The Wrong Stuff , K'Barthan Trilogy Part 2 by M. T. McGuire

Having already read the first book in the trilogy, Few are Chosen, I was interested to see what the Pan of Hamgee would be up to next. In this book he kicks off by rescuing the Chosen One, Ruth and whisking her away to safety. She's not particularly impressed though, especially when he then leaves her on top of a high rise building and within the grasp of Lord Vernon.  This book really progresses the story of the mysterious Candidate and their Chosen One, who will potentially save K'Barth from the governance of Lord Vernon. While looking for a safe refuge from Lord Vernon, and the Police who are keen to question them, they find help from the resistance but still have a lot of frustratingly unanswered questions. By the end the future of K'Barth hangs in the balance and the Pan still has more to go through before he has any chance of a happy ending.

While there is a lot of action and drama throughout the book, with car chases, plotting and murder, there is plenty of development of the characters. We aren't flooded with a large number of new characters, instead the author allows us to become better acquainted with those who were introduced in the first book. The Pan is as appealing as ever, so self-deprecating but well meaning. There is a definite Will they Won't they scenario with him and Ruth, with circumstances constantly getting in their way. Swamp Thing Big Merv was the revelation for me, going from the sort of gangland boss who dispatches victims to the bottom of deep rivers with concrete boots to secret softie. 

I'm not a big fantasy or sci-fi reader, partly because I find some authors' creations very off-putting, but the different species we are introduced to in the series are all very familiar but with a twist. It makes it easy to visualise the weird and wonderful characters we're introduced to. Swamp Thing Big Merv once disguised with a hat sounds not dissimilar to a member of the cast of TOWIE (ie he looks like he has a bad fake tan) and other than his flamboyant dress sense the Pan isn't immediately out of place on the streets of London. Another reason I've really enjoyed this series is because it is a bit tongue in cheek with plenty of puns thrown in. This is in the same vein as the likes of Grant Naylor's Red Dwarf series, and as that is one of my favourites it's probably no surprise this hits the mark with me. 

I found it interesting when I re-read my review of the first book that I mentioned I thought it was good for a YA audience but had enjoyed it myself, as this book didn't feel YA at all. Not because of any amount of bad language, sex or graphic violence, it just felt like a fantasy book with a comic bent. I'll be looking out for Book 3.

Format: Kindle, review copy
My Rating: 4*

Liquid Fear by Scott Nicholson

When Roland wakes up in a motel with two identities (according to the contents of his wallet) and a dead woman in the bathroom, he wracks his brain to remember what has happened. The vial of pills labelled "Take one every 4 hours or else" clouds the picture further. Porn actress Anita has the same tablets and an encounter of her own that gets the heart racing. When they are reunited with the other survivors of an unauthorised drug trial the battle is on. They all want to take control of the pills that are helping keep them sane and stop them remembering what happened ten years earlier.


I have read other books by the author in the past and enjoyed them so was looking forward to getting into this. The premise sounded interesting, a botched drug trial that had left a group of people on the edge and despite this the interest of certain parties in developing the drug for military application. It sounded feasible enough to be scary, particularly in the hands of Mr Nicholson.


However I finished it feeling a bit apathetic about the whole thing. The point of view kept switching between a number of characters and I didn't feel like I knew much about any of them. The female characters felt slightly more fleshed out but only because there were chunks devoted to their sexual pasts. 


I also had a lot of questions that could have easily been answered in the course of the book. For example the group are all described as sociopaths but it's never made clear whether that is a result of the drugs or if they were chosen for the trial for a personality trait common to sociopaths in the first place. As it is mentioned a few times it would have been nice to know. 


With a lack of interest in the fate of the characters the tension that was being built fell flat, and I felt some threads were under-developed with scope for much more about the political forces supporting the mad scientist's research and its potential applications.


I was a bit disappointed in this book after having read Scott's other work, so it's just an "okay" from me.


Format: Kindle, review copy
Publisher: Thomas and Mercer
My Rating: 2*

Book Review - Illusion by Frank Peretti

Book description (from Netgalley.com) "Dane and Mandy, a popular magic act for forty years, are tragically separated by a car wreck that claims Mandy's life-or so everyone thinks. Even as Dane mourns and tries to rebuild his life without her, Mandy, supposedly dead, awakes in the present as the nineteen-year-old she was in 1970. Distraught and disoriented in what to her is the future, she is confined to a mental ward until she discovers a magical ability to pass invisibly through time and space to escape. Alone in a strange world, she uses her mysterious powers to eke out a living, performing magic on the streets and in a quaint coffee shop.

Hoping to discover an exciting new talent, Dane ventures into the coffee shop and is transfixed by the magic he sees, illusions that even he, a seasoned professional, cannot explain. But more than anything, he is emotionally devastated by this teenager who has never met him, doesn't know him, is certainly not in love with him, but is in every respect identical to the young beauty he first met and married some forty years earlier.

They begin a furtive relationship as mentor and protégée, but even as Dane tries to sort out who she really is and she tries to understand why she is drawn to him, they are watched by secretive interests who not only possess the answers to Mandy's powers and misplacement in time but also the roguish ability to decide what will become of her."

The description above had me intrigued and not having read any of the author's other books I wasn't entirely sure what to expect of this novel. What I got was part romance and part time travel come alternative dimension sci-fi from a Christian fiction author. I was a bit concerned when I realised Frank Peretti is primarily known for Christian fiction but in fact religion merits little more than a passing mention in the book, with occasional reference to God and faith. The author note at the end was the only strong hint of the author's specialty.

I found Mandy endearing and felt for her, struggling to understand a very different world to the one she remembered. Dane, as the grieving widower who starts questioning his sanity as she reminds him so much of his late wife, is also highly likable, and I found their enduring love touching. The author manages to explain how the rift in time has happened and how Many makes her magic work relatively well, and I had more of a problem getting my head around the characters who only really came to prominence towards the end more of an issue than trying to figure out the physics. 

This was an enjoyable read, and the prose flows smoothly. The magic provided a fun, very visual element and the final scenes in particular held me glued to my kindle. 

Format: Kindle, review copy

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

My Rating: 4*

Book Review: Renouncing the Future by Stephen Kata

Sarah is a single mum living in rural Minnesota, her life is her son and her job. She has seen strange stories appearing in the local papers about people blacking out and coming to without their clothes, but she doesn't realise she's going to get caught up in the story. James Noland is a space pilot from the 22nd century, and he's the one preventing bad deeds being perpetrated and erasing memories. After a plot to kill him goes wrong he travels through time and lands in Sarah's town, with a talking dog for a sidekick. His acts are a way of biding time until someone finds his ship, with its cargo of lethal nerve gas, so he can neutralise it and eliminate the possibility of wiping out a lot of people. As he gets to know Sarah he is finds someone to share his secrets with and romance starts to blossom.

This book is a real blend. There's an obvious sci-fi element, but while it sets up the story it has a minor role to play otherwise. The main ingredients are action and romance with a bit of humour along the way. I found this a quick and easy read, and once I started I found it hard to put down. It was one of those books where I kept lying to myself that I'd just read another couple of pages. The plot is uncomplicated and easy to follow and there's no baffling in-depth science to try and understand, explaining what has happened. Saying it wasn't a challenging read may sound like a strange compliment but it was a good thing, as I was able to sit back and enjoy rather than trying to figure out the whys and wherefores.

Noland and dog Newton make an unlikely pairing but the banter between them and their experiences made them endearing to me, and to Sarah. She has to overcome her initial scepticism about Noland, who after all has some pretty strange tales to tell. Sarah's new friend also attracts the attention of a local reporter in search of a scoop, threatening to undermine his efforts. This adds to the tension and provides a good counterpoint to the developing romance. Noland has a hint of a modern knight in shining armour, rescuing the damsel but without being too saccharine about it.

I found the book well-formatted and don't remember spotting any typos. The writing flows nicely and, although sci fi and romance aren't my usual thing, I really enjoyed this book.

Format: Kindle, review copy
My Rating: 4*

Book Review: Thomas Knapp and the Prophet of the Universe by David Daedalus

In this sci-fi mystery mankind has gradually colonised other habitable planets. However the opening of inter-dimensional gates to allow this has had other strange effects. Since it first happened detective Thomas Knapp has been unable to sleep. Aisha Ali has left her small town and her husband looking for something more out of life. Moving to New Chicago has been something of a disaster, and finding herself alone and broke she is desperate for work. When Knapp takes her on as a sort of receptionist come assistant she gets more than she bargained for.

While the sci-fi element is set up at the start and genetic engineering and other changes from the present have a role in the story this feels more like a slightly noir crime novel. Knapp is asked to investigate the apparent suicide of a young woman who was a member of a cult. Her brother doesn't believe she would take her own life so the detective and Aisha travel to their compound to make the thorough investigation that the authorities seem to have neglected, possibly due to the influence of the cult's leader, the Prophet of the Universe.

I found Knapp enigmatic and everything a good PI should be, complete with a range of vices and a surrounding cloud of cigar smoke. We see events unfold through Aisha's eyes and our view of him is no doubt coloured by her perceptions as a slightly naive, somewhat lost individual. She is an interesting character, brave enough to leave her husband and family and still maintaining a strong Muslim faith.

The foundations of the story and the concept were promising, but the delivery let this book down. In places the pace lagged as Aisha described things that really didn't impact the plot or characterisation, and it was at times heavy on tell rather than show so I occasionally found my interest drifting. What was more distracting though was the typos. Confusing "whose" and "who's" and "your" with "you're" is one of my bugbears. There were mispellings, repeated words and other issues to the point I found it irritating. These issues could all be dealt with via a good edit, and the author tells me that he has now hired a second editor to go through it with a fine tooth comb.
I found myself left with a number of questions about elements of the story, which will no doubt be gradually answered in upcoming stories. Despite the issues I had with this book there was enough positive to tempt me to take a look at the next installment. 

Format: E-book, review copy
My Rating: 2*

Book Review: The Demi-Monde: Winter by Rod Rees

What happens when the world's most advanced computer system goes awry? The Demi-Monde is the best simulation ever invented, designed to train the US Military in the most realistic way possible without any deaths. Programmers have created a world occupied by dupes based on real people including the world's greatest psychopaths. They have deliberately created friction by developing racial and religious tensions, with the aim of causing conflict. However the programme develops in an unforeseen way when one of the dupes is able to bring the President's daughter over from the real world to the Demi-Monde. The team in charge of the Demi-Monde bring in young singer Ella Thomas to go into the Demi-Monde to retrieve her. Once there Ella is stunned by what she finds and the threat posed to the real world.


Having completed the book I'm not quite sure how to classify it: fantasy,sci-fi, dystopian or steampunk. I'm not really fussed though because I loved this book. The author has created this amazing, detailed world based on a skewed version of the real world, including various historical elements and characters such as Robespierre, Henry Tudor and Nazi Reinhard Heydrich. The Demi-Monde is a dark place, reliant on Victorian technology, with fantastical spiritual and fantasy elements. Author Rees performs some fantastic linguistic gymnastics, creating new religions such as mysogynistic HimPerialism and the feminist HerEticals. I thought his use of language was brilliant.


The plot moves at quite a pace and the main characters were well developed. Ella, as a woman and a "Shade" or as she prefers woman of colour, has to overcome her initial disgust with the world she has entered in order to focus on her mission. She is smart and resilient, and I enjoyed her developing relationship with faux psychic Vanka. The President's daughter was far from the prissy spoilt girl I was expecting, although not necessarily in a good way, and priviledged Lady Trixibell was an interesting character even if I found her pretty unlikeable as events unfolded. Meeting the real life historical figures added a different dimension and as a fan of historical fiction this aspect held a lot of appeal for me.


I don't think there is really much I can say about this book in the negative (apart from the overuse of the word ersatz perhaps) I'll definitely be looking out for the next book in the series to see where the author is going to take the Demi-Monde.


Format: Kindle, ARC
My Rating: 5*

Book Review: Creepers by Bryan Dunn

The short but sweet product description and its reviews made this book stand out to me, so on my TBR pile it went. The description goes a bit like this -


"A zany group of characters struggle to save their home after a genetically altered creeper vine invades a small desert town.

Doc Fletcher, an eccentric biologist in the remote Mojave Desert, has finally created the ultimate drought-tolerant plant: a genetically engineered creeper vine. It's destined to change the world, but not according to Doc's plans. Instead, this vine has a mind of its own. Mayhem ensues as the residents of Furnace Valley (pop. 16), along with campers at the nearby hot springs, run for their lives - led by wannabe date rancher Sam Rainsford and the nerdy yet gorgeous botanist Laura Beecham, who has come to the desert for a reunion with the father she has never known..."

This book was a quick read that reeled me in quickly and kept me reading. It started with an introduction to the main characters, including Doc who thinks he can make inhospitable parts of the world fertile and prevent soil erosion, and Sam who has moved to Furnace Valley to try and forget a family tragedy. Sam is a dreamer but also capable (fortunately for the rest of the town's inhabitants) It's also lucky for Furnace Valley that Doc's botanist daughter chose the right time to visit, helping them understand the monster water seeking creature that begins to take over and claim lives. I ploughed on looking to find out if, or how, the gang would defeat it.

While I was reading this I kept thinking of the Kevin Bacon film Tremors. If you've seen that movie this book is in the same vein. I don't read a lot of sci-fi but this is a type I like. It doesn't take itself too seriously and while it got me thinking a bit about man messing with nature it was a fun read that moved at a pace that meant I couldn't stop to contemplate for too long.

There's not much I can say that's negative. I thought it was well-formatted and don't remember spotting any typos. It was a little predictable but that's almost to be expected with this sort of story, so not much of an issue. I found it a really enjoyable read.

Format: Kindle, review copy

My rating: 4*

Book Review: Season of the Harvest by Michael R Hicks

"What if the genetically modified crops that we increasingly depend on for food weren’t really created by man? What if they had a far more sinister purpose?" asks the blurb for Season of the Harvest. Topical with a hint of the X Files, it sounded worth a look.

FBI Special Agent Jack Dawson has been told to keep out of the investigation into the gruesome death of his best friend and fellow agent, who had been investigating an eco-group and was suspected of going rogue. This group believes that a major company, with friends in high places, is developing genetically modified grain that could lead to the demise of mankind. While Jack initially dismisses the group, including beautiful genius Naomi Perrault, as cranks but once he sees what they have seen he gradually realises the threat is serious. They have to act fast once events start to escalate in order to prevent the end of the world as we know it.

First up the plot. I really like stories that have a decent grounding in science but take it that step further. This falls firmly within that camp. No little green men here, but the bad guys definitely aren't human. For me though the scarier element is the highly plausible suggestion that there might be ruthless corporations out there trying to genetically modifying organisms within the food chain for their own ends. It's closer to sci-fact than sci-fi. Reading the author's note at the end it appears a lot of research has gone into this book and I learnt some (worrying) things I didn't know. The book starts with action, and the ride didn't really let up from there. I thought it was really well paced and built to a great climax. This was the sort of book I was picking up every time I had 5 minutes to spare, and I was reluctant to put it down.

Next, there were some great characters. Jack has a traumatic past and after his friend's death is plunged into battle with a terrible enemy but stays strong and in control, with fleeting moments of doubt. Naomi is a strong, smart woman and I wanted to be irritated that she's gorgeous too (feels a bit cliched) but I couldn't help warming to her. There were also more minor characters that I empathised with, all with very human strengths and weaknesses. I even liked the cats (and I'm a dog person) Early on in the book I felt a little overwhelmed by all the characters, particularly trying to figure out who was on what side. However I soon got things straight in my mind. My only other criticism would be that a lot of the action is based in a former Cold War missile base. It is described in detail but I still couldn't really envision it and couldn't immerse myself as much as I might like to. 

I loved the pace and the action, and could easily envision this on the big screen. I'd certainly like to see more of Jack Dawson's adventures in future. If you like action and thrillers but not sci-fi I'd still suggest it's well worth a go.

Format: Kindle, review copy
My Rating: 4*

Book Review: 329 - A Science Fiction Short Story by Christopher Valle

Combine a new found interest in short stories with a bit of science and you've piqued my interest. The description of this book goes like this: "The atoms that compose your body were around long before you were born and will remain long after you're dead. Their brief sojourn with you is a tiny episode within their life in this universe. This short story traces the path of a single hydrogen atom from the Big Bang to the edge of the universe. If we could ask an atom to recount its adventures perhaps this is the story it would tell. "

I must admit I was a little unsure about where this story was going to go and how scientific it would get, but any concerns were misplaced. Narrated by an insignificant proton we find out its entire life story in a chatty conversational tone. It is a story of the beginning and the end of the world, and encompasses a love story, the object of the proton's desire being 329. Who knew that by the end I'd feel empathy with a proton.

I really enjoyed this story, it's such a great concept, not overwhelmed by science and providing a novel viewpoint. It think I took me less than an hour to read and I was almost sad to reach the end. It's probably something that might not have leapt off the virtual shelf for me, had I not been offered a review copy, but I came away from it thinking that it was a great, clever, quirky read.

Format: Kindle, review copy
My Rating: 5*

Book Review: Not With A Bang by A. Andrew Tantia

So, imagine you're a guy, sat in a fairly average garden, with another guy. You've got a bit of a lawn, some trees, sounds ok so far. But what if Earth has been destroyed, this garden is the biggest chunk left and the human race has bascially had it? That's what John and Robin are facing in this comic short story. They are floating in space, protected from the atmosphere by a field generated by their spaceship's computer MAL(made me think of HAL in A Space Odyssey) The two are on the edge of despair until MAL comes up with a plan. Their predicament takes on biblical proportions, but will they be able to save mankind?

This short story took me less than an hour to read, perfect for the train trip home, and had me amused. There isn't a lot of time to flesh out the characters although strangely I felt like I got a good sense of MAL, the computer.

It's a clever little take on a story that is familiar to most of us and unlike a lot of short stories I've been reading recently the author brings the plot to a pretty definite conclusion, without too many lingering questions. This book definitely made me think of Hitchhikers and Red Dwarf, so if they are your cup of tea it's worth a look.

Format: Kindle, review copy
My Rating: 3*

Book Review: Tag by Simon Royle

As with fantasy sci-fi hasn't been one of my favoured genres in the past but I'm being open minded and the synopsis for Tag sounded great so I thought it was worth a look. Set 100 years from now, Jonah Oliver is called in to do some pro-bono work for UNPOL, formerly INTERPOL. He is an arbitrator and is asked to interrogate a prisoner who has requested him by name. That prisoner, Jibril Muraz, makes some astonishing revelations, showing up Jonah's life as a web of lies and pulling him into the battle to save the lives of 6.3 billion people.

The future isn't all that different from now , but the world has seen what seems to be a credible evolution of current technology. Unfortunately one of the biggest changes to technology has been the introduction of the dev stick, basically storing a person's identity and ripe for abuse by Big Brother types. I would describe Tag as futuristic rather than sci-fi, it seems like a worrying plausible future rather than anything too fanciful. There is plenty of new jargon (mostly quickly understandable) and nations no longer exist, replaced with various geographics on Earth, Mars and the Moon. The author has created an amazingly detailed future!

The Tag law is coming up for a Popvote, where everyone has to electronically cast their ballot. The Tag law extends the concept of the dev stick by having it implanted into the individual, further increasing the ability of the authorities to monitor their every activity. It's a scary prospect, and with the failure of the introduction of ID cards in the UK not so long ago it shows one possible future route we should all be trying to avoid.

I thought the plot was great. It was relevant and thought-provoking, and the cast of characters provided some interesting dynamics. I really like Jonah, who tells most of the story from his point of view, and Jibril who is a major figure in the movement against the Tag law. The pace accelerated towards the end, with a lot of tension created as the reader waited to find out if the cleansing of billions of people considered to be inferior could be prevented.

However Tag is quite a long book, and I found it a bit slow at the start. It took me a while to get into it and I think a tighter edit, removing some of the parts that were more tell than show, would have been good. Sometimes, with the descriptions of characters in particular, I like a bit of room to build my own picture of them and too many details stiffle that. There were also a few typos I noticed, although not so many that I found them distracting.

The concept is great and I almost felt like I could see the future. This book is a bit sci-fi and a bit crime thriller with a dash of romance, and with a bit of tweaking could be really very good indeed.

Format: Kindle, review copy
My Rating: 3*

Book review: The New World by Patrick Ness

First off, this is actually a short story which took me no time at all to devour. It came to my attention when it appeared on Amazon as a freebie (and in fact as I write is still free) The product description made it clear it's the prequel to a series but didn't hint that it's a sci-fi or a YA series.

I haven't really bought short stories and novellas in the past, maybe because in traditional tree book format I never really noticed them, but I'm trying to be more open and this is the second I've read this month. This story details Viola's trip to the New World, where she and her parents are meant to establish a new colony for themselves and other colonists who will join them later, who have only ever known life aboard spaceships. There are also flashbacks to the run up to their departure.

Being so short there isn't much time for a lot of character development but Viola is clearly a young teen who is more than a little scared at being one of the first to arrive on a planet, and who is fed up of everyone talking about hope. I expect for fans of the series who have already read the books they would be a lot more able to empathise with what she goes through.

I found that the story immediately grabbed me and I wanted to read on to find out what was going on and put the action into context. I am so glad I didn't know it was sci-fi YA material as I might have otherwise ignored it, but having made light work of it I was impressed by the quality of the writing and how it pulled me in. I may not get round to reading them any time soon but I'll certainly be looking for the series now.