Haiku Reviews

 

Crash Landing by Annie McQuaid

Wedding trip plane crash

strands bridesmaid with her old flame;

can love re-ignite?

Contemporary romance .... 293 pages .... 4/5 stars.

(Cute forced proximity second chance summer romance.)

The Passengers by John Marrs

Eight self-driving cars

hacked and programmed to collide

as the world watches.

Science fiction .... 337 pages .... 3.5/5 stars.

(Thought-provoking, fast-paced and twisty. And will make you never want to own a self-driving car.)

The Love Haters by Katherine Center

Filming Coast Guard hero Hutch

makes Katie face her fears and

learn to love herself. 

Contemporary romance ... 302 pages .... 4.5/5 stars.

(Favorite quote from this fun romance:  "No one's born fearless. You have to earn it. Every time you have to be brave, you get to be a little braver next time."

Happy Reading!

The Family Experiment by John Marrs

 

The plot:  Awakening Entertainment is about to launch their newest initiative: MetaChildren--children that exist entirely in the Metaverse. But first it's hosting a new competition reality show called The Family Experiment where four couples and one singleton get the chance to raise a virtual child from birth to age 18 over the next nine months. Millions of viewers will watch the livestream and vote for the winners. The prize? The right to keep their virtual child...or risk it all for the chance to have a real baby. 

My thoughts:  Set in the near-future, Marrs explores an unsettling and thought-provoking 'what if' scenario and all its unintended consequences. What if people could raise a virtual child as a replacement for having real children? 

I loved that he played out his scenario in the form of an immersive reality livestreaming show. The couples were all flawed and had some dark secrets in their pasts that led to some very unexpected twists and turns along the way. They weren't necessarily likable, but their stories were all compelling! This is one of those books that pulls you in from the first page and keeps you reading (and guessing) until the very end. I really appreciate the way Marrs writes. This book is set in the same world as his novel, The One, which I also enjoyed. I like that his novels are unique and always surprise me in some way. This one is definitely darker than The One--there's no real happy endings here--but it's very much a 4-star read!

Happy Reading!

Starter Villain by John Scalzi

 

From the blurb:  "Charlie's life is going nowhere fast. A divorced substitue teacher living with his two cats, all he wants is to open a pub downtown, if only the bank will approve his loan. Then his long-lost uncle, Jake, dies and leaves his supervillain business (complete with island volcano lair) to Charlie. But becoming a supervillain isn't all giant laser death rays and lava pits. Jake had a lot of enemies, and now they're coming after Charlie."

My thoughts:   John Scalzi knows how to write inventive novels that will make you laugh out loud. And Starter Villain is uniquely fun. I loved the whole idea of an average guy like Charlie inheriting his uncle's supervillain business. And I loved how he dealt with everything from super smart spy cats to assassination attempts with self-deprecating humor and aplomb. I especially loved his interactions with his cats. (He handled the surprisingly snarky dolphins well, too.) Charlie is smart and nice, and not exactly supervillain material. Which made for some very funny moments. Fast-paced and full of action, this whole book was awesome. 

My rating:  ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Happy Reading!

P.S. I also really enjoyed Scalzi's book The Kaiju Preservation Society.

Ghost Station by S.A. Barnes

 

An abandoned planet.

An isolated crew.

Dark secrets.

Looming madness.

And unsettling horror.

My thoughts:  I don't even know how to begin to summarize this one without giving away any spoilers, so I'm not even going to try. I think it's best to just let this story unfold on its own. What I will say is that Barnes has once again written a very compelling and suspenseful science fiction novel with hints of mystery and horror in it. Her main character, Dr. Ophelia Bray, comes from a very prominent and rich family who have practically disowned her; she has some demons and secrets from her own traumatic childhood that make her a sympathetic character. I also loved the impending sense of doom that Barnes creates as the six-person team starts to explore the abandoned planetary station, and strange things start to happen to them. She keeps you guessing about the truth of it all right to the end. This one's creepy and atmospheric and it reads fast. An entertaining summer read (even though it's not quite summer yet). I gave it 4 stars.

Happy Reading! 

Previous S.A. Barnes' novel:  Dead Silence

Two quick recommendations...

 

All Systems Red by Martha Wells

There's so much to like about this science fiction novella:  good writing, humor, a bit of mystery, and lots of action. But the best part is the SecUnit construct known as Murderbot. His snarky thoughts and his sometimes awkward interactions with his human clients totally made me smile. He's another new favorite character. Now I just need to read the rest of the series. (And that kind of bookish math is so typical of my entire TBR list--finish reading one book, add five more to the list.)

Western Lane by Chetna Maroo

How do I describe this one? This short, well-written novel is a story of grief and growing up, of three sisters and their father after the death of their mother, and the way they use the game of squash to cope and connect. It's an introspective novel, told from the youngest daughter's POV, lyrical in places, but melancholic, too. And I'm still trying to decide if I liked it, or not. But I did really like Sam's Review over at Book Chase, which is what made me want to read this one in the first place. 

Happy Reading!

Mickey 7 by Edward Ashton

"This is gonna be my stupidest death ever."

Mickey Barnes is an Expendable, the person who's given any and every hazardous assignment on Niflheim--a new colony on a nearly uninhabitable ice world--so that the other, more mission critical colonists don't have to risk their lives. When he falls into an ice crevasse, his friend decides it's easier to declare him dead than try and rescue him, because he knows the colony will just bring him back as Mickey 8. Only Mickey 7 doesn't die. And now there are two of him. Which is a very big problem. 

"I've died six times in the past eight years. You'd think I'd be used to it by now, wouldn't you? ... If I die now, though, there won't be another me coming out of the tank. The other me is already here, and despite all appearances, Eight is most definitely not a continuation of me. Honestly, he doesn't even seem to like me very much."

It's easy to like Mickey 7. He's a flawed, funny, and wryly self-deprecating narrator. He enjoys reading the histories of other failed colonies and is in a relationship with Nasha, a fierce combat pilot. And despite his job as an Expendable, he really doesn't want to die again. I was definitely rooting for him to figure out a solution to his problem. I also really like that colonizing-another-world trope in science fiction, and this new planet they're trying to colonize has some pretty unique aliens they call creepers on it, which added some nice tension. There's also a bit of a mystery in this one involving the death of Mickey 6. Because of all of Mickey's introspection and past memories of his other deaths, this isn't quite as action-packed or as fast-paced as I thought it would be going in, but it's still very interesting and entertaining. And the ending is great! I'd give it 4 stars.

Happy Reading! 

Similar read:

One Way by S.J. Morden

Starflight by Melissa Landers

 

A job and a new life await Solara Brooks on Vega, a newly terra-formed planet in the lawless outer realm. But first she has to get there. Which means indenturing herself in exchange for her passage. Too bad the only taker is Doran Spaulding, the handsome, entitled heir to the galaxy's largest fuel corporation...and the guy who made her life hell in school. 

When Doran threatens to renege on their deal and leave her stranded on some outpost, she stuns him, kidnaps him, and uses his money to gain passage on a rundown spaceship called the Banshee. This time he's her servant. 

Their journey gets even more complicated when Doran is framed and suddenly finds himself the galaxy's most wanted felon, while space pirates try to force Solara into an unwanted marriage for her mechanical skills. Solara and Doran must rely on each other, and on the eccentric crew of the Banshee, if they ever hope to win their freedom.

My thoughts:  Starflight is a rollicking YA science fiction adventure with lots of action and humor. There's an excellent twist towards the end, too. I had so much fun reading this one! It doesn't feel like a YA book full of teen angst and drama. The world-building is great and the characters are well-drawn. I really enjoyed how Solara and Doran start off as enemies, always sniping at each other, then gradually come to trust one another as friends...and more. Their relationship, and wanting to know what will happen between their two shipmates, Cassia and Kane, has me eager to read the sequel. 

Happy Reading!

Quick Book Recommendation...

 

Day Zero by C. Robert Cargill

I read so many positive reviews of this book when it came out in 2021, I knew I would probably like it, too. It just took me awhile to get around to reading it. (Surprise, surprise.) And I didn't just like it; I loved it! It's a very compelling and original take on a future robot apocalypse. And I adored Pounce, the tiger nannybot wired to protect his young charge, Ezra, no matter what. He's such an irresistible and likable narrator. The book made me laugh and cry. I'd give it 5 stars.

Happy Reading!

Similar read (which I also gave 5 stars!): 

Robopocalypse by Daniel H. Wilson

Some science fiction fun...

Title & Author:  Wreckers by George Ellis

First line:  "I might not be the smartest guy in the galaxy, but I do know my way around the place. I also know my way around every kind of space ship in it."

Main character:  Denver Boyd is 19 and the captain of his own souped-up spaceship (which used to belong to his uncle); his 'crew' consists of a one-eyed cat named Pirate and Gary, the ship's annoying AI navigator. He's a talented mechanic, awful with a gun but good with his fists, likes beer and junk food, and is clever, sarcastic and funny.  

My thoughts:  This character-driven novel is a very entertaining and humorous science fiction adventure. Ellis's writing and voice is so good. And all the pop culture references in it made me laugh. Denver Boyd is a great character; I liked him immediately. As a wrecker, he mostly repairs and tows other spaceships for money, until he tangles first with the Federation and then with the Tracers' piratical leader. Now he's on the hunt for his missing brother while half the galaxy is hunting for him. I loved the action and humor in this book, as well as the other quirky characters Denver meets along the way. At just 287 pages, this one reads fast. It's very fun, and I really hope the author writes a sequel to it soon. 

Happy Reading!

 

From my TBR shelf...

 

Home With the Dead by PJ Dziekan

I like zombie apocalypse books, and I bought this one after reading Dziekan's first book, Walking With the Dead. It continues the story of Sarah and Mick, Ryan and Becca and the others. Zombies are still a threat, but so are other humans. And finding enough food and other needed supplies in order to stay alive is becoming a problem. To add to their worries, Sarah just found out she's pregnant.

This novel is action-packed and edge-of-your-seat suspenseful. Sarah, as the leader of their group, is strong, independent, stubborn, and tough. I like her a lot; and I love her relationship with Mick. There's a lot of language and zombie gore in this one, but there's also friendship, family, loyalty, survival, and hope. If you like a good zombie read, this is an entertaining one. (Though you should probably read Walking With the Dead first.)

Happy Reading!

P.S. This book counts towards the Backlist Reader Challenge hosted by The Bookwyrm's Hoard.

Dead Silence by S.A. Barnes

 A beacon-repair crew.

A strange distress signal.

A ghost ship.

An unsolved mystery.

And unspeakable horror.

When Claire Kovalik and her crew head to the edges of the solar system to respond to a distress signal, they never dreamed they'd find the Aurora, a luxury space cruiser that disappeared more than twenty years ago. They know it's too late to rescue anyone on board, but finding this ship gives them salvage rights. And Claire could really use the money. So she and her crew decide to enter the defunct ship. But the nightmare they find goes beyond anything they could ever have imagined. Now Claire must try to keep her crew alive before they all lose their minds.

This science fiction mystery is atmospheric, sinister and suspenseful. And the abandoned ship with all her dead is truly creepy. Once I started, I couldn't stop reading it. I had to know what happened to Claire and her crew. Claire's a high-strung character with a traumatic past; she's guarded, blames herself when anything goes wrong, and she sometimes sees ghosts. Even with all of that, I liked her a lot. And I liked this book even more. It's tense. It's entertaining. It reads fast. And I'd give it at least 4 stars.

Happy Reading!

Similar read:

Six Wakes by Mur Lafferty

The Future is Yours by Dan Frey

"If you had the chance to look one year into the future, would you?"

Best friends since college, Ben Boyce and Adhvan Chaudry have created a startup company to build a quantum computer that uses quantum entanglement to connect to the future. It's Adhi's idea; he's the genius in this partnership. Ben brings unrestrained enthusiasm and the marketing savvy they'll need to get their business off the ground. They both believe in their prototype, The Future, but neither foresees the negative consequences of their revolutionary technology. Or the cost it will have on their friendship.

This is an entertaining and thought-provoking science fiction thriller. It's told through a series of emails, texts, blog posts, and transcripts from the Senate Hearings investigating The Future device. And I loved it. But then I'm a huge fan of epistolary novels, so this book totally worked for me. I liked the science of it, too, and the ethical questions that got raised as beta testers began looking into their futures. I also liked Ben and Adhi; both of these characters have their flaws, and some of their decisions made me shake my head, but their loyalty and friendship is what really drives this story. Not only is this novel innovative and unexpected, it's also compelling and reads fast. I even loved that crazy ending. I'd give this one 5 stars. 

Happy Reading!

Six Wakes by Mur Lafferty

 Suspense. Murder. Science fiction. Mystery.

There's a lot to like about this interstellar mystery. It's unique. It's well-written and it reads fast. It has six interesting characters and an intriguing premise. And it's set in space. But I have to admit, I'm finding it a little hard to summarize. So I'm going to cheat and quote from the blurb on Goodreads instead.

"A space adventure set on a lone ship where the clones of a murdered crew must find their murderer -- before they kill again.

It was not common to awaken in a cloning vat streaked with drying blood. At least, Maria Arena had never experienced it. She had no memory of how she died. That was also new; before, when she had awakened as a new clone, her first memory was of how she died.

Maria's vat was in the front of six vats, each one holding the clone of a crew member of the starship Dormire... And Maria wasn't the only one to die recently."

Because the ship's AI memory logs have been wiped, and none of the six cloned crew members have retained any recent memories, you don't know who to trust. Any one of them could have committed the murders and sabotaged the ship's computer. There's the captain, the pilot, the doctor, the tech guy, the security guy, and Maria, jill-of-all-trades. Each has a criminal past and each knows their own piece of the puzzle. But none feel they can trust any of the others. 

I always enjoy reading these kinds of locked-room mysteries (or locked-ship mystery in this case), and I found Six Wakes to be both compelling and entertaining. I especially liked all the clone technology, with its complicated moral and ethical issues, and the six clones with their past lives, their memories, secrets and altered mindmaps. If you like character-driven mysteries, especially ones set in space, this is a really good one. 

Happy Reading!

Innocence by Sean Danker

"...if my life was a building, the very foundations were made of reinforced irony."

The Admiral is back! And once again he's in trouble. This time he's locked up in "the most brutal penitentiary in regulated space". What happens there is also aired as real-time entertainment for those outside. No one ever escapes. But the Admiral has a plan.

"The key to winning is never to play anyone else's game.  Always make sure they're playing yours, and by your rules. The house always wins."

While this book is #4 in the Evagardian series, it actually follows book #2, Free Space in the timeline. (The third book in the series, The Glory of the Empress, follows different characters and is set before book #1, The Admiral.) Besides the suspense of the Admiral's current situation, this book also gives a glimpse into his past and how he became what he is. Though there's still a lot about him that remains a mystery.

"I haven't always made the best decisions, and there's an argument to be made that I might not be the nicest person. But I don't lose."

I love this character so much! I wish there were many more books about him because I would read them all. But I guess I'll take what I can get. Here's another favorite quote from this book:

"When things like elegance and logic are just broken pieces on the floor, there's still nerve. Aggression could never fill in all the gaps, but a little audacity could go a long way." 

Happy Reading!

(I know this series certainly made me happy.)

Space Adventure. Mystery. Compelling Suspense.

I could give you a lot of good reasons why I think you should read Admiral by Sean Danker, but instead I think I'll let this 5-star science fiction novel speak for itself:

"I was on a dead ship on an unknown planet with three trainees freshly graduated into the Imperial Service. I tried to look on the bright side. We were somewhere. That was a relief. It was better than floating with no power in space. Wherever this planet was, it raised our chances of rescue from zero to more than zero."

 "I had a feeling that decisions we made here and now were going to be significant with regard to our collective futures. It was a lot of pressure, knowing that it might be possible for us to get through this, but only if we did everything right, and in time. I was used to that kind of pressure. They weren't."

   "... playing dress-up was my specialty."

"There were two kinds of people in the universe: the people working for a better future and the rest of us. Time wasn't on anyone's side, and neither was regret. If I let a little PTSD and some bad memories slow me down now, what good was I?"

"Admiral, we're in trouble!"

 Happy Reading!

One Way by S.J. Morden

Xenosystems needs workers to help them build Mars Base One on time and under budget. They need men and women who won't ask too many questions, who will follow orders, who have the necessary skills, and who no one will miss. Most importantly, they need people who are expendable. Who do they find? Frank, Zeus, Marcy, Declan, Abigail, Zero and Dee--seven felons serving life sentences in a Panopticon prison.

"We've been bought and sold. Xenosystems owns Panopticon. Panopticon owns us. But we all said yes when they asked us to go to Mars. It's going to be as good as we want to make it. It's going to be our home from now on ... We do our jobs, we take care of ourselves, respect each other as human beings. You wanted more out of life than that? Maybe we should have all thought just a little bit harder about our life choices."

Of course, things never go as smoothly as one hopes. Frank quickly learns that as he and the others are put through a rigorous training somewhere in the Nevadan desert. They hope things will be better once they get to Mars...but they know they'll never really be free.

"XO are getting edgy over whether you can keep it together up there... Once you're on Mars, there's no Hole. No discipline. No one to keep you in line. You'll fall apart, and with it, the project. You know how much Uncle Sam is ponying up for this? ... Trillions. And you, and your fine fellows, are now the only people standing between Mars Base One and an expensive failure. Which is why I'm going with you."

I've always been drawn to books about exploring and colonizing Mars, and One Way by S.J. Morden does not disappoint. From the first page to the last, I could not put this one down. I immediately liked Frank, just an ordinary guy in prison for murder, who's also good at getting things done. Now he's on Mars trying to get the base built on time even though they don't have all the necessary equipment, all while keeping himself and his fellow prisoners alive despite their overseer's cold indifference. All he really wants to do is make it back home to see his son. But that's looking more and more iffy as everything on Mars starts to go wrong. There's science and mystery in this one, and adventure, too. The suspense really builds as XO's ultimate plan for the seven convicts is revealed. Talk about a compelling read!

"Mars was a thing. A living, breathing thing. ...Tomorrow, they'd all build, and by night fall they might have done enough to mean they'd actually made an impact on Mars. A Mars that had already taken two of them."

I'm glad this book has a sequel!

Happy Reading!

   

The Anomaly by Michael Rutger

       "You're that guy ... The You Tuber. That archeologist guy. Unsolved mysteries and stuff."

       This, I should note, seldom happens. My grin in response was charming, and the accompanying shrug could have been used as a Wikipedia illustration of self-deprecation.

       "Guilty as charged," I said. "I am indeed Nolan Moore."

Nolan Moore is a failed screenwriter who is now the face of The Anomaly Files, a small-time YouTube show that seeks to uncover unexplained phenomena and other strange mysteries. This time he and his crew--his producer, Ken, assistant producer, Molly, and cameraman, Pierre, as well as a journalist and one of their new backers--are on the trail of a 1909 explorer who claims to have found a mysterious cavern hidden somewhere high up in the Grand Canyon reportedly full of wonderful things. This time their expedition is backed by the Palinhelm Foundation, and they have a shot at making the move to cable TV if they can actually find this cavern. Despite his immense amount of research on this project, Nolan doesn't really believe it'll be there, so when they do find a cave where he predicted it would be, he's as surprised as everyone else. Eager to enter and explore, none of them stop to question if what's hidden deep inside this lost cavern should be shown to the world...or if there's a reason what's inside should stay hidden forever.

It felt strange to be standing in a place where at some point -- hundreds or thousands of years ago -- there had been an intense fire and great heat. That was gone now, along with any hope of understanding what had caused it. All that remained was an unpleasant olfactory echo. And us, stuck, with no way out.

 The suspense mounts slowly in this one, but I thought it was a fun escapist adventure. But then, I've always liked survival stories that take place in mysterious caves. And you'll never guess what's in this one! Nolan is a fun character who doesn't take himself too seriously but is a surprisingly good person to have around in an emergency. I liked him and his crew (even though I thought Ken used the f-word a little too much.) There are some good twists along the way as they explore the cave, and some tense and suspenseful moments as they try to find a way back out. I liked Rutger's writing, though I did think the ending was a bit fantastic and out-there. Still, The Anomaly is a pretty entertaining read. (And it'd make a great Syfy movie.)

Happy Reading!

A bookish adventure...in space!

Ada, a princess from House von Hasenberg, has been on the run for two years when she's snagged by mercenaries. They mean to return her to her family and claim their reward. But then Richard from House Rockhurst, the man she was supposed to marry, turns up to claim her for his own. She's in serious trouble this time. But she's not the only captive on board ship with a price on her head. Marcus Loch, the notorious Devil of Fornax Zero, is also a prisoner. If they team up, they just might be able to escape. But can she trust him not to double-cross her the moment he regains his own freedom? And how is she ever going to get Richard Rockhurst off her trail without starting a war between both their houses?

The engine steadied and the window shutters retracted, leaving a clear view of the vast emptiness of space. And for the first time, the magnitude of what I'd done hit me. I was alone on a tiny lifeboat, in the middle of nowhere, with a man twice my size. And he was a known murderer. Without the adrenaline driving me, fear crept in.

Polaris Rising by Jessie Mihalik is non-stop space adventure fun. I stayed up half the night reading this book because I didn't want to put it down. Ada and Marcus are irresistible characters--both smart, stubborn and tough; they're also complete opposites...and completely perfect for each other. I loved them both. There's also some great futuristic tech--healing nanobots, shield bracelets, FTL drives, etc.--but the story never bogs down in the science. It's all fast-paced, compelling, entertaining action (with some sex and romance, too). Can you tell I really liked this one?

Happy Reading!

Another Classic...

A Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs was first serialized in 1912, "during the heyday of the pulp fiction era". It is the first book in Burroughs' John Carter of Mars series. The blurb on the back describes it as an "epic, swashbuckling Red Planet tale of derring-do and dazzling romance." I wasn't sure what to expect when I started reading it, but even though there's a lot of detailed description to go along with the action, and the prose is decidedly old-fashioned, I thought it was kind of fun. And I ended up really liking John Carter who narrates the entire tale.

"I have determined to write down the story of the interesting periods of my life and of my death. I cannot explain the phenomena; I can only set down here in the words of an ordinary soldier of fortune a chronicle of the strange events that befell me during the ten years that my dead body lay undiscovered in an Arizona cave."






What else this novel contains:

• Woola, the loyal ten-legged Martian 'hound'
• sword fights and battles to the death
• an imaginative Martian landscape
• the warrior race of tusked and multi-limbed green martians
• Dejah Thoris, the beautiful red martian princess (in need of rescuing)
• adventure and romance

I'm glad I read this one. I think I might check out the movie now to see how it compares. And who knows, I might even read the next book in this series to see what happens to John and Dejah next.  Best of all? Since A Princess of Mars is less than 250 pages, it counts as my Classic Novella for Karen's Back to the Classics reading challenge. 

Happy Reading!

Future Shock!

Elena Martinez, a "tatted-up Mexican girl" with a penchant for fighting is about to age out of the foster care system. Which is why she's so desperate to find a job. She's smart and has an eidetic memory, but with her checkered past no one wants to hire her. Until the Aether Corporation comes along offering her a big chunk of change to do one job for them. They want her to participate in a research project with four other teens. It'll only take twenty-four hours to complete. But she'll have to venture 10 years into the future to do it. Aether says there's no risk to her and the others, but Elena suspects they're not telling her the truth. Still, what other choice does she have?

Elizabeth Briggs has written one fun page-turner. Elena's a great narrator, flawed yet personable; Adam, Chris, Trent, and Zoe, the other four teens who travel into the future with her, are good secondary characters with their own unique abilities. I liked them all. This YA novel is a very compelling read--from the first page to the last I couldn't put it down. Especially when Elena & Co. step 30 years into the future instead of 10 and things start to go wrong; then they begin to uncover the first of Aether's lies and the guessing game of who's telling the truth and who they can trust begins. As with any time travel novel, a little suspension of belief is required. But all in all, this turned out to be a very fun and entertaining read.

Happy Reading!