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Showing posts with label 2016 Mount TBR Reading Challenge. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2016 Mount TBR Reading Challenge. Show all posts

Wednesday, December 14, 2016

Audible Book Review: The Synchronicity War, Part 1 by Dietmar Wehr

This is slow starting but gets better – with personable AIs to add to the excitement.
The Synchronicity War, Part 1
Written by: Dietmar Wehr
Narrated by: Luke Daniels
Length: 8 hrs and 52 mins
Series: The Synchronicity War, Book 1
Unabridged Audiobook
Release Date:02-27-15
Publisher: Podium Publishing
Genre: Sci Fi, Military
My Rating: 4.0 of 5.0


Publisher's Summary
Be aware that Part 1 has a cliffhanger ending. After almost a century of peaceful exploration and colonization of space, the United Earth Space Force stumbles across a shockingly xenophobic alien race that has more and better armed ships and refuses all attempts at contact. As the outgunned Space Force is driven back in battle after battle in what appears to be a war of extermination, one officer experiences precognitive visions that help him blunt the enemy onslaught, but he can't control or predict when they occur. With the Senior Brass convinced that he's a tactical genius, he's given more and more responsibility and is terrified by the belief that Humanity's Fate will be determined by a battle with himself in overall command.
This is Volume 1 of a military SF series about desperate space battles and the men, women and Artificial Intelligences, who fight and die in them.
©2013 Dietmar Wehr (P)2015 Podium Publishing


Review:
Commander Victor Shiloh is one of seven Frigates out in jump space. One of their own team has gone missing and the squadron leader is going in to investigate. It soon becomes apparent that a ruthless enemy is destroying ships at will with no contact or warning.

Shiloh begins to have visions of movements to take that become true after the fact. These appear to be instinctive, if not skilled, tactical moves. He can’t go to his superiors to tell them of his visions but it may be tricky to explain some of his actions without revealing the source. His superior wants to move Shiloh up in leadership but Shiloh declines the advancement and is sent off to an AI hanger as punishment. This turns out to have a positive result as Shiloh begins to develop a relationship with the AI team.

The AI units seem to be developing their own personalities – naming themselves and bantering with the humans they interact with. These AIs soon become fiercely involved in the battle preparations. Shiloh’s superior soon realizes that Shiloh is still making important decisions even from the fringes. They reassign him and he continues to face the enemy with limited success – but more success than anyone else.

The first book ends with a terrible cliffhanger. Fortunately, the audible book had the beginning of book two so I got pulled into that. I love the interaction with the AIs and I really enjoy the battle strategy and Shiloh’s personality. The story starts slowly and seems a bit dry until well into the story. Much of the beginning of the book was less than stellar in presentation and I might not have been interested in book two except for the pick up of action near the end of part 1 and the excerpt of part 2 being made available.

Audio Notes: Luke Daniels is the narrator and I have found him very effective in narrating The Iron Druid series. Sadly, this story is dry well into the midpoint so I think that the lackluster was more the story than the narration. I have not yet decided if I will continue in ebook or audio.

[I had to look up “synchronicity” and that wasn’t totally helpful. The Webster definition is: “the coincidental occurrence of events and especially psychic events (as similar thoughts in widely separated persons or a mental image of an unexpected event before it happens) that seem related but are not explained by conventional mechanisms of causality —used especially in the psychology of C. G. Jung.”]

This has been in my Audible Library since December 2015 and on my Kindle library since 2014. This qualifies for Audio Challenge and Mount TBR.

Wednesday, September 28, 2016

Book Review: The Forever Gate Book One by Isaac Hooke

This is an engaging introduction to the series.
The Forever Gate Book One 
by Isaac Hooke
File Size: 1717 KB
Print Length: 100 pages
Publication Date: January 2, 2013
ASIN: B00AVXHRAM
Genre: Sci Fi, Cyperpunk
My Rating: 4.25 of 5.0


The world as we know it is about to end.
Hoodwink Cooper has been sentenced to death. His crime? Attempting to blast a hole in the Forever Gate, the colossal wall that surrounds the city and protects the denizens from the uninhabitable Outside. There's only one problem - he isn't the one who planted the bomb.
His daughter did, at the behest of a secretive society known as the Users.
As the gols, the humanlike automata who have enslaved the humans, prepare to carry out Hoodwink's sentence, the Users plot even greater turmoil. If Hoodwink gives up the ghost without first extricating his daughter from their clutches, she will most likely join him in the afterlife.
What Hoodwink and the Users don't realize is that they are all pawns in a greater game whose stakes are the very survival of humanity itself.
Will Hoodwink escape in time to save his daughter? More importantly, will he break free of the invisible forces that guide him?
Or will he succumb to the domination of his unseen masters and cause the breaking of the world, losing not just his daughter, but everything?
---THE FOREVER GATE combines elements of science fiction & fantasy to evoke a unique setting entirely unlike anything you've ever read before.


Review:
Hoodwink has been sentenced to death for threatening the Forever Gate. His accusers do not know that he accepted the crime and punishment to protect his daughter. He does not know why she wanted to bomb the forbidden gate but he will do anything, even die, to save her.

Yolinda, now Ari, is working with a secret group of people who are no longer shackled by the collars that prevent most citizens from using super powers of fire and electricity. Since they can still use the powers they are called the Users. A team rescue Hoodwink from the executioner’s blade and steer him to the outskirts of town. There he is given a choice: return for his punishment or climb the forbidden wall.

Hoodwink accepts the task and promises to come back to his daughter. That is a promise he may not be able to keep. Once he passes over the wall he meets a dwarf who is mysterious and dangerous. Hoodwink appears to be captured, maybe killed. But he awakens to find himself in a layered world under the control of others whose motives are unknown.

The story is set in a future world that has a feel of the middle ages. There are gols who are not human but rather government-controlled workers. Hoodwink lost his daughter to the Mayor and has had to learn to live with his guilt. The layered worlds had me thinking of the body pods in the Matrix. I enjoyed the creative world and I enjoyed the action. Hoodwink is a likeable, strong character – maybe not completely good but with a renewed integrity that seeks to protect those he loves. The ending has an "argh" moment and left me curious to discover where the story goes from here. I am glad that I have the next books.

I received this book and some of the sequels from the author for an honest review. 
I actually had this in my Kindle Library from 2014 so I am counting it towards TBR Challenge also. 

Thursday, April 7, 2016

MBS 2016 Mount TBR Reading Challenge and Check Point #1

I realized I hadn't posted this challenge when I went to do the quarterly check-in so this is both.

2016 Mount TBR Reading Challenge 

This Challenge is hosted by MY READER'S BLOCK 


Challenge Levels:

Pike's Peak: Read 12 books from your TBR pile/s
Mount Blanc: Read 24 books from your TBR pile/s
Mt. Vancouver: Read 36 books from your TBR pile/s
Mt. Ararat: Read 48 books from your TBR piles/s
Mt. Kilimanjaro: Read 60 books from your TBR pile/s
El Toro: Read 75 books from your TBR pile/s
Mt. Everest: Read 100 books from your TBR pile/s
Mount Olympus (Mars): Read 150+ books from your TBR pile/s

I am hoping to reach Mt. Everest: Read 100 books from my TBR piles/boxes

    JANUARY 2016
  1. A-TBR-- Audible Book Reviews: Three X Minus One #VintageSciFi Stories; Vintage Sci Fi; X Minus One: Protective Mimicry (October 3, 1956) by Algis Budrys, Ernest Kinoy - adaptation; my ratings 4.5, 4.25 and 4.25.
  2. A-TBR-- X Minus One: Cold Equations (August 25, 1955) by Tom Godwin, George Lefferts - adaptation; my ratings 4.25.
  3. A-TBR-- X Minus One: Target One (December 26, 1957) by Frederik Pohl, George Lefferts - adaptation; my ratings 4.25.
  4. P-LBC-TBR-- Book Review and Giveaway: Two Tickets to the Christmas Ball: A Novella by Donita K. Paul; Romance, Fantasy, Inspirational; my rating 4.5.
  5. E-TBR-- Book Review: The Colossus by Ranjini Iyer; Action, Adventure, Mystery; my rating 3.75.
  6. NG-TBR-- Book Review: The Dirt on Ninth Grave (Charley Davidson Book 9) by Darynda Jones; Fantasy; my rating 4.25.
  7. A (Author)-TBR-- Audible Book Review and Giveaway: Time Heist: Firstborn Saga Volume 1 by #Anthony Vicino. Sci Fi, Mystery; my rating 4.5.
  8. E (Author)-TBR-- Book Review: The Feral Sentence: Part One by G. C. Julien ; Dystopian, Sci Fi; my rating 4.0.
  9. NG-TBR-- Book Review: Jessica's Christmas Kiss: (Christmas Kisses Book 3) by Alison May; Romance, Holiday; my rating 4.5.
  10. ABJ-TBR-- Audio Book Review: Buster: The Military Dog Who Saved a Thousand Lives by Will Barrow, Isabel George; Personal Memoir; my rating 4.25.
  11. A-TBR-- Audible Book Review: The Very First D**ned Thing: An Author-Read Audio Exclusive by Jodi Taylor; Fantasy; my rating 4.5.
  12. NG-TBR-- Book Review: Night Study (Study Series) by Maria V. Snyder; Paranormal, Fantasy; my rating 5.0.
  13. NG-TBR-- Book Review: Brilliance (The Brilliance Trilogy Book 1) by Marcus Sakey; Sci Fi, Suspense Thriller; my rating 5.0.
  14. A-TBR-- Audible Book Review: To Live Forever by Jack Vance; Vintage Sci Fi; my rating 4.0.
  15. NG-TBR-- Book Review: Extreme Honor (True Heroes) by Piper J. Drake; Romantic Suspense; my rating 4.5.
  16. NG-TBR-- Book Review: Steamborn (Steamborn Series) (Volume 1) by Eric R Asher; Sci Fi, Fantasy, Steampunk; my rating 4.25.
  17. A-TBR-- The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert A. Heinlein; Sci Fi, Vintage; my rating 5.0.
  18. January TBR = 17.                                                                                                           FEBRUARY 2016
  19. P-LBC-TBR-- Book Review and Giveaway: Mistletoe Memories: Four Generations Transform a House Into a Home for Christmas (Romancing America); Inspirational Fiction; Christmas Romance; my rating 5.0.
  20. NG-TBR-- Book Review: Emmy Nation: Undercover Suffragette (The Suffragette Nation Book 1) by L Davis Munro; Historical Fiction, Women's Suffrage; my rating 5.0.
  21. A-TBR-- Audible Book Review: Classic Love Poems by William Shakespeare, Edgar Allan Poe, Elizabeth, Barrett Browning and others; Poetry; my rating 5.0.
  22. A-TBR-- Audible Book Review: Reunion in Death: In Death, Book 14, by J.D. Robb; Mystery Thriller, Modern Detective; my rating 4.5.
  23. February TBR = 4.                                                                                                          MARCH 2016
  24. LBC-TBR-- Book Review and Giveaway: Talon: Combat Tracking Team (A Breed Apart Book 2) by Ronie Kendig; Christian, Military, Mystery Suspense; my rating 4.5.
  25. NG-TBR-- Book Review: Dear Emma by Katie Heaney; Coming of Age, College Romance; my rating 4.0.
  26. A-TBR-- Audible Book Review: Agenda 21: Into the Shadows by Glenn Beck ; Christian, Sci Fi, Dystopian; my rating 4.25.
  27. NG-TBR-- Book Review: Path of the Bullet by M C Jacques; Mystery, Crime Thriller; my rating 4.25.
  28. A-TBR--Audible Book Review: Straits of Hell: Destroyermen, Book 10 by Taylor Anderson; Sci Fi, Alternate History; my rating 5.0.
  29. NG-TBR-- Book Review: Chakana: Encounter In The Sacred Valley by W.E. Lawrence; Action Adventure; my rating 4.25.
  30. NG-TBR-- Book Review: The Cracked Spine: A Scottish Bookshop Mystery by Paige Shelton; Cozy Mystery; my rating 4.5.
  31. March TBR = 7.                                                                                                         
    FIRST QUARTER CHECK POINT:
    Total for 1st Quarter = 28 which is on target for reaching Mt. Everest.
    A.  My Favorite Cover first quarter reads:
    B.  My Favorite Character from first quarter reads:
Buster, The Military Dog (#10 above) was certainly a favorite, furry character, as was Talon (#22). They are examples of real heroes.
I think Mannie, from The Moon is A Harsh Mistress (#17), is my favorite 'human' character.  It may have been the narration but I think it was Mannie's strength of character, pushing through fear to be a reluctant leader, that I really liked.
    C.  Surprise(s):
I was surprised by the vintage sci fis. (#s 1,2,3,14 and 17). They made me appreciate the element of irony in science fiction which is apparently timeless. It existed in the 1950s and is still part of the genre today.
    D. Title Scramble:  Best Pattern
Buster
Extreme Honor
Steamborn
Two Tickets to the Christmas Ball

Path of the Bullet
Agenda 21: Into the Shadows
Time Heist
To Live Forever
Emmy Nation
Reunion in Death
Night Study

Friday, April 1, 2016

Final Update on March 2016 Take Control of TBR Pile Challenge

I am surprised that it is already three weeks into March! The time is flying by.
I thought I would get an update post started for this Challenge so I can keep track!
The month went quickly and I had more than half of the books that were new releases after the 3/1/2016 date. Still, I ended with 7 in this challenge which is satisfactory.

[I have to admit I confused myself on this one. I have been focusing on reading TBRs I received before 2016. This one is for TBRs RELEASED before 3/1/2016 so I actually get to add a few titles received after 1/1/16 (before 3/1/16); but I had to leave out a few I got before 1/1/2016 that didn't release until 3/1 or later.]
Take Control of Your TBR Pile
Thank you to the host: Kimberly at Caffeinated Book Reviewer.
The basics:
For the entire month of March you focus on reading/listening to books in your TBR pile released before March 1, 2016. They can be eBooks, physical books or audiobooks. Let’s clean off those shelves, finish those series and trilogies and have some fun.
  1. Book Review: Talon: Combat Tracking Team (A Breed Apart Book 2) by Ronie Kendig; Christian, Military, Mystery Suspense; my rating 4.5.
  2. Audio Book Review: Defects: The Reverians, Volume 1 by Sarah Noffke; YA, Dystopian; my rating 4.0.
  3. Audible Book Review: Agenda 21: Into the Shadows by Glenn Beck ; Christian, Sci Fi, Dystopian; my rating 4.25.
  4. Book Review: Path of the Bullet by M C Jacques; Mystery, Crime Thriller; my rating 4.25.
  5. Audible Book Review: Straits of Hell: Destroyermen, Book 10 by Taylor Anderson; Sci Fi, Alternate History; my rating 5.0.
  6. Book Review: Chakana: Encounter In The Sacred Valley by W.E. Lawrence; Action Adventure; my rating 4.25.
  7. Audible Book Review: Derelict by LJ Cohen; Sci Fi, YA; My rating 4.0
I had one other book released before 3/1/2016 but it was an audio less than an hour. Since Novellas didn't count I haven't included that one.

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