Saturday 28 November 2015

Sirius Academy (Jezebel's Ladder Book 2) - Scott Rhine



Title: Sirius Academy (Jezebel's Ladder Book 2)
Author: Scott Rhine
Genre: Science-Fiction
Published: 2012
Formats: Paperback/Ebook

Available at:
Amazon
Amazon UK

Review:
“Sirius Academy” is the second book in Scott Rhine’s “Jezebel’s Ladder” series of science-fiction novels. The majority of the story is set sixteen years following the final events from the previous novel “Jezebel’s Ladder” and follows the development Jezebel’s daughter, Miracle Redemption Hollis as she attends an astronaut school on an island somewhere in the Pacific. Mira must overcome kidnappers, terrorists, meddling family members and her teachers as she attempts to persuade the Academy that she is the best choice to unlock multiple alien secrets.

As I have come to expect with a Scott Rhine novel, the reader is blasted with non-stop action throughout the story. The pacing therefore travels along at a blistering speed although if I am honest I think it is a fraction slower than the previous novel in the series, but I actually think this was a benefit as it did allow for Rhine to build up some tension in the story. There are some romance side-plots which seemed a little bit weak and unrefined to me but they may appeal to young readers who enjoy the militarily school drama elements of the novel.

In regards to the characters, I was a little bit in two minds about them. Unfortunately, there are few characters from the first book and those we do see aren’t given any large role. I had grown to like the previous characters so having to start with a whole new cast was a little disappointing. Luckily, the new characters are engaging and enjoyable in their own right. Rhine portrays them all in a manner which highlights their unique characteristics so that the reader is always aware of which character we are following. Mira herself is a little bit hard to like due to her self-centred outlook on life but I appreciated the fact that I could at least understand why she was like that.

Overall, this is another enjoyable, fast paced sci-fi adventure story in the “Jezebel’s Ladder” series although this book did feel a bit more YA than the previous one due to its school setting with associated romance sub-plots. It was a shame that we didn’t get to see a more complex insertion of characters from the previous novel but the new characters were interesting enough to make up for this.

Friday 20 November 2015

Star Trek: The Galactic Whirlpool - David Gerald



Title: The Galactic Whirlpool
Author: David Gerald
Genre: Science-Fiction
Published: 1980
Formats: Paperback

Available at:
Amazon
Amazon UK

Review:
“The Galactic Whirlpool” was the final Star Trek novel released by Bantam books before the licence was handed over to Pocket Books. What intrigued me the most about this novel was that it was written by David Gerrold, a writer who was involved quite deeply with Star Trek and who wrote the much loved Season 2 episode, “The Trouble with Tribbles”.

The story is based around a pre-FTL vessel known as the Wanderer which is found by the Enterprise to be heading towards the galactic whirlpool, two singularities spinning about each other that are traveling through the galaxy. The crew investigate the ship and find that the crew have lost much of their technology and have reverted to a rather primitive existence. It soon becomes obvious that the in inhabitants are now divided into two warring factions who are almost fanatical in their hatred of each other. Kirk and his crew must therefore work to end the civil war and restart the engines of the Wanderer before it is to late.

The story itself isn’t that remarkable and I have probably read this type of plot many times before. However, Gerrold still managed to keep me interested by providing lots of interesting details about both Federation protocol and characters history. He really uses this novel as a chance to explain and expand the Star Trek Universe that he obviously enjoys writing about. I particularly enjoyed seeing how Gerrold’s imagined pre-warp history of Earth differs from what is now accepted as canon. This difference is understandable as the novel was written back in 1980 before the real growth in developing Star Trek’s back story but if you are a stickler for the current continuity it may irritate you.

However, at times this attention to technical detail could actually bog the story down. At multiple times in the novel when there was an important plot point developing, he feels the need to slow it down with another information dump. Considering, the plot line isn’t the most original this could at times be a bit of a hindrance to really getting emerged in the story.

His love for the characters really shines through in this novel and I think he tries to give them a sense of realism. Yes, there may be slight variations from what we would have seen on the TV series itself but I actually found that this was an improvement. What really did impress me however was that as I read the book I could hear Shatner or Nimoy speaking, Gerrold has managed to catch the mannerism of the cast in his writing and I enjoyed seeing that.

Overall, this was an interesting enough novel although at times it felt more like a fictional description of the Trek Universe rather than an exciting and engaging story.

Friday 13 November 2015

Olives: A Violent Romance - Alexander McNabb



Title: Olives: A Violent Romance
Author: Alexander McNabb
Genre: Thriller
Published: 2011
Formats: Paperback/Ebook

Available at:
Amazon
Amazon UK

Review:
“Olives – A Violent Romance” by Alexander McNabb is a suspense novel with a hint of romance. It follows Paul Stokes, a British Journalist who moves to Amman, Jordan to produce a magazine for Jordan’s Ministry of Natural Resources. . First on the magazine’s agenda is an upcoming bid for a project addressing Jordan’s water scarcity. Two bidders, a Palestinian company and a British company are the final contenders to resolve Jordan’s water crisis. When Paul missteps with the Jordanian police, the British embassy step into help, but in exchange they want Paul to provide them with economic Intel on the Palestinian bid. However, when Paul enters into a close relationship with Aisha Dajani whose family is fronting the bid and has supposed ties to terrorist activists, he begins to wonder what the right thing to do is.

This was quite an entertaining story that paints an interesting and complex picture of life in Jordan. The little pieces of cultural flavour and geographical details that McNabb has embedded in the story really adds to the depth of the story and helps let me as a reader understand more about an area of the world that I have limited knowledge on.

In regards to the characters, I have to admit I was worried as I read through the book when it began to appear as if all the Palestinian characters were pretty much terrorism supporting caricatures. Therefore as the story progressed, I began to appreciate that this was just the obvious first impressions of the protagonist and that McNabb was willing to show the complexity and variation between them all. I loved how in the end, no one was really who they appeared to be which ensured the suspense levels of the novel were kept high.

The only down side for me was in regards to Paul himself. I understand why he was chosen to narrate the story as he is the central characters, but I was never able to fully understand him. At times, he came across as a serious middle aged guy who knew his stuff and then the next moment he came across as a rather naïve and impetuous twenty year old. It was quite frustrating and contrasted badly with some of the other characters who seemed so much more dynamic and interesting.

Overall, “Olives – A Violent Romance” is an enjoyable enough story that tries to highlight the many complex issues of Jordan, its people and the Middle East as a whole. If only the main character was a more interesting character then I may have enjoyed it even more.

Monday 9 November 2015

Star Trek: The Original Series: Crisis of Consciousness - Dave Galanter



Title: Crisis of Consciousness
Author: Dave Galanter
Genre: Sci-Fi
Published: 2015
Formats: Paperback/Ebook

Available at:
Amazon
The Book Depository
Amazon UK

Review:
"Crisis of Consciousness" by Dave Galanter is another Star Trek novel set during the time period of the Original Series. The story follows Captain Kirk and the Enterprise as they are dispatched to transfer the ambassador of the mildly xenophobic Maabas back to his home planet after signing a treaty with the Federation. Shortly after arriving, the Enterprise is then attacked by a mysterious race known as the Kenisians who claim that they are the original inhabitants of the planet and are now demanding it back. Kirk and his crew must therefore attempt to find a way in which an agreement can be reached before war breaks out and an entire sector of space is potentially destroyed.

Without doubt, this is one of the best Original Series novels I have had the pleasure to read with an enjoyable and intriguing plot. The fast-pacing and skilful writing also helped to keep me hooked from start to finish. Whilst at its core the story is an enjoyable look at how cultures respond to the wrongs perpetrated against them in the past, this doesn’t mean that the novel is lacking in action. There are some superb battle scenes that had me thoroughly entertained with the Enterprise taking a fair bit of damage. This is Trek at its best, fun and action supported by an engaging and thoughtful storyline.

In addition, the new races that have been introduced here are wonderfully well crafted. Both the Maabas and Kenisians are complex and thoroughly interesting species with the multividual personas of the Kenisians being a real highlight of the book.

Galanter also does a great job with the main characters; Kirk, Spock and McCoy are skilfully brought to life. But he also gives the supporting characters their moments as well with Uhura and Scotty both getting the chance to shine. The main focus though is without doubt on Spock and his treatment in this novel is quite simply sublime. He is the usual resourceful and brilliant Vulcan we are used to, but at the same time we get to see his own inner doubts and conflicts about what he must do to achieve his goals. It was wonderful realising that this was Galanter trying to show us a convincing reason for what would later lead Spock to his decision to follow the path of Kolinahr.

To sum up, if you enjoy the Original Series to any extent then I really have to recommend this book to you. It is thoroughly entertaining on many levels with an interesting plot, good writing and expertly captured characters. Personally, I can’t wait to read other novels in the Trek universe that have been penned by Galanter.

Friday 6 November 2015

War Dogs (War Dogs Book 1) - Greg Bear



Title: War Dogs (War Dogs Book 1)
Author: Greg Bear
Genre: Science-Fiction
Published: 2014
Formats: Paperback/Ebook

Available at:
Amazon
Amazon UK

Review:
“War Dogs” by Greg Bear is the first book in a promised Science Fiction trilogy. The story is set at a time after Earth has been visited by aliens called the Gurus who have offered humans access to new technology. However, the Gurus are being followed by another alien race known as the Antags and soon humans are being called upon to fight against these aggressors. Within this world is Michael Venn, a Skyrine (Space Based Marine) who is sent to Mars to fight the Antags and it is his story on his final drop that we follow.

The novel starts off very much as a standard war story with the reader witnessing a military drop that doesn’t go to plan. This rather unoriginal plot point is then supported by a cliché inner monologue that is full of references and thoughts that readers of this genre have probably seen a million times before. It was still interesting enough and I did like the fact that it had a very chaotic feeling which really highlighted the fact that the drop hadn’t gone to plan but it was just so lacking in originality.

In the 2nd half of the novel however, things take a bit of a curve ball with Venn and his comrades discovering a "Drifter", a sort of cave that contained various metals, water and even air. At this point the novel kind of morphs into a rather intriguing mystery as the exploration of the “Drifter” results in multiple surprises and unknowns being uncovered via a series or at times rather confusing flashbacks. The plot slows quite considerably here and whilst I understand why this happened, it did result in me taking almost double the time to read the second half than it took to read the first. This slowdown was accentuated by the fact that I found myself getting frustrated as we never seem to get any real answers to any of the mysteries. Then there is the ending itself which is quite abrupt and gives the reader no real closure on anything. In fact it screams to me that the publisher has pretty much just split a longish book into two or more to create this trilogy.

Overall, this isn’t a bad book exactly; it does have some interesting elements and the exploration of the drifter and its mysteries did have me thoroughly intrigued. However, the mixture of uninspired, clichéd plot points alongside a mystery that fails to deliver any rewards to the reader meant that it wasn’t as enjoyable as it probably could have been. I suspect I will still read the sequel as I would like to see some answers to the mysteries revealed; it is just that a standalone novel this one isn’t the most satisfying.

Tuesday 3 November 2015

Star Trek: The Original Series: The Folded World - Jeff Mariotte



Title: The Folded World
Author: Jeff Mariotte
Genre: Sci-Fi
Published: 2013
Formats: Paperback/Ebook

Available at:
Amazon
The Book Depository
Amazon UK

Review:
“The Folded World” by Jeff Mariotte is a Star Trek Original Series novel set during the Enterprise’s initial 5 year mission. The plot follows the crew of the Enterprise who intercept a distress call from the U.S.S. McRaven which was heading towards the same system as the Enterprise as part of a twofold diplomatic mission. Upon reaching the McRaven, they find that has become trapped in an anomaly unlike anything they’ve ever experienced before. Upon investigating the anomaly, the crew find themselves facing a world in which the usual rules of time and space do not apply.

I find myself in two minds about the plot of the book as the premise was quite interesting and I enjoyed seeing how the anomaly itself functioned and affected both the world and characters. It was fun to follow the crew as they became unable to tell the difference between reality and fantasy. There was also a few intriguing sub-plots such as the original diplomatic mission that the McRaven and Enterprise had been sent on that had did entertain me as I tried to work out how they all fit together.

However, there are some issues, firstly there is the fact that Mariotte seems to just utilise several un-original plot points seen in many other Trek stories. I honestly don’t know how many times I need to see Spock help save the day by mind melding with some disembodied creature or why we need to send the main characters into a deadly scenario time after time. Further to this, it was quite disappointing that there was no real attempt made to explain the anomaly in which the McRaven was trapped.

In regards to the characters, Kirk, Spock and McCoy’s are acceptable enough although at times they didn’t always feel exactly right. Simply put, I have read better, but I have also read worse so overall I could live with how Mariotte portrays them here. Mariotte does also try adding few original characters and whilst I applaud him for the attempt, the execution is rather lacking. Whilst Tikolo did have a reasonably interesting backstory, the two others, Vandella and O'Meara were one-dimensional and rather uninspiring. Then there was the “love triangle” between them all which was rather painful to read and the less said about it the better.

Overall, “The Folded World” is an average Original Series novel with a superb looking cover. It isn’t the best Original Series novel I have read this year but it also far from the worst.