Only Human - Great SciFi!

Here we have another really good new scifi writer, Chris Reher. I loved the characterization and details. Being able to visualize (I know, I harp on that a lot) the scenes is extremely important to the reader, and that simply means there was enough detail to allow for the vision, but the minute details were left out, allowing the imagination to fill in the rest.

Often in a science fiction/romance story one of the two will suffer from lack of description. This is not the case in Only Human. The humans and humanoids are carefully described so that you can 'see' them, the technical details of battle, weapons, spaceships and life in space is filled in enough but not the point of boring. Chris Reher has combined them in a winning style.

I highly recommend this book - 4 stars.

Houdini had nothing over these dogs!

My husband and I have two chocolate labs. Brothers from the same litter, with us since puppies. I love the clowns, I'm pretty sure I do. They're about 8 years old. During the first two years that we've lived here they were busy going OVER the six foot cedar fence we put around the place, we were busy fixing low-ish spots. They have about half an acre back yard.

They were stymied when we finally were able to make it an 8 ft fence everywhere, and we've been fortunate enough for the last two years (while I was busy fighting cancer) that they seemed content to stay home. Now I know they were just lulling us into a false sense of security while they plotted. Or, maybe, waiting until I was well enough to appreciate their skills... I don't know.

At any rate, their problem solving skills have now kicked in.


The chocolates have discovered (having been blocked after eating their way through the uprights and the lattice on the porch, and braving a 10 ft drop the first time when they went over the top railing, a 6ft drop the second time),  they can go over the neighbor's 4 ft chain link that has two cables across the top (making it a 6 ft fence). They simply put their front paws on the top of the fence, stick their heads through the cable and climb the fence with their back feet. How do I know this? The neighbor knocked on our door at 6:05 this morning to let us know our dog was in her back yard, looking for a way out! When we looked, there was the second chocolate going over the fence!

So... today, the first of my two days off, (first days off I've taken in weeks and weeks) will be spent taking down the lower half of the lattice on the porch and replacing it with chain link... I don't even want to visualize what kind of dog could get through that!... and putting more chain link above the neighbor's chain link, making that a minimum of solid 6 ft.




First we put up a lattice on top, second we took the top lattice off and put it all over, next will be the chain link on the bottom.


Later in the day.....
   Now we wait and watch.     

Not to be forgotten!

I was grabbed from the beginning of this series. Ms. Wick has an original going on with her dystopian world.  The beginning book was a bit light as far as detailed character descriptions, a quick read that showed there was a promise of more to come. There was not a lot of development of the group of the survivors, but that was not really noticed because the main characters and the other-worldly creatures were so real. In the second and third of the series, the action became faster paced, more intense and totally enjoyable, with a bit of romance thrown in. I enjoyed this series enough that I will read it again and I will definitely recommend it to anyone. 

  

Another book I can easily recommend

There are different types of books within the science fiction genre. This book is more what I used to class as hard science fiction. There are aliens in this book who are totally out of Mr. Traynor's imagination, but there are no mind-readers, shape-shifters, angels, demons, or vampires. This is a story simply about war, politics, strategy and diplomacy. In space. I really liked it!

 

Opening moves was very well written, the descriptions of the fighting, destruction of ships and crew, and the tactics used allowed the reader to visualize the scenes. The character development was well rounded to the point that I cared when there was a loss and felt the utter disbelief felt by the characters. 

I recommend this book, and plan on reading more from James Traynor. Nicely done!

Recommend

This book was written with a high level of description and the characters were nicely developed. It was obvious to me that the author knew the landscape of the areas the characters traveled, and had a back story for them all. I love science fiction, and am a total sucker for the ‘dad rescuing his daughter’ premise.

An action-packed science fiction book that I would recommend.

The Keepers

This story has characters so nicely described that I wouldn't be surprised to see them on the street. Ms. Augustine has created a story that is imaginative, new and catches the reader’s interest. This was a nice, smooth read with enough back-story to understand the characters.

I liked this book and would recommend it to anyone. Well done, Ms. Augustine, I'm looking forward to reading more of your work!  

Reminiscent of the Pink Panther meets Keystone Cops

This book is funny! Mr. Van Brussel has developed the characters and set the scene for a comic story that made me chuckle out loud. The language skills of this author are a welcome change from the run of the mill, some of the words I had to look up! An unusual situation for me.

The storyline flows nicely, there are a couple of places where it seems to slow a bit, for me, but in no way bogs down. The descriptions of the settings and characters are full and allow the reader to be ‘in’ the scene. And I love the cover! I enjoyed reading this story.

Yes!

I've been waiting for Whispers from Exile!  While it didn't star Orynn as much as I would have preferred, the story was none-the-less an entertaining read. One of the things I like about C. E. Kilgore's writing is that each book ends with the promise of another, but is not really a cliff hanger, letting you know there is more to the story if you would like to pursue it.

While this story reflects on the love of a Mechtronic male (Torque) and a male Ruisk (Larx), it is primarily about the fight for freedom of the Ruisk and the ongoing search for Orynn.

Nicely done, Ms. Kilgore. I'm waiting for the next!