Book Reviews

Gathering of the Four: Book One of the Serrulata Saga

One peasant woman will be the catalyst for a revolution.
“In the Realm, every citizen knows their place.”
Leora of Mae is a young woman orphaned at birth and raised on a remote farm. As a wielder of Xanthcraft, her abilities set her apart from her adoptive family and the other villagers.
Shortly before her twentieth birthday, she learns of her family’s plot to sell her into servitude. Fearing for her life, she flees from the only home she’s ever known—defying societal conventions and breaking the edicts of the Realm.
As she runs, Leora meets Roland Shallowbrook, a traveler on the Thieves’ Road; Lady Aurora Verte, daughter of a powerful member of the gentry; and the White Rider Leopold, a soldier with a secret.
Together, this found family will have to band together to survive.

Book Reviews

Cuckoo Cuckoo

The darkest secrets never stay buried forever.
Charles Abernathy Vanderough has been dead for nineteen years. But when his clone shows up on the doorstep of the old Vanderough estate, a family is forced to confront their troubled past and face their darkest secrets.
Cuckoo Cuckoo is the story of Charlie B, a penniless clone and conman, who goes in search of the family fortune, only to find deception and tragedy at every turn. Set against the backdrop of the 2016 presidential primary, the proliferation of gun violence in America, and the apotheosis of selfie culture, Cuckoo Cuckoo reminds us that nobody can outrun their demons in an increasingly technological world.

Book Reviews

Spectacular Silver Earthling

Hubcap used to be a rescue bot, getting humans out of every boneheaded scrape imaginable. His new career as a TV star suits him better: he can poke fun at the humans instead, while harvesting jetpods and tackling alien predators faster than any of them. It doesn’t hurt that he’s also immune to the mysterious “space frenzy” that keeps sending his coworkers into a froth. The robot worries for his human friends, though he would never admit it. Not when it’s much more fun to deploy weapons-grade sass.
The pressure ratchets up when a rival show aims to steal their sponsor. Hubcap has to film his most spectacular footage yet, while avoiding dangerous wildlife, plantlife, and emotions. But if anyone is up to the task, it’s the robot with skills second to none, and an ego to match.

Book Reviews

Behind Blue Eyes

They are the perfect hybrid of human and machine.
They are the next step in the evolution of mankind.
And when they come after you, nothing in the world will save you.
Welcome to the year 2095. Society has overcome everything that made life miserable. It has become a utopia—so perfect that it needs killer cyborgs to hunt down anyone who disagrees with it.
Nephilim isn’t just any elite death squad member, she is the best. Genetically and cybernetically enhanced, she and others like her strike terror wherever they go. Knowing nothing besides this lifestyle, Nephilim believes she is part of a righteous cause. But everything changes for her after a hostile EMP attack. She suffers a severe system glitch. Disconnected from the grid, for the first time in her life, she begins doubting the system.
Shortly after the attack, she meets Jake. He is a 100% biological human, and she falls in love with him. Jake helps her believe that everything she had believed in was a lie. But there is no walking away from the system. And soon, Nephilim finds herself hunted by members of her own death squad.
In an era of deception, who can she trust? And in this brave new world, is there a place for love between a human and a cyborg?
Behind Blue Eyes is a fast-paced, cinematic action story in a dystopian setting. It’s a modern-day version of 1984—on steroids.

Book Reviews

Academy Bound

To dream you must have faith. To command requires conviction. To fail is not an option.
Sixteen-year-old Zach Aurelian has held the same dream since he was eight years old—to attend the Earth Alliance Fleet Academy and train to become a command officer like his mother, who went missing in the system-wide civil war that fractured the Alliance. He believes in his soul that she’s still alive, and is determined to reach the stars to find her, no matter the challenge. Zach soon learns that not only will he face down his anxiety disorder and the rigors of the Academy, but the ghosts of his mother’s past who would stand in his way.