Category: book reviews

King Ruin (Ruins Sonata #2) by Michael John Grist

~ sharisakurai ~ Leave a comment

23301029.jpg

King Ruin (Ruins Sonata #2) by Michael John Grist

The sadistic Mr. Ruins is gone, swallowed by a tsunami at the edge of the floating slums, and ex-Arctic marine Ritry Goligh’s long nightmare is finally over. His family are safe, his soul is his own, and at last he can go home.

Then comes an explosion that makes no sound, but blows all his thoughts to shreds. In an instant Ritry is prey again, hunted by a power so vast he can’t even comprehend it. This is King Ruin, and before him all Rit can do is run, so far and so fast he starts to forget who and what he is.

Soon half his mind is gone, and the souls of billions are at stake. King Ruin wants the Bridge, a direct path into the minds of every living thing, and only a lost and broken Ritry Goligh can stand in his way.

Purchase Link: Amazon.com

Goodreads Link: King Ruin

Review

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

Rating: 5 Stars

King Ruin is the second novel in the Ruins Sonata trilogy. It picks up right where the first novel ended and almost immediately you are drawn into a fast paced and thrilling read.

King Ruin is stronger, smarter and more ruthless than Mr Ruins. He seeks to possess the minds of every human. To do that he needs the mind of exhausted and battle-scarred Ritry Goligh.

For me I often find that the second instalment of a trilogy is the weakest novel, but this certainly isn’t the case here. I thoroughly enjoyed Mr Ruins and King Ruin not only keeps to the same excellent standard set by the author, but it surpasses it. King Ruin is full of action, emotion, humour and suspense, and I’m really looking forward to reading the conclusion of this outstanding trilogy.

 

Review: The Freezer (Genesis Endeavor Book 1) by David Kersten

~ sharisakurai ~ 3 Comments

The Freezer

The Freezer (Genesis Endeavor Book 1) by David Kersten

1966 has been a bad year for retired Army officer Jack Taggart. Still reeling from the tragic loss of his wife and daughter, a visit to his doctor reveals the worst possible news: cancer. Going in for surgery, he is uncertain if he can, or even should, face the fight for his life. When he wakes up to find over three hundred years have passed, an entirely new set of challenges lay before him – and a new reason to survive. Thrown into a scorched world he barely understands, Jack’s first battle will be to figure out where he is, how he got here, and how it all ties back to The Freezer, a 20th century underground military facility that could very well be the key to saving humankind.

Purchase Link: Amazon.com

The Freezer on Goodreads

Review

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

Rating: 5 Stars

The Freezer is the first book in the Genesis Endeavor series. Set over three hundred years in the future where humanity is on the edge of extinction, the survivors have turned to science to ensure the future of the human race.

The protagonist, Jack Taggart, is the oldest ‘reborn’ who has been brought back using advanced cloning techniques. His last memory is going into surgery for cancer in 1966 and when he awakes he is shocked to learn that hundreds of years have passed and that the citizens of New Hope need his help.

Jack is an extremely likeable character with a lot of depth and who develops further throughout the novel. His supporting cast are just as well thought out as is the future that Jack finds himself in. It is very clear that the author has put a lot of time and effort into thinking through and researching the science behind The Freezer and ensuring that it is entirely plausible. There is an excellent balance of action, world building and character development as well as some romance too!

The Freezer is one of the best books that I’ve read this year and I’m really looking forward to the next instalment in the series.

Review: Suffer the Children

~ sharisakurai ~ 1 Comment

Suffer the Children

Suffer the Children by Dominic Selwood

It is 1904, and an Oxford don decides to spend the Christmas vacation conducting research in rural Norfolk. But in the library of the country house where he is staying, he finds the records of a terrifying tragedy. A short story. A homage to M R James.

Purchase Link: Amazon.com

Suffer the Children on Goodreads

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

Rating: 5 Stars

Suffer the Children is set in the early twentieth century. A professor of Oxford, whilst conducting research in a library belonging to an acquaintance, discovers a journal written by his associate’s father. In this journal contains a horrifying account of his travels to Sardinia.

This is a short, subtle horror story that reads like it was written in Victorian times. Selwood has mastered this style and the tale leaves you with chills long after you’ve finished reading. An excellent short story that I highly recommend!

Review: 2513

~ sharisakurai ~ Leave a comment

2513

2513 by Miles Kohl

Matthew Andrews shouldn’t be alive. He is the victim of a clerical error by Death, Inc. With a twist of Fate and the oversight of a Reaper, he now has the opportunity that most would kill for: a chance to choose a new life.

But it’s not all fun and games. With the help of a Reaper and a Vampire, Matthew sets out to rewrite his fate before the boss at Death, Inc. – Hades himself – comes to collect what is rightfully his.

Purchase Link: Amazon.com

2513 on Goodreads

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

Rating: 4 Stars

2513 is a unique story that depicts dying and the process of collecting souls as a business and Grim Reapers as employees of the corporation.  Due to an error, Matthew Anderson is alive and shouldn’t be. Instead of dying he is offered the chance to choose a different life for himself.

Much of the novel is about Matthew’s choices and the situations that he finds himself in following on from those choices. The banter between the three main characters had me laughing in several places, but as well as humorous this is a thought-provoking read. The end was left somewhat open for a follow up which I’d love to read too.

Overall this was a good, fun read which I enjoyed immensely.

Review: The Cautionary Tale of Butch Black

~ sharisakurai ~ Leave a comment

The Cautionary Tale of Butch Black

The Cautionary Tale of Butch Black by J.B Maynard

Enter the Black Diary: A cursed book so evil that it writes itself. The Cautionary Tale Of Butch Black chronicles the last two hundred and thirty six days of a madman, through the pages of this tome. Butch is a retail slave, trapped in his own life. His flights of fancy send him into the heart of the evil corporation known as World-Mart, on a daily basis. Faced with termination, he must expose, and try to take down, the company that has imprisoned him for the last ten years! Are the demons surrounding Butch mere delusion or terrible truth? Join Butch Black as he faces an army of reticulated, rampaging robots; ravenous, talking rats; and devious demons by the dozen.

Purchase Link: Amazon.com

The Cautionary Tale of Butch Black on Goodreads

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

Rating: 4 Stars

The Cautionary Tale of Butch Black is a diary-style novel telling of World Mart employee Butch Black’s descent into madness after ten years of loyal service in a job that isn’t really going anywhere fast.

I really enjoyed this story and J.B Maynard’s style of writing. Butch’s documented descent is an intriguing read as you try to decide whether he has uncovered the terrifying truth about the company he works for or if the repetitive and monotonous years have finally taken their toll.

This is a quick read filled with amusing one liners and observations about life and I look forward to the next instalment, Black Wonderland.

Review: The Voivod

~ sharisakurai ~ 1 Comment

9780992633257-Perfect.indd

The Voivod: A Ghost Story by Dominic Selwood

London, 1897. An elderly bibliophile receives a letter from the recently retired head of the Bodleian Library in Oxford. But the tale it relates of a book buying journey to Cracow soon turns into a hellish nightmare. A homage to M R James. A short story.

Purchase Link: Amazon.com

The Voivod on Goodreads

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

Rating: 4 Stars

The Voivod is a really creepy tale that leaves you with goosebumps after the final page. It’s a short story written in a Victorian style that Selwood captures perfectly. It’s subtle, but darkly atmospheric and the final twist at the end is unexpected. Cleverly built up this is a great read and I look forward to reading more like this from Dominic Selwood.

Review: Mercy’s Prisoner (Life Prison Volume 1)

~ sharisakurai ~ Leave a comment

Mercy's Prisoner

Mercy’s Prisoner (Life Prison Volume 1) by Dusk Peterson

“‘You have committed a vile and savage act, one that any other nation would punish with death. Our punishment, on the other hand, will only be to give you what you want. You have sought to live in a world without boundaries of civilization, and such a world shall henceforth be your dwelling place.'”

A cold-hearted murderer. A vicious abuser. A young man hiding a shameful secret. A bewildered immigrant. A pure-minded spy.

All of these men have found their appointed places at Mercy Life Prison, where it is easy to tell who your enemies are. But a new visitor to Mercy is about to challenge decades-old customs. Now these men’s worst enemies may be hiding behind masks . . . and so may their closest allies.

A runner-up in the Rainbow Awards 2014, the book bundle “Mercy’s Prisoner” can be read on its own or as the first volume in the Life Prison series. Friendship, desire between men, and the costs of corruption and integrity are examined in this multicultural speculative fiction series, which is inspired by prison life at the end of the nineteenth century.

Purchase Link: Amazon.com

Mercy’s Prisoner on Goodreads

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

Rating: 3 Stars

Mercy’s Prisoner (Life Prison Volume 1) is set inside a 1800s prison called Mercy. It is a life prison and those who are sent there have committed the worst crimes imaginable. They will die in prison; escape is impossible and they will never be freed.

Mercy’s Prisoner is a dark read. The prisoners have committed horrific crimes (such as child murder) and due to this the guards feel it gives them the right to treat them appallingly (they beat and rape them on a regular basis).  This raises some interesting questions in terms of morals; yes the prisoners have done truly terrible things, but does this give their guards the right to treat them terribly in turn?

It’s clear that the author has done their research and has cleverly woven this into an atmospheric and gritty read.

The novel consists of several interlinking stories. The first of which I really enjoyed, but after that I found myself getting lost. By the end I was struggling to understand how the stories all fitted together. However, this is Volume 1 so the ambiguous ending is most likely intentional and will be further explained in later novels.

Overall I did enjoy reading Mercy’s Prisoner. It’s a dark novel with plenty of atmosphere and I would very much like to read later volumes in the series.

Review: The Pushers

~ sharisakurai ~ Leave a comment

The_Pushers

The Pushers (Afterlives #1) by Adam E. Morrison

Choices. We make them every day. But what if one last choice determined your fate? And you didn’t know it?

All it might take is a push in the right direction. Or the wrong one.

The Pushers’ premise involves troubled characters whose existences are altered so that they may fulfil a role never before carried out by humans. The differences between them may determine the fates of many, including themselves.

Purchase Link: Kobo

The Pushers on Goodreads

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

Rating: 2 Stars

When I first read the summary for this novel it had me intrigued, however it wasn’t what I thought it would be at all. I struggled from the beginning to be honest. The novel jumped back and forth between several main characters which resulted in me being unable to form an attachment or liking for any of them. The continuously shifting scenes and viewpoints made it difficult to follow and I nearly gave up at several points as I just struggled to understand what was going on.

Adam E. Morrison is a good writer, but in my opinion the novel needed to be better paced and that more time should have been taken on the storyline as it just felt as though the original direction had been lost. The main characters should have been better developed; they need to have some kind of impact on the reader. As it was I felt indifferent towards them.

By the end of the novel I was left feeling somewhat frustrated and disappointed that I hadn’t been able connect to it and the characters.

Review: Five Suns of Treason

~ sharisakurai ~ Leave a comment

Five_Suns

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.

Review: Arkadium Rising (Brother’s Keeper #1)

~ sharisakurai ~ 2 Comments

Arkadium Rising

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.