Category: Science Fiction

A BJ Review: The Silvers by J. A. Rock

Rating:   3.75 out of 5 stars

The SilversWhat humans want from the Silver Planet is water. What they find is a race of humanoids who are sentient, but as emotionless and serene as the plants and placid lakes they tend. B, captain of the mission, doesn’t believe that the “Silvers” are intelligent, and lets his crew experiment on them. But then he bonds with Imms, who seems different from the others-interested in learning, intrigued by human feelings. And B realizes that capturing, studying, and killing this planet’s natives has done incalculable damage.

When a fire aboard B’s ship kills most of the crew and endangers Imms, B decides to take him back to Earth. But the simplicity of the Silver Planet doesn’t follow them. Imms learns the full spectrum of human emotions, including a love B is frightened to return, and a mistrust of the bureaucracy that wants to treat Imms like a test subject, even if they have to eliminate B to do it.

The version I read is a revised second edition. I owned the original version by Jill Smith but had not gotten around to reading it, so when I noticed a new edition was coming out and that it was actually by an author that I’d read and enjoyed other stories by, I had to read it.

Outstanding world building in this sci-fi story. It takes place partially on an the Silver planet and partially on Earth. The description of the Silver planet and the culture of its people is vividly drawn, detailed, and fascinating. I adore reading sci-fi stories where the aliens are truly unique and different from humans, not just merely humans of a different skin color or something. This was totally that. I loved the description of the silver anatomy with its bruise like skin, floating heart, and some of the special abilities they have such as staying under water for a long, long time and going into the ground. Excellent sci-fi elements! The Silvers were original, and the first part of the story written while they were on their planet, while the darkest and most disturbing part, was also my favorite. Unfortunately, once the story moved to Earth, it began to slow down and really drag for me in parts.

This is not a light or happy story, in fact, it read as rather depressing a lot of the time. It deals with issues that made me think and feel and ponder. There are some parts that shimmer with tension, and some other parts that seemed flat, unemotional and slow. The first part, set on Planet Silver, was heartbreakingly sad as we see the way the humans thought of and treated the peaceful Silvers. The cast of characters on that ship was quite interesting, as was the outcome of their time there. To be honest, I didn’t like B at all at the beginning, but as the story went on, I at least began to understand him if not ever fully liking him.

On the other hand, Imms (who B started out calling Roach…shudder) was fascinating and heartbreaking right from the beginning to the end. He reminded me a little of Pinocchio wanting to be a real boy.

The prose is sometimes very simple and other times flowery and lyrical almost poetic. The writing style of it didn’t draw me in as closely as it could, which in this case was actually a good thing as it was plenty heart wrenching as it was. A touching, thought provoking romance with mention of sex, but it is all off-page. I enjoyed the ending and yet it did leave me with questions and wanting more.

The new cover on this version is lovely, a subtle, different take on sci-fi that makes me curious. Unique

Pre sales link: Riptide Publishing


Book Details:  

ebook, 2nd edition, 323 pages
Expected publication: July 9th 2016 by Riptide Publishing (first published February 16th 2014)
ISBN 1626493863 (ISBN13: 9781626493865)
Edition LanguageEnglish

Its All About Dragon Men and Their Mates with Dragon Men Series by Amber Kell – Series Recap Tour and Giveaway

Amber Kell – Dragon Men Series – Series Recap & Giveaway

 
Dragons. Scaled mythical beasts known for their powerful imagery across the ages. But what happens when those same beasts can transform into equally impressive men. The dukes, lords and religious icons of the planet Dragait are looking for their mates. Where can they find those lucky few who can match the passion and wonder of a shapeshifting dragon. In this series you discover what happens when a dragon finds something more valuable than gold to hoard.
 
Mate Hunt
 
Joriah Eprion didn̥t know what sort of trouble he could get into when his father sends him to another planet to find a mate. Barely making it into the spaceport he tumbles into a sizzling attraction to a man sitting at the spaceport then falls equally for another man at a bar. Unable to resist either man he sets up a confrontation between two of the most powerful men in the kingdom both who are vying for his hand. Will Jory survive their courtship or will he become a
pawn between two men used to getting their own way.
Some m/m/m scenes.


Mate Test
 
When High Duke Torrance Zelan is sent to negotiate mineral rights he didn’t know that his uncle had already offered Tor’s hand in marriage. Still broken-hearted from losing his lover two years before, Tor isn’t prepared for his attraction to the dragon king. King Naron knows it’s wrong to trick the handsome duke, but the temptation to test Tor for compatibility is too much to resist. Out of all the candidates Naron knows which sexy lord he wants warming his bed.

 
Mate Dance
 
Heading to a bar after a dance performance, intergalactically famous dancer, Raven, ran into a little girl beside the dead body of her grandmother. His one good deed in helping out the little girl, his one good deed would leads him into the arms of a dragon prince. Raven soon learns that once a dragon claims its mate, it will keep him closer than gold.

ARe:https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-matedance-1281182-340.html

 
Mate Healer
 
Lian Blythorpe avoids entanglements. Scared by his parents’ violent ending he vows to keep things light between himself and any partner. His plans are abandoned when he meets Nevair Dragonfang, the religious leader for an entire planet. One glance into Nevair’s intense gaze and Lian melts. It only takes one time before Lian finds himself captured by his sexy mate and can’t imagine life without him. Unfortunately not everyone is pleased with their mating and one man’s jealousy leads Lian to a trial by fire he might be able to survive.

ARe:https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-matehealer-1271540-340.html

 
Author Bio

Amber Kell has made a career out of daydreaming. It has been a lifelong habit she practices diligently as shown by her complete lack of focus on anything not related to her fantasy world building.

When she told her husband what she wanted to do with her life, he told her to go have fun.
During those seconds she isn’t writing, she remembers she has children who humor her with games of ‘what if’ and let her drag them to foreign lands to gather inspiration. Her youngest confided in her that he wants to write because he longs for a website and an author name—two things apparently necessary to be a proper writer.

Despite her husband’s insistence she doesn’t drink enough to be a true literary genius, she continues to spin stories of people falling happily in love and staying that way.

She is thwarted during the day by a traffic jam of cats on the stairway and a puppy who insists on walks, but she bravely perseveres.

Website: http://www.amberkell.com
E-mail: amberkellwrites@gmail.com

a Rafflecopter giveaway
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A VVivacious Review: Darkside (Mate of the Tyger Prince #2) by Shannon West

Rating: 4.5 Stars out of 5
 
Dark Side“The course of true love never did run smooth.”  – William Shakespeare
General Haggoz finds himself in the impossible situation of having to imprison his own nobyo. As he struggles to come to terms with the wrong doings of Kevin, he also realizes that he will never stop loving Kevin. Kevin finds himself imprisoned in a cell in Haggoz’s house where the only thing that breaks the pall of his existence is Haggoz and the few times he deems to visits him. But while Kevin may have reasons for his deeds, he has given up hope on ever having Haggoz forgive him.
 
On the other hand, Mikos and Ryan are trying to get through everyday life. They bicker like an old married couple but are just as much in love as they were before.
 
But when Mikos and Haggoz disappear it is up to Kevin and Ryan to find them and bring them home.
 
This book is a good companion to its predecessor.
 
The story of this book follows two couples – Mikos and Ryan; and Haggoz and Kevin. The best part about following two couples was that since both these couples where in different places in their respective relationships, it made for an interesting story as we kind of got all the phases that a relationship goes through in one go.
 
Mikos and Ryan love each other more than ever but they also argue more than ever. Their story is basically about how navigating married life has been for them so far.
 
This time around we get more of the royal family. We get lots of interactions with Blake, who I have come to adore. His will is second to none. Also we get to see a whole lot more of Vannos, Anarr, Larz and Nicarr but I guess the best thing was that we got to see Blake interact with his children which is so sweet. I mean I loved the parental vibes he gives off and how well he knows all his kids and how much he loves them. Also we see more of Davos. I can probably read an entire book about Blake and Davos. But there was also a very inconspicuous absence of Blake and Davos’ fourth child Darrek, I mean this time around when we got introduced to all his other siblings, I would have thought we would get to see him too, but no there is nothing about him in this book, absolutely no mention whatsoever. Also more Mikol!
 
This time around we get a bit more on the shifting aspects of Tygerians. Well we actually get to see Haggoz in his tiger form and personally I loved the scene. But I wish we could get more of tiger Mikos, now that I would love to see.
 
Kevin and Haggoz’s story line was something extremely beautiful. I mean here are two people who love each other a lot but find themselves on opposite sides of the law. Haggoz had a horrible childhood and Kevin is his one and only shot at happiness because Kevin is his happiness. But Haggoz also has a duty to his king to keep his nobyo, Kevin as a prisoner but try as he might to hate Kevin for his actions he realises that his love for Kevin is boundless. In fact during the entire story I was positive that any hurt Haggoz had ever inflicted on Kevin actually hurt him more and hurting Kevin was actually his way of hurting himself.
 
Kevin might have reasons for his wrong doings but he doesn’t think that Haggoz will understand. But loving Haggoz is something that has become synonymous with living life for Kevin.
 
These two tortured souls who want nothing but to be together must walk a difficult and treacherous path to be together. But since their hearts are already one it won’t take long for their minds to realize how foolish their forced separation is.
 
I loved the story and how it is written the POVs alternating between the two couples, on one side there was the playfulness of Ryan and Mikos and on the other was the heartache of Kevin and Haggoz and they balanced each other perfectly. The plot was the best because seeing the Ryan and Kevin work together to get back their mates was really well done. Also it was nice to see the humans work together to rescue their more powerful Tygerian mates.
 
My only irritation with the book was that the meeting scene between Haggoz and Kevin was repeated i.e. we got that same scene from Haggoz’s as well as Kevin’s perspective but reading it again was kind of a dredge. Also the party at the end of which Mikos gets shot in the previous book was rehashed this time from Ryan’s POV, these repetitions got kind of boring. Actually as such it wasn’t the repetition of the scene that was so boring it was the fact that I was anticipating that I would have to read the events that I already knew about again that was trying.
 
Otherwise this book was a great follow up to its predecessor and I loved the epilogue, finally Mikos learns how to deal with his husband. I hope we can get more Mikos and Ryan.
 
Cover Art by E Connors. The cover is a little weird what with that huge scarf but it is actually a depiction of Kevin from a scene in the book but it makes no sense whatsoever if you haven’t read the book.
Sales Links:  Amazon  | ARe
Book Details:
ebook
Published April 5th 2016 by Dark Hollows Press LLC
Edition LanguageEnglish
Series Mate of the Tyger Prince

Its Love Times Three with ‘No Remedy (Bounty, #2)’ by Christine d’Abo (author guest post and giveaway)

No Remedy

No Remedy (Bounty, #2)  by Christine d’Abo
Riptide Publishing
Cover Artist Lou Harper

Read an Excerpt/Buy It Here

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Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words is happy to have Christine d’Abo here today to talk  about the second novel in her Bounty series, No Remedy.  Welcome, Christine.

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Hello, my name is Christine d’Abo! Thank you so much for having me here on the blog today.

There’s something really enticing about a ménage story. Am I right?? Lots of hot, sweaty bodies all crammed together doing all sorts of things to one another. In the case of No Remedy, that crammed space is both in the cockpit and under the bedsheets.

Mace is on a mission to save her friend and captain, Faolan Wolf. She’s been working closely with Alec, a brilliant scientist who seems to be on the verge of a cure for the disease that’s killing Faolan. But when his ex-lover Byron shows up, Mace realizes that there’s more to Alec than meets the eye.

Byron is dominant in the bedroom and just as pushy outside. While she might put up with it for a few rounds of great sex, there’s no way she’ll let him put Faolan’s life in jeopardy. Too bad the lines get blurred and she starts to fall for both Alec and Byron. But she’s not sure if there’s room enough in their relationship for three.

If you would like to learn more about me, please pay a visit to my website www.christinedabo.com. I’m also very active on Twitter as @Christine_dAbo and have a monthly newsletter. If you’d like to sign up, simply click here to fill out the form.

About No Remedy

For months, Mace Simms has been seeking an antidote for the poison killing her mentor. Her only hope is Alec Roiten, a brilliant scientist hiding on a backwater planet. Posing as a research assistant, Mace offers the elusive genius all the help she can, ignoring the explosive chemistry between them. Soon they’re close to a cure.

But then Alec’s former love Byron shows up, attempting to claim a bounty on Alec’s head, and all that careful research gets left behind when they’re forced to flee. And when Byron realizes the tip-off about Alec was a ruse by his rivals to lure him out into the open to kill him, the bounty hunt turns into a three-person scramble for survival.

Byron wants his old lover back, Alec is consumed by a haunting secret about the poison he’s desperate to defeat, and Mace is caught between them. But she’s beginning to think that’s exactly where she belongs as the three are drawn together in their race against death.

Publisher’s note: This title is an edited second edition, previously published in 2011.

About Christine d’Abo

A romance novelist and short story writer, Christine has over thirty publications to her name. She loves to exercise and stops writing just long enough to keep her body in motion too. When she’s not pretending to be a ninja in her basement, she’s most likely spending time with her family and two dogs.

Connect with Christine:

NoRemedy_TourBanner (1)

Giveaway

To celebrate the release of the Bounty series, one lucky person will receive a $50 gift certificate to Riptide. Winner will be selected from across all three book tours (No Quarter, No Remedy, No Master) and as such, the contest is open until midnight, Eastern time, on July 2, 2016. Contest is NOT restricted to U.S. entries. Comment to enter, and don’t forget to leave your contact info!

Bounty

Bounty hunters and pirates may contend for dominance in the vast reaches of interstellar space, but the heart of the conflict always comes down to who you know. Who you hate. Who you love.

Whether the prize is a priceless gem, political gain, the antidote to a rare poison, or a bounty big enough to secure any hunter’s future, the only way for a pirate or a hunter to come out ahead is by building alliances. One system, one planet, one person, one heart at a time. The distance between the stars may be infinite, but love doesn’t care about boundaries.

Publisher’s Note: While books #1 and #2 should be read in order, #3 stands alone and can be read without the first two.

No Quarter (Bounty, #1)  by Christine d’Abo

No Remedy (Bounty, #2) by Christine d’Abo

No Master (Bounty, #3) byChristine d’Abo

A Free Dreamer Review: The Starving Years by Jordan Castillo Price

Rating: 4 stars out of 5

The Starving Years right coverImagine a world without hunger. In 1960, a superfood was invented that made starvation a thing of the past. Manna, the cheaply manufactured staple food, is now as ubiquitous as salt in the world’s cupboards, pantries and larders.

Nelson Oliver knows plenty about manna. He’s a food scientist—according to his diploma, that is. Lately, he’s been running the register at the local video rental dive to scrape together the cash for his exorbitantly priced migraine medication.

In a job fair gone bad, Nelson hooks up with copywriter Javier and his computer-geek pal Tim, who whisks them away from the worst of the fiasco in his repurposed moving truck. At least, Nelson thinks those two are acquainted, but they’re acting so evasive about it, he’s not sure how they know each other, exactly.

Javier is impervious to Nelson’s flirting, and Tim’s name could appear in the dictionary under the entry for “awkward.” And with a riot raging through Manhattan and yet another headache coming on, it doesn’t seem like Nelson will get an answer anytime soon. One thing’s for sure, the tension between the three of them is thick enough to cut with a knife…even one of those dull plastic dealies that come in the package with Mannariffic EZ-Mealz.

When reading the blurb for this book, I’d hoped for a well-developed dystopian story that happens to have gay MCs. Unfortunately, the story didn’t quite live up to my hopes.

The thing that bothered me the most was the severe lack of world building. There’s manna, some sort of artificial food thing. Almost everybody eats that stuff instead of real food. We never do find out why this became so popular, nor do we find out what it’s made of or how it is produced. That’s a real shame, because the concept was certainly very interesting.

Another thing was the whole thing about a man “putting his mark” on a (pregnant) woman. It seems to be a big deal and very important and yet we never learn the how and the why. Apparently not having a father for your child is a huge thing in this society, but the author failed to explain why.

Overall, the story could have used a bit more depth. All three MCs were thinking with their dicks a little too much for my taste. And the love was a bit too insta for me. But at least the sex was hot.

All three MCs had an interesting past. They could have used a bit more depth too, though.

The plot was engaging and a nice change from your run of the mill m/m romance plot. There actually was a real plot here. Some revelations were a bit foreseeable but overall I definitely wasn’t bored.

All in all, “The Starving Years” had a little too much romance for me and too little actual depth and world building. The plot and the MCs were interesting though, and I felt well entertained.

If you’re looking for M/M romance with a bit of a dystopian feel to it, you’ll probably enjoy this more than I did, since I’d hoped for a solid dystopia with a bit of romance.

Cover: The cover by Jordan Castillo Price shows a man with duct tape over his mouth. Judging by the cover alone, I’d almost expect a BDSM story. I don’t think I would have checked this out, if I hadn’t seen an edition with a different cover first.

Sales Links:  Amazon

Book details:

ebook, 286 pages
Published March 5th 2012 by JCP Books LLC (first published March 3rd 2012)
ISBN139781935540434
Edition LanguageEnglish
URLhttp://jordancastilloprice.com/starvingyears/index.html settingNew York (United States)

Sunny Moraine On Writing Pain, Characters and ‘Sword and Star’ (guest blog and giveaway)

Sword and Star

Sword and Star (Root Code #3) by Sunny Moraine
Riptide Publishing
Cover art by Kanaxa

Read an Excerpt/Buy It Here

Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words is happy to have Sunny Moraine here today to talk about writing, characterization and her latest novel in her Root Code series, Sword and Star.  Welcome, Sunny!.

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Welcome to the SWORD AND STAR blog tour! 

 

SWORD AND STAR is the conclusion of a trilogy I started (with my co-author for LINE AND ORBIT Lisa Soem) over a decade ago. It’s been a long, strange journey and now it’s over. It’s not the first book trilogy I’ve finished, but it’s certainly the closest to my heart.

 

It’s been amazing getting to know this world and these characters over the course of three books, and it’s been even more amazing getting to share it all with readers. Adam Yuga and Lochlan d’Bideshi’s story is done, Eva Reyes and Kyle Waverly have found their own conclusion, Kae and Leila’s part in this tale is over (though you’ll see those two again in the forthcoming LINEAGE), and I’ve bid a fond farewell to the Bideshi seer Nkiruka. Goodbyes are never easy, but when you arrive at a good one, it’s immensely satisfying.

 

I’m so grateful to everyone who’s traveled with me, and just as grateful to the people coming to the story now. Whatever category you fall into, I hope you’ll find this final volume a fitting end.

 

Thank you for being here!

 

 

Character Pain

 

One of the things that ends up being most necessary in a story, I think, is the willingness to make your characters suffer.

 

Which can be hard, because – ideally – you love these people. They’ve come to mean an enormous amount to you. You also identify with them; writing them is going to mean getting into their heads, their thoughts, feeling what they feel. If you’re going to put them through pain, writing it means experiencing that pain, at least to some degree. At least if you’re going to write it well.

 

So it’s natural to be inclined to not do so. But that’s a mistake.

 

It’s a mistake in part in terms of the amount of story. An easily resolved problem doesn’t give you much scope for plot. But even more it’s a mistake because it means there’s nothing at stake, and in order for a story to be engaging, the stakes have to be high. Usually the higher the better. Which means danger, severe consequences if things go wrong – and things pretty much have to go wrong, or the danger won’t seem real.

 

Though the entire Root Code trilogy, I’ve been trying to raise the stakes. LINE AND ORBIT ends with a climactic battle; SWORD AND STAR begins in the midst of a buildup to war, and the story as a whole is the story of that war. You don’t get stakes much higher than that – the war itself has the potential to be a war wherein the human race destroys itself. But that’s only a backdrop for the fear and suffering I put my characters through. I tried to put them through as much as I reasonably could, pushing them to their limit – which is important, because when you push a character as far as you can, you get to know them in a way nothing else allows for.

 

Throughout the course of the book, my characters have to decide what they’re willing to fight for, what they’re willing to die for – and even more, whether they’re willing to sacrifice their chance to be with the people they love. Because wondering if you’ll have to choose between saving what you have with those people and saving the lives of millions… I can think of worse things than that, but it’s pretty bad.

 

Especially when the story is ultimately about love, about what love costs, and in the end about how love can heal.

 

So I put my characters through hell. It wasn’t necessarily fun, but it was necessary, and at the end of the book I believed I had given them something meaningful to fight through, to fight for, and that whatever victory they managed to attain was truly worth something as a result. And that the love they all had for each other was worth something as well, because these people are all family more than anything else. I believed the destination justified the journey, but also the other way around.

 

I hope, if you take that journey with them, that you’ll feel the same.

 

 

Sword and Star

About Sword and Star

 

Three months after a brutal battle at Peris, Adam Yuga, Lochlan D’Bideshi, and their rebel fleet are embroiled in a new conflict. But things aren’t going well. Even with Lock’s homeship, Ashwina, at the head of the fleet, the Protectorate forces are adapting to their tactics. Before long, two devastating blows send the ragtag rebels on the run. But the greatest threat may come from within.

 

Since the battle at Peris, Protectorate loyalist Isaac Sinder’s determination to eliminate the rebel fleet has only intensified—along with his ambition. The Protectorate is decaying, and it’s clear to Isaac that only he can save it, by any means necessary.

 

As the situation worsens for the rebels, the strain begins to tell on everyone. But more than exhaustion grows within Adam. Something alien has started to change him. Lochlan fights to hold on, but even he may not be able to follow Adam down the dark road ahead.

 

As Isaac’s obsession turns to insanity, it becomes evident that more sinister plans than his are at work. Bound together by threads of fate and chance, Adam and Lochlan turn their eyes toward a future that may tear them apart—if they’re lucky enough to survive it at all.

 

 

About Sunny Moraine

 

Sunny Moraine’s short fiction has appeared in Clarkesworld, Strange Horizons, Nightmare, Lightspeed, Long Hidden: Speculative Fiction from the Margins of History, and multiple Year’s Best collections, among other places. They are also responsible for the novels Line and Orbit (cowritten with Lisa Soem), Labyrinthian, and the Casting the Bones trilogy, as well as A Brief History of the Future: collected essays. In addition to authoring, Sunny is a doctoral candidate in sociology and a sometimes college instructor; that last may or may not have been a good move on the part of their department. They unfortunately live just outside Washington DC in a creepy house with two cats and a very long-suffering husband.

Connect with Sunny: 

 

 

SwordAndStar_TourBanner

Giveaway

 

To celebrate the release of Sword and Star, Sunny is giving away a signed copy of the book and a handmade necklace. Leave a comment to enter the contest. Entries close at midnight, Eastern time, on May 28, 2016. Contest is NOT restricted to U.S. entries. Thanks for following the tour, and don’t forget to leave your contact info!

 

This title is #3 of the Root Code series.

This title is part of the Songs of Slipstream universe.