Five Suns of Treason (Five Suns Saga #1) by Jim Heskett

Kellen’s tired of politics and the back-stabbing that accompanies it. As a senior staffer to a US senator, he’s privy to all kinds of information, like details about the meteor hurtling though space on a collision course with earth. He also knows what the public has been told isn’t the whole truth, and now he’ll have to decide if exposing the lie is worth trading his life.

Part dystopian epic, part espionage thriller, Five Suns of Treason features six interconnected short stories before, during, and after the downfall of society, with each one unlocking another piece of the mystery of how the world collapsed.

Purchase Link: www.amazon.com

Five Suns of Treason on Goodreads

Review

*I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review*

Rating: 3 Stars

Five Suns of Treason depicts the collapse of society through six short stories which comprise the entire novel. It is an original and clever idea that gradually pieces the mystery together as each story is told. However, for me I felt that all the stories needed to be longer. As they stood they were too short and I just found myself stumbling in various places as I was distracted from following the main storyline with the continuous shift in characters, events and locations. As a result for me as a reader I wasn’t able to make a connection with any of the characters. This was disappointing as I really enjoyed the author’s style of writing. There was a good balance of description and dialogue so you could really get a sense of the fear and chaos of the collapsing world.

Many readers of dystopian fiction will really enjoy the snapshot of viewpoints and the mystery of how society has fallen (not to mention the twist at the end!) but personally I would have preferred each story to have been longer so I could have really gained a sense of who all these characters were and formed more of an attachment to them.

Arkadium Rising (Brother’s Keeper #1) by Glen Krisch

The Arkadium’s time has come. A religious cult intent on setting history back ten thousand years, destroying modern man’s domination of the planet.

Growing up, the Grant brothers were close, but as they reached adolescence they drifted apart, taking opposite paths into adulthood. Straight-laced Jason works for a small town newspaper. Marcus is into drugs, violence, and self-destruction.

Marcus finds salvation and sobriety when he joins the Arkadium and reaches out to his brother, wanting him by his side to record the new prehistoric era, Arkadium’s era. Jason faces a choice, join his brother in the destruction of humanity, or die like one of the millions of innocents who will fall in the Arkadium’s ascent.

Purchase Link: www.amazon.com

Arkadium Rising on Goodreads

Review

*I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review*

Rating: 4 Stars

Arkadium Rising is the first book in the Brother’s Keeper series by Glen Krisch. It is the story of two brothers, one of whom is estranged from the family due to his drug addiction. When the story begins Jason is visited by his brother’s ex-girlfriend, Delaney, who informs him that not only is his brother clean, but that he has found religion. At first Jason is sceptical and despite knowing this he does not want anything to do with Marcus. His mind is changed, however, when the family receive some bad news and Jason leaves with Delaney to bring Marcus home. What Jason hasn’t been told is that Marcus is high up in the hierarchy of Arkadium, a religious cult that intends on bringing an end to life as Jason knows it.

Arkadium Rising is a fast paced and gripping read with a host of interesting and complex characters all with their own desires and beliefs driving them forward to survive in the new world that dramatically unfolds. There was a lot of violence and bloodshed as you would expect. The emotions running throughout the book were unfaltering and the existing (and new) relationships and connections between the characters made it feel very real.

As it is the first in the series the ending is left open, but without detracting from being able to enjoy the novel as a standalone. I very much look forward to reading the second book in the series.

Mr Ruins (Ruins Sonata #1) by Michael John Grist

Book 1 of the Ruins Sonata trilogy.

Ritry Goligh is a former Arctic marine living in a dystopian, tsunami-wrecked future. He works as a graysmith- a specialist capable of diving the minds of others and implanting or erasing memories. Scarred by the events of the Arctic war, he leads a directionless life of alcohol, violence, and sex, until a man calling himself Mr. Ruins offers him a devil’s bargain- gain a future, but forfeit his soul.

At the same time, a crew of hardened marines rouse in a unique submarine designed to dive through lava within a planet’s molten core. They have no memories except their names, ranks, and a burning urge to complete their mission. Yet none of them know what their mission is, or what the stakes will be if they fail.

Purchase Link: www.amazon.com

Mr Ruin’s on Goodreads

Review

*I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review*

Rating: 5 Stars

Mr Ruins is the first book of the Ruins Sonata trilogy. It tells two stories; the first of one man’s struggle against a terrible evil and the second of a group of marines tasked to complete their mission no matter what.

Ritry Goligh is a broken man. Working as a graysmith he fills his empty life with booze and women. When the story begins he’s weak, seriously flawed and at times a difficult character to like. As the novel progresses and Ritry is struggling to get his life back in order he becomes stronger and very likeable, and definitely I found myself caring for the character and his fate.

Mr Ruins is an excellent antagonist and the perfect adversary for Ritry.  He incorporates everything a villain should be; ruthless, devious, manipulative, charismatic, frightening. You could literally feel the atmosphere of the novel change with every scene that he was in.

Alongside Ritry’s battle against Mr Ruins runs the story of a group of marines who are tasked with completing a mission without any knowledge of their time before it began and what might happen should they fail. At first the two stories seem unconnected but further into the novel how they are interlinked becomes clear.

Mr Ruins is a fantastic and extremely well-written science fiction novel. The plot is engaging, compelling and very cleverly thought out, which kept me guessing right up until the very end. I highly recommend Mr Ruins to lovers of the science fiction genre!