Category: Science Fiction

Review: Future Tense (Ellis McFadden Mysteries) by Kristen Painter

Rating: 2.75✨

Spoilers 🚫

Unfortunately for me, Future Tense, the newest release in Kristen Painter’s Ellis McFadden Mysteries series fell very short of all the previous stories.

While those centered around life and the mysteries on the star ship Ellis and her friends were living on, Future Tense brings in a new alien species, a element which ends up being the most underwhelming and poorly conceived aspect of the story.

It didn’t help that I had just finished another science fiction series where the universe building and science was exceptional. 

The idea of a multi use enormous star liner, part science vessel, part military liner and civilian transportation ship, could easily let a rarely seen species go among its quarters , ship levels and communities , toting in unique and unknown objects throughout, spreading its messages across its media channels? Without tight controls and quarantines in place prior? None of this happens and it breaks down my belief in the idea of a sound narrative foundation that any part of this is a realistic idea of a scientific or military vessel or has officers with that status on board. The author seems to have forgotten her own statement about the Athos’ mission and its command in lieu of the theme of this mystery. 

And when things go wrong, as one might expect, The Captain (military mind you) goes to her daughter, the ship’s librarian (and librarians are fabulous) and her wealthy retired IT boyfriend, to solve the mystery. 

I can only suspend my belief so far. And it couldn’t go that distance. 

Even so many other aspects of the story were not well constructed. At any time during the serious investigation into missing persons, including a teenager, was it an official crime matter or military action? No. On a spaceship considered a main fleet vessel, carrying a number of people in cryotubes? Maybe that part of the series has been sidelined. But it’s a science and military ship so where’s that structure?

And oh by the way, given the epilogue, it appears they could have figured out who those aliens and their ship were after all with a bit of space Google.

There were a few positive things like Ellis’s decision about remaining single because she and Frank enjoy their personal spaces and privacy but that’s countered by having the fascinating IA pets like Henry be reduced to saying “I’d like to watch fish today, Mom”, instead of being a integral member of the investigating team.  Such an empty role as opposed to what they have been prior. 

Given all the above, this book was a disappointment. I won’t be recommending it. 

Cover design: Cover design and composite cover art by Janet Holmes

Ellis McFadden Mysteries :

  • Breathing Space #1
  • Star Power #2
  • Future Tense #3 

Buy link

        Future Tense: Ellis McFadden Mysteries

    

Blurb 

Step into the enigmatic world of the Athos—a vessel that blends the luxury of a cruise ship, the intrigue of a scientific research station, and the might of a military starship. Here, amidst the stars, you’ll find Ellis McFadden, the ship’s head librarian, embarking on adventures she never anticipated this late in her career.

The plot thickens when the Athos comes to the aid of a stranded craft, taking aboard three mysterious sisters and their father. They offer a tantalizing trade: visions of the future for those eager to know their fate. The crew and guests are soon captivated by the predictions.

But Ellis senses something amiss. The price for these glimpses into tomorrow seems too steep. So she, boyfriend Frank, and her android cat investigate, uncovering dubious secrets, but her friends are already entranced by the charlatans’ charms. Can Ellis break the spell and save the ship’s crew from an ominous future?

  • Publisher: Sugar Skull Books
  • Accessibility: Learn more
  • Publication date: May 31, 2025
  • Language: English
  • Print length: 299 pages
  • Book 3 of 3: Ellis McFadden Mysteries

Review:  Astray (The Adventures of a Xeno-Archaeologist Book 1) by Jenny Schwartz

Rating: 4.5✨

What a fantastic read. I found everything about this book (and series) mesmerizing. From the planets, the political systems and current fragile climate, the galaxies and the science behind the unique found powers, foundations the universe here.  Schwartz builds out, book by book on the societies , cultures, and scientific knowledge and theories she establishes in Astray. 

Schwartz had me, honestly, at the sheer magnitude of world building she’s done here. And things that normally don’t appeal to me such as a space age political system that’s along the lines of an Earth monarchy has been created by a history that’s as compelling as it is historically complicated in human space exploration. 

The central figure is Captain Nora Devi, a solitary xeno-archaeologist ,widowed in the recent galactic wars. Nora is a complicated character. She escaped from a tenement, crime ridden slum world where she’d been raised to owning her own ship and business. Her pilot husband died in the twelve year war between Capitoline and Palantine. And she’s still grieving. 

Other figures in the story and series are Capitolines’s Captain Liam Kimani of the RC battlecruiser RC Genghis Khan, an orphan Aria, for starters.  

I really don’t want to give any more details because it’s a fantastic read and journey for everyone exploring the world along with Nora .  So many surprises, decisions, and twists. 

There is no romance here.  When it comes , it’s books later. 

This is about power, people, galactic energy, politics and survival. 

Absolutely enthralling and entertaining. 

Did I rush from book to book? Why yes I did. And you will too if strong woman characters, terrific storylines and imaginative world building is what you want!

“Cover designed by MiblArt”

The Adventures of a Xeno-Archaeologist:

Astray #1

Doubt #2

Rebel #3

Cajole #4

Resolve#5

Buy link

 Book 1 of 5: The Adventures of a Xeno-Archaeologist 

Blurb 

Nora Devi is a xeno-archaeologist with a complicated past. She has buried more secrets than she’s dug up. Widowed in the recently ended twelve year war between Capitoline and Palantine, she now makes a living as an independent tagger in border space.

Captain Liam Kimani could be credited with ending the latest royal war. Instead, he’s blamed for it. Dirty commoners aren’t meant to lay their hands on royalty.

He has no regrets.

When Liam and his crew of the battlecruiser RC Genghis Khan are exiled to Capitoline’s border they discover that life in unexplored space can be more dangerous than war, and that their best chance of survival lies with a mysterious, elusive tagger.

The only problem is that Nora’s secrets might destroy the precarious stability of the entire Human Sector.

Astray is a fast-paced, enthralling space opera of lost societies, ancient aliens, rugged warriors and semi-legal pirates perfect for fans of Lois McMaster Bujold, Becky Chambers, and Lindsay Buroker.

Space exploration science fiction, first contact science fiction, science fiction adventure, 

Review:  Jingle Stars (Shamans & Shifters Space Opera Book 4) by Jenny Schwartz 

Rating: 4.75✨

Jingle Stars (Shamans & Shifters Space Opera Book 4) is a holiday themed book and a highly important part of the series narrative tapestry.  While it contains a lovely story that could be read simply as a Christmas gift by the author that’s really not it’s true worth. This book is a beautifully crafted piece of writing. 

Its main character starts off with Ahab, is a mLa’an AI who’s a partner with Vulf and Jaya on the spaceship Orion.  The galactic political system is in the process of determining whether artificial intelligence is or can be considered “real beings “, and recognized as full citizens of Galaxy Proper.  

This argument should hit home as we are currently in the midst of early stages of the exact same process. And robotics. 

Ahab is piloting the Orion on a solo mission when Ahab picks up a distressing transmission. A letter to Santa from a young boy asking Santa to save a group of kids, where there shouldn’t be any. 

What follows is a discourse on what it means to be a person. The questions that arise from multiple perspectives and sources. And finally, those answers that matter the most. 

And yes, grab a box of tissues and have it handy.

This isn’t a fun or easy read. There’s children in horrifying situations, traumatic events in their backgrounds.  And all play huge roles in the story and series. 

Jingle Stars (Shamans & Shifters Space Opera Book 4) by Jenny Schwartz  is an amazing read, capturing so many different perspectives and emotional moments. A fun lighthearted holiday story? No, but a great book that will make you think about families and love in all its faces.  At Christmas. 

Highly recommended. Love this author and series. 

Loving the covers.  Highly recommended. 

Shamans & Shifters Space Opera series: 

Her Robot Wolf 

Cosmic Catalyst 

Shattered Earth 

Jingle Stars 

The Ceph Sector 

Buy link 

        Jingle Stars (Shamans & Shifters Space Opera Book 4)

    

Blurb 

When a starship decides to play Santa Claus… 

Ahab is a mLa’an artificial intelligence embedded in the starship, Orion. The campaign for AIs to be recognized as full citizens of Galaxy Proper is within reach of its extraordinary goal. The only thing that could stop it now is if an AI did something foolish…like take a space station hostage to save eight orphaned children.

And this is the letter to Santa that starts it all:

Dear Santa

I don’t know if your reindeers work in space. But if you have room in your sleigh after you finish delivering presents to the lucky kids with parents and homes, can you come and get me and my friends? Please? We’ve been good. Well, we haven’t been really bad. We’re on Station Elphame, in the junkyard, and Zoe is sick. She’s bad sick. I think she’d be better on a planet. We don’t need presents. We just need a way out of here. Ollie tried to sneak onto a trampship…he died. Please, Santa, I don’t want any more of my friends to die.

Aiden.

  • Publisher: Amazon Digital Services
  • Accessibility: Learn more
  • Publication date: December 4, 2017
  • Language: English
  • Print length: 75 pages

Review: Shattered Earth (Shamans & Shifters Space Opera Book 3) by Jenny Schwartz  

Rating: 4.5✨

I’ll be posting the review for Shattered Earth and the holiday novella, Jingle Stars, together because they are short and , shakes finger at Schwartz, only appear to be side stories from the overall series arc.

But having read the series finale, I can tell you that Schwartz makes every single character and storyline have impact and enormous implications going forward. Even if superficially, nothing in the stories seems to connect to the complex plot of starship shaman Jaya Romanov and her new mate partner, galactic bounty hunter and robot wolf shifter, Vulf Trent, headed to the Ceph Sector for research and exploration. 

I love when an author never drops a thread, uses each character’s storyline and development further to make the series stronger and even more compelling by its finale.

Just saying keep it in mind when going through the next two novellas. 

Shattered Earth features pirate captain Kohia Jekyll and healer shaman Nairo Bloodstone, important figures from Cosmic Catalyst.  Kohia is  Jaya’s cousin and Nairo grew up with Jaya in the Academy that raised them. 

Shattered Earth is literally a transformative tale. Nairo is taking over from Jaya in working towards the solution where all the shifters have the ability to recover their animal form. Kohia, a Tiger shifter and one of the galaxy’s most powerful captains, is returning to Earth, a mission to find and see what happened to the prison Jaya and Vulf uncovered. 

A short story that makes the most of its length.  Full of details about the magic, descriptions of a destroyed Earth, a horrifying mine turned prison, and newly forming relationships between shipmates. Including a Captain and Healer. 

Yes, absolutely wanted a book twice as long but these two are now an integral component of the narrative. As are many others. 

Loving the covers.  Highly recommended. 

Shamans & Shifters Space Opera series: 

Her Robot Wolf 

Cosmic Catalyst 

Shattered Earth 

Jingle Stars 

The Ceph Sector 

Buy link 

        Shattered Earth (Shamans & Shifters Space Opera Book 3)

    

Blurb 

The scum of the galaxy are using Earth as a nuclear winter death camp. It outrages pirate captain Kohia Jekyll’s sense of justice. No one deserves to die agonizingly of radiation poisoning, especially not on the planet humanity had to evacuate seven generations ago. So Kohia intends to close the prison camp down. She didn’t count on an infuriating shaman healer hitching a ride aboard her starship.

Nairo Bloodstone isn’t going to Earth to be a hero. He learned the hard way that when you’re a healer, doing your best for people is never enough. One miracle leads them to demand another and another. Heroes die exhausted and alone, and the galaxy continues with billions of people still clamoring for a miracle-worker to save them. No, Nairo isn’t going to Earth to be a hero. He intends to change what it means to be human.

Shattered Earth is a stand-alone novella in the Shamans & Shifters Space Opera series.

  • Publisher: Amazon Digital Services
  • Accessibility: Learn more
  • Publication date: November 20, 2017
  • Language: English
  • Print length: 80 pages

Review:  Cosmic Catalyst (Shamans & Shifters Space Opera Book 2) by Jenny Schwartz 

Rating: 4.5✨

Cosmic Catalyst is an excellent sequel to Her Robot Wolf, picking up after the highly dramatic events in that story that saw Jaya saving the galactic empire, along with her mate Vulf and companions. 

Cosmic Catalyst deals with the ramifications from that event, the reveal of previously unknown powers that Jaya has and the hope that Vulf’s robot wolf represents for the shifter worlds. 

As they say no good deed goes unpunished. And so those who want to profit from this event and her powers circle around them. 

It’s an exceedingly wild, exciting, and amazing read. It moves all the relationships and overall dynamics forward and develops the world building even better by giving the reader more information about the Meitj, the other races, and the processes behind what drove saving certain species. 

And the romance between Jaya and Vulf enables the author to explore the shifter society and interlock it into an expanded family for Jaya.

Another fabulous story and it’s onto the next!

Loving the covers.  Highly recommended. 

Shamans & Shifters Space Opera series: 

Her Robot Wolf 

Cosmic Catalyst 

Shattered Earth 

Jingle Stars 

The Ceph Sector 

Buy link 

        Cosmic Catalyst (Shamans & Shifters Space Opera Book 2)

    

Blurb 

When starship shaman Jaya Romanov and her new mate partner, galactic bounty hunter and robot wolf shifter, Vulf Trent, saved the galaxy from the deadly actions of a determined geriatric terrorist, they forgot that old Earth truism: no good deed goes unpunished.

Now, the galaxy is exploding with unexpected aliens, greedy politicians—well, that’s normal enough, it’s what the politicians will attempt that is worrying—and a radically new aspect to sha energy that has the potential to change everything.

And then there’s the mystery of Jaya’s father…who is he?

Some big secrets are lurking in Jaya’s past, and to save those she loves, she’ll be forced to risk the galaxy in a shoot ’em up, take-no-prisoners rescue because sometimes there’s no fighting your destiny. Fortunately, Vulf is always ready for a fight!

  • Publication date: October 22, 2017
  • Language: English
  • Print length: 229 pages

Review:  Her Robot Wolf (Shamans & Shifters Space Opera Book 1) by Jenny Schwartz

Rating:  4.5⭐️

Well here’s another series I’m totally addicted to and binging right through. After finding author Jenny Schwartz through her Stars Die novel, I started diving into her other books and found this series. 

Shamans and Shifters is such an unusual and amazing series. A complete science fiction adventure series that deals with scientific based magic, paranormal creatures, fated mates, fantastical alien worlds and societies, found families and galactic political intrigue. And romance. 

It’s well written, highly imaginative, fast paced, and has a character that has grabbed at  my heart and mind is the ship Orion’s IA Ahab. The ship belongs to a bounty hunter wolf shifter Vulf Trent who’s on a collision course with Jaya Romanov, a star ship shaman.

The storyline, which revolves around the hunt for a man named Evan, introduces the universe of the series, the background of the races and the science behind the magic involved. Or the beginning of the science.  More will be explored as the series expands into deeper details and greater understanding of the political landscape and mysteries happening.

It’s a fast paced , exciting story and leaves you immediately gravitating towards the next book. Which I did. 

Loved everything about this. 

Including the covers.  Highly recommended. 

Shamans & Shifters Space Opera series: 

Her Robot Wolf 

Cosmic Catalyst 

Shattered Earth 

Jingle Stars 

The Ceph Sector 

Buy link 

        Her Robot Wolf (Shamans & Shifters Space Opera Book 1)

    

Blurb 

Jaya Romanov is an independent star ship shaman. She studies the energy flows of the universe and—for a price—will harness them to her employer’s purpose. Wormholes are a whole lot safer to travel when a shaman guides the jump.

Vulf Trent is a bounty hunter. It was that or join the family business, piracy, and Vulf is too much the lone wolf to tolerate the demands of a large pirate crew. Where his family enjoys the bonds of pack, he prefers the freedom of ranging the universe, alone. Seven generations ago, humanity evacuated Earth and the shifter clans’ ability to transform into their animal forms was one of the most terrible losses of that time. Now, the werewolves, werebears and other shifters are trapped in their human bodies and slowly losing the essence of their primal souls.

Jaya is determined to heal their torn transformational abilities, but Vulf doesn’t believe her. He didn’t kidnap her for her healing abilities.

Her Robot Wolf is a fabulous adventure in which rare, mystical science replaces magic, pirates are taught to respect lone women, the galaxy is imperiled —and perhaps, rescued—and a fated mate pair contemplate kicking Fate in the teeth. Have fun! Don’t forget to buy Galactic Insurance before leaving Earth! Space opera, paranormal romance and a galactic array of aliens, mysteries, startling revelations and breath-taking heroics.

  • Publication date: May 30, 2017
  • Language: English
  • Print length: 212 pages

Review: Carl’s Doomsday Scenario: Dungeon Crawler Carl Book 2 by Matt Dinniman

Rating: 4.75⭐️

“I want to try one of Miss Beatrice’s favorite drinks. ….What is it, Carl? She always says it’s her Kryptonite.”

 “A Dirty Shirley,” I said. 

“Yeah, I want to try that one.” 

“Cats don’t drink cocktails,” I said. “Cats don’t shoot lasers from their eyes, either, but here we are, Carl. Mama needs a night off.””

So we dive back into Carl’s Doomsday Scenario, the second book in Matt Dinniman’s wildly imaginative, incredibly violent , action packed series, Dungeon Crawler Carl. 

Carl, Princess Donut, and their NPC handler, Mordecai, are at a bar/multi function area where they can gather supplies and information about their next level as well as prepare for their next moves against their opponents.

It’s another great thriller, a fast-paced game where all the RPG elements are set in motion, but Dinniman simultaneously evolves the character relationships between Carl, Donut, and even Mordecai, a NPC who’s character has hidden elements.  So the story has a murder mystery to solve revolving around dead prostitutes, there’s a deadly circus (naturally), and other wildly imaginative creatures, personalities and beasts to combat and meet on their way to the next level. 

This is an absolutely brutal game and story. At each level, millions of humans are being lost to the game. And while Carl,Princess Donut, and Donut’s new pet velociraptor, Mongo, and some other new comers are intensely concerned about surviving whatever level they are on and the other combatants, occasionally the outside galactic gallery of watchers and owners interfaces with them in a manner that makes them realize exactly what they’re facing. 

These stories are fast paced reads and the ending will flow through to the next book. 

No romance, high action, adventure. 

You don’t have to be a gamer to enjoy it, but if you are you’ll under it and all the elements immediately. 

Highly recommended. 

These are, book by book, the most incredible, on point illustrations for covers. Colors are popping, the characters are spot on! Amazing artwork!

Cover Illustration by Luciano Fleitas

Cover Design by Toby Dinniman

 Interior Illustrations by Erik Wilson

Series not complete/Dungeon Crawler Carl:

Dungeon Crawler Carl #1

Carl’s Doomsday Scenario #2

The Dungeon Anarchist’s Cookbook #3

The Gate of the Feral Gods #4

The Butcher’s Masquerade #5

The Eye of the Bedlam Bride #6

This Inevitable Ruin #7

Buy link

        Carl’s Doomsday Scenario: Dungeon Crawler Carl Book 2

    

Blurb 

The training levels have concluded. Now the games may truly begin.”

The ratings and views are off the chart. The fans just can’t get enough. The dungeon gets more dangerous each day. But in a grinder designed to chew up and spit out crawlers by the millions, Carl and Princess Donut need to work harder than ever just to survive.

They call it the Over City. A sprawling, once-thriving metropolis devastated by a mysterious calamity. But these streets are far from abandoned. An undead circus trawls the ruins. Murdered prostitutes rain from the sky. An ancient spell is finally ready to reveal its dark purpose.

Carl still has no pants.

They call it Dungeon Crawler World. For Carl and Donut, it’s anything but a game.

  • Publisher: Dandy House
  • Accessibility: Learn more
  • Publication date: January 6, 2021
  • Language: English
  • Print length: 364 pages

Review:  Stars Die (Caldryn Parliament Book 1) by Jenny Schwartz

Rating: 4.5⭐️

Jenny Schwartz is a new author for me but after this book she’s immediately on my must read list. Stars Die, the first book in the Caldryn Parliament series, is a fabulous read.  

The world building is layered and intriguing, yet so vivid and large that you can see how she will be exploring it further in the series. And even farther. 

The characters themselves are incredibly complex. Each has their own histories that are only partially revealed here, multiple agendas, and completely diverse backgrounds. 

This is magic, science fiction and realism all combined into a compelling narrative. 

And Schwartz has beautifully crafted even more fascinating storylines that work together to create a fascinating tale of dynastic power, intrigue, galactic politics, mystery and chaos. All with an overlay of magic. 

It begins with the incredible character of Vanda Kavanagh, whose powerful grandmother has recalled her from her duty on a frontier planet to become new Warden of Caldryn Parliament.

Such a simple sentence that is so powerful a statement of a woman’s heart and journey to her own path.  Vanda is an incredible character. And she is accompanied by a very special companion, Giddy. 

Giddy is part of the murder mystery that Vanda sets out to solve, as part of her plan and as part of a larger underlying problem. 

There’s an entire excellent cast of equally important and well defined characters. Many of which I expect to develop and expand as the series continues. 

This is a complex, emotional, exciting novel. There’s a potential for a romance but it’s not a romance story. It’s a political thriller, albeit one that is a magical science fiction novel. 

So highly recommended and I’m extremely excited for the next book to be released. 

And can I say how much I love these covers?

Caldryn Parliament:

Stars Die #1

Hexes Fly #2 – July 26, 2025

Rogues Lie #3 – November 29,2025

Buy link

        Stars Die (Caldryn Parliament Book 1)

    

Blurb 

Welcome to Caldryn Parliament. Golden Age mysteries in the Realm of science fiction and fantasy.

Recalled from the frontier, the new Warden of Caldryn Parliament is well aware she’s not a popular choice, but she never expected to portal into a murder scene.

Nor did she anticipate acquiring such a unique partner.

Now, Vanda Kavanagh must discover the truth of a politician’s death, unravel the mystery of her sabotaged wards, and survive her family.

***

Stars Die is a magic parliament mystery. If you’ve ever wished that Agatha Christie included magic or that Sherlock Holmes fought space pirates, this is the series for you!

  • Publication date: February 27, 2025
  • Language: English
  • Print length: 340 pages
  • Book 1 of 3: Caldryn Parliament

Review:  Dungeon Crawler Carl: Dungeon Crawler Carl Book 1 by Matt Dinniman

Rating:  4.75⭐️

What inspired, insane fiction! Dungeon Crawler Carl: Dungeon Crawler Carl Book 1 by Matt Dinniman just about defies being categorized into a trope. It’s too wild, too murderously funny, thrilling, outrageous, and alien to be put into a box.   

Coast Guard veteran, Carl, is living in an apartment with his ex-girlfriend’s Champion Persian cat, Princess Donut, when she takes a runner out his window.  It’s late, so he follows in only his boxers, pink crocs, and a coat to capture her from the tree. 

Then the aliens arrive. 

What happens next is bedlam. Death, destruction, and alien gamers galore as a galactic corporation sets up a massive network game called Dungeon Crawler on what is left of Earth. 

If you have played any type of game, then you will be familiar with the main elements of the story. Leveling up, winning points, getting gift boxes, fighting bosses etc, that you would in most games. If you haven’t, you can pick it up. 

But the characters, the monsters, the interactions and sheer intensity of the game and situations are believable and gripping.  It’s fast paced and over the top murderous lunacy at times.  And just when it’s veering off into the ultimate craziness, author Dinniman brings us and Carl back into the terrifying, devastating reality of what happened to the world Carl knew. Everything’s occurring so quickly, he’s having to react to survive, crisis after crisis, that he’s not been able to properly process his emotions or the reality of his own situation. Or Princess Donut’s.  

The shattering heartbreak of the callousness of this situation will fleetingly make it known but, at least in this story, they can’t stop and reflect on what happened.  They must keep moving. 

There’s so many great moments and inventive characters. Carl and Donut, who both acts like a cat and a highly intelligent leader, are incredibly believable and relatable personalities. 

I’m quickly headed to the next book, there’s seven released at the moment, and it’s not completely finished yet.

Can’t imagine not wanting to read such a well written, highly entertaining, imaginative novel. Yes, it’s extremely violent, tons of deaths, heartbreaking but also funny. Fascinating, and thoughtful. Great for those who like to game and those who don’t. 

A urban fantasy adventure/science fiction alien crossover? Either way, highly recommended. 

These are, book by book, the most incredible, on point illustrations for covers. Colors are popping, the characters are spot on! Amazing artwork!

Cover Illustration by Luciano Fleitas

Cover Design by Toby Dinniman

 Interior Illustrations by Erik Wilson

Series not complete/Dungeon Crawler Carl:

Dungeon Crawler Carl #1

Carl’s Doomsday Scenario #2

The Dungeon Anarchist’s Cookbook #3

The Gate of the Feral Gods #4

The Butcher’s Masquerade #5

The Eye of the Bedlam Bride #6

This Inevitable Ruin #7

Buy link

        Dungeon Crawler Carl: Dungeon Crawler Carl Book 1

    

Blurb 

The apocalypse will be televised! 

You know what’s worse than breaking up with your girlfriend? Being stuck with her prize-winning show cat. And you know what’s worse than that? An alien invasion, the destruction of all man-made structures on Earth, and the systematic exploitation of all the survivors for a sadistic intergalactic game show. That’s what.

Join Coast Guard vet Carl and his ex-girlfriend’s cat, Princess Donut, as they try to survive the end of the world—or just get to the next level—in a video game–like, trap-filled fantasy dungeon. A dungeon that’s actually the set of a reality television show with countless viewers across the galaxy. Exploding goblins. Magical potions. Deadly, drug-dealing llamas. This ain’t your ordinary game show.

Welcome, Crawler. Welcome to the Dungeon. Survival is optional. Keeping the viewers entertained is not.

  • Publication date: October 2, 2020
  • Language: English
  • Print length: 446 pages

Review:  Star Power: Ellis McFadden Mysteries #2 by Kristen Painter

Rating:  4.5⭐️

Ellis McFadden and her mech boyfriend Frank Kitson are back, along with their android companion animals Gracie the parrot and Henry the cat, trying to investigate both a theft and murders on The Athos. 

Painter’s world, The Athos, gets further exploration as each investigation takes the couple to different parts of the space liner, new restaurants, food, technology, and parts of space that the cruiser is passing through. 

That its mission includes political ones as well as scientific discoveries makes the storylines exciting and more intriguing, especially when it’s a librarian and mechanic genius doing their research and interviews.

I’m invested in this space-bound small world and all the fascinating aspects of life aboard as well as this amazing couple who are finally finding affection and companionship together in this new adventure together. 

Highly recommended for the imaginative world building, layered characters, and great storylines.

And extra kudos for having main characters in their sixties, on new adventures, new relationships, and in such inspiring roles.

I’d really love to know how many books the author has planned for the series. According to the characters, people now live comfortably past 120 years old. 

Cover design: Cover design and composite cover art by Janet Holmes

Ellis McFadden Mysteries :

  • Breathing Space #1
  • Star Power #2
  • Future Tense #3 – May 31,2025

Buy link

        Star Power: Ellis McFadden Mysteries

    

Blurb 

Step into the enigmatic world of the Athos—a vessel that blends the luxury of a cruise ship, the intrigue of a scientific research station, and the might of a military starship. Here, amidst the stars, you’ll find Ellis McFadden, the ship’s head librarian, embarking on adventures she never anticipated this late in her career.

The latest adventure sees the ship approaching a mesmerizing nebula, the centerpiece of a grand gala. It’ll be an evening filled with the galaxy’s elite, all gathered to marvel at this cosmic wonder and the legendary gem rumored to be born from its very core.

But when this priceless jewel vanishes, Ellis, along with her dashing new boyfriend, Frank, and her charming android cat, has no choice but to find the gem. Failure could mean an interstellar incident, resulting in Ellis, and her daughter, the Vice Admiral, being ousted from their celestial home. Can they solve the mystery in time to save their place among the stars?

  • Publication date: March 31, 2025
  • Language: English
  • Print length: 288 pages