Among Us

Dyson Bridge, #2

by

V.G. Harrison

A daring escape and a desperate race to return to space and save the planet.

When an explosion aboard Bridgeway Space Station sends it and her crew into a parallel dimension, Dr. Meridia Vail and the surviving crew members are rescued by the combined space-venturing nations of this new Earth. However, the nations' cooperation is short-lived as the space station and crew soon become hotly contested prizes, and the space station's orbit begins to decay, threatening everyone below. Split up and sent to the nations they represented in their own dimension and suffering the unexpected effects of this planet's gravity, Dr. Vail desperately escapes her hosts in order to find help to reunite her fellow crew members, return to the space station, and avert the looming disaster.

Among Us is the second book in author V.G. Harrison's exciting Dyson Bridge science fiction series and follows Dr. Meridia Vail's daring escape from the secured federal mental institution where she and others from her crew have been languishing and her desperate efforts to find the help they need to return to Bridgeway Station. When the nations of Earth had cooperated to retrieve the station's crew safely, the rescuers had caused the acceleration of the station's orbital decay. Without her and her crew to stop it, the massive structure would soon enter the planet's atmosphere and eventually plummet to the Earth, causing unimaginable damage, perhaps even a black hole that would suck everything and everyone in the vicinity into oblivion. 

Readers are reintroduced to Dr. Meridia Vail during this latest installment, which serves to advance the storyline begun in book one by an additional day or two. As not a lot of backstory is reviewed, readers new to the series should pick up the previous book before continuing with this one. 

While Dr. Vail scrambles to find anyone in academia or NASA to help her, she worries and shows a lot of compassion for those who answer her call, and rightfully so, as Homeland Security dogs anyone she encounters. The government has been lying to everyone about her continued sojourn in this dimension, telling everyone, including NASA, that she and her crew had perished. Unfortunately, their cover-up may prove true as the epileptic-type symptoms they are exhibiting worsen. All is not grim, though. I loved Dr. Vail's scene with the school children touring the model of the space station at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, and how these small purveyors of social media helped arm-twist the powers that be into admitting the truth and coming to the negotiating table. 

I recommend AMONG US to science fiction fans, especially those who have read the previous book in the series.

For this and other book reviews, visit BOYS' MOM READS!

Above the Clouds

by

Tim Vee

An excellent tale of life in a post-apocalyptic world.

Above the Clouds by Tim Vee is a captivating tale of life in a future, post-apocalyptic world of crumbling ruins and a simple, desperate, day-to-day existence. Three sisters, Zell, Squirt, and Dara, are part of the Clan, an organized community of survivors of some civilization-ending event, who live in a world of darkness, damp, and scrabbling insects in underground tunnels left from BEFORE. Their way of life is brutal and primitive, yet each member of the Clan works to pull their own weight to sustain the community. The sisters do their part by hunting for meat on the surface above, and one by one, they unexpectedly come to find their future outside the Clan, leaving the others behind to grieve. 

This story was so addictive that I didn’t want to put it down, and I absolutely wasn’t ready for it to end when it did. The plot’s tension starts high and continues to build as the sisters encounter heart-pounding challenges to their way of life. Each girl is unique but shares a drive to do their job as a hunter the best they can, and their persistence serves them well when they end up outside of the Clan’s protected tunnels. 

The author’s descriptions of the settings and action are cinematic in quality, and I could easily see this story serving as the launching point for a film or television series. I got vibes of Jean M. Auel’s world in CLAN OF THE CAVE BEAR and that of the city dwellers in Suzanne Collins’s THE HUNGER GAMES but used in a completely different manner. As there are questions left available to further exploration, I would love to see this story continued in additional books. 

With its compelling plot and engaging characters, I recommend ABOVE THE CLOUDS to fans of post-apocalyptic fiction.

For this and other reviews, visit Guatemala Paula Loves to Read!

You’re a F***ing Skeleton, Jimmy!

Totally Random Stories about Apocalypses, #1

by

Devon Van De Zandt

This clever mix of magic and mechanisms makes this end-of-the-world action adventure a real winner.

You’re a F***ing Skeleton, Jimmy! is the first book in author Devon Van De Zandt’s new series, Totally Random Stories about Apocalypses, and is a clever mix of magic and mechanisms in a post-apocalyptic action adventure. With its serious murderbot-gone-rogue protagonist and his whimsical and magically reanimated skeletal sidekick named Jimmy, preventing the end of time has never been so delightful or satisfying. 

Jimmy, the bouncy, eternally optimistic character of the title, is irresistibly engaging, always pointing out the bright side of any situation, but ready to step up to help defend his companions or offer himself as a distraction to allow his fellows to escape or further their mission to stop the greedy Marc Obvious and his necromancer and infernal army from draining all the power from another dimension and causing the implosion of the universe they know. Jimmy sings, hums, and repurposes his phalanges as way markers, all the while providing witty banter and a running commentary on any and all topics that pop into his, literally, empty skull. But underlying his lightweighted personality is bottomless kindness and compassion for others. 

As Jimmy aimlessly wanders the devastated desert-life landscape, he meets and teams up with the murderbot, Unit Johnny Circuit, an older model mechanical warrior deemed obsolete and a thorn in the side of the AI overlord, CHAD (Command & Hierarchy Administrative Director), that controls the last surviving city, Gigacity One (and the target of Marc Obvious and his cult’s schemes to take over the world.) Johnny is a world-weary spirit who has experienced so much that he has developed emotions and sensibilities beyond his original design and purpose. The story unfolds from his clear-eyed, highly capable, and snarky perspective. His narrative and observations are clever and often laugh-out-loud hilarious. 

The novel is short and concise, yet it packs a lot of action into its compact length. Regrettably, very little backstory is provided to explain how this world came to its current situation or even how a walking, talking bag of bones, dressed in khakis and a blue button-down, exists (and without much comment from onlookers). I accepted it and moved on. He was fun, charming, and one of the good guys, but I still have questions. I loved that Jimmy and Johnny are later joined by the wonderfully deadly, half-human cyborg hybrid Sergeant Chen Marina, a former soldier in the service of the Obvious Cult. The story is punctuated with exciting scenes of pursuit and combat, and although the action unfolds quickly, it is so well choreographed by the author that all are easy to follow and visualize in an almost cinematic fashion. I can’t wait for more! 

I recommend YOU’RE A F***ING SKELETON, JIMMY! to readers of post-apocalyptic and dystopian fiction or military action-adventure. 

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advance Review Copy from Reedsy Discovery.

On the Horns of Death

Ancient Crete Mystery, #2

by

Eleanor Kuhns

Intriguing historical mystery uniquely set in ancient Crete.

On the Horns of Death is the second book in Eleanor Kuhns’s unique historical series, the Ancient Crete Mysteries, and features a precocious and talented young female bull dancer as the main character and amateur sleuth. With its engaging protagonist and uncommon setting, this intriguing mystery completely immersed me in the life of this early civilization. 

Martis, the main character, is the 16-year-old daughter of a weaver priestess who trains and performs as a member of the troop of bull dancers during celebrations and religious ceremonies in Knossos. She’s a curious and precocious young woman and, like most at that age, is somewhat undecided on what path she wants her future to take. For now, though, she lives for the excitement and adrenaline rush of leaping over the horns of a charging bull in front of large crowds of people. Her quick wit and sharp eye for details give her insights others overlook but also get her into trouble, especially when on the trail of a murderer. Besides her unusual choice of entertainment, she’s a relatable and likable heroine. 

The plot starts with Martis’s discovery of the dead body of a new bull dancer. The assumed cause of death is from the bull in whose pen the victim was found. Right away, Martis notices oddities regarding the victim’s wounds and realizes there’s a murderer responsible for Duzi’s death. Unfortunately, the suspects include the other bull dancers, who are all Martis’s trusted friends and fellow performers, or several close friends of her older sister, Opis, who died the previous year, creating a difficult and sensitive dilemma for Martis in her investigation. She is assisted in her inquiries by the ghost of another deceased family member, Arge, her sister, who was murdered at her own marriage ceremony. 

The ancient setting on the island of Crete offers its own attractive and unique aspects to the story. Other than through this series, I am only vaguely familiar with this culture and time period and have thoroughly enjoyed the immersive nature of the author’s storytelling. I remember motifs from ancient pottery when reading descriptions of activities, clothing, and even hairstyles. 

With its endearing main character, unusual setting, and entertaining plot containing plenty of surprises, I recommend ON THE HORNS OF DEATH to traditional, historical, and cozy mystery readers. 

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advance Review Copy from the author through Partners in Crime Virtual Book Tours.

The Tear Collector

by

R.M. Romero

Intriguing middle-grade climate fiction, post-apocalyptic tale.

The Tear Collector by R.M. Romero is an intriguing post-apocalyptic tale for middle-grade readers, featuring an island community formed after a second great flood. Besides a mysterious story with young protagonists living on an isolated island where sadness can transform one into a monster, it is a cautionary tale about taking care of our world before it is too late. All is not lost, though; the story provides hope for the future by the tale’s end. 

Siblings Malka and Ezra were swept away during the civilization-ending flood, ending up with other survivors on an island formed by the rising water level. They are “adopted” by a medical doctor in the new community who has dedicated his life to finding a cure for a terrible new malady called “The Sorrows” that afflicts bereft, morose islanders and turns them into monstrous, animalistic creatures. Dr. Jonas Hollman is convinced that the answer to the horrifying illness lies in the tears of the people, and it becomes Malka’s job to collect samples. She follows through with determination because her beloved younger brother, Ezra, has started sprouting feathers. But when a small plane flown by a girl her own age, claiming to come from the mainland, crashes on the beach, everything changes. 

Malka and Ezra were close even before the flood. She saved his life when the water came, and continues in her role as his champion when other islanders shun him when the proof he’s got “The Sorrows” comes to light. Malka is quite aggressive in her dealings with others, sometimes getting in people’s faces so quickly that she borders on unlikable. She takes nothing from nobody, except Ezra. They have developed a found family with Jonas and some of the other residents of their hotel home, complete with all the quirks that come with one formed from blood ties. However, their relationship with Jonas takes an unfortunate (and all too tragically realistic) turn as the story progresses. 

The author does an amazing job creating her post-flood world, with the survival of random bits and pieces of life from before and the odd mix of buildings that literally weathered the storm. I really liked the pink hotel, where Jonas, Malka, Ezra, and others made their home as Jack’s efforts to normalize its current state continued. 

The horrifying effects of “The Sorrows” absolutely gripped me, not only because of the body horror but also the uncertain internal impact on the minds of those poor afflicted individuals. Jules Gray and his henchmen, Mikos and Lukus, are dastardly, evil villains. 

Due to the colorless, dreary, and always-raining setting, Olivia Diaz, the young pilot, stands out as a shockingly bright spot in the narrative from the very first. Still, it is a toss-up as to who I would name my favorite character among the three children. 

I recommend THE TEAR COLLECTOR to readers of middle-grade fantasy and horror. 

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advance Review Copy through Toppling Stacks Tours.