Tag: SF Page 1 of 30

REPOST (and a note): The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers: A charming, earnest and frequently delightful space opera that pretty much matches the hype.

On March 3, 2026

In 2018 First Reads Challenge, Fiction

We talked about this at Book Club last night, so I thought I’d dust this off and run it again. I think I get what I was going for in the 8th/ante-penultimate paragraph back in ’18, but I wouldn’t write it today, or anything like it, really. I’m also pretty sure that I’d rate it higher, if I were still rating things with stars–at the very least, I wouldn’t dither about it like I did. Still, this is close enough to what I’d say now that I don’t feel like redoing it.

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet

by Becky Chambers
Series: Wayfarers, #1Paperback, 443 pg.
Harper Voyager, 2018
Read: July 18 – 20, 2018

We are all made from chromosomes and DNA, which themselves are made from a select handful of key elements. We all require a steady intake of water and oxygen to survive (though in varying quantities). We all need food. We all buckle under atmospheres too thick or gravitational fields too strong. We all die in freezing cold or burning heat. We all die, full stop.

Ohhhh boy. One of yesterday’s posts was easy — I state the premise, say the book lived up to the premise, and there ya go. A finished post. Today? I’m not sure I could succinctly lay out the premise in 6 paragraphs, much less say anything else about the book. It’s deep, it’s sprawling, it’s fun and full of heart. What isn’t it? Easy to talk about briefly.

So I’m going to cut some corners, and not give it the depth of discussion that I’d like to.

So you know how The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy starts off with the Vogon Constructor Fleet constructing a hyperspace bypass right through our Solar System? Well, if the Vogons were the megacorp doing that, the crew of the Wayfarer is your mom & pop-level company doing the same kind of work. But there are no Vogons, and it’s not a hyperspace bypass they’re constructing, but the metaphor works — the Wayfarer is building/cutting/creating ways for spaceships to make it from point A to point B faster — I’ll leave the detailed explanation to Sissix or Kizzy to explain when you read it (I think it was Kizzy, but I could be wrong — my copy is in another state, so it’s hard for me to check things like that).

The Wayfarer is made up of a mix of species — including human (some of which were raised on a planet, others not), the others? Well, they’d fit right in with the customers in the Mos Eisley Cantina (with names like Sissix or Kizzy) — too difficult to explain, but they’re all radically different from pretty much anything you’ve seen or read before. Chambers’ imagination when it comes to their physiology, culture, mannerisms, beliefs is just astounding. Really it’s fantastic. And the crew is a family — when a new crew member joins, they’re greeted with “welcome home.” And that’s just what they mean.

This new crew member is Rosemary Harper, our entry point into this world, too. She’s never been off-planet before, doesn’t understand the science behind the work they do, really only has textbook knowledge of most of the species they run into. As she learns, so does the reader. Phew. Essentially, the plot is this: the captain of Wayfarer gets a chance to make history and make more money than he’s used to — he jumps at it, but his crew has to take a freakishly long trip to get to the (for lack of a better term) construction site (see the title). This long trip is filled with dangers, encounters with family members no one has seen in ages and old friends. And pirates. Even when they get to the construction site, the challenges are just beginning and everyone on board is going to be put through the wringer just to survive.

In the midst of all this is laughter, love, joy, pain, sorrow, and learning. Rosemary becomes part of the family — by the actions of the crew bringing her in, and through her own reciprocal actions. Now, many parts of this book seem slow — but never laboriously slow — it’s the way that Chambers has to construct it so that we get the emotional bonds between the characters — and between the characters and the reader — firmly established, so that when the trials come, we’re invested. I was surprised how much I cared about the outcomes of certain characters at the end — it’s all because Chambers did just a good job building the relationships, nice and slow. The book frequently feels light — and is called that a lot by readers — but don’t mistake light for breezy.

I want to stress, it’s not laboriously slow, it’s not boring. It’s careful, it’s well-thought out. It’s your favorite chili made in the slow cooker all day, rather than dumping the ingredients in a pot an hour or so before dinner. It occasionally bugged me while reading, but by that time, I was invested and had a certain degree of trust for Chambers — and by the time I got to the end, I understood what she was doing in the slow periods and reverse my opinion of them.

I frequently felt preached at while reading this book. There were agendas all around and these characters did what they could to advance them. Most of the speechifying and preaching worked in the Wayfarer Universe, but not in ours. When I read it, I had no problem with it — but the more I think about it, the less I agree and the more annoyed I get. The opening quotation was one of the themes pushed, another had to do with family and/or brothers — but the best lines about those involve spoilers or need the context to be really effective, so go read them yourselves. I don’t want to get into a debate with the various characters in the book, so I’ll bypass the problems I have with just the note that I have them. But in the moment and in the context of the novel, the writing behind the characters’ points/values, the emotions behind them are moving, compelling and convincing — and that’s what you want, right?

It is super, super-easy to see why this won buckets of awards — and probably deserved most (if not all) of those awards. This is one of the better space operas I’ve read in the last few . . . ever, really. It’s easy to see why it got the hype and acclaim it did, and while I might not be as over-the-moon as many readers are with it, I understand their love. I heartily enjoyed it, and can see myself returning to this universe again soon.

As far as the star rating goes? I’ve vacillated between 3-5 a lot over the last week or so (including while writing this post), usually leaning high — so take this one with a grain of salt, it’s how I feel at the moment. (that’s all it ever is, really, but I’m usually more consistent)

—–

4 Stars

Jump by D. L. Orton: Second Verse, Same as the First (which is not a knock)

By HCNewton

On February 18, 2026

In Book Tour, Fiction, Science Fiction

I’m tempted here to take 90% of post about Hive from last May, switch out the titles and say, “good enough.” Because…it really would be. I won’t, because that feels like cheating. But…if things sound eerily similar, there’s probably a reason. I plagiarize myself all the time in real life, I might as well do it here, too.

Jump

by D. L. Orton

DETAILS:
Series: Madders of Time, Book Two
Publisher: Rocky Mountain Press
Publication Date: November 4, 2025
Format: Hardcover
Length: 406 pg.
Read Date: February 14-16, 2026

What’s Jump About?

This picks right up from the end of Hive, but we get to see a more global scale—it’s not just around the Denver area that things are bad all over the world. And getting worse. There are a handful of efforts to save the world—more efforts to save portions of humanity (read: powerful and rich, with a few smart ones to keep things running)—and, of course, our rag-tag group of scientists and dimension-travelers.

And, I really don’t know what to say without getting way too complicated (it ain’t easy recapping multiverse stories and all their varying apocalypses). What’s Jump about? It’s about what happens after Hive, and before Dome (coming soon from D.L. Orton). While the world races past dystopia toward chaos, mass starvation, and general devastation—some people try to save it. Or at least another universe from falling into the same hole.

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

I picked this up because I was curious about where Orton was going to go with things.

Why did I keep reading? That’s simple—once you read a few pages, you can’t help keep going—I could probably come up with a list of things I could fault Orton’s writing for if I wanted to (I don’t want to, see no need to, etc…I’m just saying I could). But getting the reader to keep turning the pages as fast as they can wouldn’t show up anywhere near that list. Her writing is like that old Pringles slogan, “Once you pop, you just can’t stop.”

What does this book tell us about humanity?

Nothing good, sadly. Well…let me take that back. Before I get too far with the thing that has really captured my mind over the last day, something I thought about while reading is just how immutable certain things in the multiverse may be: Diego and Isabel (in whatever variants of spelling/language/nicknames they may be known by) are gaga over themselves. Have the same interests and pursuits—and name their kids the same thing (although they don’t all have them, they plan on using the same ones). Dave is an evil, manipulative, scumbag everywhere (with some minor variation of degree possible). Matthew is basically Matthew wherever.

Compare that to the multiverses in Fringe for example—some parts of Olivia are the same on both sides, but not nearly as much. The Walters are freakishly different. And so on. Or even the variations in the Spider-Mans in the last movie—differences in powers, Mary Janes, villains, life experiences (only one has been to space!).

Whatever minor variations Orton does show, they are so small as to be negligible. I just think that’s strange.

Now back to the nothing good—there are essentially three groups of people we see in this book (more than Hive).

First, you have the overwhelming mass of humanity—they’re starving (and it’ll get worse), their access to electricity, heat, medicine, is severely limited. It’s a barbaric existence for them—and it’s about to get so much worse. It’s all about survival from one day to the next for them.

Then you have the “Elite”—they’re rich, they’re powerful, they use government resources (and then pretty much ignore all the governments that are helping them) to “save humanity.” As long as that humanity helps them get richer (because that’s important), can give them access to the disappearing resources of Earth, and/or can keep things running. They couldn’t care less about the people outside of the Domes, and will do horrific things to preserve said Domes.

Even our “good guys” who are—to be the one to travel. Period. End of discussion. So what does he do? He takes off on a risky mission for the sake of the woman he loves—and (no offense, Isabel) she really doesn’t seem to have a role to play in the “saving the world” bit. I’m not saying let her die, or anything—but we’re talking about the fate of humanities, here. Also—the princess can save her self, thank you very much.

You still like them, you’re still rooting for them, you still smile at their jokes—but, when the book is done and you can breathe and reflect? They may end up saving multiple realities (or even just one!), but I’m not sure they’re heroic. Which is not necessarily a bad thing, you just prefer them to be a bit more so.

So, what did I think about Jump?

It’s exactly the kind of escapist read that helps you unwind after a long day.

It moves, it’s fun—yes, it’s full of existential despair, but it keeps the focus on the non-despair inducing/horrific things—the characters and situations are compelling. And there’s part of you (well, part of me, and hopefully I’m not alone in this) that keeps thinking “if I just stick with it, I’ll actually understand all the various multiverse strands.” That part isn’t quite as important, but if I tried to diagram it all, it wouldn’t be pretty. It’d also be pretty inaccurate.

I’d love for Orton to show us all how she kept everything straight.

The tech is very cool—particularly the “baby” version of the old AI we meet in Hive. Orton gives you enough to understand how it all works and to visualize it clearly without bogging down the pace with paragraphs and paragraphs of details. The plausibility of it all? Eh, it’s SF, it’s plausible enough if you come with a standard level of suspension of disbelief needed for time travel/multiverse travel.

Because of the pacing, Orton’s able to get away with a few things that maybe she couldn’t in a slower-moving book. The depth of the characters that could be brought out are merely nodded to, or you have to assume them. You have to assume there’s something about the tech elites that got them where they are, despite being horrible people who can miss a whole lot of things their underlings are doing—and to keep working together despite the clear animosity.

I thought this last time, and I’m more certain of it now, most of my problems can be laid at the feet of the pacing—to keep things moving, she can’t develop these things with much more than a nod. I’m not necessarily wild about how things work out because of that, but I understand the reasoning, and can sit back and enjoy it.

I want to stress, however, in the moment, you don’t think about this (and if you do, you brush it off because you don’t want to step out of the movement). Everything works, everything clicks while you’re reading and speeding off to the next twist/revelation. It’s only after you get to the ending that leaves you holding onto the cliff’s edge with your fingers that this might occur to you if you stop and think about it. Mostly, you’re going to be thinking about how long it will be until you can get your hands on the next book, Dome.

It’s easily enjoyable, engrossing, and entertaining. You should give it a try.

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.
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BOOK SPOTLIGHT: Jump (Madders of Time #2) by D.L. Orton

By HCNewton

On February 18, 2026

In Book Tour, Fiction, Science Fiction

I’m very pleased today to welcome The Write Reads Ultimate Blog Tour for Book Two in D.L. Orton’s Madders of Time series, Jump! If you take a look at the feeds https://twitter.com/WriteReadsTours and https://bsky.app/profile/thewritereads.bsky.social, you’ll see what several other bloggers have had to say about it. My $.02 will be coming along later today.

Book Details:

Title: Jump by D. L. Orton
Genre: Madders of Time, Book Two
Genre: Science Fiction
Age Category: Adult
Format: Hardcover/Paperback/Ebook
Length: 406 pages
Publication Date: November 4, 2025

About the Book:

The multiverse is collapsing. The time machine is broken. And humanity’s last hope? Might already be dead.

Seven months after the EMPs brought the world to its knees, a handful of scientists are racing against extinction—and each other. Somewhere in a flooded skyscraper lies a wormhole generator that might be able to undo the apocalypse. If they can find it. If it still works. If it doesn’t kill them first.

Meanwhile, Diego Nadales wakes in a cell, his face bloodied and his memories fractured. He’s being accused of terrorism, treason, and time travel. The last one, at least, is true.

Isabel is trapped inside a biodome ruled by the man she once trusted. But her bees—microscopic drones designed to save the planet—have been hijacked and weaponized. If she doesn’t find a way out soon, her creation will wipe out the last threads of life on Earth.

Old friends return. New enemies rise. And somewhere in the chaos, one small spark of hope just might be enough to ignite a revolution.
The clock isn’t ticking. It’s blowing up.

Book Links:

Amazon Canada ~ Amazon US ~ Amazon UK ~ Goodreads ~ The StoryGraph

About the Author:

The BEST-SELLING AUTHOR, D. L. ORTON, lives in the foothills of Colorado where she and her husband are raising three boys, a golden retriever, two Siberian cats, and an extremely long-lived Triops. Her future plans include completing the books in the BETWEEN TWO EVILS series followed by an extended vacation on a remote tropical island (with a Starbucks).

When she’s not writing, playing tennis, or helping with algebra, she’s building a time machine so that someone can go back and do the laundry.

Ms. Orton is a graduate of Stanford University’s Writers Workshop and a past editor of “Top of the Western Staircase,” a literary publication of CU, Boulder. The author has a number of short stories published in online literary magazines, including Literotica.com, Melusine, Cosmoetica, The Ranfurly Review, and Catalyst Press.

Her debut novel, CROSSING IN TIME, has won numerous literary awards including an Indie Book Award and a Publishers Weekly Starred Review. It was also selected as one of only 12 Great Indie Stars by BookLife’s Prize in Fiction.

My thanks to The Write Reads for the invitation to participate in this tour and the materials they provided.

Cover Reveal: Prey of Angels by JCM Berne

By HCNewton

On February 2, 2026

In A-B, Fantasy, Fiction, JCM Berne, Science Fiction

I’m very pleased today to welcome the Cover Reveals for the Eighth Turn in JCM Berne’s The Hybrid Helix series, Prey of Angels! For a lot of us, a new Rohan adventure is an autobuy anyway. But I can’t imagine people look at this cover and not get curious. But before we get to that, let’s learn a just a little bit about the book and author, shall we? It’ll just take a moment, and then we can all take a peak at the cover.

About the Book:

Rohan has been building alliances and solidifying his abilities, all to keep his friends, his family, his homeworld, and the Empire safe from anything that threatens them, from anywhere in the universe, whether from inside the sector or from a distant galaxy.

He thought he was doing a pretty good job.

He thought he had a pretty solid handle on what he needed to worry about.

He was wrong.

Book Link:

Amazon Preorder

About the Author

JCM Berne has reached middle age without outgrowing the notion that superheroes are cool. Code monkey by day, by night he slaves over a hot keyboard to prove that superhero stories can be engaging and funny without being dark or silly.

Author Links:

Website ~ Bluesky ~ Twitter ~ Instagram ~ Facebook ~ YouTube

and now…

The Cover

cover for Prey of Angels by JCM Berne

Kudos to these fine folk for their work on this eye-grabber:
Cover Art by Chris McGrath
Cover design by J Caleb Design

Go and do the right thing–place your orders now. This comes out on February 17, and you’re going to want to get to it ASAP.

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Cover Reveal: The Re-Emergence by Alan K. Dell

By HCNewton

On January 19, 2026

In Science Fiction

I’m very pleased today to welcome the Cover Reveals for Alan K. Dell’s Bounty Inc! This year is the fifth anniversary of this SFINCS finalist space opera novella, so Dell made a brand new cover to the celebrate the occasion. Nothing against the original cover, but the new one is worth a little fanfare.

I’ll show you this cover below, but first let’s learn a little bit about the book and author, shall we? It’ll just take a moment, and then we can all take a peak at the cover.

About the Book:

‘IT WAS JUST A MYTH. JUST A DAMN LEGEND PASSED DOWN FROM CORRUPTED DATABANKS…’

A mysterious probe from a long-forgotten satellite network appears in the heart of the Maldaccian Empire, warning about the return of a mythological evil.

After being downloaded by the plucky but inexperienced crew of the imperial flagship, the consciousness of the ancient satellite, Unit-17, embarks on a galactic adventure to bring the empire back from the brink of an interstellar war they are not equipped to fight.

The Qesh’kal’s aging commander, Da’kora Corasar, trusts Unit-17’s intel implicitly, but not everyone aboard agrees. Tensions rise and loyalties are tested as they are thrust into conflict with an enemy of unimaginable power and malice.

A finalist in the first annual Speculative Fiction Indie Novella Championship (SFINCS)!

Book Links:

Universal Book Link ~ Itch-io ~ Goodreads

About the Author

Alan K. Dell is a British sci-fi author and creative person with far too many hobbies. He writes science fiction described as “by, and for, sci-fi geeks” and loves to explore interesting high-tech concepts in his work.

Outside of writing, he is a book blogger and reviewer, avid videogamer, archer, photographer, musician, husband, and father.

Author Links:

Website ~ Bluesky ~ Threads ~ Instagram ~ Facebook

and now…

The Cover

Covers for The Re-Emergence by Alan K. Dell

The Complete Cover Wrap:

Click to embiggen the wrap.

Go and do the right thing–place your orders for this now, celebrate the anniversary in style.

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Mushroom Blues by Adrian M. Gibson: The Future is Fungal

By HCNewton

On November 17, 2025

In Fantasy, Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller, Science Fiction

I keep getting distracted from working on this post, but when I saw this on the schedule for BBNYA Spotlight posts, I figured it was about to time to force myself to write something. If I’m doing one post about this novel today, I might as well do two, right?

Mushroom Blues

by Adrian M. Gibson

DETAILS:
Series: The Hofmann Report, Book One
Publisher: Kinoko Book Co.
Publication Date: April 2, 2024
Format: Paperback
Length: 371 pg.
Read Date: August 20-26, 2025

What’s on the back cover of Mushroom Blues?

In addition to glowing blurbs from people who know what they’re talking about, we get this description:

BLADE RUNNER, TRUE DETECTIVE, AND DISTRICT 9 meld with the weird worlds of JEFF VANDERMEER, PHILIP K. DICK, AND CHINA MIÉVILLE in Adrian M. Gibson’s award-winning fungalpunk noir debut.

TWO YEARS AFTER a devastating defeat in the decade-long Spore War, the island nation of Hōppon and its capital city of Neo Kinoko are occupied by invading Coprinian forces. Its fungal citizens are in dire straits, wracked by food shortages, poverty, and an influx of war refugees. Even worse, the corrupt occupiers exploit their power, hounding the native population.

As a winter storm looms over the metropolis, NKPD homicide detective Henrietta Hofmann begrudgingly partners up with mushroom-headed patrol officer Koji Nameko to investigate the mysterious murders of fungal and half-breed children. Their investigation drags them deep into the seedy underbelly of a war-torn city, one brimming with colonizers, criminal gangs, racial division, and moral decay.

In order to solve the case and unravel the truth, Hofmann must challenge her past and embrace fungal ways. What she and Nameko uncover in the midst of this frigid wasteland will chill them to the core, but will they make it through the storm alive?

The Worldbuilding

My biggest—probably only (or only worth writing down)—complaint about this book is that we just don’t get told enough about the Hōpponese/Human relations before the war. I’m having a hard time understanding what things were like, what kind of cultural/technological/commercial relationships/understandings existed. I also have a hard time believing that there wasn’t anything worth talking about before the war started.

Now, let’s set that all aside for a moment—I don’t want to spend more time on it, it’s not worth it, and if the novel itself can, I can. The rest of the worldbuilding, the Hōpponese culture, the despicable way that the humans are treating them, the way the Human-Occupier mini-culture is operating, the Hōpponese resistance (s), the Hōpponese themselves, the way that humans risk some kind of infection every time they breathe the air, the…yeah, the list is getting out of hand. So let’s just sum it up with “everything I didn’t mention in the above paragraph” are close enough to perfect that you can’t tell me not to consider it.

As you read this book, you can see the city, you can smell the environs, taste some of the food described, feel the atmosphere, you can hear the language, and you can viscerally sense the non-humanness of the Hōpponese and just how off-putting it is. Gibson utterly nailed this.

I’ve Just Gotta Say This…

I know I haven’t read everything out there about this book—even if I ignore Goodreads, online retailers, The Story Graph, etc.—so maybe I missed this. If I did—I’ll happily eat my hat and credit others. But I haven’t seen anyone talk about Alien Nation in relation to this book—the movie, the TV series, the tie-in novels (and, yes, I watched and read them all). I don’t get it—other than age (we’re talking late 80s/early 90s), these are the perfect comparisons to this work.

Sure, Gibson’s book is so much better—if only because the Fungal people don’t get drunk off of something as silly as spoiled milk. But the prejudice, the cultural mixes, the attitudes (both within the police and both races) toward the non-human partner, and the attitude of the human detective about the whole partnership…these works are of a piece.

Anyway, I just had to say something about it because I couldn’t stop thinking about it for a moment.

So, what did I think about Mushroom Blues?

Just by talking about it as little as I have already, I want to set everything (book, employment, family obligation, writing project—including this post) aside for the next few days and re-read the book; it’s got its hooks in me that deeply. Something I didn’t realize until now.

Most of the time, I don’t really think about how unnerving it has to be for a human to walk around in a fictional world and encounter an elf, a Vulcan, an orc, or a…whatever it was that Rocky from Project: Hail Mary was. At least after the first encounter. But there’s something about a mushroom-person that gives me the willies—Gibson has filled this species with a lot of facts and theories about how mushrooms on our planet live and communicate, just put them in humanoid bodies capable of speaking English (or Common).

The other-ness, or non-humanness, of the Hōppon is as much part of the atmosphere of the book as is the tobacco smoke that Hofmann fills the air around her with. And I do feel a little speciesist just saying that. And then once you learn what it is—beyond bringing some diversity to the force—that Koji does for the police? It’s worse. But I don’t for a second lose any affection for or curiosity about Koji. It’s just one more reason that I feel unnerved by the Hōppon.

I had guessed the who—but not most of the why—behind these crimes pretty early on—and I’m not sure that Gibson’s herrings were of a red-enough color to capture my attention. But the way that Koji and Hofmann go about their investigation and slowly reveal the truth—and what that truth means? Gibson was near-perfect again on that front.

I really just want to keep going on about all the things about this book that I loved—note how I haven’t talked about the characters, because that’d be another few hundred pages just to start.

The mystery/police procedural part of this was great. The alternate world was outstanding. The worldbuilding is top-notch. The primary and secondary characters were drawn so wonderfully. The motives for the crimes (and the crime fighting) were complex and messy—and almost entirely understandable. The genre-hybrid of this feels entirely natural to an extent that you can almost wonder why anyone hasn’t been approaching these genres in a similar fashion for decades.

I’m just babbling now—I don’t have anything coherent to say anymore (assuming I started that way). If you haven’t taken the plunge with this book, you really should. That’s all I’ve got to say.

4 1/2 Stars

BOOK SPOTLIGHT: The First Sin by Cheyenne Brammah

By HCNewton

On November 13, 2025

In Book Tour, Fantasy, Fiction, Science Fiction

I’m excited to talk about Cheyenne Brammah’s The First Sin today as part of The Write Reads Tour! You should go to https://twitter.com/WriteReadsTours feed to see all the great things that are being said about the book. But before you do that, let me tell you a little about this novel.

Book Details:

Title: The First Sin by Cheyenne Brammah
Genre: Science Fantasy
Age Category: Adult
Format: Hardcover/Paperback/Ebook
Length: 668 pages
Publication Date: October 23, 2025

About the Book:

In the sweeping expanse of the Årdrakin Empire, the people fight and die for honor as elite warriors of the galaxy. But long ago, a prophecy was spoken that presaged the apocalypse. Everyone knows and fears the truth: one day, the empire will fall.

Tårik is a guard for small, independent Clan Tsinna. Instead of pondering the end of his civilization, Tårik’s greatest concern is maintaining his honor while escorting a group of impertinent dignitaries across the treacherous Barren Gale. When the Mother Goddess speaks a passage from the prophecy to him, he has the good sense to be frightened, but he doesn’t heed the significance of Her visit.

Then disaster strikes, and Tårik is branded as an exile, leaving him with no home, no honor, and no future. Forced into a desperate struggle for survival, all Tårik can focus on is living just one more day until luck—or maybe fate—gives him the opportunity to join a new clan. But even this is fraught with danger and uncertainty, and it takes him to an inhospitable world far from the empire where survival seems all but impossible.

Faced with new challenges, including trying to navigate first contact with the low-tech locals, Tårik believes the prophecy can’t reach him. Yet it continues to loom, signaling that his fate and the fate of the empire are irrevocably entwined.

This is a dark, spicy, adult science fantasy set in a world that includes war, violence, and other mature themes that some readers may find disturbing. Reading guidance can be found at the beginning of the book or on the author’s website.

Book Links:

Amazon UK ~ Amazon US ~ Amazon CA ~ Goodreads ~ Storygraph

About the Author:

Cheyenne Brammah, also known as Iron Dragon, is a Canadian science fiction and fantasy author who “torments her characters in ways reminiscent of George R R Martin”. She’s had a pen in hand for most of her life and loves character-driven stories that are epic in scope and complexity. The All Our Sins Saga features her debut novel, The First Sin, and will be the first stories told in the Akrodaxis universe.

When she’s not writing or reading, Cheyenne dyes yarn, crochets, knits, plays video games with her wonderful husband Mathew, and dabbles in nature photography. She lives in beautiful Cochrane, Alberta, in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains.

Cheyenne can be found online at: https://akairondragon.ca/

Author Links:

My thanks to The Write Reads for the invitation to participate in this tour and the materials they provided.

BBNYA SEMI-FINALIST SPOTLIGHT: Transference by Ian Patterson

By HCNewton

On October 18, 2025

In Book Tour, Fantasy, Fiction, Science Fiction

I’m very pleased today to welcome The BBNYA Semi-Finalist Spotlight Tour for Ian Patterson’s, Transference! So, this book has 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 (17 in 2025) finalists 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.

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Book Details:

Title: Transference by Ian Patterson
Genre: Science Fiction, Fantasy
Age Category: Adult
Format: Paperback/Ebook
Length: 238 Pages
Publication Date: October 1, 2024

About the Book:

Nicholas Fiveboroughs is a Sicko, someone that takes on others’ illnesses. In a city where diseases can be transferred, the rich buy longer lives without pain, and the poor get a short life of constant sickness. Maybe it was fate, or maybe someone is looking out for him, but after Nicholas barely survives his latest affliction, he gets the chance to try and change things. To finally stop the whole disease transfer network.

Tensions escalate as Nicholas infiltrates a higher society he doesn’t understand, and starts to fall for the very person he needs to manipulate to be successful. And between run-ins with a talking animal and genetically modified humans, the world around him just keeps getting stranger. Can Nicholas tear down the disease transfer architecture? And can he do it without losing his own humanity along the way?

Book Links:

Amazon Canada ~ Amazon US ~ Amazon UK ~ Goodreads ~ The Story Graph

About the Author:

Ian Patterson is many things. Importantly here, he’s the author of The Narrator Cycle. He’s also an engineer, cyclist, foodie, coffee lover, cat dad, human father, and reader of books. Preferably, thick books that deal with strange things and big ideas. He’s dreamed of being an author for decades, but finally began the journey with the birth of his first daughter. This is an objectively terrible time to start work that requires quiet concentration, and he knows it, but he loves the chaos nonetheless. He lives in Colorado with his wonderful family.

Substack ~ Instagram ~ BlueSky

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 2025 Semi-Finalist badge

Bounty Inc. by Adam Holcombe: Because Bounty Hunters Are Cool

By HCNewton

On October 13, 2025

In Fiction, Science Fiction

Bounty Inc.

by Adam Holcombe

DETAILS:
Series: Bounty Inc., #1
Publication Date: October 15, 2025
Format: eARC
Length: 684 pg. 
Read Date: September 24-26, 2025

What’s Bounty Inc. About?

Wyn Kelda was raised in a privileged way, by a super-wealthy father to be part of his family’s business. And then when his father died, he threw that all away. He sold the company and used the proceeds to start a new venture. The galaxy’s first conglomerate of bounty hunters. He wants to take as many of the lone-wolves he can and turn them into a team—a team that can act independently as they desire, or can pool their abilities for other jobs.

There are some things standing in his way—beyond the idea, he doesn’t really know how to pull this off. He’s also so green at this kind of thing that Kermit would say, “As not-easy as it is for me being green, you’re helpless.”* He also wants to be in the field, not just the CEO. So he needs to be trained.

He recruits an experienced hunter to help him on both fronts—who takes the job for an easy check, believing this a doomed endeavor. But her presence helps recruit some great hunters, and his naiveté gets them some…interesting choices with promise.

* That was a much-zippier sentence in my head.

And well, the rest of the book traces the company over its first (only?) year of operation. His initial investment can only carry them for so long. Can they turn a profit? Can they form a team? Do they actually want to? Will they get an excuse to fire off the slag cannon they con Wyn into buying? These questions and more will be answered in Bounty Inc.

The Various and Sundry Alien Species

One of the areas that comics and (especially) short stories/novels have been superior to TV/Film is that the latter are usually restricted to humanoid appearing aliens, and the former aren’t. Holcombe takes advantage of this—while keeping plenty of humanoids around. He also plays with scale of beings, too. Yes, most of the group are humanoid-ish, but they all present in different ways.

Wyn is a human—and was raised in an almost total human environment, so other species are things he’s aware of, but he only has the most surface-level understanding of them. This makes him the perfect POV character for most of the book—as he encounters species for the first time, we can react to and understand these representatives through him encountering them in a non-theoretical way. When he’s freaked out—we know we should be (and probably would be in person), when he’s agog, we get the signal to be, too.

This works so much better in this context than someone meeting “just another X” and then having to info dump for the reader about X. Not that can’t be done well (and isn’t all the time), but for this story, Wyn’s reactions really enable us to understand him and the people we’re going to encounter in the series.

This goes beyond appearances, I should stress. These species are really diverse, with individual cultures, governments, and traditions. Most of the assembled team understand each other (particularly those with shared histories), but there’s still a bit of foreignness to everyone. A coming together understanding that everyone’s a little strange. Even the two humans have different-enough experiences that they’re foreign to each other (and not just because of the student-mentor relationship).

This isn’t (as is often the case), Character A is a representative of Species B, and all of B are pretty much the same as Character A—that’s true to a degree for some of these characters, but some of these are outliers—even outcasts. I love this particular kind of troupe—in SF, in Fantasy, even in Urban Fantasy.

The Tone

This book has two tones at its core—two that some people would tackle in a way to make the book feel disjointed, but Holcombe’s better than that. This book is a space opera/SF adventure. With intrigue, action, strangeness, betrayal, and more. It’s what you expect from this kind of book—and it delivers that well.

However, this is Adam Holcombe, who is best known (at least today) for his Gam-Gam series, which is a wholesome, found family, cozy-ish, feel-good fantasy series. And that’s what this book is at its core—Wyn is looking for a family, while also wanting be an action hero amongst action heroes. This business venture is simply the best way he knows to get it. You can tell that from the start (even if he doesn’t know it)—and that earnest spirit reaches every corner of the book, for good or ill (I only include the “or ill” to be thorough, and because some won’t want it in this story). Firefly springs to mind as a good example of this kind of vibe, but it’s overused. So I won’t. Maybe think Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, or later seasons of most ST series.

I do think you could successfully argue the other—that this is a wholesome feel-good SF book with an action novel at its core, but I don’t want to.

And there’s plenty of humor, too. Not Red Dwarf, Hitchhiker’s Guide, or Epic Failure levels of humor. But, you’ll smile enough.

The Action Scenes

Speaking of the action/battle/combat scenes—whatever you want to call them. Boy howdy, these are about as far from cozy as you could want/ask for. “About” being an important word. Holcombe isn’t Pierce Brown or Joe Abercrombie (sorry, I’m blanking on SF authors at the moment).

Obviously, there’s some decent action in his Gam-Gam books, but those aren’t the same kind of thing. But we do know that Holcombe is capable of them. What we get here is barely even the same species.

This is true throughout—but especially in the last two climactic battles. I’m trying to be vague here, you’ll need to read the book to really get what I’m saying here. There’s one battle that most of the Bounty Inc. team is in, and there’s another. Both are vastly important and both are on different scales—seeing them back to back is a real treat and showcase for Holcombe. Both go on for far longer than I expected—an observation, not a complaint—and keep the tension going throughout. Almost every time you think you know how things are going to play out, you will find yourself wrong, and will be pleased.

These scenes are a great way to reveal character, to help us understand things that were hinted at (or more) in a very clear way. You can easily see why some of these hunters were successful on their own. You get a really good idea of how they can work together. At the same time, you get to enjoy some really kick-ass fight scenes filled with cool SF tech.

Holcombe shows off a whole new side of his skills here, and you’ll be left waiting for more examples of it.

So, what did I think about Bounty Inc.?

This reads like someone who watched the bounty hunter scene in The Empire Strikes Back and never got over it. Wyn himself says at least once “Bounty Hunters are cool.” Please note, that I have yet to fully get over that scene myself, so there’s no shade there. I had most of the action figures, too.

And yes, Bounty Hunters are cool—particularly the fictional ones. It’s hard not to have a fun time reading (or probably writing) this kind of thing.

While reading the book, I said something online about Holcombe fans becoming bigger fans by the 20% mark (if not earlier) of this book. The next 20% of this book was better yet. And the rest? Dude.

Is the big romantic arc entirely predictable? Yes. Is it effective, sweet, and wholly satisfying? Yup. Will you get gut-punched by what happens to some of these characters? Yup. (I didn’t say it was cozy, I said it had that heart, bad things happen). Will you cheer at parts of the action? Yes. Will you be dismayed by some of the twists? Yup. Will you want this pretty long book to be longer? YUP. Will you think about camping out in Holcombe’s backyard until the next book is ready? I sure think so (I gave him enough warning that there’s likely a protection order in place, so I won’t).

For all the good things I’ve said above, I don’t think I’ve done a good job of articulating the strengths of this book. I think I’ve captured my enthusiasm, but not the particulars. Which rankles me—but without breaking down key scenes or something, I don’t think I can. There are solid, solid reasons to be enthusiastic about this book on a micro-level as well as on a macro-level, or even just vibes.

I don’t doubt that this is going to end up as one of my favorite reads of the year. It comes out later this week, so you still have a chance to pre-order and be cool. Or, be a timely/late adopter. Regardless, just get your hands on this.

5 Stars

Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury: Beware the Autumn People

By HCNewton

On October 10, 2025

In Fiction, Science Fiction

Something Wicked This Way Comes

by Ray Bradbury

DETAILS:
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Publication Date: October 24, 2017 (this particular edition, anyway. 1962 originally)
Format: Paperback
Length: 335 pg.
Read Date: September 27-30, 2025

“Now, look, since when did you think being good meant being happy?”

“Since always.”

“Since now learn otherwise, Sometimes the man who looks happiest in town, with the biggest smile, is the one carrying the biggest load of sin. There are smiles and smiles; learn to tell the dark variety from the light. The seal-barker, the laugh-shouter half the time he’s covering up. He’s had his fun and he’s guilty And men do love sin, Will, oh how they love it, never doubt, in all shapes, sizes, colors, and smells. Times come when troughs, not tables, suit our appetites. Hear a man too loudly praising others, and look to wonder if he didn’t just get up from the sty. On the other hand, that unhappy, pale, put-upon man walking by, who looks all guilt and sin, why, often that’s your good man with a capital G, Will. For being good is a fearful occupation; men strain at it and sometimes break in two. I’ve known a few. You work twice as hard to be a farmer as to be his hog. I suppose it’s thinking about trying to be good makes the crack run up the wall one night. A man with high standards, too, the least hair falls on him sometimes wilts his spine. He can’t let himself alone, won’t lift himself off the hook if he falls just a breath from grace.”

What’s Something Wicked This Way Comes About?

I have to say, I felt kind of embarrassed when this book was suggested to me for a book featuring a circus or carnival for a book challenge. I knew Bradbury had written something with the title, but that’s all I knew.

Now, faced with trying to describe it, I’m not sure how to describe it without making it sound underwhelming. So let’s just appropriate a little of the back of the book (especially because most of you will know what the book is about already):

For those who still dream and remember, for those yet to experience the hypnotic power of its dark poetry, step inside. The show is about to begin. Cooger & Dark’s Pandemonium Shadow Show has come to Green Town, Illinois, to destroy every life touched by its strange and sinister mystery. The carnival rolls in sometime after midnight, ushering in Halloween a week early. A calliope’s shrill siren song beckons to all with a seductive promise of dreams and youth regained. Two boys will discover the secret of its smoke, mazes, and mirrors; two friends who will soon know all too well the heavy cost of wishes…and the stuff of nightmares.

Bradbury’s Prose

Just wow. I can’t tell you how many times I had to stop to re-read a line or paragraph. I loved the descriptions, the scenes—the talk about the ache inside a person.

It’s lyrical, it’s poetic, it’s gorgeous–and I don’t know what else to say.

I’ll admit I was underwhelmed by the novel (see below), but the way he wrote it? Boy howdy…it was so wonderful.

So, what did I think about Something Wicked This Way Comes?

“Can they…” said Jim. “I mean… do they… buy souls?”

“Buy, when they can get them free?” said Mr. Halloway. “Why, most men jump at the chance to give up everything for nothing. There’s nothing we’re so slapstick with as our own immortal souls. Besides, you’re inferring that’s the Devil out there. I only say it’s a type of creature has learned to live off souls, not the souls themselves. That always worried me in the old myths. I asked myself, why would Mephistopheles want a soul? What does he do with it when he gets it, of what use is it? Stand back while I throw my own theory over the plate. Those creatures want the flaming gas off souls who can‘ sleep nights, that fever by day from old crimes. A dead soul is no kindling. But a live and raving soul, crisped with self-damnation, oh that’s a pretty snoutful for such as them.”

I’m not sure the characters ever reached three-dimensional—but Bradbury made a good stab at it, but those stabls felt sporadic. That said, for characters that I thought needed some filling out, I really liked them.

Mr. Halloway, the father of one of the two boys, was the only one to take them seriously. He’s the best thing about this book. His humility, his determination, his actually being able to say something to his son about his life and affection for him. He is not a brave or courageous man. But when it comes down to it—he acts like one. He seems to be a broken man early on, but there was something about him I liked as well as pitied—by the end, I admired him. It’d have been easy for Bradbury to turn him into a father who wasn’t really in the story (like both boys’ mothers)—and that’s the way stories like this usually go. But to turn him into someone who works with them? That’s a rarity.

This was creepy, for sure. I liked the take on humanity—both the good and the bad. I thought the story wasn’t bad, even if it felt over-familiar. I thought the prose was deliciously rich, and just wish the characters lived up to it. It’s not my genre, it didn’t all click with me, but it was good enough, and I’m glad I read it.

3 Stars