Category Science Fiction

Leave No Trace by Jo Callaghan @JoCallaghanKat @simonschusterUK @RandomTTours #crime #thriller #bookreview

yvonnembee 5 Comments

I am delighted to share my review today of Leave No Trace by Jo Callaghan. This is the 2nd book in the Kat & Locke series and it is a fabulous series that mixes technology with police procedural and the mix is just brilliant.

My huge thanks to Anne at Random Things Tours for my spot on the Blog Tour and for arranging my copy of the book from the publisher Simon & Schuster UK.

DCS Kat Frank and AIDE Lock return in the provocative new thriller from the author of In the Blink of an Eye.

One detective driven by instinct, the other by logic.
It will take both to find a killer who knows the true meaning of fear . . .

When the body of a man is found crucified at the top of Mount Judd, AIDE Lock – the world’s first AI Detective – and DCS Kat Frank are thrust into the spotlight as they are given their first live case.

But with the discovery of another man’s body – also crucified – it appears that their killer is only just getting started. With the police warning local men to be vigilant, the Future Policing Unit is thrust into a hostile media frenzy as they desperately search for connections between the victims. But time is running out for them to join the dots and prevent another death.

MY REVIEW

After reading the author’s previous book, In the Blink of an Eye, I was eager to read the next book to see if it would be as thrilling as the first one, I have to say it was and I enjoyed this one just as much as the first.

Kat & Lock are two very different entities. DCS Kat Frank is in charge of the team, one of which is AIDE Lock, an artificial intelligence detective. While he is not able to perform some of the things that a human would, he can also do things a lot quicker when it comes to processing and searching databases and tech that is involved with running a case.

The author did a great job with the first book and gave some different perspectives and opinions, this book also follows those and also, more importantly, adds more to this. The idea of Lock working alongside a team of detectives as they investigate a crime is for the system to learn and adapt. Lock can be seen via a holographic projection.

The discovery of a body on the top of a mount that has been crucified is bad enough, but there are more details to add. These make the case unique and when another body is discovered some think there may be a link, but not everyone shares this view.

Being introduced to the team in the first book was good and the author has fleshed her characters out more, which sounds a little odd when one of them has no flesh as they are a hologram! However, she has added more details and given the reader a chance to get to know them and this is building a great sense of camaraderie between them.

There is a sense of time being important because Lock is being brought into an active case. He is also being seen by the general public properly so not only do the police force have to make sure things are done quickly, the politicians want a quick wrap-up to show that this way of investigating can be beneficial. There is no pushing Kat or the team into making a quick decision though, all things have to line up.

So with a mix of instincts and logic, this book provides two approaches to a crime and the investigation. Mixing crime fiction with a slight sci-fi feel but not one that is full of techno-speak so it makes for seamless reading.

I am loving this series and if you are looking for something with a twist as well as being an excellent crime thriller then this is a series you may well be interested in. It is a cracking read and one that I would definitely recommend.

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Many thanks for reading my post, a like or share would be amazing 🙂 xx

Atoned by Steve J. McHugh @SteveJMchugh @ZooloosBT #scifi #crime #thriller #bookreview

yvonnembee 2 Comments

I am delighted to share my review today for Atoned by Steve J. McHugh. I have read some of this author’s books before and loved them, they were urban fantasy novels, but Atoned is a sci-fi and it is fabulous. The first book in The Wardens series and one I am definitely looking forward to.

My huge thanks to Zoe at Zooloos Book Tours for arranging my copy of the book and for my spot on the Blog Tour.

Civil War tore across the Union Empire, leaving countless dead in its wake. It was a war started by one man, once beloved by the Empire. His betrayal still lingers in the memory of those who lived through it.

Decades later, his son, Felix Drake, is a Warden tasked with both protecting the ruling members of the Union Empire and its Council, and bringing those powerful and influential people to justice should they break the law.

Drake protects the very Empire his father sought to destroy.

When two members of a Council family are murdered, Drake and his team investigate, only to uncover corruption, resentment, and yet more death.

As the case deepens, Drake is forced back into a life he’d left long ago, bringing with it the same disdain and anger from the very people he’s sworn to protect.

However, he’s no longer a helpless child, and the people who try to intimidate him now are about to discover that Drake is so very much his father’s son.

Purchase Links – HERE

MY REVIEW

I do like this author and have enjoyed his urban fantasy books but this is the first time I have read one of his science fiction ones and I loved it. If I was to break it down, it is a crime thriller that follows a procedural route but it is a science fiction story. The Wardens are essentially the police, but there is so much more to them than that, especially Drake!

When two members of the Council are murdered it is up to Drake and his team to try to discover what has happened. This takes him into an underworld environment with gangs and those wanting to alter or change things for more power. Who the actual leaders are is a mystery, and one step forward seems to lead to more questions and answers are not easy to come by.

An attack against the Royal household is an indicator that there is something more going on that people realise. Drake is joined by another team and with some influential backing they are tasked with using what they can to discover what is going on with any means necessary.

There are several characters in this book and these are listed at the front. I did a quick scan over these but I was too eager to get to the story itself. Drake is the main character, but only just as several others have an equally important role to play. I have to say I really liked the character of Bokk, they are brilliant and while they come across as a little naive there is something more to them than you first realise.

While there is an investigation going on, this is also a science fiction story. The author has not used too many technical terms and what he does use is introduced and explained enough so the reader can keep up. Some of the armaments and augmentations make the mind boggle but they also fit well with the characters. His world-building is great and the author gives descriptions where needed to explain the scenery and also the political and power structure. In any world, there is going to be a level of hierarchy and this one is no different.

The characters in the story have pasts and the author has given us a glimpse of some of those and I do think there is more to reveal as this series continues. While the author has given some indication as to Drake’s past there is something that Drake himself is made aware of towards the end of this first book.

A fabulous start to a series and it was a brilliant story. Full of action and it is one I would definitely recommend. I cannot wait to see where this series goes next.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Steve is a bestselling author of Urban Fantasy and Science Fiction books. His novel, Scorched Shadows, was shortlisted for a Gemmell Award for best novel. He was born in Mexborough, South Yorkshire, but now lives with his wife and three young daughters in Southampton.

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Many thanks for reading my post, a like or share would be amazing 🙂 xx

These Burning Stars by Bethany Jacobs @orbitbooks #scifi #fantasy #NetGalley #bookreview

yvonnembee

I am delighted to share my review today for These Burning Stars by Bethany Jacobs. This is the first book in a planned trilogy and it is a fabulous science fiction story.

My huge thanks to Orbit Books for accepting my request to read this title via NetGalley.

A dangerous cat-and-mouse quest for revenge. An empire that spans star systems, built on the bones of a genocide. A carefully hidden secret that could collapse worlds, hunted by three women with secrets of their own. All collide in this twisty, explosive space opera debut, perfect for readers of Arkady Martine and Kameron Hurley.

Jun Ironway—hacker, con artist, and occasional thief—has gotten her hands on a piece of contraband that could set her up for proof that implicates the powerful Nightfoot family in a planet-wide genocide seventy-five years ago. The Nightfoots control the precious sevite that fuels interplanetary travel through three star systems. And someone is sure to pay handsomely for anything that could break their hold.

Of course, anything valuable is also dangerous. The Kindom, the ruling power of the star systems, is inextricably tied up in the Nightfoots’ monopoly—and they can’t afford to let Jun expose the truth. They task two of their most brutal clerics with hunting her preternaturally stoic Chono, and brilliant hothead Esek, who also happens to be the heir to the Nightfoot empire.

But Chono and Esek are haunted in turn by a figure from their shared past, known only as Six. What Six truly wants is anyone’s guess. And the closer they get to finding Jun, the surer Chono is that Six is manipulating them all.

​It’s a game that could destroy their lives and devastate the stars. And they have no choice but to see it through to the end.

MY REVIEW

This was a fabulous action and adventure story that had me hooked. It is a science fiction set in a different star system to our own. There are different families, nations and ethnicities, I found that I thought of these more as tribes or large clans as this was how they struck me.

The story flits back and forth between characters and timelines. Esek Nightfoot is dangerous, she is one of the main families who tried to wipe out another race. Chono is someone who should also be feared, but she has a serenity to her and is devout in her prayers, unlike her tutor Esek. These two are chalk and cheese, yet, they do have respect for each other.

Jun is a tech whizz, she is able to see into systems, write programs, overwrite programs and a whole lot more. She is a con artist and she is very good and is soon on Esek’s radar when it is discovered she has a piece of tech that could bring the whole governing system down.

I should mention that this has a political slant to it from the aspect of the ruling families and with any governing body there is going to be mistrust and someone trying to get one over another. These rulers are known as the Kindom.

With Jun in possession of a piece of tech, there is a definite cat-and-mouse game across the worlds and various other people are dragged into it. Some will help and others will kill to their hands on it, then we have those that are around for a reason but you don’t quite know where they stand.

This is a book that is action-packed from start to finish, there are different names, technologies, races of people, and abilities and it all slots together so well and makes for seamless reading. Even when the author changes characters or timelines it still maintains a fast pace.

There is a hierarchy in the families and nations in this book, with those in power being the more wealthy, while the others gradually get poorer and poorer. This gives another reason for tension with the expectation of an uprising. Rumours do their work but you are never quite sure who is involved or what their aim is, that is until later in the book.

There is some wonderful technology that has been introduced and I really enjoyed this, it wasn’t too techy and I was able to keep a handle on what the author was describing. It meant that the flow was great and I wasn’t stumbling around trying to understand things.

Overall this is a fabulous start to a trilogy, it has introduced the main topics, characters, and history. There are things that are waiting to be answered and fought over. You will get to discover who the mysterious Six is in this book and it is a fabulous journey to discover who this is and why they are such an enigma.

This is one for fans of science fiction and science fantasy, it is full of action and adventure, flows along at a brisk pace and it is one I would definitely recommend.

Many thanks for reading my post, a like or share would be amazing 🙂 xx

Karakorum by Don Mon McVey @donmcvey @RandomTTours #scifi #thriller #bookreview

yvonnembee

I am delighted to share my review today for Karakorum by Don McVey. This is a brilliant sci-fi thriller that I adored. I don’t read a huge amount of sci-fi so this one really did hit the spot for me.

My huge thanks to Anne at Random Things Tours for arranging my copy of the book. This book is Independently Published.

In this gripping sci-fi adventure, Sorcha, a youngster from the outer-edge, discovers a hidden anomaly within the deadly game of Scratch, setting off a chain of events that will test her abilities and challenge her very existence. Scouted by a stranger from a rival faction, Sorcha finds herself pursued by malevolent forces intent on unravelling the secrets she unwittingly uncovers. To find the truth and avert impending catastrophe, Sorcha must embark on a perilous journey to the heart of Karakorum—an expansive shanty town divided by borders formed from interconnected minds—a remnant of a dark era known as The Wipe. Within this chaotic world, the inhabitants abide by the dictums of the Modor, the founder of Sapienism; a religion based on the sacrosanct human gene. As Sorcha delves deeper into the labyrinthine society, she uncovers an ancient riddle that holds the key to the past and the future of every connected citizen. However, unbeknownst to her, her actions could inadvertently lead to their ultimate downfall. Enter the dystopian world of Karakorum and immerse yourself in the richly imagined world, where technology, consciousness, and humanity collide. Join Sorcha as she battles formidable foes, unravels enigmatic puzzles, and grapples with the consequences of her choices.

MY REVIEW

This is an amazing book set in a futuristic, dystopian world. The author uses a small cast of characters and this makes it feel like a personal story with Sorcha being the main character. She is seen as different by others, but that doesn’t mean she is an outcast, but she does live and make her money by playing a game called Scratch. This is a game where competitors vie to beat each other while they are connected to a, well I think it would be called an interface.

While playing the game Sorcha sees something that shouldn’t be there. This leads to a Doro hunting her down. With the help of others, she is able to disappear to a different level of this futuristic world and hopes to remain hidden. Things that are hidden are usually uncovered at some point. It is not just Sorcha that is wanting to remain hidden though!

This is such an addictive story and one that did take me a few chapters to get into, I will be honest there are some chapters that lost me but these were from a different voice. It is later on when I realised who this was.

The feel of the story is one that is actually quite fast-paced and full of action. The author brings the ideology and religious beliefs of the people to this story and also a sense of unrest as they are all workers. Describing life in Karakorum is done in such a way that you soon realise that it is not a place of happiness. People exist rather than live. It is a world that feels dark, oppressive and lacklustre.

The further the story goes on the more you start to realise that there is something else going on. The synopsis mentions this book as being a collision of “technology, consciousness, and humanity ” and this starts to become more obvious the more you read.

This did remind me of a couple of other Sci-fi stories and a film as I was reading, I won’t mention which ones as I am sure you will have your own ideas as you read the book. This does have a thriller feel to it and it does twist and weave around a fair bit. As I mentioned earlier there were times when I felt a little lost, or out of my depth. However, I had to keep reading to find out how this one would end.

If you are a reader of sci-fi, dystopia, and fantasy stories then I do think this one will be one to take a look at. There is some great detail and twists. Fabulous story and there are characters that you do want to cheer for. Definitely one I would recommend.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Don McVey has worked for over 20 years in the Film and TV industry. After winning the H.G. Wells award for his short story ‘Transference’, he decided it was time to get round to writing a novel. His debut novel Karakorum was released in May 2023.

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Many thanks for reading my post, a like or share would be amazing 🙂 xx

Infinity Gate by M.R. Carey @ michaelcarey191 @OrbitBooks @Tr4cyF3nt0n #Pandominion #dystopia #scifi #bookreview

yvonnembee

I am delighted to share my review today for Infinity Gate by M.R. Carey. This is the first book in the Pandominion trilogy and it is fabulous.

I have to say a huge thanks to Tracey at Compulsive Readers for my spot on the Blog Tour and for arranging my paperback copy of this brilliant book from Orbit Books.

The Pandominion: a political and trading alliance of a million worlds – except that they’re really just the one world, Earth, in many different realities. And when an AI threat arises that could destroy everything the Pandominion has built, they’ll eradicate it by whatever means necessary, no matter the cost to human life.

Scientist Hadiz Tambuwal is looking for a solution to her own Earth’s environmental collapse when she stumbles across the secret of inter-dimensional travel. It could save everyone on her dying planet, but now she’s walked into the middle of a war on a scale she never dreamed of.

And she needs to choose a side before it kills her.

INFINITY IS ONLY THE BEGINNING.

MY REVIEW

What a brilliant first book in the Pandominion series Infinity Gate is. The Pandominion is a series of worlds, well actually millions upon millions of worlds. They are all a variation of Earth and The Pandominion is the alliance that runs them, well most of them, some are not deemed acceptable. Our version of Earth is dying, there is nothing worth saving so the Pandominion has ignored it. However, a scientist by the name of Hadiz Tembuwal discovers that there are multiverses and this could mean a way of saving our Earth.

It can be a little difficult to review the first book in a series that you know is going to be huge, I mean in the way the book is laid out and how far into the galaxy, multiverse or time it goes. This author does know how to deal with large areas, dimensions and spaces and he also knows how to fill them. He has some main characters such as Paz, Essien, Moon, Dulcie and Rupshe. There are obviously many others, but not too many to get confusing.

Mixing in travel through different dimensions of universes would make you think that this was very science-based, it isn’t, well it is, but not over-the-top tech speak. The terms used are part of the story and kind of make sense. Tactical soldiers with enhanced armour known as the Cielo were interesting to come across, as were the various other inhabitants of the different verses. YOu will soon discover how the author manages to mingle and mix machines with beings and gradually work towards a more AI form. There are those that are alive and then there is the machinery.

This first book lays out the foundations and gives great detail about how things are seen from a viewpoint of someone who has never heard of the Pandominion. This makes it more accessible to different readers. There are also different perspectives from the different beings and they have worked together to start to form a great image of this alternative verse.

Having great characters and a storyline that is building momentum makes for a really great read. I have read this over a few days or so and even when I had put it down due to work I could remember what was going on. I found that the characters are very memorable and I am already starting to have favourites.

The author obviously has a lot more up his sleeve for this series and it will be interesting to how or where he lets his imagination run.

It is a mix of sci-fi, fantasy and dystopian and with some fabulously explained characters. I have already started to build up a picture in my head of how some of these appear, I just couldn’t help it.

A brilliant first book and one I would definitely recommend.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Mike Carey is the acclaimed writer of Lucifer and Hellblazer (now filmed as Constantine). He has recently completed a comics adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere, and is the current writer on Marvel’s X-Men and Ultimate Fantastic Four. He has also written the screenplay for a movie, Frost Flowers, which is soon to be produced by Hadaly Films and Bluestar Pictures.

The End of Men by Christina Sweeney-Baird @ChristinaRoseSB @BoroughPress #NetGalley #pandemic #scifi #dystopian #bookreview

yvonnembee 5 Comments

I am delighted to share my review today for The End of Men by Christina Sweeney-Baird. This was published initially in 2021, at the time I had seen it out and being reviewed, but at the time I didn’t want to read it as Covid was still too prominent. However, a year on and it was obviously the right time because I really enjoyed it and thought it was a great book to read.

My huge thanks to Borough Press, a branch of Harper Collins, for granting my request to read this title via NetGalley.

This was a really great book to read and I do like the way the author approached the story and then went further with it. Not just the lead-up and during, but the after-effects of living in a world that had undergone huge changes.

When a mysterious disease starts in Scotland, Dr Amanda Maclean is ignored. She is just a female doctor and does not know enough to be making such a rash call that this is something to be worried about. It is brushed under the carpet. It then starts to spread. It affects only men and they are dying by the millions as it spreads around the globe.

This story was written before the start of the Covid pandemic in 2018/19, it was then published in 2021. A lot of what is discussed in this story did happen when Covid struck. Initially, it was seen as a problem on the other side of the world, governments were slow to react and as we know the pandemic was to kill millions around the world. The End of Men is a similar story and one that the author imagined prior to the pandemic.

This story is told from the perspective of different characters around the world. They are female characters as they now are prominent, not every man has died, and there are some that are immune. The race is on to discover where the virus started, what makes it spread, who are carriers and why only certain people live.

As much as I really enjoyed the beginning of the story, and this was really good, it was the recovery and adapting to the virus that really turned this story around for me. The author imagines so many scenarios that I had not even considered. There are the obvious ones about having a depleted workforce, of women retraining and having a prominent role in how countries are run and how they have new freedom, especially in countries where women were definitely not seen as equal. Yes, in some ways this story is about empowerment and also feminism but it is also about how people adapt to change.

A story like this is easy to relate to as we are still living with Covid. As we are adapting to the world after this pandemic it is nothing compared to how the author sees a world with a significantly reduced male population. Without men, it becomes a matter of how the human race will recover with a limited supply of males to help repopulate.

I liked this book a huge amount. Set in a future that is all too real to imagine and the way the author uses her story to envision a future that has changed drastically. This is one for those who like dystopian, futuristic and feminist viewpoints, it is a mystery and a thriller as the race is also on to find and develop a cure. It is one I would definitely recommend.

The really alarming thing about this book is that the author did imagine this prior to the Covid Pandemic. I have a copy of a letter sent via NetGalley detailing this…

Here’s a letter from Christina Sweeney-Baird: 

I first heard about corona virus as most people likely did; through snippets of news and emails from friends saying, ‘Have you seen this? So weird!’ For a number of weeks, it felt distant in that way so many foreign news stories do. Something awful and scary but ultimately a disease I would remain personally unaffected by.

 Only a few months on from those emails and news reports, I’m sitting in my flat in central London in lockdown. I leave the house once a day for exercise, and shop for food and other essentials once a week. I don’t know when I’ll next see my family in Scotland, my boyfriend who is living in Dubai at the moment for work or my friends and colleagues. Billions of people around the world are in the same position. I feel immeasurably fortunate to still be employed and to have recovered from suspected corona virus (I have not been tested but experienced the virus’s tell-tale cough, breathlessness and extreme fatigue after returning to London from a trip to Northern Italy). I know you’re meant to ‘live your truth’ through art and everything, but contracting corona virus was a step towards authenticity I could have done without.

 It’s an understatement to say it feels surreal that I wrote a book about a pandemic disproportionately affecting men just before a pandemic disproportionately affecting men swept the world. More than one person has half-jokingly called me Cassandra. When I started writing The End of Men in September 2018 it felt like the ultimate thought experiment. How far could I take my imagination? How would a global pandemic with an enormous death rate change the world? What would the world look like without men, or the majority of them? I wrote the first draft of the book in nine months, finishing with a burst of intense writing in June 2019. Now, as I edit the book for my editors wondering what this summer will bring, I find myself testing my imaginary world against the real one. I gauge the distance between what I have written and what is happening. As a writer of speculative fiction, this is not something I ever expected.

 I’m relieved that corona virus doesn’t have a death rate as high as the virus I have imagined in my novel, and that it will not kill nine in ten of the world’s men. The imaginary world I have written belongs safely in fiction, within the pages of a novel. Nonetheless, we are experiencing in real life the greatest pandemic of our lifetimes, which is more than I ever could have imagined in my wildest nightmares. I hope that by the time you’re reading this, there is a vaccine. I hope our healthcare systems survive and economies recover. I hope your loved ones are safe and that the world has returned to that wonderful, boring, nostalgic state I now crave: normality.

Christina Sweeney-Baird

Many thanks for reading my post, a like or share would be amazing 🙂 xx

After the Burning by N. S. Ford @nsfordwriter #dystopian #thriller #shortstories #bookreview

yvonnembee 2 Comments

I am delighted to share my review for a collection of short stories. After the Burning by N.S. Ford is a wonderful selection of dystopian fiction.

“Things did not vanish. They were cleansed away.”

Five spine-chillingly plausible tales for our times. In a society without books, a labourer makes a shocking discovery. An artist starts an underground club for art made by humans instead of artificial intelligence. Parents who refuse to have their baby implanted with a communications chip must fight for their rights. A child goes on a school trip to the extinct natural world. Just before a general election, everyone becomes addicted to a new superfood.

A must-read collection of dystopian stories. They are works of fiction but, unless we act now, will soon be a reality.

MY REVIEW

This is a fabulous book of short stories that have a dystopian theme. I do like this genre and to have a story that gives a glimpse into a possible future is always scary and it also makes for very addictive reading.

The five short stories are a great mix and each one is a different topic but within the umbrella of dystopian fiction.

A story about school trips in a futuristic world is an eye-opener and also rather sad when I sat and thought about it. This is one that I do think is a possibility if things don’t change.

The story of the artists really caught my attention and this is one that again I can see happening as AI becomes more and more prevalent in our society.

Technology is something that is always developing so the story of having a computer chip implanted is another one that I really enjoyed. I didn’t expect the twist in that one!

Books are a big part of my life and are something that I cannot imagine not having. So reading about the discovery of a box and its contents was interesting as well.

The one I really enjoyed was the superfood story. This is something that did for a small part remind me of the book Soylent Green (if you know, you know!) but wasn’t quite as macabre but still shocking.

Overall these are well-written and really imaginative. They are short but detailed with nice twists to them. With collections of short stories it is difficult to rate as some I like more than others but all of these were good. This is a book I would happily recommend if you are looking for some entertaining and eerie dystopian stories.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

N S Ford is a book fanatic, blogger and cat lover who lives in the UK. She is the author of two cross-genre psychological thrillers, ‘We Watch You’ and ‘They Lie Here,’ plus a new collection of dystopian short stories, ‘After the Burning’.

Many thanks for reading my review, a like or share would be amazing 🙂 xx

Cold People by Tom Rob Smith @simonschusterUK #NetGalley #apocalypse #thriller #dystopian #bookreview

yvonnembee 2 Comments

I am delighted to share my review today for Cold People by Tom Rob Smith. This is a brilliant book and one for those who like post-apocalyptic stories.

My huge thanks to the publishers Simon & Schuster for granting my request to read this title via NetGalley.

The world has fallen. Without warning, a mysterious and omnipotent force has claimed the planet for their own. There are no negotiations, no demands, no reasons given for their actions. All they have is a message: humanity has thirty days to reach the one place on Earth where they will be allowed to exist… Antarctica.

Cold People follows the perilous journeys of a handful of those who endure the frantic exodus to the most extreme environment on the planet. But their goal is not merely to survive the present. Because as they cling to life on the ice, the remnants of their past swept away, they must also confront the urgent challenge: can they change and evolve rapidly enough to ensure humanity’s future? Can they build a new society in the sub-zero cold?

Original and imaginative, as profoundly intimate as it is grand in scope, is a masterful and unforgettable epic.

MY REVIEW

This is a fabulous book and it was one that I found so addictive. This is a mix of post-apocalypse, dystopian, sci-fi and thriller and I adored it. Earth has been visited by alien crafts, and they have sent a message saying that the only place humans can live is the Antarctic, they have 30 days to get there.

This book follows the journey that the human race makes as it tries to work out who gets to go, each country has their own criteria and priorities. There are also individuals who make their own way as well. It is a group of individuals that are the main focus as they make their journey to the frozen south.

With most people not having any experience of living in extreme conditions there are deaths. Billions die as there is only a small percentage of the race that can actually make the journey. While people try to build a life they are starting to worry about what will happen to the human race in the future. This is where the story for me got really interesting and also gripping as science becomes more involved in the fight to keep the human race alive.

I adored this so much about this book and it does lean towards many different genres. The way people organise themselves, govern and also find new ways to manage and exist. Antarctica has research facilities so it is a given that there are going to be scientists and experiments involved, these are so intriguing and they start to add a more sci-fi and thriller edge to an already gripping story.

What starts with a chance meeting ends in a story of survival and the author brings in so many twists and unexpected dilemmas that provide a dilemma. At times this almost felt like the story was verging on a horror story but with the obvious sci-fi leaning. While aliens are mentioned they are not really part of the story. Not much is known about them or why they targeted humans as the threat but left all other creatures alive. You can make your own mind up about that one! This story instead focuses on Antarctica and the residents of this isolated land.

This is a story that really captured my imagination and the author has such a wonderful way with words that I was able to imagine his descriptions. THis is one of those books that I could visualise and see being made into a film or series. Imaginative, full of suspense and a thriller that I would definitely recommend.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Tom Rob Smith (born 1979) is an English writer. The son of a Swedish mother and an English father, Smith was raised in London where he lives today. After graduating from Cambridge University in 2001, he completed his studies in Italy, studying creative writing for a year. After these studies, he worked as a scriptwriter.

His first novel, Child 44, about a series of child murders in Stalinist Russia, appeared in early 2008 and was translated into 17 languages. It was awarded the 2008 Ian Fleming Steel Dagger for Best Thriller of the year by the Crime Writer’s Association. It was recently a Barnes & Noble recommended book. On July 29, 2008 the book was named on the long list for the 2008 Man Booker Prize. In November 2008, he was nominated for the 2008 Costa First Novel Award (former Whitbread).

Child 44 followed-up by The Secret Speech (2009)and Agent 6 (2011).

Many thanks for reading my review, a like or share would be amazing 🙂 xx

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley #classicfiction #dystopian #scifi #bookreview

yvonnembee 10 Comments

I am delighted to share my review today for an old classic. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley was written in 1931 and published in 1932. A book that I have wanted to read for years but actually managed to pick up and read at the beginning of December last Year.

Brave New World is a dystopian novel by English author Aldous Huxley, written in 1931 and published in 1932. Largely set in a futuristic World State, inhabited by genetically modified citizens and an intelligence-based social hierarchy, the novel anticipates huge scientific advancements in reproductive technology, sleep-learning, psychological manipulation and classical conditioning that are combined to make a dystopian society which is challenged by only a single individual: the story’s protagonist.

MY REVIEW

This is a book that I have been wanting to read for years but never got to it. I finally decided to give it a go. I was only aware of the basics of this book and I hadn’t read any other reviews about it.

What I discovered is quite a bizarre story that became quite addictive. It does have a strong literary fiction feel to it. At times the writing is poetic, at others disjointed and overall a story that gradually got under my skin.

The world that Huxley has created is one where people are expected to be happy, they are brainwashed into feeling this. There is no mother, father or in fact any type of family connection. Each person has been produced in a test tube and altered at a genetic level to become what is required for Huxley’s world to function. There is a layered social system where people are born to be what they are engineered to be, so someone with a lowly job will be content with that job. They don’t aspire to be anything more than what they are supposed to be.

Creating this world, the author then throws an anomaly in the system, this is something that shows that even with the use of technology there will be a time when nature intervenes, or it may be a simple human mistake. Either way, this is where the characters that start to question the system have a more important role.

In the second half of the book, there is a move from the system to that of the outside world, this is more what we know today. Parents, relationships and unique traits and characteristics. This for me is where the story then takes an even more addictive turn. The comparisons built up between those in the system and those out of it are great. By the end of the book, I found I was very interested in some of the characters. The ending, well that was a shock!

This is a fabulous book to read, and I did struggle to find the flow at the beginning. I did read it in two sittings. The first sitting was a bit wobbly and at 33% I decided to have a break, this turned out to be a great time to pause and then come back to it the following night. I then found myself unable to put this book down and finished it.

This is a book that has loads of reviews, has loads of opinions and there are probably theories and it will have been analysed in every aspect. I read for the pleasure of it, so for me, this book was one that intrigued me. It did feel disjointed, to begin with, but it grew on me. I enjoyed this and I am very glad that I have read this book.

For a book that was written in 1931 and published in 1932, it has some brilliant imagination and foresight into a possible future. A world where people are engineered to fit into a hierarchical society. It is a very good book and it is one I would happily recommend.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

This most prominent member of the famous Huxley family of England spent part of his life from 1937 in Los Angeles in the United States until his death. Best known for his novels and wide-ranging output of essays, he also published short stories, poetry, travel writing, and film stories and scripts. Through novels and essays, Huxley functioned as an examiner and sometimes critic of social mores, norms and ideals. Spiritual subjects, such as parapsychology and philosophical mysticism, interested Huxley, a humanist, towards the end of his life. People widely acknowledged him as one of the pre-eminent intellectuals of his time before the end of his life.

Many thanks for reading my post, a like or share would be amazing 🙂 xx

They Lie Here by NS Ford @nsfordwriter #mystery #thriller#suspense #fiction #bookreview

yvonnembee 4 Comments

I am delighted to share my review today for They Lie Here by NS Ford. This Author is also a fabulous Book Blogger who I follow and I am always intrigued and interested by her book selections and reviews. It was an easy thing for me to agree to read her 2nd book when she kindly got in touch. When I read it, I had not even seen a synopsis. It is as I wrote my review that I realised how clever this title was!

This book is due for Publication tomorrow, so I would like to take the opportunity to wish you a wonderful Publication Day 🙂 xx

TWO MYSTERIES. ONE CITY. MANY LIES.

Kat Green has made a career out of tracking down reclusive former celebrities. When she moves to the quaint English city of Waelminster, she’s on the trail of enigmatic pop star Roskoe Darke, of the band Scorpio Hearts. He hasn’t been heard of since 1985, but she’s confident she’ll find him. However, as the clues become more bizarre and sinister, Kat has to confront the darkness of her own past. Who can she trust when everyone is hiding the truth?

MY REVIEW

After reading this author’s first book I was definitely looking forward to this second one. They Lie Here is such an addictive read and I did read this without looking at the synopsis, I only read that as I think about writing this review.

The synopsis is short and snappy and now I look at it I realise how it gives very little away. It does however have enough to suggest a mystery and secrets from the past.

The story is about Kat, and she has a very isolated life, she constantly moves as she goes from story to story. She researches each of her stories and her latest one is the whereabouts of Roskoe Darke, a member of an 80s band. He mysteriously disappeared and has not been seen, there have been several suggestions as to what happened and some of these do sound plausible. Kat, however, decides to dig deeper.

I adored how this started as a very interesting mystery about a disappearance, but after several chapters, this morphs into something more than I originally expected. Kat is a character who I really liked, a loner who fixates on one project at a time. But what is it about her past that will have relevance to the current timeline of her story? Well, I could tell you but then I would spoil the story so you are going to have to read it for yourself. I didn’t see this twist coming in the story, so it was a huge revelation.

As for what happened to the missing Roskoe, well again I never saw that one either. This was a little different to what I expected but it worked really well. The author injected a clever little side step and it was one that turned this into a much darker and more sinister story.

There are a few characters in this book, enough for the story but not any bystanders. Each of the characters has a purpose and I was never aware of just how or what the purpose was.

The story flits between the 1980s and present-day and this means you keep up to date with the present story while being given details and things from the past to give a larger overall picture. How the two timelines come together was something that I never saw, a lot of the plots and twists, I never saw until the author was ready to let me in on her secrets.

Secrets are quite a large part of this story and as they emerge I started to realise how cleverly the author has played out her storyline. Not all is as it seems with any part of the story, especially with the characters and this adds to the sense of suspicion.

This was a brilliant thriller that has a great mystery and suspense element to it, a great storyline and a wonderful set of interesting and different characters. I adored this book a huge amount, a one-sitting read for me and it is one I would absolutely recommend.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

N S Ford is a book fanatic, blogger and cat lover who lives in the UK with her family. She has a First Class degree in English. When not reading or blogging, she juggles her writing time with parenting, working in heritage and playing the piano. She is the author of two cross-genre psychological thrillers, ‘We Watch You’ and ‘They Lie Here’.

Find her on Twitter or her Website

Many thanks for reading my post, a like or share would be amazing 🙂 xx