Science Fiction

Zanzibar’s Rings by Jemima Pett

February 22, 2022 By Book Review Matchmaker Leave a Comment

Zanzibar’s Rings by Jemima Pett

A galactic crisis: the entire comms system destroyed. No waypoints, no navigation aids, no database access. And how will spaceships in flight get home – or to any destination?

Dolores is stuck in warp with a very dangerous passenger, Pete gets his shuttle back home on manual.

But why does anything in close contact with pure orichalcum fix itself?

Just flying through Zanzibar’s Rings solves the problem – as the Federation’s Fighters find, when they descend on the Viridian System to take possession of the planets.

Zanzibar’s Rings brings the Viridian System series to a conclusion, with a bang and a lot of whimpering. And possibly a view of things to come.

Defender of the Flame by Sylvia Engdahl

November 8, 2021 By Book Review Matchmaker Leave a Comment

Defender of the Flame by Sylvia Engdahl

Starship pilot Terry Radnor is elated to be among those chosen to defend the secret colony Maclairn against enemies who pose a threat to the spread of paranormal human mind powers. He commits himself wholly to the goal of that world, not guessing how far his effort to safeguard it will take him from everything else he cares about–his promising career as a Fleet officer, contact with people who share his newly-discovered psi capability, his wife and unborn child. Torn away against his will after learning a secret too deep for its disclosure to be risked, he is forced into exile from all that matters to him, and must build a new life grounded far from Maclairn. There seems little hope that he can fulfill his pledge to protect the world whose safety is crucial–more crucial than anyone else knows–to the future of humankind. Yetan extraordinary destiny has been predicted for Terry, and fate puts him in place to confront the colony’s greatest peril.

A Stand-in for Dying by Rick Moskovitz

September 12, 2021 By Book Review Matchmaker Leave a Comment

A Stand-in for Dying by Rick Moskovitz

In a near future world on the brink of environmental catastrophe, a mysterious woman brokers an anonymous pact between two men for the older man Ray to inhabit the younger man Marcus’s body when he dies in exchange for a fortune and access to vast knowledge. The consequences for both men evolve over the ensuing years. When Ray finds a way to exchange identities while still alive, both men struggle to navigate their new lives and relationships while under attack by Ganymede, the architect of the consciousness swapping technology, and the Tribe of 23, a human supremacist organization that has targeted Marcus because of his and his wife’s advocacy for AIs to have equal rights with carbon based humans.

Their moral and emotional development is informed by the resourceful women who love them, one an accomplished journalist, the other a teacher who guides AIs to perceive and feel human emotions.

Brink of Life by Rick Moskovitz

September 12, 2021 By Book Review Matchmaker Leave a Comment

Brink of Life by Rick Moskovitz

A woman plunges into consciousness in the midst of what seems like someone else’s life, sending her on a quest to discover who she is and to craft an identity that makes sense within her current circumstances. As she digs into the mystery of her life, she uncovers a top secret government organization plotting world domination and a clandestine vigilante organization dedicated to destroying it and is caught between these warring factions. Nobody in her new world is exactly who they appear to be, including herself. Identity, she learns, is complicated and inseparable from the body in which it resides.

The Creators by Rick Moskovitz

September 12, 2021 By Book Review Matchmaker Leave a Comment

The Creators by Rick Moskovitz

A teenaged Natasha Takana seeks to decode the remainder of the hidden DNA code that became the basis for a new religion reviving Creationism in A Stand-in for Dying. Her quest takes her on a voyage to a parallel dimension to learn the fate of the Creators’ civilization. In the course of successive visits to their watery world, she finds herself transformed, a bridge between our world and theirs.

The conflict between Ganymede and Mandala, the warring factions of Brink of Life is rekindled, sweeping Natasha into the middle of it in a pursuit that crosses the boundaries of worlds and time.

Conflict: Earth! by William D. Nash

August 1, 2021 By Book Review Matchmaker Leave a Comment

Conflict: Earth! by William D. Nash

OVER 1 BILLION PEOPLE DIED FROM AN ALIEN SNEAK ATTACK! Ufologist Jack Slater needs to convince world leaders that they must forget historical differences and unite to withstand a looming alien threat. Jack races through space and time in search of advanced technologies that will help save the planet. If he doesn’t find what he’s looking for, Earth has no hope of defeating not one, but three hostile alien races.

Along the way, Jack discovers answers to age-old mysteries, makes new friends, and evades capture by the masters of illusions, the Greys.

Earth is running out of time. Will Governments unite to face their common foe? Can Jack come up with the answer to hold off the alien horde? The alternative is unthinkable in CONFLICT: EARTH!

Outbreak (The Dark Days Series Book One) by Christopher Cole

June 25, 2021 By Book Review Matchmaker Leave a Comment

Cities are bombed out ruins and wilderness is humanity’s new home. The undead roam the earth, and the new world order is about the struggle to survive. Sonny Daniels begins an emotional and physical journey of personal survival and protecting those he loves.

While survival is a constant struggle, Sonny’s most desperate fight is the struggle preserve some semblance of a compassionate soul. Sonny and his parents are caught in the zombie outbreak in upstate New York. After the passage of the first year, their base is attacked by bandits and their safety has again been compromised. Fearing for their loved ones, Sonny’s parents send him and his orphaned childhood friends, Ashley and Carrie, to Fort Denver Colorado on a military plane.

When Fort Denver is overrun with zombies, the three are alone in a zombie-infested wasteland without the army’s protection, forced to rely upon one another and a handful of equally desperate survivors they encounter along the journey. Sonny is determined to do whatever it takes to protect Ashley and Carrie while finding a safe place to call home, but survival can force you to make dark decisions.

Targeted Age Group:: Adults

What Inspired You to Write Your Book?
Neal Shutterman's books Everlost, Everwild, and Everfound were one of the best books I've ever read. They inspired me to write after I started getting ideas in my head. I was pulled into the books and I started daydreaming stories of my own.

The Ingenious, and the Colour of Life by J.Y. Sam

April 13, 2021 By Book Review Matchmaker Leave a Comment

The Ingenious, and the Colour of Life by J.Y. Sam

From a beguiling new voice in contemporary fiction comes an astonishing novel about a group of mysterious children with the power to change lives…

Ever since young Milly Bythaway can remember, she’s had to hide who she really is – dumbing down an extraordinary genius in order to blend into the background. 14-year-old Tai Jones has been abandoned by his mother and forced to live as a homeless wanderer, but the appearance of a stray cat helps him realise he has a special gift: he can see thoughts and emotions of others in stunningly beautiful colours. A gift that is both wonderful and awful.

When the teenagers are brought together by a mysterious old scientist for their own safety, they are told of a common and forgotten past. One of hidden experiments, and a missing family that they yearn to find. But they soon hear of the disappearance of another child, the youngest, and find they are in an impossible dilemma. Saving themselves will require facing their deepest fears and delving into the ugly truth of their past – only to uncover something hidden in the dark… But if they can muster the strength, it will bring about the most extraordinary and unexpected change. In the end, the children must work together, unleashing the full force of their intellect and genius, in an epic battle of the world’s greatest minds.

The Ingenious and the Colour of Life is J.Y. Sam’s beautiful and heart-rending debut – a story that explores the fragility of human nature, with a dash of science, and the natural world, engaging both mind and heart in an eclectic blend of genres.

The Biggest Bounty by Brian Koscienski and Chris Pisano

April 10, 2021 By Book Review Matchmaker Leave a Comment

The Biggest Bounty by Brian Koscienski and Chris Pisano

Fiore is the (chemically enhanced) muscle; Zeus is the (super-genius) brains. Together, they’re out to become the greatest interstellar bounty hunters ever. Along the path to fame and fortune, they’ll accumulate contacts, partners, and enemies without meaning to. It’s all part of the job as they chase the biggest bounty the galaxy has ever seen while trying to best rival bounty hunters, including one so feared and respected he is simply known as The Legend.

Legacy (Saga of the Bold People 2) by M.D. Grimm

November 25, 2020 By Book Review Matchmaker Leave a Comment

Legacy (Saga of the Bold People 2) by M.D. Grimm

To pursue his future, Leopold must first understand his past.

What does a former assassin do when he’s not out there… well… assassinating? Saving his species from extinction, of course.

At least, that’s what Leopold wants to do with every molecule in his body. But the task won’t be fast or easy, and he can’t do it alone. Enter Mastrodai—a mrrog prince who has absolutely no desire to rule, much to his father’s exasperation. He craves the ability to prove his worth as a mate and to somehow atone for his actions that led to Leopold’s torture at the hands of an enemy. Making humans official would be a good start.

But politics rule no matter what the species, and Mastrodai has to maneuver carefully and risk what he has built to give his mate what he deserves. And when he realizes both he and Leopold have deeper feelings for Alex, one of Mastrodai’s human slave women, he knows his future is out among the stars with his humans, not planet-bound with his kin.

Unfortunately, before they can set their plan into motion, Leopold receives a vision that sends him reeling and questioning everything he knows about himself. A vision he must investigate, back to where he began—Lex, the backwater planet where he spent his early years, and where he swore never to return.

Trigger Warning: Includes violence throughout, PTSD, a scene of graphic torture, and the start of a consensual menage relationship.