Activation Degradation by Marina J. Lostetter – Review

Tags

5 stars, Book Review, Marina J. Lostetter, robots, scifi, space opera

About Activation Degradation by Marina J. Lostetter

When Unit Four—a biological soft robot built and stored high above the Jovian atmosphere—is activated for the first time, it’s in crisis mode. Aliens are attacking the Helium-3 mine it was created to oversee, and now its sole purpose is to defend Earth’s largest energy resource from the invaders in ship-to-ship combat.

But something’s wrong. Unit Four doesn’t feel quite right.

There are files in its databanks it can’t account for, unusual chemical combinations roaring through its pipes, and the primers it possesses on the aliens are suspiciously sparse. The robot is under orders to seek and destroy. That’s all it knows.

According to its handler, that’s all it needs to know.

Determined to fulfill its directives, Unit Four launches its ship and goes on the attack, but it has no idea it’s about to get caught in a downward spiral of misinformation, reprograming, and interstellar conflict.

Most robots are simple tools. Unit Four is well on its way to becoming something more….

**********************

Review of Activation Degradation

Facts are slow to be revealed to both the reader and to main character – Unit Four.  A newborn robot only knows so much.  So facts are not pertinent – at first.  The story starts slowly but picks up steam as soon as Unit Four gets into its ship to start on his mission.   As the details of the robot’s existence come to life, so too does the reader’s awareness that the creators haven’t revealed all the facts that might apply to a certain robot.

Activation Degradation is a fascinating story of birth, life and a not-so-sure expiration date.  One of the things that I appreciated is the lack of a ‘past’ for Unit Four.  As humans, we tend to constantly look to the past.  Sometimes, the best and only thing to do is to forge ahead and not be constrained by tradition.  Unit Four understands this better than most.  And because it does, Unit Four is not limited by its past. 

When Unit Four encounters the enemy, it’s life will expand exponentially.  The enemy is not what it was led to believe.  For that matter, Unit Four is not what it was led to believe.  Unit Four has many decisions to make.  Decisions that may help him fulfill his preordained destiny or may change his life in unimagined ways.  I know what I am hoping for. 

Thanks to the publisher who provided a copy through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

**********************

Links

Add Activation Degradation to your Goodreads shelf:

Purchase Activation Degradation:

**********************

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.

**********************

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.

**********************

Links

Add Summon the Stars to your Goodreads shelf:

Purchase Summon the Stars:

**********************

Cosmic Boom (Project Enterprise #9) by Pauline Baird Jones – Review

Tags

5 stars, aliens, favorite series, first contact, Pauline Baird Jones, scifi, scifi romance, series, space opera

About Cosmic Boom by Pauline Baird Jones

A critical mission, a cosmic event, and a secret….

USAF Captain Hedy Quinton joined Project Enterprise so she could travel to a distant galaxy. Excited about her first command, she never expected the headaches that would go with it. She’s dealing with a lonely AI in her ship’s systems, a really cute deck officer who used to be a robot, a disgruntled ally who wants to be in command, and a passel of possibly dubious scientists. The only thing going for her is that none of them are named Dr. Smith.

BoomerJ—known as Boom—is still getting used to his new human body. His new form feels and needs things that his robot body never did, especially when he is around his new commanding officer, Hedy Quinton. His new emotions also make him realize something else—that his new form is fragile compared to his old one.

For Hedy, the pressures of command come into sharp conflict with the longings of her heart when Boom goes down to check out the weird happenings on an unknown planet. Things don’t go well down on the planet or up on the ship, making Hedy wonder if she should rethink her life’s choices.

Can their love survive a cosmic event, betrayal, and the secret of Boom’s past, or will they be destined to be lost in space?

************************

Review of Cosmic Boom

Once again, I was swept off of my feet with another Project Enterprise adventure.  A feisty heroine (who is also sweet and polite) and an enigmatic robot-turned-human are joined by an AI ship, marines and scientists as they venture into unknown space.  Their mission is two-fold.  Escort a ship full of recently awakened cryosleepers home and try to establish contact via communication outposts in that quadrant.

Sounds like a pretty straight-forward mission.  But now let’s throw in a cosmic event that seems to be messing with space in a big way and then add a few heretofore unknown species out in that area of space.  Now, things have gone from straight-forward to Zigzagging with a capital ‘Z’.

Get ready to meet the Grikal, Fisse, and Niltu.  (Who comes up with these names?)  These are the alien races encountered along the way.  The trick will be to sort out the friendlies from the not-so-friendlies.  First contact is never boring, is it?  Then there are the scientists, representing the Gadi, Garradians and Earth.  Diversity at its scientific finest.

Captain Hedy Quinton is on her first command mission.   Hedy can’t decide which Starfleet captain she is should channel but mostly she seems to settle on Picard.  Mostly.   BoomerJ (Boom) is the human-who-was-a-robot and is learning more and more about being human – from interacting with humans and from reading romance and mystery books.   I was delighted by the many pop culture references centering around these two characters.  Mostly because I got most of them. 

Cosmic Boom is pure entertainment for anyone that enjoys a good adventure, a little mystery, some romance, hope and humor.

Cosmic Boom is another far, far away space adventure in Pauline Baird Jones’ Project Enterprise series.  Spanning 9 books, several galaxies, a myriad of civilizations, and dozens of sentient species there is no end to the possible stories that can be told by this author.  (I hope!)

Thanks to the author who kindly provided a copy of her book in exchange for my honest review.

************************

Links

Add Cosmic Boom to your Goodreads shelf:

Purchase Cosmic Boom at Amazon (releases July 20):

Purchase books in the Project Enterprise series:

************************