistent with the first two books, and the believable characters. I even found a soft spot for Lem in this, though it was hard earned.

This book wraps up the war in a satisfying way, but sets up for a trilogy that does not yet exist, as far as I can tell. I must say, I will be thrilled when it does.

Overall, excellent book, but it does have its fair share of politics, some of which might pique at a reader’s sense of fairness, in a not so pleasant way.

Anyhow, I seriously did not want this to end, even as I was rooting for the home team. Highly recommended for fans of Orson Scott Card and especially his Ender’s Saga.

I borrowed the audiobook from the library.


About Orson Scott Card:


Orson Scott Card

Orson Scott Card is the author of the novels Ender's Game, Ender's Shadow, and Speaker for the Dead, which are widely read by adults and younger readers, and are increasingly used in schools.
Besides these and other science fiction novels, Card writes contemporary fantasy (Magic Street, Enchantment, Lost Boys), biblical novels (Stone Tables, Rachel and Leah), the American frontier fantasy series The Tales of Alvin Maker (beginning with Seventh Son), poetry (An Open Book), and many plays and scripts.

Card was born in Washington and grew up in California, Arizona, and Utah. He served a mission for the LDS Church in Brazil in the early 1970s. Besides his writing, he teaches occasional classes and workshops and directs plays. He recently began a longterm position as a professor of writing and literature at Southern Virginia University.

Card currently lives in Greensboro, North Carolina, with his wife, Kristine Allen Card, and their youngest child, Zina Margaret.

Orson Scott Card Author Links:
www.hatrack.com
Twitter@orsonscottcard
Goodreads


About Aaron Johnston:


Aaron Johnston

Aaron Johnston is a New York Times bestselling author, comics writer, and film producer. He cowrote the novels Invasive Procedures, Earth Unaware, Earth Afire, Earth Awakens, and the other forthcoming Formic Wars novels with science-fiction legend Orson Scott Card.
He was also an associate producer on the movie Ender’s Game, wherein he makes a cameo appearance as an officer of the International Fleet. Blink and you’ll miss him.
Aaron’s comic credits include Ender in Exile, Speaker for the Dead, Formic Wars, League War, and Mazer in Prison, all for Marvel. His screenplay adaptations include Alvin Maker, Sarah: Woman of Genesis, The Multiple Man, Feed the Baby of Love, and others. His play Lifeloop, an adaptation of Orson Scott Card’s short story, was featured at Western Illinois University. A longtime stage improviser, Aaron is a former member of LA’s Improv Factory, Santa Clarita Improv, and the Garrens Comedy Troupe. He and his wife are the parents of four children.

Aaron Johnston Author Links:
http://www.aaronwjohnston.com/
http://www.twitter.com/AaronWJohnston
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/55830.Aaron_Johnston

Sci Fi/Fantasy Review: First Contact (Heroes for Hire #2) by C.S. Feldman

First Contact (Heroes for Hire #2)
by C.S. Feldman

Description:
Her first—and quite accidental—foray into the field of heroics brought plucky St. Louis waitress Peg Brickner more than one narrow escape from danger and doom in the magical land of Cantrial. But hey, the first Hero’s Quest is always the roughest, right? Right.

Unless maybe the next one involves airlocks that can suck people into the vacuum of outer space, warring alien races that are vying for political control of a planet, ruthless kidnappers, a ticking clock, and the ever-present risk of—God forbid—alien probings. And that’s before what was just supposed to be a simple ransom drop implodes.

Suddenly it’s up to Peg to come up with Plan B before a snatched comrade disappears forever, an alien client’s hapless offspring meet a grisly fate, or all-out war takes over the planet.

And all before her oxygen runs out.

Sure. What could possibly go wrong?


My Review:
Ah, so there IS a sci-fi element to these. First Contact brings us back to the misfit team of heroes (and the thief that keeps showing up at their gigs) introduced in discount prices. This time, the team is on a rescue mission.

If I had any doubt this series crosses between sci fi and fantasy, this installment puts it to rest. Aliens, carnivorous plants, and tech abound. There's a certain blend of whimsy, humor, and adventure that just works. If I had to describe it in one word, that word would be delightful.

I also very much enjoyed the descriptions of the various aliens and the natural way they interact with each other and their surroundings. I found it easy to imagine, though sometimes the imagined images were rather, um, weird, and slimy.

Overall, I loved this story, and am looking forward to more Heroes for Hire. Can't wait to see what they get up to in the next one. I'd recommend this to fans of fantasy and sci-fi, humor, and adventure.

I purchased my copy of this book.


About the Author:

C. S. Feldman loves all things fantasy related and writes both novels and screenplays. Stop by and say hi on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/AuthorCSFeldman or visit her at www.csfeldman.com.

Sci Fi Review: Earth Afire (The First Formic War #2) by Orson Scott Card, Aaron Johnston

Earth Afire (The First Formic War #2)
by Orson Scott Card, Aaron Johnston


Description:
One hundred years before Ender's Game the aliens arrived on Earth with fire and death. This is the story of the First Formic War. Victor beat the alien ship to Earth, but just barely. But it wasn't enough to convince skeptical governments that there was a threat.


My Review:
Good golly, this is quite a read! I was so emotionally invested in these characters.

I felt Victor’s frustration and hopelessness. Bing Wen (please excuse the spelling, that’s what I got from the audiobook) and Mazer Rackham are fantastic. I very much enjoyed the flashes between Earth, the Moon and the Belt. The characters are easy to get drawn into, even Lem, who’s a piece of work.

I highly recommend this to fans of sci fi, particularly fans of Orson Scott Card’s Ender’s Saga.

I borrowed the audiobook from the library. Excellent continuity in narration from the first book, same actors. Each perspective has its voice, which definitely helps in a book that follows several stories on a greater stage.


About Orson Scott Card:


Orson Scott Card

Orson Scott Card is the author of the novels Ender's Game, Ender's Shadow, and Speaker for the Dead, which are widely read by adults and younger readers, and are increasingly used in schools.
Besides these and other science fiction novels, Card writes contemporary fantasy (Magic Street, Enchantment, Lost Boys), biblical novels (Stone Tables, Rachel and Leah), the American frontier fantasy series The Tales of Alvin Maker (beginning with Seventh Son), poetry (An Open Book), and many plays and scripts.

Card was born in Washington and grew up in California, Arizona, and Utah. He served a mission for the LDS Church in Brazil in the early 1970s. Besides his writing, he teaches occasional classes and workshops and directs plays. He recently began a longterm position as a professor of writing and literature at Southern Virginia University.

Card currently lives in Greensboro, North Carolina, with his wife, Kristine Allen Card, and their youngest child, Zina Margaret.

Orson Scott Card Author Links:
www.hatrack.com
Twitter@orsonscottcard
Goodreads


About Aaron Johnston:


Aaron Johnston

Aaron Johnston is a New York Times bestselling author, comics writer, and film producer. He cowrote the novels Invasive Procedures, Earth Unaware, Earth Afire, Earth Awakens, and the other forthcoming Formic Wars novels with science-fiction legend Orson Scott Card.
He was also an associate producer on the movie Ender’s Game, wherein he makes a cameo appearance as an officer of the International Fleet. Blink and you’ll miss him.
Aaron’s comic credits include Ender in Exile, Speaker for the Dead, Formic Wars, League War, and Mazer in Prison, all for Marvel. His screenplay adaptations include Alvin Maker, Sarah: Woman of Genesis, The Multiple Man, Feed the Baby of Love, and others. His play Lifeloop, an adaptation of Orson Scott Card’s short story, was featured at Western Illinois University. A longtime stage improviser, Aaron is a former member of LA’s Improv Factory, Santa Clarita Improv, and the Garrens Comedy Troupe. He and his wife are the parents of four children.

Aaron Johnston Author Links:
http://www.aaronwjohnston.com/
http://www.twitter.com/AaronWJohnston
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/55830.Aaron_Johnston

Sci Fi/Fantasy Review: Discount Prices (Heroes for Hire #1) by C.S. Feldman

Discount Prices (Heroes for Hire #1)
by C.S. Feldman


Description:
Sure, everybody knows about the great heroes of legend. The ones people write songs about, the ones who lead the charge against the monsters that lay waste to cities or against an army of invaders that outnumber the good guys twenty to one—you know, the best heroes that money can buy. Trouble is, not everyone can afford their services.

Fortunately, the best heroes are not the only ones on the market.

Which is just what harried waitress Peg Brickner accidentally discovers after receiving an unusual—and, as it turns out, otherworldly—tip from a peculiar customer in the middle of one rotten dinner shift. Life on Earth is hard enough, but life in the magical world of Cantrial? Forget about it. Five minutes after being unsuspectingly yanked into it by an unscrupulous B-List talent scout for heroes, all Peg wants to do is get back home again before something in this crazy new world kills her or eats her with ketchup. Or both.

Trouble is, getting home may be a lot harder than leaving it was. Thanks to a bunch of greedy bureaucrats, Peg’s way home is about to be destroyed—unless she reluctantly joins a trio of magical misfits on a high-stakes heroes-for-hire mission in an attempt to recover stolen property before their rivals—or a roguishly charming thief—beat them to it.

She knew she should have called in sick today…


My Review:
They are literally heroes for hire, and when you meet the team, you understand why discount prices are necessary.

First off, I love the heroes. Every single one of the heroes has something seriously wrong with them. For example, the very best hero is a dog. That in itself is funny, but the author doesn't just leave it at the surface. This used to be a person, a real hero, and he's dealing with this every day, trying to be what he once was and trying to make something of the ridiculous team he's been given. That's one of the things I enjoyed, that these characters have depth, even when they are funny.

I'm not going into all of the characters, though, because meeting them in the book is preferred. I will say that the adventure they go on is rather exciting, especially through the eyes of the heroine, who is new to the whole adventuring thing and would rather be anywhere else doing anything else.

Overall, I really enjoyed this story. I'd recommend it to folks who enjoy fantasy and sci-fi. This one sort of blends the two, though it is heavier on the fantasy.

I purchased my copy of this book.


About the Author:

C. S. Feldman loves all things fantasy related and writes both novels and screenplays. Stop by and say hi on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/AuthorCSFeldman or visit her at www.csfeldman.com.

Sci Fi Thriller Review: Punishment (Detective Barnes #1) by Scott J. Holliday

Punishment (Detective Barnes #1)
by Scott J. Holliday


Description:
Do you want to know what it’s like to die, to kill, to really fear for your life? Then get hooked…

Detroit-based homicide detective John Barnes has seen it all—literally. Thanks to a technologically advanced machine, detectives have access to the memories of the living, the dying, and the recently dead. But extracting victims’ experiences firsthand and personally reliving everything up to the final, brutal moments of their lives—the sights, the sounds, the scents, the pain—is also the punishment reserved for the criminals themselves.

Barnes has had enough. Enough of the memories that aren’t his. Enough of the horror. Enough of the voices inside his head that were never meant to take root…until a masked serial killer known as Calavera strikes a little too close to home.

Now, with Calavera on the loose, Barnes is ready to reconnect, risking his life—and his sanity. Because in the mind of this serial killer, there is one secret even Barnes has yet to see…


My Review:
Science Fiction meets thriller in this thrilling book by Scott J. Holliday.

What I loved about this book was the blend of science fiction and contemporary thriller. It has the best of both, in my opinion. Detective Barnes struggles with his addiction to the technology that allows him to experience the final moments of a victim’s life, a technology that can be used for pleasant memories, but also for punishment.

I can tell you, this one isn’t easy to guess, which is tops in my book. The mystery is solid, the danger is visceral, and the connection between Detective Barnes, the victims, and even the killer are intimate and gut wrenching.

I very highly recommend this book to folks who are into thrillers but are looking for something a bit different.

I purchased my copy of this book.


About the Author:

Scott J. Holliday was born and raised in Detroit. In addition to a lifelong love of books and reading, he's pursued a range of curiosities and interests, including glassblowing, boxing, and much more. His two previous novels are Stonefly and Normal, the latter of which earned him recognition in INKUBATE.com's Literary Blockbuster Challenge. He loves to cook and create stories for his wife and two daughters.


Author Links:
http://www.scottjholliday.com
Amazon
Twitter@hollidayauthor
Goodreads

Sci Fi Review: Earth Unaware (The First Formic War #1) by Orson Scott Card, Aaron Johnston

Earth Unaware (The First Formic War #1)
by Orson Scott Card, Aaron Johnston


Description:
The mining ship El Cavador is far out from Earth, in the deeps of the Kuiper Belt, beyond Pluto. Other mining ships, and the families that live on them, are few and far between this far out. So when El Cavador's telescopes pick up a fast-moving object coming in-system, it's hard to know what to make of it. It's massive and moving at a significant fraction of the speed of light.

El Cavador has other problems. Their systems are old and failing. The family is getting too big for the ship. There are claim-jumping corporate ships bringing Asteroid Belt tactics to the Kuiper Belt. Worrying about a distant object that might or might not be an alien ship seems not important.

They're wrong. It's the most important thing that has happened to the human race in a million years. The first Formic War is about to begin.


My Review:
I cannot tell you enough how much I enjoyed this book.

This story takes us back to the first contact with the buggers from Ender’s World. Starting off a bit slow in belt politics, it gets real interesting, real fast.

I do have to say, I went back to Ender’s Game after reading this trilogy. There is a bit of a disconnect between the history there and here: how the buggers are discovered, to be specific. So, my advice is to enjoy this for what it is. Yes, it’s different, but I feel that this trilogy stands well enough on its own, as do the Ender stories.

Overall, I highly recommend this book and the other two in the trilogy. I listened to the audiobooks, and the narrators nailed it.

I borrowed the audiobook from the library.


About Orson Scott Card:


Orson Scott Card

Orson Scott Card is the author of the novels Ender's Game, Ender's Shadow, and Speaker for the Dead, which are widely read by adults and younger readers, and are increasingly used in schools.
Besides these and other science fiction novels, Card writes contemporary fantasy (Magic Street, Enchantment, Lost Boys), biblical novels (Stone Tables, Rachel and Leah), the American frontier fantasy series The Tales of Alvin Maker (beginning with Seventh Son), poetry (An Open Book), and many plays and scripts.

Card was born in Washington and grew up in California, Arizona, and Utah. He served a mission for the LDS Church in Brazil in the early 1970s. Besides his writing, he teaches occasional classes and workshops and directs plays. He recently began a longterm position as a professor of writing and literature at Southern Virginia University.

Card currently lives in Greensboro, North Carolina, with his wife, Kristine Allen Card, and their youngest child, Zina Margaret.

Orson Scott Card Author Links:
www.hatrack.com
Twitter@orsonscottcard
Goodreads


About Aaron Johnston:


Aaron Johnston

Aaron Johnston is a New York Times bestselling author, comics writer, and film producer. He cowrote the novels Invasive Procedures, Earth Unaware, Earth Afire, Earth Awakens, and the other forthcoming Formic Wars novels with science-fiction legend Orson Scott Card.
He was also an associate producer on the movie Ender’s Game, wherein he makes a cameo appearance as an officer of the International Fleet. Blink and you’ll miss him.
Aaron’s comic credits include Ender in Exile, Speaker for the Dead, Formic Wars, League War, and Mazer in Prison, all for Marvel. His screenplay adaptations include Alvin Maker, Sarah: Woman of Genesis, The Multiple Man, Feed the Baby of Love, and others. His play Lifeloop, an adaptation of Orson Scott Card’s short story, was featured at Western Illinois University. A longtime stage improviser, Aaron is a former member of LA’s Improv Factory, Santa Clarita Improv, and the Garrens Comedy Troupe. He and his wife are the parents of four children.

Aaron Johnston Author Links:
www.aaronwjohnston.com
Twitter@AaronWJohnston
Goodreads