Dark Orbit by Carolyn Ives Gilman – Review

Tags

5 stars, audiobook, Carolyn Ives Gilman, exploration, favorites, Kameron Hurley, Melanie Ewbank, scifi

About Dark Orbit by Carolyn Ives Gilman

Reports of a strange, new habitable planet have reached the Twenty Planets of human civilization. When a team of scientists is assembled to investigate this world, exoethnologist Sara Callicot is recruited to keep an eye on an unstable crewmate. Thora was once a member of the interplanetary elite, but since her prophetic delusions helped mobilize a revolt on Orem, she’s been banished to the farthest reaches of space, because of the risk that her very presence could revive unrest.

Upon arrival, the team finds an extraordinary crystalline planet, laden with dark matter. Then a crew member is murdered and Thora mysteriously disappears. Thought to be uninhabited, the planet is in fact home to a blind, sentient species whose members navigate their world with a bizarre vocabulary and extrasensory perceptions.

Lost in the deep crevasses of the planet among these people, Thora must battle her demons and learn to comprehend the native inhabitants in order to find her crewmates and warn them of an impending danger. But her most difficult task may lie in persuading the crew that some powers lie beyond the boundaries of science.

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Review of Dark Orbit

If you look at the current state of popular science fiction in movies and TV, dystopia (an imagined state or society in which there is great suffering or injustice, typically one that is totalitarian or post-apocalyptic), is a very hot trend.  To me, dystopian scifi tends to be depressing, so I don’t read it very often.  I really like a lighter mood!  I read an article called Five Books That Will Restore Your Faith in Humanity.  The article, by author Kameron Hurley, concentrates on the theory that Humans Can Be Good.  From that article, I picked Dark Orbit by Carolyn Ives Gilman.  I listened to the audiobook nicely narrated Melanie Ewbank.

This most usual book had my imagination going overtime. Adventurous people who ‘transport’ to far off places in the seeming blink of an eye, but who actually bypass many years during the trip. A planet where the physics just don’t agree with what is understood. A group of people who are not blind, but cannot see. And wisdom from unexpected sources.

This is a book I can wholeheartedly recommend to anyone that prefers a happy ending.  This futuristic story of exploration, cooperation and all the surprises that come with humanity, Dark Orbit is sure to both intrigue and uplift the reader.

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Breakeven (Verdant String, #2) by Michelle Diener – Review

Tags

5 stars, Michelle Diener, scifi, scifi romance, series

About Breakeven by Michelle Diener

Dee had been fighting one war, only to find herself caught up in another . . .

When circumstances leave Dee stranded on the Breakaway planet of Lassa, she has to choose–take the easy way out, or stand and fight an enemy much like the one she left behind on her home world of Garmen.

For Sebastian, leading the Lassian resistance has come at a heavy price. Forced to gamble the last of his resources on a risky ploy to get some leverage over the Core Companies that run Lassa, he stares defeat in the face when it fails. There’s no backup plan left. Nothing more to work with. And all around him, people are starving, and it looks as if the Cores have entered a deal with a hostile alien force, to enrich themselves even more.

But Dee inspires him. Even though it’s his fault she’s on Lassa to begin with, her courage and steady calm are the assets he needs, and unbeknownst to both of them, she has with her the key to bringing the Cores to their knees.

Now they just have to turn the lock in time.

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Review of Breakeven

The Verdant String was supposed to be home to planets where everyone flourished. Why would anyone want to break away from that idyllic stetting? It’s a power/money thing.

Lassa is one of the two worlds that decided to break away from the Verdant String. The resulting power structure leaves everything of value in the hands of the elite with nothing left for the rest. Starving and destitute the losers in this world have nothing left but to gamble everything for a chance to change the world. The setup for the story means there will be plenty of people with desperation, heart and courage. As one might imagine, there is also plenty of opportunity for subterfuge, conflict and betrayal. These are many of the best elements of a great story.

In Breakeven, I especially like Dee. She is really a very strong woman, both physically and mentally, thanks to her training and experience on Garmen, the other breakaway world. She quickly insinuates herself into the rebel cause because she believes in it. At first I wondered why she didn’t just concentrate on getting home. But someone that had experienced life on Garmen like she did might find it very difficult to walk away from the same problems on Lassa.

Some of the natives don’t like her, don’t trust her and would really like to send her on her way. Some do like her, most particularly Sebastian. Sebastian is a man desperate for a win. He often seemed beaten down and very tired – a realistic rebel leader. Luckily, he did not give up. Maybe, having Dee on his side gave him a second wind. These two are drawn to each other, but they have a lot more important things to deal with before they can get too close.

Breakeven also has a sweet little pet. A talu. Dee happened upon the little critter when she was hiding out in a pleasure cruiser. She had know idea what Fluffy was, only that they bonded. Fluffy proves to have a pivotal role in this adventure which I thought was cool. Although when I found out why a talu was so important, the cuteness factor kind of decreased a bit – for me.

In addition to a charming pet, several secondary characters give depth and add intrigue to the Breakeven story.  Every intrigue needs its sympathizers and its betrayers.  They key is knowing who is who.

In Breakeven, Dee and Sebastion never stop running from something or to something. The action is non-stop in a plot that is thick. The romance provides brief respites from the constant commotion, but is perfectly placed and paced in this book. Scifi Romance readers, Breakeven is a great addition to your library especially if you are a Michelle Diener fan.

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

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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