New reader Sci-Fi review – Hermit on Mars

My thanks to Scott! He’s helping other readers find my book and more great sci-fi too. Check out the complete review of Hermit on Mars and find lots more stories in Sci-Fi – click here to go to Liminal Fiction.

Rauner’s Colony on Mars continues with this third book in the five book series, Hermit on Mars. I’ll admit, when I first read the title, it seemed a bit claustrophobic to me – would the whole book be about a single person living alone in a cave on Mars?

Our hero is someone else altogether. Sig is blundering through middle to late middle age with something less than grace. His kids are grown, the last one about to leave his family kinderen home, and relations with his partner, Helmi, have grown strained. She’s a by-the book type, and is unhappy that Sig’s mother is living a life free of the usual societal constraints with the Hermit.

Sig is on his way to deliver some critical parts to the mkazzi – the loners, mostly prospectors, who live in the caverns underneath the Hermit’s home. Who is the mysterious Hermit? Why have the mkazzi never met him? And why are power outages worsening, threatening to send this pack of independent people back to the order and organization that they despise?

It’s been fascinating to watch the colony grow, from the original Kamp Kans to the addition of the District in the last book, and the start of Cerberus, the halfway point that by now has developed into a small town of its own. In Hermit on Mars, Rauner plays with themes of order vs. freedom, safety vs. danger, and we start to see some of the true Martians – people born on Mars who are shedding Earth ways and habits. I loved the tension between the colonists and the mkazzi, and there were moments of great beauty as Sig learns to appreciate Mars in all her glory, instead of just huddling behind the protective walls at Cerberus. Scott at Liminal Fiction

Click here for Hermit on Mars, available from favorite online stores.

Click here for Amazon Kindle and paperback editions for the entire Colony on Mars series.

Get a Jump on Some Great Scifi Reads – Not a Turkey Among Them #scifibooks #goodreads #HappyHolidays

Halloween left-overs, turkeys, and scifi & fantasy today, so let’s get to it. Want some creepy stories via podcast? Suitable for scaredy-cats. Scroll all the way down for the link. But first…

American Thanksgiving is nearly here, and I haven’t seen any wild turkeys below my bird feeder this fall. But I know they’re out there in the forest. Turkeys are incredibly alert all the time – not just as the holidays approach. I’ll keep my camera ready, and here’s a picture I got last year.

Don’t worry, wild turkeys. My Thanksgiving bird will come from the supermarket. Now, scroll on for today’s selection of good reads through Story Origin. No turkeys among them.

Science Fiction Box Sets offer hours of reading at a great value. Choose from over two dozen Science Fiction series. Click here to check them out.

Not ready to commit? Discover a New Favorite Series among these series-starters. Click here for dozens in Fantasy and Scifi.

Holidays can be expensive, so it’s a perfect time for Free Science Fiction. From short reads to full novels, loads of fine stories. Click here and share the link with your friends.

I want to specially point out two fine offerings.

Here’s the complete Federation Diplomat series. With grit, determination, and a flair for the unexpected, Federation Diplomat Kate Stevens dives into the volatile crises that are poised to rip worlds apart or mire them in bloody war. But can she remain untouched by the deadly violence, or will she end up a casualty of the forces of destruction?

Travel through flickerspace with Kate, her quirky but expert crew, and her cat Shebang. Click here and hold on to your space helmet because the ride is going to get bumpy.

In the Heisenberg Corollary, a nerd squad blind-hops across the omniverse from high-tech galaxies to magic-powered medieval planets, while hunted by ridiculously persistent aliens. With laugh-out-loud geeky pop-culture references. Click here to join the fun.

Now for those creepy stories I promised. What’s the most frightening thing that’s ever happened to you? Plenty of Skeptoid’s listeners sent in stories, and click here for eight of them with some broad-daylight thoughts on the happenings.

Skeptoid is one of my favorite sites. It’s fun. Can you resist clicking into more episodes? I never can. Try some that are season-appropriate, like The Exorcism of Anneliese,
Siberian Heel Sounds, or the Real Amityville Horror.

Happy Holidays!

Halloween opens the Holiday Season – get started here and now with good reads

You know you’ve seen this word before:

Triskaidekaphobia

Fear of the number 13. But why? And why Friday the 13th, a day & date combination we survive at least once a year? Perhaps it came from a book! Friday the Thirteenth by T. W. Larson, published in 1907. Some books have staying power!

Scroll down for more possible origins, but first…

Here’s a new story I absolutely love, by my award-winning friend Alethea Eason. Fascinating characters, and a great imaginative premise. What if a girl prays for a guardian angel, but gets a guardian demon? Can she survive her dysfunctional family… and Hell? Click here for Charlotte and the Demons in Kindle Unlimited, Kindle, Paperback, or Hardcover.

Links to more suitable holiday stories too!

Woo woo Halloween: Click here for magical realism, paranormal, fantasy, sci-fi, and supernatural.

Anti Heroes: Click here for characters you love and hate.

Clean Sci-fi: Click here for stories for young adults of all ages.

Unexpected First Contact: Click here for my thought-provoking sci-fi adventure, Chronicle of an Alien World, also for young adults of all ages.

Find more about Friday the 13th on the Wikipedia pages: Triskaidekaphobia and Friday the 13th.

Here comes the Holiday Season – are you ready?