Sci-fi

Sunscorched, by Jen Crane

In Sunscorched, unique dystopian scifi series opener by Jen Crane, Nori is a teen who has a strange condition that keeps her housebound most of the time.  

The book opens a twelve years after the Scorch, an event where the sun’s effects suddenly became intense.  Billions of people died during the Scorch, and since then Nori has become very sensitive to sunlight, resulting in burns and pain at the slightest hint of the sun’s rays.  

Nori’s only escape are her nightly runs. During the hour or two of darkness, she can get outside her house and escape the watchful eyes of her parents for a little while.  But even this is becoming a problem.  Another scorch is predicted and Nori won’t survive even in her special basement bunker.  Her only possible escape is in one of the communities rumored to exist underground, if her parents can find a way to get her there.

I very much enjoyed this book, the world building is complex and has a lot of depth.  Characters are relatable even though the situation is strange.  As Nori strikes out on her own to find safety in a hostile situation, she grows and finds much about herself and the world.  She makes allies who have their own mysterious past histories.  Good dystopian fiction makes us think about what people will do to survive, the good and the bad, and this book does not disappoint.  

Kasey Briggs Leave a comment

The Ex-pacifist, by Sarah K. L. Wilson (Matsumoto trilogy book 1)

In the world of the Ex-Pacifist, The Matsumotos run the largest empire.  All the Matsumoto cousins are trained as ambassadors and their number one rule is that they must not commit any violence, even to protect their own lives.  Vera and her guard are sent on their first mission but it goes very badly by the emperor’s standards and expects to be sentenced to death.

Instead, she and a new guardian, Roman, are sent off to see what happened to her cousin Denise, who disappeared while investigating odd happenings on a planet outside of the empire.  She is given two weeks to find Denise or the fleet will attack the planet and she face a death sentence again.

The book is very well written in a style that I would classify as dystopian sci-fi with young adult characters.  Since the teens have very adult responsiblities, it doesn’t completely feel like a typical YA book.

I look forward to reading other books in the Matsumoto trilogy.

Kasey Briggs Leave a comment

Syndicate Wars: First Strike, by Justin Sloan, Kyle Noe, and George Mahaffey

Syndicate Wars, First Strike starts out fast and keeps going.  My first inclination was to read the book quickly, but there were so many subplots that I purposely read a little at a time to savor the story.  I loved the story.  It’s a sci-fi battle with lots of complex character development.

As the story set some time in our future begins, Quinn and her band of marines are preparing to do battle with an alien force.  The marines are at the designated front lines of the battle, waiting for their enemy, the syndicate, to attack.

From the brief pre-battle pause the story moves very quickly from location to location as the first battle ends and the invasion begins.  Some are taken prisoner to the Syndicate ships and some are left on the ground to form the resistance.  We get to know the main character’s backstories as they fight battles and discover plots and counter-plots.  Meanwhile they try to decide who to trust and what’s worth fighting for in the quickly changing environments.

Kasey Briggs Leave a comment

Wyvern’s Warrior by Deborah Cooke

Logic and emotion must be balanced when a cyborg meets a dragon princess

Wyvern’s Warrior is an interesting addition to The Dragons of Incendium Series by Deborah Cooke. (Book 3). Action, a cyborg mercenary is sent on a mission to Incendium. Thalina, a princess of Incendium, intercepts him sneaking into the vaults and realizes two things, he’s her mate, and he’s a cyborg. Thalina has longed to study cyborgs, but they are forbidden on Incendium so she now has an opportunity.

Action had some programming added just before he left on his mission and he believes he is being tested by the hive, the collective mind from his planet. Strange sensations and illogical things are happening to him and he’s not sure how to deal with them. As he and Thalina hide in the vaults, they discover many things, about themselves, each other, and Action’s mission.

The story is a fast-paced chase through the vaults and beyond. I found it exciting and thought-provoking. The cyborg learning about his new “programming” promotes lots of thinking about what makes one alive. Out of contact with the Hive, Action must adjust on his own, relying on his new programming and Thalina’s help.

This is the first book in the series I have read, but I did read the short story that proceeded it, which introduced some of the ideas about emotion vs logic. It will be interesting to see how the plot arcs develop in subsequent books and stories.

Kasey Briggs Leave a comment