Reality's Fire Reviewed

The third novel in The Reality Chronicles saga, Reality's Fire, recently acquired a new review from Yellow30 Sci-Fi. Click on the link to check out the full review, but below is an excerpt to wet your appetite. The reviewer enjoyed it, recommended it, and gave it 4 stars on Amazon. Enjoy.

Reality’s Fire is a good read, with lots of action, some suspense, and much soul searching on the part of the characters. Each must grapple with their inner feelings if they wish to succeed. Copple effectively gets across the idea that with God anything is possible, even if man messes up. Forgiveness, repentance, and the importance of following His will for our lives are key points as well.

Hot New Reviews on Mind Game and Hero Game

I've recently received two new reviews, one on Mind Game and one on Hero Game. Check them both out and if you've not had the chance, I encourage you to get and read the books and offer up your own honest reviews.

The Mind Game review comes from a professional review site: Reader's Favorites. Here's an except of what they had to say:

This is a well-written, exciting story with lots of adventure. It appeals to all ages of science fiction/fantasy fans, new and old. There are references to new technology for younger readers along with references to older popular science fiction/fantasy movies for older readers. The characters are very relatable.

Not too shabby. Today I received word that author Lisa Godfrees, who had reviewed Mind Game previously, giving it high marks, just reviewed the second book in the series, Hero Game, at her book review site, and among other things, had these comments:

Anyone that likes sci-fi would enjoy this book. I believe that middle-graders especially would love it, both guys and girls. I plan to buy copies for our elementary school library.

Bottom line, if you like fun sci-fi, you can't go wrong here! Thanks for checking them out, reading, and reviewing.

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Read more about Mind Game and Hero Game, along with sample chapters and where they can be purchased.

Winterland: A Dark Fairy Tale by Mike Duran

The author provided this book for my review.

Alice in Wonderland, in reverse, is what this story reminds me of. Not as crazy as Alice in Wonderland, though it has its moments, and not as humorous or satirical, though it zings a few here and there, but the flavor reminds me of that story. Not only for the very other-worldly setting, but also the interesting characters the protagonist meets.

Eunice embarks on a journey few would enjoy: a trip through her own mother's tortured soul. She traverses a surreal landscape and is guided by a man who was the only part of the picture that remained mysterious. I'm guessing he was an angel of some sort, but who knows? But this stranger helps her through the strange world, seeking to save her mother's soul, and in the end, face her own demons.

This isn't a high action book, more of an allegorical trip through one's life and soul. A vision of what monsters and characters we face within our own psyche. Some crazy, some scary, some devious, some dangerous. As you journey with Eunice, you may even learn something of your own journey as well.

The writing is good. There are spots I saw where it could be tightened or strengthened, but those were few and far between. The reader is not likely to notice them or be that concerned about them if they do. The story flows well, the pacing is good, easy to follow, and the formatting is well done (I read it on a Kindle). I spotted one typo through the whole novella, so the grammar and spelling are clean. There is no hint of the stereotypical "self-published" novel. The cover appears professional and the writing is as well.

While the ending wasn't "mind blowing," it was very interesting and good. It is a journey worth taking and enjoying. There was enough mystery and wondering what would happen next to keep a person reading and wanting to see what the next chapter would hold. I enjoyed the story and the trip. If you are the kind of reader who likes "dark fairy tales," this is a good one to grab and settle in with. You won't be disappointed.

If there was one trouble I had with it, it was the strange setting of the world. It took a while for me to get my bearings and felt too abstract, despite the author's descriptions. As I went on, this feeling lessened, and the world came more alive.

I think this is a common problem with alternate universes, simply because the reader doesn't have a good idea of the rules of such a world. Even more true when you get into worlds that are not grounded so much in our world, like traveling through a soul. Most stories have a whole novel to get the reader adjusted to the new world and learn it. That Mr. Duran was able to do that within the short space of a novella would actually be a plus to his skill. But the reader does need to be aware that it may take a little getting used to the world they find themselves in with Eunice.

If you're looking for high action, face-paced adventure, this may not be the story for you. If you are wanting a more allegorical romp through someone's mind, in search for answers to questions we all face, then I'd recommend you grab a copy of this one and enjoy the challenging world that Eunice explores to save her mother. A definite recommend from me.

Book Review: The Worker Prince by Brian Schmidt

Worker Prince

ISBN-13: 978-0984020904

This review is part of a blog tour for the introduction of Brian Schmidt's debut novel, The Worker Prince.

If Moses had led his people out of bondage in the future rather than the past, it might look something like this story. While at several points the story touches upon elements of the classic Biblical story of Moses leading his people out of Egypt, it doesn't stick to that story, nor is that the only plot line running through this science fiction, space opera style tale. One of the problems when people depict, either literally or by analogy, a Bible story is the predictable ending. That's not a worry here. The second half of the book bares little resemblance to the story of Moses. More like Joshua going to war.

Three elements of this book make it worth reading. One is the world Mr. Schmidt has created. In this world, a group of planets is ruled by a limited king and legislative councils of the main races. Except one race is not represented because they are called "Workers." They mostly live on one planet which appears to be the only planet in the system with agricultural products of any significance, and the rulers treat them as slaves, exporting food to the rest of the system.

Mr. Schmidt doesn't succumb to the tendency to dump a lot of back-story about this world on the reader, but it is worked through the story naturally. The only glitch for me is the rationale for why the Workers existed left me with more questions than answers and was hard to envision its evolution based on how things are now. Some could even take offense, to what could come across as an artificially generated political division, as making a statement beyond the story about our current religious situation. I took it as simply the way history worked out in this world, but did leave me with more questions as to how that could have happened. I'd say more, but I don't want to give away too much.

The second reason I enjoyed this story was the plot itself. The king fears a prophecy that a worker will rise up to release his people from bondage. Like Moses, to avoid the king's decree that all worker's children under a certain age be killed, his parents arrange to ship him off to another world where he ends up being raised by the king's sister as the prince destined to rule the kingdom. The story proper picks up when Prince Davies takes his first assignment away from home, discovers his real birth, and the story unfolds from there.

Like I said, while it touches at points on the story of Moses, it was different enough to keep my interest and avoided being a pure repeat of that story. I enjoyed the way Davies grows and develops into the leader, and his loyalty to the truth. And if a reader likes sci-fi battle action, there is plenty here especially through the second part of the book. Mr. Schmidt does a decent job of describing the action, though there was a time or two I didn't follow him too well.

The third is the characters are for the most part well drawn. One becomes attached to the main character, Davies, early on. Each character has a unique feel about them. And they are introduced slowly enough that the reader doesn't end up getting too lost on who is who, though that danger gets a little stronger toward the second half of the book. Still, I never struggled with that despite a rather large cast, and the characters came across as believable on the whole.

The only two instances his characterizations stretched it for me was Davies' secondary antagonist felt a bit too much of the stereotypical bully to me and the source of his antagonism to Davies was never clearly defined, though hinted at, but seemed stronger to me than merely family jealousy. And the girl Davies ends up in a relationship with seems to lose her initial antagonism toward him too easily. On rare occasion, the dialog felt unnatural. Despite that, I found the characters interesting and believable.

There are three things that could detract from the story, depending on the reader. One, the writing style, while good, does get a little telly at points. While not bad, there is room for improvement. However, this is much better than many I've read in that regard, and I doubt the lack here will throw too many out of the story.

Two, also related to writing skills, Mr. Schmidt has yet to get a solid grip on executing point of view flawlessly. There is a little head jumping in places. Occasionally he would mix one person's dialog with another person's actions, keeping you on your toes as to who is actually speaking. One scene break in particular, the shift in point of view wasn't established until I read about four or five paragraphs into it, so I had to backtrack to discover if I'd missed something. Most of the time I didn't have too much trouble tracking who talked and what point of view I was in, but occasionally it did become distracting.

Third, if a reader isn't a Christian, they may not realize until halfway into the book that this story contains some Christian themes. A non-Christian, getting to that point, may feel "tricked" if they are not aware of that up front. The Christian elements were natural to the story, and didn't feel forced. That said, it offered more of a complimentary plot line than anything essential to the main plot. Other than the stated reason for their existence, religion could be extracted from the story and the plot would still work. But truth be told, much science fiction is artificial in not portraying religion to be active and valid part of society into the future. While not getting too preachy about it, Mr. Schmidt does a decent job of integrating it into the storyline. That said, a non-Christian could feel tricked into reading a Christian novel if they aren't aware of that before they put down the money to buy the book. This review is written prior to seeing any official blurbs that will introduce the story to potential readers, which may make it clear it is a Christian story. Still, it seems many buyers miss that information, even when clearly stated.

I didn't feel those shortcomings reduced my enjoyment of the story or prevented me from finding Davies and the other characters interesting. Mr. Schmidt provides an engrossing story, believable characters, an interesting world, and decent writing. Because of that, I'm giving this a recommended read, holding onto a four out of five star score.

To continue following this blog tour, the next posting will be: October 12, Mary Pax - Guest Post: Coming Of Age & The Quest To Belong/Book Blurb

Note: R. L. Copple received a electronic copy of The Worker Prince from the author in order to review it for this blog tour.

Book Review: Dark Side of the Moon by Terri Lynn Main

Dark Side of the Moon

ISBN-13: 978-1-926931-19-7

Terri Lynn Main offers up an impressive debut science fiction, mystery novel in Dark Side of the Moon. Carolyn Masters, an ex-FBI profiler, has a history. A history she's trying to forget. In an attempt to distance herself from that past, she takes a teaching position at the lunar university at Armstrong City.

But the manipulated atmosphere of the doomed city creates a mask hiding the less controlled elements of the lunar independence movement. It isn't long before Carolyn's past catches up with her and she finds herself waist-deep in a murder investigation. What at first appears a cut-and-dried case becomes a complex mystery that threatens even Earth.

The mystery is a good, old-fashion who-dun-it. Even a what-dun-it. Carolyn gets saddled with an abrasive ex-cop, Michael. Between the two, peeling back one layer of the mystery leaves them with yet another puzzle to solve. Mystery lovers won't be disappointed in this offering. The only potential downside would be for mystery readers who want quick action. Main focuses on character and world building for the first few chapters. Don't expect the murder in the first chapter or two.

And it really is in the world and characters that Main excelled. Both are not only believable, but have depth and richness usually found in more seasoned authors. There are only two hiccups to that believability factor.

One, Main has obviously done her homework on the science. Much of it follows hard science in potential near-future abilities. But the inclusion of a common myth, that exposure to a vacuum causes one's body to expand and blood to boil in seconds, wiggled its way into the manuscript. Other than that one scientific miss, I found the science very believable, so overall she gets a high score on that account.

Two, there is room for improvement in the dialog. While overall not bad, some of it occasionally didn't ring true in explaining sometimes intimate detail to strangers, or saying things that most people would tend to avoid saying. These instances didn't lessen the richness of the characters, but improvement there could greatly supplement them.

One of the characteristics that impressed me was Main's natural way of integrating her character's faith into the storyline. Main portrayed a Christian character authentically, rather than the caricatures one tends to find on either side of the fence. The reader won't feel preached at, though the character does give her opinion on occasion. Both Christian and secular readers have little to fear here.

Another area that the reader will enjoy in this book is the descriptions. I had no problem seeing in my mind's eye the trip she took from Earth to the Moon, or the domed cities. The beginning has a touch of 2001: A Space Odyssey to it as we follow her on the trip to the Moon.

This is an outstanding first novel, and I would easily recommend it to anyone who likes science fiction and/or mysteries set in an interesting world filled with well drawn characters.

Note: I received an ebook from the author upon which this review is based.

New Review of Transforming Realities

Steve Wilson has recently put up a review on my book, Transforming Realities. And he has rated it excellent! He wrote a really nice piece. Click here to read it and leave a comment. Thanks to Steve for reviewing it.

Book Review: Alpha Redemption by P. A. Baines

Alpha Redemption

ISBN-13: 978-0986451744

I've always enjoyed a good story about people exploring space. When I heard that P. A. Baine's book, Alpha Redemption, was about a man traveling to Alpha Centauri, naturally it perked my interest. I also heard about the computer aboard this ship, called the Comet, and rumors of similarities to Arthur C. Clarke's 2001: A Space Odyssey. As I read it, indeed there were similarities, as well as major differences. I believe it would be of help in deciding if this is the book for you, to list those.

Similarities revolve around a computer on the trip developing sentience and a sense of self-preservation. Another similarity would involve giving away the plot, thus giving you no reason to read for yourself. And of course both are set in space, and above all, while both have some elements of tension to them, neither is what you would call a high action type book. Rather, like 2001, it has a decidedly "inner space" philosophical/theological journey as the book progresses.

Indeed, one of the striking similarities is in the style of writing. Baines isn't quite as descriptive as Clarke was, but the pacing and feel of the book is very similar to 2001. The reader gets to experience the day-to-day life on the ship, and the cycle of life in space. I'm not an expert on such things, but the details felt very authentic to me, given he's using the science fiction conventions of artificial gravity.

Where it differed with Clarke's 2001 is the direction Baines takes the story. Whereas Clarke's story headed into a more secular "we'll all evolve into a god-like creature," Alpha takes us into a different direction—in a decidedly Christian direction—and in an very unconventional manner. And does so convincingly. Though toward the end the changes happened a little too fast for my taste, overall it provided a believable story on one man's inner journey to escape his past, only to run headlong into the future.

Likewise, whereas Hal, the computer from 2001, went berserk and attempted to kill everyone on board, Jay, the computer running the Comet, works to save the life of his passenger. The book is about Jay's journey as much as Brett's, and is one of the more interesting elements of the story.

Another area of difference is this story adds a plot element not found in 2001. For Brett, in signing onto this mission, is as much running from something as he is trying to go down in history. And Baines introduces a parallel storyline that slowly reveals Brett's past in a manner that relates to what he experiences on the trip to Alpha Centauri. Watching as Baines weaves this alternate storyline into the main one, very deftly I might add, provided another of the interests as I read.

If there is one thing that stands out to me about this book, it is the interesting relationship between Brett and Jay, as well as Jay's own growing awareness not only of himself, but God. Like a child learning truths for the first time, this prototype computer ends up stealing the show, in more ways than one.

It's for those reasons that I can recommend this book if you are someone who enjoyed Clarke's 2001: A Space Odyssey. Personally, I had a hard time with 2001, due to the slow pace. So this one was a bit of work for me, especially at the beginning. I'm addicted to tension in a story, and while this has some, it isn't the standard kind of tension. The tension in this story revolves around the relationship between Brett and Jay, and while it starts out slow, the tension grows until it hits big in the end.

So while personally I'd give this a three on a scale of one to five for my own preferences, for those who enjoy a story with the style and pacing of 2001, this falls into a solid four, even a five for many.

Note: This book was given to me by the publisher for the purpose of reviewing it.

SFReader.com Review of TR

Residential Aliens magazine editor, Lyn Perry, has turned in a review of Transforming Realities to SFReader.com. It isn't a five-star review, but it is balanced and honest.

On the one issue he has with the book, I expected some wouldn't care for it. So I'm not surprised I've run across someone who doesn't. It's one of those things you either enjoy or don't. Depends on what type of book you like to read. And interestingly, this is the only novel out of the five I've written that has this specific quality. But in writing it, it fit the plot.

He missed some info I would have liked to get his input on, namely character development--a major part of any story. I can only assume they weren't "cardboard" characters for him, or he would have mentioned it.

That said, the review is fairly positive aside from his one main complaint. I appreciate his view and hope it helps readers to decide if they'd like to read the book or not. If you want to find out what Lyn Perry thought of the book, read it on SFReader.com.

Thanks for reading.