Dawn of the Cyborg by Marie Dry – Review

Tags

4 stars, alien invasion, cyborgs, Marie Dry, scifi, scifi romance

About Dawn of the Cyborg by Marie Dry

On a future earth, Aurora has been desperately searching for her long-lost sister, when she is sacrificed to Balthazar, leader of the fearsome Cyborgs who invaded Earth. Now she is stuck on an alien spaceship with a crazy Cyborg who thinks she can give him a soul and who has a weird fixation with the way she moves.

Aurora is desperate to return to earth to search for her sister while the President of United Earth insists that only she can save Earth from enslavement by the cyborgs.

After spending time with the cyborgs, Aurora realizes that the machine she thought would be easy to betray, the machine she has to betray, if she ever wants to rescue her sister from enslavement, has turned into a man she could come to love.

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Review of Dawn of the Cyborg

If you are a fan of Marie Dry, perhaps you have read some or all of the Zyrgin Warriors series. This new story, that reads like the beginning of a new series, shares some aspects with Zyrgin Warrior: an alien species that invades earth, shows their superiority and makes demands.

This alien species is actually a cyborg species created by the Tunrian, an alien clone race that enslaved the cyborgs until Balthazar led an uprising. Balthazar now leads a small faction of cyborgs who’s number is barely enough to run the ships they won in the escape from the Tunrians.

Now in Earth space, Balthazar has seen the video where Aurora ran (to save a child from being hit by a car) and became “…the woman who moved like the finest Tunrian music…” Now he is obsessed with her and has convinced himself she is the one that will give him a soul. The concept of a soul is discussed from both the cyborg standpoint and the human standpoint. Each has their own take on the subject as do most readers. It will be interesting to see where they cyborgs take this concept as the story develops.

Balthazar forces the Earth president’s hand and demands he turn Aurora over to him. The president does not seem to have any choice and although shows regret to Aurora, there is a certain ruthlessness that will become more apparent. Does he have to be ruthless? Earth is depicted as a world with no defense against the invaders, so maybe his hard-hearted behavior is to be expected.

Aurora’s desire to find her sister that was left behind when Aurora escaped slavery (on Earth) provides the all-consuming motivation to play the role the president has cast her in – spy and possible assassin. Aurora’s desire to find her sister warps her every move in Balthazar’s world.

Interactions between Aurora and Balthazar are a cross between humorous and dreadful. Balthazar’s lack of knowledge about humans, lack of empathy and lack of emotions make him a dangerous, obnoxious, overbearing alien. Who I did not really like at all in the beginning. And sometimes in the middle and even closer to the end.  But he does have his moments and Aurora seems to be able to see right through him.

As an added bit of interest, there is an anomaly on board Balthazar’s ship. Eventually, it leads to a stowaway who will definitely add interest to the story.

Also developing in the (possible?) series is the prospect that there may be other sentient beings headed toward earth. The Tunrians believe that their god Turana scattered souls across the universe and Earth is one of three planets they ended up on. Since the Earth probe Voyager pretty much provided a map to Earth, the cyborgs were able to find it. Which means others might be able to find it. Are they friend or foe? Who knows?

Dawn of the Cyborg is intriguing, dramatic, and poignant. This standalone novel delivers plenty of scifi concepts, tense conflict, action, romance and a look at what it means to have a soul.

The author provided a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

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Giveaway

Don’t forget the ongoing giveaway for the audiobook of Phantom Evil by Heather Graham, or the print books of Catherine Cerveny’s The Rule of Luck and The Chaos of Luck.  If you haven’t entered yet, you might be interested to know that commenting on today’s post helps qualify you for an entry – see the giveaway post for all the details.  Or go straight to the giveaway….

Click Here:  a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Abaddon Rising (Deg’Nara series) by P.L. Parker – Review

Tags

4 stars, aliens, gladiators, intergalactic war, P.L. Parker, romance, scifi, scifi adventure, series

About Abaddon Rising by P.L. Parker

One of a million statistics in the intergalactic war, Jocelyn St. Germaine is captured, sold as a slave and then forced to fight in the Deg’Nara gladiator games.  She’s slated to lose when Kanaan, the most feared warrior of all, claims her as his own. With his help, Joss’s chances of survival increase, but is it enough?

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Review of Abaddon Rising

The Deg’Nara series takes place in a part of the galaxy where there is a really nasty alien race, the Deg’Nara, that wants to enslave or obliterate all other races and worlds out there. Why? There is not a lot of reasoning given, except, like I said, they are really nasty.

The good guys are either slaves of the Deg’Nara or part of the onging fight against them. Or both. This common background is ripe for drama and action and romance.

Abaddon Rising focuses on two gladiator-like slaves of the Deg’Nara. Joss is a human woman who was ‘accidentally’ kidnapped by the Chiagan-Se and brought to this part of the galaxy (See The Chalice). The battles between the Chiagan-Se and the Deg’Nara resulted in Joss being captured and made a slave.

Kanaan is the local boy. Part Chiagan-Se and part Mogishada he was raised in the slave system, but his mother taught him everything he needed to know in order to not just survive, but to come out on top. Indeed, at the beginning of the book Kanaan is the ‘demon warrior of the slave pits’, also known as The Destroyer.

In the slave quarters Kanaan claims Joss to protect her, but it will soon become something more.

The relationship between Joss and Kanaan is a bit off again, on again, depending on the last conversation they had. It is not an easy alliance but as the reader, I knew they were meant to be together. However, neither of them is an ace communicator, so it takes awhile for them to confess their love. Which is how it should be. 🙂

Joss and Kanaan will go through much before the end of the book. Arena battles, training, a tournament, escape attempt, family re-union and ultimately, the chance to join in the great, far-reaching battle against the Deg’Nara. The story is nearly epic and the romance keeps the pace. I truly enjoyed every page of Abaddon Rising.

I feel like I should clarify the Deg’Nara series, which started with The Chalice, originally published in 2012. Breeder Slave came next, in 2017, but it does not seem to be billed as part of the series (according to Amazon or Goodreads). Finally, Abaddon Rising came out this year and it is designated Deg’Nara #2. It is a little confusing, but to clarify:

Breeder Slave really is part of the Deg’Nara series. It takes place during the same time period as Abaddon Rising but has mostly different characters and locations. There is a slight overlap. Read them in any order. Both fit in nicely with the Deg’Nara series.

The author provided a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

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Links

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Giveaway

Don’t forget the ongoing giveaway for the audiobook of Phantom Evil by Heather Graham, or the print books of Catherine Cerveny’s The Rule of Luck and The Chaos of Luck.  If you haven’t entered yet, you might be interested to know that commenting on today’s post helps qualify you for an entry – see the giveaway post for all the details.  Or go straight to the giveaway….

Click Here:  a Rafflecopter giveaway

Vesta’s Clockwork Companions by Juli D. Revezzo – Review

Tags

4 stars, Book Review, clockwork, historical, Juli D. Revezzo, romance, Steampunk

About Vesta’s Clockwork Companions

When Vesta Bartlett, a wealthy alchemist and inventor, arrives in England to finalize an arranged marriage and help overhaul a family friend’s outdated ironworks, she never expects to find the family so secretive, nor to develop feelings for her fiancé’s younger brother, Henry.

But the growing attraction between Vesta and Henry is just the beginning of their troubles. Things really heat up when they’re drawn into a secret project for Queen Victoria’s military, one that requires Vesta’s knowledge of clockwork and Henry’s iron.

An epidemic has wiped out all the dogs in Britain, and beyond. If the military fail in their effort to restore the species, a clockwork creation may be all that stands in the way of a world without canine companionship.

Are Vesta and Henry up to the challenge?

 

Review of Vesta’s Clockwork Companions

Vesta is a young women, trained by her father in metallurgy and alchemy. She needs more practice to develop her skills, but thanks to her very talented father, Vesta is on her way to becoming one of the best. She is not only skilled, but also quite inventive. Vesta creates clockwork pieces. She is also curious, compassionate and highly intelligent. Everything you want in a heroine.

Henry is the younger son of the Colchester family. It is obvious he has a thing for Vesta from the beginning, but she is betrothed to his older brother Percy. Henry is smart, book smart and street smart, and is the only one in the family that can make sense of the family business. Henry and Vesta share the traits of both common sense and a sense of adventure. They get along just fine if you know what I mean!

I would have liked more background on Vesta’s father, Jonathon Bartlett. There were quite a few hints about his past, but the details were not really filled in. And I think he is potentially a cool character, since he is such a talented alchemist and all round good father.

I would also like more background on the relationship between the two families – the Colchesters and the Bartletts. Yes, they knew each other before, but again, the details are vague. The Bartletts are from America and the Colchesters reside in England. More history would really add to the character development. Exactly how did Vesta and Percy come to be betrothed? It is obvious the two are not suited for each other. Considering the American culture, it does not make sense that Vesta would be forced to marry someone she not at all suited for. (Thank heavens, they all come to the same realization by the end of the book.)

Henry’s friend Acton is an interesting figure. He seems a bit of a gangster, but maybe that is a role he plays. He also seems a bit of a bleeding heart. So what, exactly, is he? Like I said, interesting. It is Acton that leads Henry and Vesta into their clockwork adventure with the upper echelon of England.

It took quite a while to get to the actual “clockwork companions” part of the story. You may call it build up. I’m not sure it was all necessary. There was a whole secondary plot line in addition to Vesta’s clockwork creations. The story of the Colchesters and their ironworks and the story of Vesta’s clockwork creations do overlap a bit, but the connections existed pretty much due to Henry. That is, he is in the Colchester family and he is involved in the clockwork aspect of the story.

The cover image for this book shows a man with a mechanical arm. Vesta is not the arm creator, nor is the man with the metal arm Vesta’s love interest Henry. The man is an incidental minor character. So the cover is a bit deceptive. Still, it is a cool cover.

I don’t know if a series is intended. Vesta’s Clockwork Companions is a standalone novel. But there is potential for more, since there is a dramatic scene near the end. There is plenty of room for character growth and there may be some conflict coming from the Queen of England. So….. I’d like to see more of Vesta and Henry and the fate of the clockwork companions.

Family matters, steampunk, national security and romance make up the tale of Vesta’s Clockwork Companions. I found this book to be sometime humorous, always engaging and entirely entertaining.

The author provided a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

 

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