On the Foreseeable Edge of our Future, Heroes Battle a Bloodcurdling Killer in Military Scifi Thriller #scifi #space #bookreview #review

Edge of the Future is an engrossing military science fiction story set on Earth and nearby space sometime in our future. Mark is a military scientist working on secret projects but not a combat soldier – at least, not until his lab is attacked by a mysterious villain.

Mark and his lab partner are put into protective custody with a pair of elite soldiers and Mark’s counterpart Axel trains him in self-defense. They become friends in a blunt combative manner befitting soldiers. In addition to hand to hand combat, there’s elite armor, cyber-hacks, mind-control, nifty weapons, and spaceships enough to keep a military scifi fan happy. I’ve never been in the military but the details felt very believable and the characters are well developed.

It becomes obvious the villain has not given up and operates a powerful organization that includes cyborgs. I won’t risk spoilers, but this is a powerful, resourceful, and vicious villain who’s willing to go to extremes to get the data she wants.

Especially the second half of the book is fast paced and flows. I read the last 25% in a single sitting – I had to find out how it ended.

There’s a real and satisfying ending – but some characters are still around so a sequel seems possible.

I always enjoy looking for an author’s little quirks. Stone’s characters take a lot of showers – perhaps because they’re sweaty and bloody so often. One quibble I might have is on the Lunar Base – Stone doesn’t show the effects of the Moon’s lower gravity as the characters deal with the good and bad that comes their way. But that’s easy to overlook.

If you like military scifi, this book’s for you.

All my books, including the On Mars series, are available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iTunes, Kobo, and other major online retailers, including Smashwords and Create Space for paperbacks. Read one today.

Start with Glory on Mars on Amazon and at your favorite on-line store

Looking for a short read – try my collection of science fiction and fantasy short, flash, and microstories.

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Urban Fantasy of Good Battling Evil #urbanfantasy #paranormal #book #review

A cop in modern Albuquerque, with (as one reviewer said) a walk-in closet full of skeletons, is drawn into the battle between good and evil, where evil is magical creatures and monsters including “every god you can name,” and the good is science and reason.

Oddly enough, the forces of good seem to be magical immortals, just like those of evil, but they want to lock evil out of our dimension by helping humans become rational. This may sound intellectual, but the story is easy to read and full of action. I mention some possible emotional “triggers” below – something I haven’t done before. Would you like to see triggers and, if so, which ones?

Most humans have a touch of magic and so are vulnerable to evil, but in a neat reversal of the usual trope, instead of secretly being a wizard or some such thing, the cop may save the world because he has no magic at all inside him. Oddly enough again, this allows him to wield a magic sword.

I found it easy to forgive the oddities because I like the bold premise. The story moves along with flawed characters who (most but not all) grow into heroes.

The first two main characters we meet are exceptionally attractive, and I groaned thinking this was all-too-typical. But there’s actually a point in the story to their good-looks, so kudos! The main immortal good-guy is fabulously wealthy, which helps to keep the plot moving by, for example, producing a private plane when needed.

The cop’s neuroses are explained in a believable manner and the story carried me right along as evil invades our world.

Modest spoilers – Expected amounts of violence and mayhem are present, but also a few possible triggers that you might want to know about. Religious believers may find it offensive to include their god with the evil gods. There’s a little preaching about this idea but it’s not heavy handed. There is rape, torture, and suicide, a child is endangered, and a bisexual character endures harassment at work. What sort of triggers do you think I should mention in a review?

The ending sets up the next book in the series, but isn’t an annoying cliffhanger – though some reviewers on Amazon thought it was too abrupt. Three books are available in the series.

What others are saying
The Edge of Reason earns a respectable, if not overwhelming, 3.5 stars from 23 reviews on Amazon. Those who liked the book enjoyed the provocative premise and the characters, nay-sayers thought the plot twists were trite and predictable.

Glory on Mars in top 6% of its #kindle #scifi category

Forgive me if I brag.
I just checked the ranking of my book Glory on Mars in Amazon’s kindle store. It’s listed under science fiction in three categories: space exploration, colonization, and hard science fiction.
In its top category – hard science fiction – Glory is in the top 6%. Not bad in the other categories either – 18%
Yee ha – thrill for me! Thanks to you!
If you haven’t read it yet, download a free copy today – see how here.
Please post a review or rating on Amazon, Goodreads, or wherever you hang out. Reviews help keep my ranking up which means other readers can find my book. I really appreciate your help.
Thanks to all my followers and friends.
Amazon ranks are always changing, so I better hurry and post this.

Glory on Mars: A one-way journey to Mars may be fatal.

Colonization of Mars is in trouble when the colony psychologist, one of the first eight settlers, commits suicide. Four more settlers are now on their way, bringing renewed hope – and a cat. Emma volunteered so she could explore Mars in her robotic walkabout suit. Even if she gets the chance, that may not make up for everything she left behind. Mars is a hostile planet, danger follows from Earth, and an inexplicable sense of desolation cripples the settlers’ efforts. Would you go? Read this first book in the On Mars series to discover if humans survive on Mars.

I’m Number 421! Still a strange boast #amwriting #amreading #scifi #Mars colony

 

Old original cover

Here’s the new cover

I’ve said this before – it may not make much of a bumper sticker, but my new book Glory on Mars is in the top fifth of its Amazon Kindle category. That’s a thrill for me – an unknown author. I’ve been told 90% of the books sold in America are written by 1% of the authors.

 

It’s so hard to break into writing. Thanks to everyone who read Glory on Mars.

I hope you’ll try Born on Mars, too.

Please consider posting a review – on Amazon, Goodreads, your favorite retailer, or wherever you hang out. That’s how books get noticed.

My books are available from all major retailers – more links here.

Now I’ve got to hurry and post this while it’s still true – things change quickly on Amazon.

I’m Number 822! Sound like a strange boast? #amwriting #amreading #scifi

Okay, so it’s not much of a bumper sticker, but my new book Glory on Mars is in the top third of its Amazon Kindle category for the second time in a month. That’s a thrill for me – an unknown author. I’ve been told 90% of the books sold in American are written by 1% of the authors.

It’s so hard to break into writing. Thanks to everyone who read Glory on Mars. I hope you’ll try Born on Mars, too.

Consider posting a review – on Amazon, Goodreads, your favorite retailer, or wherever you hang out. That’s how books get noticed.

My books are available from all major retailers – more links here.

Now I’ve got to hurry and post this while it’s still true – things change quickly on Amazon.

Born on #Mars no picnic in #scifi #novel #Amazon #Kindle #books

We know some of the dangers you and I would face on Mars – how will we find water, air, and shelter from cold and cosmic rays? How will a small group of settlers face each other, cooped up together? What will happen to kids born on Mars? Will earthly technology help them? Check out Born on Mars, second book in my On Mars Series. Now available at Amazon and all major on-line retailers.

The Tharsis Plain stretched endlessly between the largest volcano on Mars, Olympus Mons, and a string of three shield volcanoes to its southeast, smaller but still massively wide and tall. The colony lay shrouded by drifts on the flank of Peacock Mons. Here settlers could extract what humans needed to endure the planet’s lethal surface deep dunes – traces of water, wisps of nitrogen, and sand to sinter into construction blocks. It was a hell of a place to be born.

First Cat on #Mars – does #scifi #cat have a name? :\

Harvey posed for the cover of Glory on Mars

In Glory on Mars, colonists take a cat with them to Mars, and he figures in a pivotal discovery. One reader says, given the title, the cat’s name should be Glory.

The book never mentions the cat’s name.

What is it?

Once a book is published, I think the author is no more an expert than any reader – maybe less so. The author is burdened with threads that didn’t work and abandoned versions that were changed – while the reader knows the story.

So perhaps readers should decide – what’s the cat’s name? I could add his name to the next edition.

Update: Readers really don’t like the cat not having a name. This surprises me – I’ve personally owned “lone cats” who never had a name beyond “The Cat” and they didn’t seem to mind. My current tabby – the model for my cover – is convinced he’s the only cat that matters even though I have a second cat! (And had a third until recently.)

The cat in my story plays an important role at one point – he offers a clue to survival – but is not a main character. He’s a real cat – no magic. Just a cat. That’s always been enough for any act I lived with. What do you think?

UPDATE: For 2017 I’ve put out a new book cover for Glory on Mars. It’s more science-fiction-y (I hope) and less quirky. So Harvey can retire from his modeling career – but to tell you the truth, he doesn’t seem to care much.