A Pinch of Salt (Towers of the Earth, Prequel) by Nita Round – Review

Tags

5 stars, Adventure, Book Review, fantasy, lgbtq, Nita Round, paranormal, prequel, romance, series, Steampunk

About A Pinch of Salt by Nita Round

A survivor with no memory and a warrior looking for her path unite against the pirate horde.

Two hundred soldiers walk into the burning sands of Gypta, but only a handful make it out. When Magda Stoner wakes in an infirmary halfway across the world, she discovers her memories of the desert are gone. Something happened that tore her mind and soul apart, and the only thing keeping her sane is the fact that she can’t remember a thing.

Ascara d’Jharaena ael Korphen is a warrior, not a soldier, and trying to fit herself into the lesser role at Veritas Traders has left her body battered and broken in the same infirmary where Magda recovers.

As they both mend, they meet a survivor of a pirate attack that included gifted attackers. Finding themselves without a unit or mission, they propose a daring plan to infiltrate the pirate horde and bring them to justice.

Can the pirates be stopped? Or will Magda and Ascara be caught before they even begin?

This is the first prequel in the Towers of the Earth fantasy adventure series.

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Review of A Pinch of Salt

As a subscriber to Nita Round’s newsletter, I was treated to the opportunity to download a copy A Pinch of Salt.  Thanks to Ms. Round for that! I am a reader of her Towers of the Earth series, so I was excited to read this prequel novella and share my unbiased review.

If you have read and enjoyed the other books in her series, you will love A Pinch of Salt.  Magda and Ascara, younger and less wise, meet for the first time in a hospital, each recovering from their own unfortunate experiences.  Their backgrounds are brief, but vital.  Their initial meeting is just what you might expect (especially from the irrascible Ascara).  Flirting and friendship.  The mission they undertake is dangerous and vital to understanding these characters and where their relationship is headed, as well as a hint at the overall mission.

I loved this novella and, even if you have not read any other books in the series, I think you will enjoy it.

A note about the series.  Three novels, previously released as 1) Raven, Fire and Ice 2) Raven, Sand and Sun and 3) Raven, Storm and Shadow are going to be re-released in 2020.  According to the author’s website, you may anticipate another prequel, the 3 previously released novels and one more novel – all to be released between now and the end of May.  I will be looking forward to the progression of this series!

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Redshirts by John Scalzi – Review

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4 stars, Adventure, Book Review, John Scalzi, satire, scifi, scifi adventure, scifi TV, series, space opera, Star Trek, Tabitha Lord

About Redshirts by John Scalzi

Ensign Andrew Dahl has just been assigned to the Universal Union Capital Ship Intrepid, flagship of the Universal Union since the year 2456. It’s a prestige posting, and Andrew is thrilled all the more to be assigned to the ship’s Xenobiology laboratory.
Life couldn’t be better…until Andrew begins to pick up on the fact that:

(1) every Away Mission involves some kind of lethal confrontation with alien forces
(2) the ship’s captain, its chief science officer, and the handsome Lieutenant Kerensky always survive these confrontations
(3) at least one low-ranked crew member is, sadly, always killed.

Not surprisingly, a great deal of energy below decks is expended on avoiding, at all costs, being assigned to an Away Mission. Then Andrew stumbles on information that completely transforms his and his colleagues’ understanding of what the starship Intrepid really is…and offers them a crazy, high-risk chance to save their own lives.

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Review of Redshirts

I’m just going to start out by saying that if you are not a Star Trek TOS fan, you are probably not going to get Redshirts. Well, maybe you will, but only if you read the entire book! If you a fan of the original series, you will immediately grasp the way of things.

TOS fans will latch onto the plotplot very soon into the book. I just made that compound word up: plotplot. It needed to be coined. Kind of like a plot within a plot, but more like a plot that is made up of a plot. Hmmph. Yeah, that did not make sense to me as I typed it, but it does make sense to me in terms of the story of Redshirts. All I can say is, read it. And feel free to use my new word.

Redshirts have a rep. I know it. You know it. Unless you are a chief, if you wear a red shirt, your life is on the line every time you step onto that transporter pad. Ensign Dahl is a redshirt. Or as they are called in the book – ensign.

Dahl quickly learns that other crew members are somewhat aware of their very precarious place on the Intrepid and have devised a system to make life just a little bit safer. This inspires the intrepid ensign to take his scientific curiosity and apply it to his life on (and off) the Intrepid.

As a nearly life-long fan of Star Trek, I loved the references to the characters, ships, missions and monsters of TOS. Finding and anticipating the parallels became a game, to see if I was right about who was who and what was what.

The ending postludes were amusing, but I actually think I could have done without them. Rather than add to the story, they actually told different stories – which were marginally interesting.

Star Trek TOS is both revered and ridiculed by fans all over. Redshirts is like a TOS fan, reverent of the show, but also poking much fun at the series. Mostly, poking fun. Can fans who only love and adore TOS appreciate this book? Doubtful. If you read Redshirts, bring your ability to laugh at this sacred icon of science fiction television.

My review copy came from the local public library.  I had to give it back after two weeks.  This review is my honest opinion.

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Equinox (Horizon, #3) by Tabitha Lord – Review

Tags

5 stars, Adventure, Book Review, genetic engineering, romance, scifi, series, space opera, Tabitha Lord

About Equinox by Tabitha Lord

After a brutal civil war, Almagest is finally at peace, but the larger battle isn’t over. Dr. Caeli Crys has been captured by the Drokarans, feared enemy of the Interplanetary Alliance, who plan to use her unique telepathic gifts for their own sinister purposes.

Captain Derek Markham and his elite team of operatives race after Caeli, but soon find themselves trapped behind enemy lines on an occupied world. Despite the mounting danger, Derek will stop at nothing to save the woman he loves.

As events spiral toward a conflict that will define the fate of the Alliance, the Horizon team will be pushed to the limits of their strength—and discover that the greatest threat of all may come from an enemy within.

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Review of Equinox

Caeli and Derek still have so much to go through before they can relax and enjoy their life together. They find this out at the beginning of Equinox when Caeli is kidnapped by the Drokarans. When Derek and his team attempt to rescue Caeli, they learn some disturbing information. Their view of their own past is now completely upended. I like how this revelation sets off the rest of the story. There will be several more missions, lots of action, and lots of danger for the characters I have connected with in the first two books of the Horizon series.

When reading the final book of a series, I am always a little nervous. Will all the characters get a HEA? Will it even really end? Will the author wrap things up in a way that will have me saying – “That was good!”

The main thing I was looking for in the finale is the final part of the history of Almagest, which was revealed in pieces through old data files in the first 2 books. At the end of book 2, I was left to do some speculation and I can report I was pretty close on the origin of the Novali (the empaths) and the Drakorans (the physically stronger humans). I won’t say more because you will want to read that for yourself.

Beyond that, the final chapter of the Horizon series took me places I would never have imagined. It was not so much a wrap up as it was another story with a complex plot that just happens to end with no more questions. There was so much going on that the story seemed a bit rushed in places. I think the author could easily have added 50 pages and it would not have made the novel too long. On the other hand, the fast pace got me to the exciting conclusion quickly since I had a hard time putting my Kindle down.  And then I said “That was good!”

If you haven’t started the Horizon series, the first book, also called Horizon, can be purchased for the low price of $.99. This would be a great series to binge read! I highly recommend reading the series from the beginning.

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