Summon the Stars – Anthology – Review

Tags

5 stars, Book Review, Carysa Locke, cats, Christina Westcott, Erin Hayes, Libby Doyle, romance, S.J. Pajonas, scifi, series, short story, space opera

About Summon the Stars

Summon the Stars is a thrilling space opera anthology dedicated to badass heroines on action packed science fiction adventures, and the scoundrels—that is, heroes—who love them.

An Unforgiving Desert by S. J. Pajonas

When their class ship is hijacked during the final exam, and Skylar and Kalvin are marooned in the desert, they have a long way to go to make it to safety, if they don’t kill each other first. Will they make it out of the unforgiving desert in one piece? Part of the Flyght series.

Pirate Spark by Carysa Locke

Vashti has spent her entire life trying to prevent the war she foresaw in her nightmares. Having failed, she must now find an advantage for her people, or watch as it rips the galaxy, and her people, apart. Part of the Telepathic Space Pirates series.

Outer-Rim Rescue by Libby Doyle

Ex-cop Jane Mwanda is in over her head as she tries to rescue a runaway teen from a criminal gang on a dangerous planet. When a man she’d thought was her enemy offers help, they embark on perilous adventure to bring the girl safely home.

The Rogue’s Heart by Erin Hayes

Faced with a failing heart, space pirate Clementine Jones and her crew must come up with the cash to buy her a new one in a brutal, unforgiving galaxy.

Spacer’s Third Law by Christina Westcott

Stranded at an isolated space station, Bru Thorsson must hire a second licensed pilot for her salvage ship before she’s allowed to undock, but the only candidate for the job is a burned out ex-marine who is still reliving the horrors of the war and doesn’t want the job, leaving Bru one last desperate option—shanghai him. Part of The Dragon’s Bidding series.

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Review of Summon the Stars

Imagine one story that combines scifi and romance and then take that times 5.  Each of the 5 short stories tells a complete tale.  There are no cliff hangers and no need to read the rest of the series.  Though you may be introduced to a series that you now need to check out.

Erin Hayes is the only author I had not yet read, though she was on my Amazon wish list.  The Rogue’s Heart starts to read as a YA, with the heroine being quite young.  But Clementine is in a very mature situation.  In this case the space pirates are basically corporate spies, stealing information.  One case puts the pirate crew in a moral situation unlike any they have previously experience.  Doing the right thing is a favorite subject for me.

Libby Doyle’s Outer Rim Rescue starts quietly enough with the heroine, Jane, hired to find a kidnapped young woman.  From there, things snowball with Jane herself needing some help out of one sticky situation after another.  An unexpected hero helps out and then they take a ship all over the solar system.  Lots of action in this one!

Carysa Locke’s story, Pirate Spark, which takes place in her Telepathic Space Pirates series, is the only one that may suffer from lack of series knowledge.  Having read only one of the series, I stumbled across several references that I was unfamiliar with which were not well-detailed.  However, this did not prevent me from enjoying the story.  The old woman who finds herself back in a young body has the most interesting combination of wisdom and daring. 

S.J. Pajonas and Christina Wescott also contributed stories that are parts of series, though both of them stand very well on their own.  In Pajonas’s An Unforgiving Desert, Skylar and Kalvin will learn that first, second and even third impressions often miss the mark.  The story of survival could happen in any genre, but the scifi aspect of the desert may make you appreciate the Sahara.

Westcott’s Spacer’s Third Law was probably my favorite, but that is because I am already a fan of The Dragon’s Bidding series and because it has a sentient cat.  Yes, Lilly the cat can communicate telepathically.  Oh sure, the rest of the story is good too, but …. cat!  Bru’s and Eric’s reluctant path to romance is also quite charming.

Space opera fans, this book is for you. Especially if you like a little romance in your scifi. 

Thanks to Ms. Westcott who sent a copy of this book my way in exchange for my honest review.

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Erin Hayes, Author of Life is But a Nightmare – Guest Post with Excerpt and Giveaway

Tags

book feature, Erin Hayes, excerpt, mythology, series, urban fantasy

Guest Post

I grew up watching Hercules and Xena on TV, which was my first foray into the world of Greek mythology. In that world, gods and goddesses played with mortals like you and me. There were elements of action, and there were elements of drama. Most of all, I remembered it being fun.

Move forward about ten years. I was in high school, and I was an avid Japanese manga fan. Back then, I wanted to draw my own comics. I drew a character and labeled her as Hades’ daughter. I created an entire world around that character and a young adult story to go with it.

Since then, I’ve evolved that story many times, to where it’s almost indistinguishable from the original idea.

It’s never left me though, so one day ten years after that first drawing, and nearly twenty years after watching my first Hercules episode, I sat down to write Death is but a Dream. And Life is but a Nightmare continues that story.

I will say, that while I spent a good deal of time researching Greek mythology, I have taken a few liberties in order to create a modern tale. Some of the characters are reimagined. For others, I chose the source that met my ends, even though I found others that said otherwise.

And then we come to the royal family of the Underworld. A lot of mythology says that Hades, as the God of the Underworld, was unable to produce offspring because Death can’t create Life. Some texts even said that the Furies were his children.

I did find an article that talked about Plutus, the God of Wealth, who was often confused with Pluto, the God of the Underworld, who was also in charge of wealth. Another source said that he actually was Hades’ son, which I honestly found to be pretty cool and a great foil to myths about the Underworld.

My wheels started turning, and that character played a big role when I started world building for the Elysium Legacies.

The Elysium Legacies are nearly twenty-five years in the making. And it feels so great to share with you. Happy reading!!

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About Life is but a Nightmare
(The Elysium Legacies, #2)

The sequel to the genre-bending, hugely imaginative Death is but a Dream.

“There must always be a God of Wealth…”

Former police detective Callie Saunders shouldn’t be alive, but she’s been thriving with her new lease on life away from the machinations of the ancient Greek gods and goddesses.

Yet there’s always been someone missing from this little piece of paradise.

When a vengeful god kidnaps her son, she travels back to a world she barely understands to find him. A world where she must face humanity’s greatest enemies and her former lover. If she’s not careful, she’ll lose her soul again. And, maybe, even her heart.

Publication date: February 28th 2017
Genres: Adult, Mythology, Urban Fantasy

Excerpt from Life is But a NightmarieXCERPT:

“If I could…” he whispered. “If I could, I’d hold him tight and never let him go.”

A moment passed between us. A reminder of what we couldn’t have.

“Callista,” he said gently. “Tell him I said hi. Please.”

I chewed the inside of my cheek, but I nodded.

“Callista,” he said, his voice low. “Callista, I’m so sorr—”

I awoke with a gasp on the cot. I grimaced, feeling sore in unfamiliar spots. Paul stirred on his bed, and I quietly laid my head on the thin mattress. I stroked a hand along his arm, watching every bit of him.

My son.

I leaned in to whisper into his ear. I might have been angry at Plutus for everything, but I did know that there were things beyond our control. I understood it, but I didn’t have to like it or accept it. I did decide to give Plutus this peace offering, to let him know that I’d be okay, at least for now. And I wanted to assure Paul, even if it was just his subconscious, that somewhere, his father was thinking about him, that he was worried about him.

“Daddy says hi.”

Links

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Sequel to:

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Author Info

Sci-fi junkie, video game nerd, and wannabe manga artist Erin Hayes writes a lot of things. Sometimes she writes books.

She works as an advertising copywriter by day, and she’s an award-winning New York Times Bestselling Author by night. She has lived in New Zealand, Hawaii, Texas, Alabama, and now San Francisco with her husband, cat, and a growing collection of geek paraphernalia.

You can reach her at erinhayesbooks@gmail.com and she’ll be happy to chat. Especially if you want to debate Star Wars.

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