Science Fiction - The Irresponsible Reader

I’m very pleased today to welcome The BBNYA 2026 Semi-Finalist Spotlight Tour for Ryan Southwick’s Holtondome! This book made it to the semi-finals, so you know there’s something good going on–but before getting to this Spotlight, let’s start with a word about BBNYA.

BBNYA:

BBNYA is a yearly competition where book bloggers from all over the world read and score books written by indie authors, ending with 15 finalists (18 in 2026) and one overall winner.

If you want some more information about BBNYA, check out the BBNYA Website https://www.bbnya.com/ or take a peek over on Twitter @BBNYA_Official.
Pilcrow

Book Details:

Title: Holtondome by Ryan Southwick
Series: Timeless Keeper Saga
Genre: Science Fiction, Dystopian, Post-Apocalyptic
Age Category: Adult
Format: Hardcover, Paperback, eBook
Length: 320 pg.
Publication Date: May 17, 2022

About the Book:

Seg Holton yearns to leave his isolated farming dome and travel the ravaged Earth, or even to Mars Colony. Only a few things stand in his way: an authoritarian government, deadly storms, and an enchanting outsider who may be the most dangerous of all.

Fast-forward 500 years. Civilization has nearly wiped itself out of existence, and is on the long, slow road to recovery, held together by an agreement called the Pact between cities, agricultural domes, and a new global government.

Seg is a farmer in Holtondome. Like his ancestors, he’s chosen a life of ignorance about technology and the outside world in favor of a simple existence, free of the corruption that almost destroyed the human race.

His world turns upside down when Fi arrives. Tall, exotic, and far too wise for her age, she challenges everything he’s been taught to believe, making him question for the first time if a simple life is right for him or, indeed, for the rest of humanity.

But Fi has secrets darker than her black-ringed eyes — bigger than the Pact — that have implications far beyond Seg and the residents of Holtondome.

What is the opening line? Seg yanked his steering wheel to the right and slammed the gas.
What’s a fun fact about the book? Holtondome was originally supposed to be only the first few chapters of a larger story, but the setting was so engaging that it quickly became apparent that it deserved its own book.
What food or drink pairs best with the book? Pork pot pie
What music pairs best with the book? Hamilton

Book Links:

Amazon Canada ~ Amazon US ~ Amazon UK ~ Bookshop.org ~ Goodreads ~ The Story Graph

About the Author:

Ryan Southwick decided to dabble at writing later in life, and quickly became obsessed with the craft. He currently lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with his wife and three children.

His technical skills as a software developer, healthcare experience, and lifelong fascination for science fiction became the ingredients for his first series, The Z‑Tech Chronicles, which combines these elements into a fantastic contemporary tale of super-science, fantasy, and adventure, based in his Bay Area stomping grounds. He has since published other science fiction works, including the Timeless Keeper Saga, Lost Colonies, and One Man’s Trash.

Ryan’s skills as a Writing Coach have earned him a spot on the Coach Foundation, one of the biggest names in the coaching industry.

Website ~ Bluesky ~ Instagram

My thanks to The Book Bloggers’ Novel of the Year Award for the invitation to participate in this tour and the materials they provided.

The Book Bloggers’ Novel of the Year Award 2026 Semi-Finalist badge

PUB DAY REPOST: Monsters of Ohio by John Scalzi: People Change

By HCNewton

On November 3, 2026

In Fiction, John Scalzi, Science Fiction

Monsters of Ohio

by John Scalzi

DETAILS:
Publisher: Tor Books
Publication Date: November 3, 2026
Format: eARC
Length: 272 pg.
Read Date: October 16, 2026

What’s Monsters of Ohio About?

Mike Boyd, whose job in DC was recently eliminated due to sweeping cuts, returns to the small Ohio town of his birth to live with his dad and his second wife (not really a stepmother, as Mike was an adult when his father remarried). His dad’s wife isn’t crazy about giving up her crafting room for him—or pretty much anything else about Mike. For that matter, she seems to think of his father in pretty much the same way (which is reciprocated).

But hey, free rent.

Several people that Mike grew up with are still in Richland—as are their families. Almost everyone works for one employer. And those that don’t work in industries supporting them. So with the growing rumors of the plant closing soon, Richland is on the verge of closing soon, too. It’s a bad time to come back home.

Mike’s closest friend in town is the Chief of Police. Dave is also the entire police department. It’s that small of a town. Shortly after Mike comes home, Dave is called to a farm to investigate something that happened to a prize-winning cow.

It’s truly difficult to describe what happened to the cow—and what starts happening throughout the town. So I won’t try—but it takes a mind like John Scalzi’s to cook it up.

Why did I pick this up? Why did I keep reading?

I picked this up for three reasons:
1. John Scalzi
2. That cover—I don’t care who wrote it, but that cover deserves investigation. Seriously, go look at it again—even better, go look at a larger version, too. Great work.
3. I heard Scalzi read the Prologue at a signing last year—and I just had to know what came next.

I kept reading for reasons 1 and 3. Reason 1 means it’s a fun, funny, and quick read that just makes you want more. And number 3 did not prepare me at all for what I got—which was perfect.

What does this book tell us about humanity?

I think the main thing here is adaptability. Which isn’t always a good thing, but it is something that really defines a lot of humanity.

There are some characters who’ve gone through changes before the events in this book—changes in their lives that forced them to change (or, provided opportunities to change). Some of these changes were for the better—being forced to change careers, for example. Others weren’t—becoming isolated, jaded and radicalized to the point that your own family wants nothing to do with you.

Then all of these characters are put in a situation that no one could’ve expected or predicted—and, if they had, no one would’ve believed them. And after some initial shock—they adapt. Most of them rather quickly

People, when dropped into situations they’re unprepared for, have an amazing tendency to find ways to cope, and this book celebrates that. People, uh, find a way.

(yes, not all the ways people do this in reality are that great. Not everyone survives this kind of thing, either, tragically. I’m talking in broad generalities here)

Also, shortly before publishing this post, I realized that the words “People Change” are on the cover. This whole section is just a wordy and unnecessary restatement of the tagline.

So, what did I think about Monsters of Ohio?

This was ridiculously fun. There’s an amazing lack of realism to this—which is utterly fine, if you roll with it, you’ll be okay. If you can’t handle it, this isn’t a book for you, just know that going in. Don’t suspend your disbelief, save yourself the subscription rate and just cancel it for the duration.

I think I read something describing this as a cozy horror, and I can think of no better way to put it. The science behind it is pure fantasy (but would’ve been considered science-y in a 1950s movie). The metaphors are strained, but apt. The politics are absolutely not subtle.

Most of the characters we meet—even those we don’t spend a lot of time with—are given a solid, believable backstory. And those backstories are given to the reader in such a way that my reaction to them was basically, “Can I get three chapters just with this person?” Honestly, I don’t think we got enough of any of them. There’s one young character in particular (keeping as vague as possible), that I felt very short-changed with. Their arc was satisfactorily resolved—I just enjoyed them enough I wanted more of them.

For example, one of Mike’s high-school buddies is Richland’s answer to Kirk Gleason, man of a thousand jobs. One of Bill’s jobs is delivering pizza. What that job enables him to learn about people—and the fact that he does so—tells us a lot about Bill (as well as shedding some light on a couple of other characters). It’s a great way to get to know someone.

Is the ending maybe a little too feel-good? Maybe bordering on cheesy? Yes and yes. Did I care? No and No. This is escapist SF fun, with a little social commentary thrown in along the way. The bad guys get beaten and everyone else may not get a Happily Ever After, but they do get a Happier Ever After—and that’s good enough.

This is one part 50s Sci-Fi/Horror flick. One part comedy. One part cozy. And all parts fun. Strongly recommended.

Disclaimer: I received this eARC from Tor Publishing Group via NetGalley—my thanks to both for this. This post contains my honest opinion about a book I chose to read.

This post contains an affiliate link. If you purchase from it, I will get a small commission at no additional cost to you. As always, the opinions expressed are my own.
Irresponsible Reader Pilcrow Icon

Shield of The Mothership by JCM Berne: A Tale of Kaiju, Space Battles, and Poor Network Security

By HCNewton

On October 29, 2026

In Fiction, JCM Berne, Science Fiction, The Hybrid Helix

Shield of The Mothership

by JCM Berne

DETAILS:
Series: Hybrid Helix, Turn 7
Publisher: Gnost House
Publication Date: July 19, 2025
Format: Hardcover
Length: 404 pg.
Read Date: October 12, 2026

“You have more Power than me, Rrekha, but you also have a lot more mass. Bigger isn’t always better. That’s what my girlfriend tells me, at least. She wouldn’t lie, would she? I mean, to spare my feelings?”

“Your prattling is as bad as everyone says.”

“Oh, it’s way, way worse. Give me some time. You’ll see. I might be the sector’s top prattler. I would say it’s a gift, but really, I earned this. I practice prattling all the time. You have no idea how hard it is to say so much when there’s so little meaning behind it.”

What’s Shield of The Mothership About?

Since the beginning of this series, we’ve known sentient spaceships of various sizes and ages and know that they can grow into bigger types—up to a space station. But we’ve never known where they come from. Until now. It’s in a system that’s harder to find than Battlestar‘s Kobol or Hitchhiker’s Magrathea—but Rohan needs to figure it out so he can go protect the Shipyard.

It turns out that Hyperion and his allies apparently abducted one of the three ships that can get there—and are likely doing horrible things to the ship to get the information. There’s nothing good that can happen from Hyperion having that information—the only reason to do that is to destroy the Shipyard which would cripple the sector, at best.

So, the il’Drach recruit Rohan to stop him. Just who he wants to work for, but the risks are too great for him to blow this off just out of principle.

So, Rohan and his band of allies have to solve the nigh-impossible and then go stop one of the nearest things to a god they’ve run across.

All in a day’s work for a Tow Chief, eh?

Why did I pick this up? Why did I keep reading?

I got this because before I was finished with Wistful Ascending, the first in the series, I’d pretty much decided I needed to read anything JCM Berne wrote. Yes, I haven’t done a great job of reading them in a timely way, but that era is about over.

I stuck with it because it’s as good as the rest of the series. But also, let me mention a few highlights:
bullet an area of space where the rules of physics don’t work like they’re supposed to/humans think they have to
bullet a giant intelligent and talking kaiju (of course, there’s a kaiju, if there’s one thing that Berne has to have…)
bullet fracking great space battles. (possibly the fightin’-est entry in the series, which is a pretty high bar)
bullet Berne’s/Rohan’s signature wit. I’m willing to believe that Berne was on an exclusive, steady, and large diet of the best The Amazing Spider-Man issues while writing this one.
bullet The weirdest/most dangerous water you’ve encountered.

A Big Theme

I’m not sure this is supposed to be the theme behind this book or not, but it’s what I came away with: Fighting the Right Battle at the Right Time. (make that battle and fighting as metaphorical as you want). Rohan, his allies, his opponents, and the Shipyard’s residents/workers all have various and sundry obstacles/battles that they’re faced with in this work. And all of them have their place and time—most of them (not Hyperion and his group, to be clear) have noble and/or sound reasoning behind them. All of them would be justified in acting on them in the moment—whether it’s fighting a genocidal leader or enforcing bureaucratic norms that pre-exist anyone alive.

But something that just about all of the people listed need to learn and adapt to is that you have to pick your timing, you have to lose (or not fight in) the battle in order to win the war. Living to fight another day is a better option than losing a battle you cannot win (or cannot win without horrible consequences).

None of the characters in this book are great at this—but many of them (enough of them?) see the need. In a SF/Super-Hero/Space Opera kind of story, wisdom isn’t usually called for when there’s an opportunity for a big battle (which is not to say the book doesn’t have plenty of those, as I’ve already noted). But, every now and then, Berne’s creations have to take another path. And that’s a pretty cool thing to see in this kind of book.

“You look like you need some rest, Captain. No offense.”

She shuddered. “I’m not sure I’ll ever sleep again.”

He laughed. “You’ll get used to it.”

“What? The danger?”

“The danger, the existential horror, the certainty that you are a meaningless speck of life in a vast and uncaring universe. All that.”

“It doesn’t sound like you’re used to it.”

“Maybe I lied. I do that.”

So, what did I think about Shield of The Mothership?

This is one of my favorites in a favorite series.

I fell for some red herrings (that might have been of my own invention/misreading), and the best kind of them—where the actual thing happening was so much better than anything my brain was concocting. Berne was at his best with the fighting, character work, and banter. We got some payoff on seeds planted earlier in the series (both much earlier and recently). The Shipyard could easily be the coolest idea that Berne’s had in this series

Most importantly, Rohan’s got some proof that some of the work he’s done on himself/with his abilities is paying off. This bodes well for him as a character and for the future of the series (the cover to the next book suggests the same)—big things are coming soon, and it’s going to be great.

I’m not sure what else to say at this point—get this series. This is a fun book regardless, but it’s so much better with the six previous setting you up for it. This is must read of a series.

This post contains an affiliate link. If you purchase from it, I will get a small commission at no additional cost to you. As always, the opinions expressed are my own.
Irresponsible Reader Pilcrow Icon

Monsters of Ohio by John Scalzi: People Change

By HCNewton

On October 27, 2026

In Fiction, John Scalzi, Science Fiction

Monsters of Ohio

by John Scalzi

DETAILS:
Publisher: Tor Books
Publication Date: November 3, 2026
Format: eARC
Length: 272 pg.
Read Date: October 16, 2026