Check out the fantastic Cover Reveal for The Death Bringer by J. Scott Coatsworth! Excerpt included!

J. Scott Coatsworth has a new queer sci-fantasy book coming out in September, The Tharassas Cycle book four, and we have the cover reveal: The Death Bringer.

AIK WILL NEVER BE THE SAME… AND NEITHER WILL HIS WORLD

War is coming. Aik has become the Progenitor, and the Seed Mother has released him to transform the world for her alien brood. Silya and Raven, Aik’s former friends, are the only ones who can save him and the world. But what if the cure is worse than the invasion?

As Silya rushes to prepare Gullton for the battle to come, she’s determined to save as many people as she can. But new crises emerge that demand her attention.

Raven has his own hands full, keeping the dragon-like verent in line, while helping Silya to save the world. But what if the only way to do so is to sacrifice Aik, the man that he loves?

It’s the end of the world … or could it be the start of something new?

Note: Advance paperback copies will be available at BayCon in Santa Clara in early July.

About the Series:

The Tharassas Cycle is a four book sci-fantasy series set on the recently colonized world of Tharassas. When humans first arrived on planet, they thought they were alone until the hencha mind made itself known. But now a new threat has arisen to challenge both humankind and their new allies on this alien world.

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Excerpt

Chapter One

Regroup

He floated, weightless and naked, surrounded by a reddish light and suspended in fluid. Something connected to his mouth and wrapped around his head, like a lover’s embrace.

He used to have a name. He searched his mind for some clue to his identity. I exist, so I must be someone. Or something.

That made sense, but got him no closer to an answer. He blinked. Who am I?

There was no immediate reply.

He lifted his hand. It was encased in metal. The gauntlet. That much he remembered, though it meant nothing to him. Except… it seemed different, somehow. Thinner.

He moved his arms in the liquid, and it sparkled around him where his shifting disturbed it. The metal extended down his wrist and along his forearm, like before, but now it went farther, around his elbow and up his bicep. He touched it with his free hand.

I can feel it. It was as if the metal had become a part of him, his nerves growing through it. He held out his metallic hand and flexed his fingers. What is it?

We call it uurcaa. It’s a sacred metal—it will protect you, and if your host dies, it will collect and save your soul.He could feel the emotions she held back from him. It is the last of its kind from our homeworld. Like us.

He blinked. Then what am I?

You are my son, Iihil. The progenitor, the one who has come before and the first of many more like you. The voice was deep and comforting.

Mother. Warmth infused him at her voice, and an eagerness to please her.

Still, something wasn’t right. He was more than that. He searched his mind, running up against that stubborn blankness. Somewhere beyond it were the answers he needed.

He’d been someone else. Before.

Who was I? Memories of a face—dark hair, intense eyes that nevertheless twinkled at him. Raven.

It came flooding back to him. His mother. His life in Gullton. Training to be a guard and meeting Raven for the first time. My name is Aik.

He reached for the mask that covered his face. It was suffocating. Something was stuck in his throat, and he coughed hard, trying to force it out, whipping around and causing the liquid around him to flash red in alarm.

Calm yourself. The voice was as thick and heavy as an ix hide, and just as soft and warm.

Aik pushed back. What are you doing to me? I don’t want this! Let me out! He thrashed about, trying to force his way through the suffocating liquid. The metal crept up his shoulder. If it covered all of him, he would be lost.

Calm yourself! It was more insistent this time.

Aik stiffened as an enforced lethargy settled over him. He lost control of his limbs, falling still in his floating prison. The voice pressed against his mind. You’re safe. Be calm, my little one.

He closed his eyes and thought of Raven, trying to stay fixed on that face. I can’t let myself forget again.

Then the world around him dissolved, and he was swept up in a torrent of memories that weren’t his own.

Author Bio

Scott lives with his husband Mark in a yellow bungalow in Sacramento. He was indoctrinated into fantasy and sci fi by his mother at the tender age of nine. He devoured her library, but as he grew up, he wondered where all the people like him were.

He decided that if there weren’t queer characters in his favorite genres, he would remake them to his own ends.

A Rainbow Award winning author, he runs Queer Sci Fi, QueeRomance Ink, Liminal Fiction, and Other Worlds Ink with Mark, sites that celebrate fiction reflecting queer reality, and was the committee chair for the Indie Authors Committee at the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) for almost three years.

Author Website: https://www.jscottcoatsworth.com

Author Facebook (Personal): https://www.facebook.com/jscottcoatsworth/

Author Facebook (Author Page): https://www.facebook.com/jscottcoatsworthauthor

Author Mastodon: https://mastodon.otherworldsink.com/@jscottcoatsworth

Author Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jscottcoatsworth/

Author Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8392709.J_Scott_Coatsworth

Author Liminal Fiction (LimFic.com): https://www.limfic.com/mbm-book-author/j-scott-coatsworth/

Author QueeRomance Ink: https://www.queeromanceink.com/mbm-book-author/j-scott-coatsworth/

Author Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/J.-Scott-Coatsworth/e/B011AFO4OQ

Review: It Doesn’t Translate by Ofelia Gränd

Rating: 4.5🌈

Another short fantastical story by the strange, imaginative mind of author Ofelia Grand. It Doesn’t Translate originated as a casual bunch of texts amongst a group of friends/authors who wondered about a wandering (very dead) body that would pop up in various places, no matter the context, universe, or even trope.

Before long a series, the Tattooed Corpse stories, was born.

“Different time, different place, same body” How irresistible.

It Doesn’t Translate by Ofelia Gränd is a LGBTQIA SYFY short story that I desperately want to see a sequel to.

I adored the characters, this weirdly wonderful, and fascinating universe, and the relationships that are forged within a human owned Hamburger joint on a small space station near a ravaged Earth.

There’s human Max Welch, proud owner of on The Lunar Terminal, a small fake city, that was home to the barest of essentials. A barber, a grocery store, a fuel station, bathhouse, healthcare center, and Max’s Hamburger Bar, a small restaurant that served the local and ships that docked.

Quam, a reptoid, is Max’s best friend, bodyguard, side orders cook if needed, and casual guide to the alien world all around him as Max is pretty the only human being outside of Earth, one of the few left.

This story is supposed to be a one of simple short, a kind of quickie tale but it’s not. Grand is far too deeply bent an author, narratively speaking, (and I mean that in the best way possible) for this not to have multiple storylines and just so many different well defined characters that reach out to grab the reader’s attention and imagination.

There is a pirate infestation and alien being trafficking aspect here, one that threatens Max. A fabulous mate match element, not one but potentially several. A dead body (yes that one), and so many more appealing and downright interesting storyline threads that the author has built into this short tale that the mind wants to follow its journey through to the end is woven with endless possibilities.

We want to know what happened to Earth and the rest of the population. Where are those fabulous dairy products coming from? What did happen to that one pirate? Did they help Quam date? I have a page of things I need to know!

I want to send bribes, so many bribes to Grand, to get her to continue this story and characters forward with more adventures.

Is the story perfect? Not exactly.

There’s a tiny quibble. It’s over a typical mindset.

“And I’m not allowed to carry you?” Noir held his arms open.”

Definitely not, I’m not a girl.”

“Girls get carried?” “

“Well, no, but guys definitely don’t.”

It wasn’t that hard to understand, was it?

Noir shrugged.

— It Doesn’t Translate by Ofelia Gränd

I hope to see this gendered type of behavior less and less in the coming years. There’s a sort of a start. But, tbh, does it really matter what the gender in how someone is carrying another? Especially if one is an alien and the other is perceived to be injured? I say let’s leave gender and sex out of this, and let the scene and storyline prompt the action.

It Doesn’t Translate is a fantastic short story, ending far too quickly for me and the characters. Grand is such an inventive writer and the world building is so satisfying that it cries out for more than a single tale.

I’m definitely recommending this book and author. Check them both out.

Tattooed Corpse Stories:

◦ The Worth His Salt (ghost story and lighthouse)

✓ It Doesn’t Translate (syfi universe)

Buy Link:

Amazon.comhttps://www.amazon.com › Doesnt-…Kindle – It Doesn’t Translate eBook : Gränd, Ofelia

Blurb:

Noir Kioko had only ever seen one human before his undercover work brought him to the diner at the Luna Terminal, and that was at a distance. Humans are rare, most of them disappear without a trace, and he hopes hanging around the restaurant will give him a lead on the smuggling ring he’s investigating. There was no way he could’ve known the human would turn out to be his mate, and no way he can let it show without putting his mate in danger and possibly jeopardising his mission.

Max Welch is the proud owner of the only restaurant within a light year’s distance. He left Earth four years ago to create a better life for himself, but he hadn’t considered the possibility of scary alien pirates making his restaurant their favourite hangout spot. As a measly human there isn’t much he can do about it, but as one of the pirates starts coming by almost every day he has to come up with something before he loses all his customers. That the giant cat man is rather nice to look at changes nothing.

When rumours of another human arriving at the space station start to circulate, Noir’s species trafficking infiltrate and observe only mission may need a revamp. But will Noir be able to protect his mate and another one of his rare species?

• Publisher: JMS Books LLC (March 17, 2021)

• Publication date: March 17, 2021

• Print length: 100 pages

Review: A World Apart: An MM Urban Fantasy Romance (Learning to Breathe Book 2) by Carole Cummings and Andy Gallo

Rating: 5🌈

A World Apart picks up from the events of the last novel, A World Away, the first in Cummings and Gallo’s excellent LGBTQIA syfi series.

Best friends and now lovers, Camilo Almenara and Nathan Duffy have been through unbelievable hardships, family losses ,and challenges, which have included Nathan’s paralysis, then gaining the experimental implants that allowed the military to draft him and Cam. There’s a war going on, mages are real, and Nathan’s talent is so powerful, that along with Cam, the mission to find more talents on parallel worlds is one he’s already been assigned to.

The format the authors use for the story, a countdown of time as the mission draws near, then as it happens, is powerful.

It brings us into the anticipatory phase of the mission and everyone’s mindset as they are getting ready. All the multiple elements that occur, all the various , random stuff that plays into scenes and moments before an unknown mission. The reader is there, intimately inside their minds, with the characters. From friends, family, even if that family be high authority military figures themselves, Cummings and Gallo, makes the reader a part of the action, writing realistic and grounded dialogue that makes a futuristic story and alternate universe feel alive and familiar.

Then comes the mission.

From the highly anticipated to the emotionally charged and powerful, to the suspense sustained scenes as the revelations start to occur, the narrative is superb and the plotting tightly woven together and the depth of details outstanding.

Especially towards the climactic, horrifying scenes near the end.

No spoilers. But honestly, it’s heartbreaking at times. And as much as I wanted the authors to expand on parts of that ending, I’m not sure it wouldn’t have taken away from the emotional impact as it’s already written.

There’s so many questions left unanswered, so many compelling details that was definitely delivered in a short but important way at the end.

I have no idea if this series is over. I’m ok if it is. I’m ok if there’s more to come. Outstanding characters, an ever-expanding universe at war that it’s losing, children as gun fodder, sounds so familiar. Cummings and Gallo’s take on this old refrain is emotional and extremely well written.

I’m highly recommending both books, to be read in the order that they are written.

Learning To Breathe:

✓ A World Away #1

✓ A World Apart #2

Buy Link:

A World Apart: An MM Urban Fantasy Romance (Learning to Breathe Book 2)

Blurb:

There are an infinite number of universes and each has its own story. Not all of them have happy endings.

Two years after he nearly died, Nathan Duffy is living his dream. He and Camilo are finally the ‘them’ Nathan always wanted. But Nathan quickly learns everything comes with a price. The military gave him experimental implants that help him walk again, but he’s drafted and assigned to a dangerous, special ops, off-world unit. He and Camilo are together, but the military assigns Cam to the same dangerous mission. Nathan knows he’d do everything he can to keep Cam safe, even sacrifice himself to save the man he loves.

Two years after he nearly lost the only man he’s ever loved, Camilo Almenara refuses to let anything come between him and Nathan. Not his father, the military, nor Nathan’s irrational belief that only Cam’s life mattered. To ensure the man he loves comes home, Cam makes sure he is assigned to the same off world mission as Nathan. He knows the assignment is dangerous, but he believes they are stronger together than apart.

Misfortune strikes the operation, and two team members are captured. Nathan is forced assumes command and must work a resistance movement he doesn’t fully trust. The plan to rescue their friends hit unexpected resistance and Nathan cuts off communications with everyone in an attempt to save them all. Faced with his worst nightmare come true, Cam races to reach Nathan and convince him not to give up on ‘them.’

A World Apart is the 100K sequel to A World Away. It follows the established couple as they fight to build a life together in a dangerous world. This book includes an alternative universe, the continuation of a romance, and more selflessness as the two best friends struggle to transition from friends to lovers.

• Publication date: December 23, 2023

• Language: English

• Print length: 358 pages

Review: The Harvest Young: Bound by Fate (The Next Generation Book 1) by M.A. Church

Rating: 3 🌈

It’s been a while since I read M.A. Church’s series , The Harvest Taken (2014), but I do remember liking those stories.

Which I why , aside from the terrific cover , I picked up The Harvest Young: Bound by Fate (The Next Generation Book 1) by M.A. Church.

I’m not sure that I either enjoyed this as much or remembered the other very well. Because I found I had quite a few issues with it.

Most of the universe, various species, political setups, can all be found in the previous series. You need to be familiar with those stories or you’ll be completely lost here.

There’s no attempt to fill in a new reader and frankly, there’s probably no way to convey the complicated backgrounds and histories of all the people and worlds involved.

But my issues started with the characters. The twins, who I met in the other series, are now grown. And one, Szin , is unlike his brother in looks and feels extremely insecure. He’s about to be claimed by his fated mate, who he feels inadequate to. Unlike his brother, Szin looks more like his human father than his Tah’Narian other parent.

That’s the basics. But he’s grown up with and actually loves Takeo, his childhood friend and soon to be mate. Takeo has adored and listened to him all his life. But instead of talking to him about the problems he’s feeling, this character is whining and running.

Honestly, he’s royalty. He’s surrounded by people who listen to him , constantly. Not , imo, the most relatable.

Then there’s the sex scenes. When the couple finally decide to mate, one barely a virgin and one is. It’s instantly a bondage D/s pain scene.

Ok. They’ve barely decided they’re going to be mates but let’s dive right into a D/s relationship?

Yeah that’s believable. Not that they aren’t cute together but can there at least be some semblance of time to make that reasonable?

Then while they are strolling about Takeo’s home world I came across a scene that pulls me out of the story completely.

Here’s the issue.

One thing I’m very disappointed to see in a futuristic story is that continuation of stale non environmental ideals. Here are our main characters on a hot, arid planet with highly specialized flora and fauna that they take note of. But this is what their species built.

“They continued walking but didn’t speak until they reached a several-storied, light-gray-colored building with huge windows. A lush, well-manicured green lawn surrounded it. “This is the Sa-Ka.” “Wow. Of all the things I expected, this beauty in such an arid place wasn’t in it.” “There is a sprinkler system here, that’s why it’s so green. If you like that, you’ll really like this.” Takeo led Szin down a path that led to a garden.”

— The Harvest Young: Bound by Fate (The Next Generation Book 1) by M.A. Church

Green lawns, that need a sprinkler system. I was absolutely cringing. They aren’t even human. But the author’s choices were. Outdated , environmentally destructive even in our times, but now making an appearance in a sci-fy romance novel on a desert planet far in the future.

This is so disheartening. To see water wastage (with burbling fountains) made a thing to be appreciated. American lawns, sprinkler systems. What? No mow patterns?

For me, I look to science fiction for something fresh, and if it’s a repetition of old history, then it’s because there’s a lesson to be learned. Not held up as something wonderful in the future when we should have discarded it as a tired old element that should have been eliminated then because we learned our lesson about water preservation now.

Did I finish the book? Yes. But I was looking at everything differently. How much was outdated in terms of philosophy? I was now second guessing every choice the author was making with the narrative.

So would I recommend this? Honestly I’m not sure. I guess if you’re a fan of the author, or if you want to know where the series characters go next, then sure.

But for everyone else, you can decide for yourself.

There’s other books in this series but I’m stopping here.

https://www.goodreads.com › showBound by Fate – The Harvest Young by M.A. Church | Goodreads

Synopsis:

Half human and half Tah’Narian, Szin doesn’t fit with either race. His appearance is mainly human, but he’s able to have a young. Unfortunately, that’s his only Tah’Narian characteristic. He’s smaller and weaker than other young. Szin’s eighteenth birthday has passed and time’s running out. He has to stop his childhood friend, Takeo, from making the worst mistake of his life: claiming Szin as a mate. Takeo deserves an equal who’s as fierce as he is, something Szin most certainly is not. Since before Takeo was born, he’s known Szin was his. Nothing and no one, not even Szin, is going to stand in the way of claiming his mate. He understands Szin feels he isn’t good enough, and he’ll do anything to convince Szin otherwise. Including taking drastic measures to ensure his mate listens. Takeo is the ultimate blend of human, Tah’Narian, and Onfrevian DNA. He’s pure predator, and his sights are set on his mate.

Review: Rarely Pure and Never Simple (Varient Configurations Book#1) by Angel Martinez

Rating: 5🌈

Angel Martinez is a auto buy for me for a reason and Rarely Pure and Never Simple (Varient Configurations Book#1) is a fantastic example why.

We get a taste of the world the events take place so quickly. So typically Martinez. Breathtakingly simple in her ability to deliver a picture of a world rendered apart, catastrophically environmentally destroyed in the not too past, by some stark concise phrasing.

Same goes for the Varients. Humans , that appeared during the chemical wars, with genetic alterations that allowed each to have specific, if undetermined or not understood talents.

Varients are feared , misunderstood, and of course, used by various governments for their talents. Yes, the Varients vs Real Human movement should strike many nerves. It’s right on point.

This is outside or rather flows around the main plot of variant Damien Hazelwood. He’s a locator, only of humans. Damien’s a very damaged soul. His brutal background is one that will be revealed slowly over the story.

I love Damien. He’s broken, has so many layers, and yet still reaches out, despite himself. What an amazing character.

The other person to accompany him on the mission is another infamous variant. Blaze Emerson, a tracker and a person capable of handling dangerous situations they might come into contact with. Blaze has a reputation that precedes him as a angry personality and someone who’s hard to get along with.

It’s justified. He’s also had a past where he’s been unfairly judged , he’s been left, and hurt. He’s a complicated man. Blaze is so undeniably believable that you feel the anger and mistrust radiating off of him.

Their mission? Find 40 missing varient kids.

It’s a chilling mission made more so by the fact the men need to find a way to at least work together, tolerate each other’s differences, especially when things start to go wrong.

I really don’t want to say too much here. There’s another character that’s intriguing that’s brought into the mix. The dynamics that begin to grow between Blaze and Damien is halting and slow, as it should be due to each man’s tumultuous history and emotional damage.

But that ending. So full of hope. I need that next story. And I need it now. These are compelling people. And Rarely Pure and Never Simple (Varient Configurations Book#1) by Angel Martinez is proving to be one of those quietly moving but addictive starts to a new series I can’t and won’t resist!

So I’m highly recommending it! And anxiously awaiting the next in the series.

Varient Configurations :

🔹Rarely Pure and Never Simple #1

🔹From the Noblest of Motives – fall 2022

https://www.goodreads.com › showRarely Pure and Never Simple by Angel Martinez – Goodreads

Description:

Variant children are vanishing at an alarming rate. It will take a uniquely mismatched pair of trackers to untangle a web of conspiracy and misdirection to find them.

In his isolated cabin, variant Damien Hazelwood avoids human contact as much as possible to prevent attacks of blind berserker panic. But his rare talent as a locator makes him the go-to contractor for tricky missing person’s cases and when agents bring him a troubling contract involving missing variant children, he finds it impossible to refuse.

Licensed tracker Blaze Emerson can’t help being irritated when he’s expected to follow the strange, twitchy locator’s lead on his latest case. He works alone, he’s damn good, and as a variant sparker, he has both the fire and the firepower to take on anything out there. Though he has to admit there’s something intriguing about a man who can find people with his brain.

With vastly different temperaments and backgrounds, Damien and Blaze need to negotiate quickly how to work together if they’re going to crack this case. Add in the sudden appearance of Blaze’s outlaw ex, the perils of tracking in the wilds, and a maddening lack of discernible motive or method, and they soon find themselves in as much danger as the kids they’re trying to rescue.

Variant Configurations takes place in a future Earth where humanity is reclaiming its spot in a gradually healing world. This book contains mentions of past abuse, action-adventure style mayhem, and the beginning sparks of a slow burn, series-spanning relationship.

———-

Unless it’s noted, all books reviewed have been purchased by the reviewer.

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