The Relatives by Billy White - A Great First Novel From Canada!

The Relatives by Billy White

I received an advance review copy of the book for free and am leaving this review voluntarily.

The Relatives is a sci-fi novel in the sub-genre of colonization. It is very well written with good characters one can relate to, or perhaps even recognize. The world-building suffices to set the story in.

I will admit, it took me a little time at the beginning to get invested in the story. After the first few chapters of exposition, I got into the meat of the story because of the characters and their various individual agendum that carried the story forward at a detailed, moderate pace. For what the tale is about, I found this book relaxing to read, but it was also disturbing in several elements of the story that paralleled recent events. The writing style is to show the story through the actions of the characters, but the action doesn't explode off the page. I enjoyed this style of writing and enjoyed this book.

***Spoilers Ahead***

When a philosophical rift developed on Earth between the leader, known as the Singular Sovereign and the head of a corporation who seeks to colonize other worlds, there are three ships dispatched to a planet suitable for colonization. One ship makes it, another remains in Earth orbit, and another is wandering through deep space.

Move forward to the year 2408. The colony has prospered and is being led by a man named Jordan Graham. He takes a chance and sends a message to the two ships that didn't arrive. The message is received by the wandering ship, and they make their way to join the colony. There is just one small problem: the passengers are infected with a disease called the Shakes. Eager to join the colony, they leave out they are infected and proceed to the colony in a return message.

When they arrive, there is much consternation in Graham's government about the possibility the plague is contagious and will destroy the colony. His solution is to isolate the people on the ship from the colony while others want to learn how this plague was started, and who was responsible. There are also those in the colony who would like to find a cure, and still others who believe it is time for a change in leadership.

Graham, who reserves sole rule over the colony, makes some decisions that have dire consequences. Then when an armada arrives from earth, there could be even more disastrous results if Graham's plan is carried out.

As I mentioned before, what appealed to me were the characters and their development in The Relatives.

Jordan Graham is the narcissistic, charismatic leader of the colony. He is surrounded by advisors who try to advise him, but mostly they are a group of yes-men. If someone has the gall to disagree with him, they will be sacked and shunned. Jordan is very popular amongst many in the colony, but there are those who feel that he, and his relatives time has passed, and it is time to elect a new government. Jordan is quite taken with himself and believes he is infallible. He pays a lot of attention to his appearance and knows how to work a crowd. He has no empathy for others and has no qualms about removing problem people from his scope, should the need arise.

My favorite character was a young woman from the wandering ship, Janey Allen. She is a somewhat naive girl who had known no other life than being aboard the ship. She enjoys cooking for people and is quite accomplished at doing so. When she arrives on the planet, she is full of wonder and comprehends what planet-life can be like, and she enjoys it, including the discovery of a budding relationship with a member of the colony. She is a bright spot in this tale. Unfortunately, her story also is tragic when the plague is discovered.

Gus and Call are two young men in the colony who have graduated to adulthood. They are playful and have fun, but soon learn there is more to life than having fun. They quickly learn how things work on the colony through their experience and begin to believe there needs to be change.

Lorena is a stenographer who has the lofty goal of being in a relationship with Jordan until she learns what he is actually like. She takes it upon herself to investigate the shadier happenings on the colony and is appalled at the things she finds. Her adventures are a series of discoveries that leads her to oppose Jordan, and she finds her opposition carries consequences.

Other characters included in the story are all well written and contribute in various ways to building a complete picture of life under Graham rule.

My favorite point of plot for The Relatives is how it made me think about recent world events and how so much is has been mishandled. The parallels are veiled, but also astoundingly clear, if the reader pays attention. For me, as a reader, this tale is a warning, and I think it will clearly reveal itself as one reads.

My takeaway from The Relatives is to be careful of charismatic leaders who do not have empathy for others. It is important that one who leads believes they are the best person for the job, but they also must remember they are not without human flaw and need to remember the needs of the people they lead. There are no uncomplicated answers when one leads a large population, and those who do must tap into their empathy to be effective.

Another theme that presented itself to me is hard decisions must be carefully considered. There is no room for knee-jerk reactions that hurt people. 

I loved The Relatives for many reasons. I enjoyed the relaxed, moderate pacing as the story unfolded. After a long day, it was nice to just sit down and read a well-written entertaining story that wasn't too much "in-your-face." The characters are interesting and are developed to the point they could be real people. I could hear the voice as they spoke, and each one was an individual with a well thought out personality and backstory. There are characters in this to like, and those to dislike, and they play off each other in fascinating ways. The story unfolds logically and steadily and is easy to understand and follow. I found myself immersed in this and wanted to read on and on.

The Relatives is a story that is complete in itself, not part of a series. I look forward to more of the author's work in the future.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Billy White’s novels include The Relatives (and nothing else—for now!). Billy is a soon-to-be lawyer, meandering giraffe, and novelist, who resides in Toronto, Canada.

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The Controlled by P.J. Willett - What Happens When Schools Go Corporate? Find Out In This Great Debut Novel!

The Controlled by P.J. Willett

I received a copy of this book for free and am leaving this review voluntarily.

Now and then, one reads a book that delves into their very being and creates nightmares. The Controlled is one of those books. This one gets me on two levels. First, as a sci-fi reader, I found this a terrifying story where technology goes wrong and creates a group of relentless monsters who unwillingly want to destroy everything and everyone in their path. However, as a teacher in a public school, it hit me on a different level. This tale is a metaphor for the direction I see education taking; instead of letting those of us who are trained to teach do our jobs, it is the oversight of school boards, parents, and legislatures who want it done their way, even though most haven't even been in a classroom since they graduated from high school.

Now I must apologize because I digress. My view on schools is a subject for another time and place.

This tale definitely scared me as an educator because there is nothing more frightening to a teacher than the concept of the inmates taking charge of the asylum.

From the opening line, I was hooked on this story, not just because it involved my chosen profession, but because it is a well-written story full of swerves and one never knows what will happen on the turn of the next page. It is gritty and graphic; descriptions of violence and its aftermath are plainly shown in the prose and, in themselves, are disturbing.

Be warned, even though this story is about high school-aged students, it is NOT a young adult novel.

Welcome to Rego Ed Site 102 operated by the Rego Corporation.

In the near future, schools will be turned over to corporations and trusted to clean up the mess schools are supposedly in everywhere. Schools are referred to as "sites," and students have become "clients" to receive a much trimmed down curriculum of English, Math, Fundamental Values, and Occupational Preparation. Clients are not divided by grade level, but by how well they perform in school in four levels. There are high, medium, and low performers and at the lowest level are the "subs." Subs are the ones who are incorrigible. They are lacking in respect for any system, and they have deep-seated behavioral problems. Subs are, in a word, rebellious.

Rego's solution to helping the suns integrate into society as useful, contributing citizens is the creation of an app (called CTRL) designed to modify behaviors through a device called a "Halo." The Halo is a VR headset that is used to pacify clients with video such as "The Woodland Parable," an animated depiction of pleasant, calming woodland creatures going about their daily lives. Site directors claim they have had much success with this method of training, but that is the company line all employees (a.k.a. teachers/administrators) are required to repeat of asked.

At some point, something goes wrong with the app and clients go on a rampage of behaviors above and beyond what they have displayed before, and are powerless to stop themselves when in the grips of the app.

The story unfolds through following several principal characters. We get snapshots of their personal lives and then we see how their strengths, or weaknesses, fit into the big picture. Each character has his/her own quirks and things they need to suppress when on the job, which is difficult for some.

Dickie is the CEO (superintendent) of the site. His job is to deal directly with Rego and see to daily operations. He is a nervous sort that no one seems to take seriously. He is arrogant and condescending and is completely out of touch with what is happening on his site.

Sophie is the General Manager (principal) of the site and oversees the teachers and discipline issues. She has a bad home life, but is genuinely wanting to educate clients, but she isn't happy about the way it is currently being handled.

Tom is a teacher who has been traumatized and is returning to work after a long period of recovery from an incident that threatened his career. He is unsure of himself and nervous about the new teaching methods.

Dean and Ren are two clients who are considered subs, but they are not under the control of the CTRL app or have the ability to not be affected by it as others are. They like each other, but Dean has relationship problems. As you read, you will get to know these characters best.

Each character has their own chapter to make their acquaintance and better understand how they think and act.

My favorite point of plot for The Controlled is the focus on each character in their own chapter. Each one is a nearly complete picture of their lives outside of the site and who they are as real people. This technique of writing is one of my favorites because we get a lot of backstory in a small space, and the other chapters allow the author to tell the rest of the story using the unique points of view of the people involved.

Another plot point I enjoyed was the spiraling down into the depths. When I first started reading, I thought I was reading a comedy. I love British humor and the opening chapters struck me as having a tongue-in-cheek feel to them. As the prose moved along, it gradually became darker, with each scene revealing just how serious the whole affair was.

One thing I also noted was how the author focused more on the characters than the sci-fi elements. There isn't a lot of jargon to get through and the purity of the tale is preserved.

My takeaway from this story is to think one can control others are in for a huge disappointment, especially if one is trying to modify behaviors. Education has tried for decades to modify undesirable behaviors and have tried nearly everything, including drugs, with some, but limited success. Perhaps the focus on engaging students by taking the individual into account might be more successful.

Another takeaway is that education should be left to the professionals. Those with the training and understanding might do a better job if they are supported and trusted to do so.

Even though it was a terrifying story to me, I enjoyed it immensely. It is a real page turner that includes a plethora of plot twists and turns that were a delight. The Controlled is a great first novel and I look forward to further work from this author. Again, I will say that this story is not for youngsters. It is full of graphic scenes of violence and injuries to characters. The characters use a lot of language that many will consider inappropriate. None of those points are gratuitous in nature, they are necessary for illustrating the attitudes of the characters. If you can handle those sorts of things, I think one will enjoy this book.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

P.J. Willett is a British born author based in Birmingham. He's been a teacher of Drama, English, and Mats for fifteen years and has written columns for a variety of sports publications for a number of years.

The Controlled is his debut novel - inspired by his years attending and teaching in depraved schools, and his love for science fiction and horror.

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Assassination of Hope: Star Marked Book 2 By Justin Doyle - Another Action Packed Sci/Fi Fantasy Adventure

Assassination of Hope: Star Marked Book 2 by Justin Doyle

Note: This book will be published in September of 2022.

I received a copy of this book for free and am leaving this review voluntarily.

Assassination of Hope is the second in the Star Marked series of Young Adult Sci-Fi/Fantasy Adventure novels by Justin Doyle. It was preceded by Embargo on Hope, which I enjoyed - you can find my review for Embargo HERE.

As with the first book, I also enjoyed Assassination immensely. Sometimes second books in a series can be a letdown from the first, but that is not the case here. It is well paced, written, and edited. If you are into action packed books, this one will appeal to you. There are two things I noted while reading Assassination. One is the growth of the characters. It was great to learn more of the background of Darynn and Fyra, but I think the character that had the most growth was Kaylaa, and it is ironic that Kaylaa was absent for a lot of the story. 

I also was fascinated with the world-building displayed by the author. In this volume, we move from Darynn's home planet to Kaylaa's frozen world where she is in the middle of a fight. The descriptions of the cold and how the characters handled it was well described, and the prose made me see and feel their plight.

I am not a fantasy fan as much as a sci-fi nerd, but I loved the way Justin could bring the science and technology together with magic to produce a plausible story all readers can enjoy. At the top of my list, along with a fine mixing of genres, were the battle scenes. The fights were epic in scope and the author went into great detail to describe them, but not so much as to make them difficult to read. 

Be warned, Assassination is not a standalone story, but a continuation on Embargo, so be sure to read the books to get the full appreciation.

Blurb from the book...

The destruction of the embargo has made Darynn Mark a lot of enemies: an interstellar bounty hunter, the Grand Cardinal, families of the fallen. On top of that, Darynn struggles with his new responsibility to discover the truth behind Vastire’s gods, while battling his growing internal desire to destroy.

Darynn and Fyra must travel to the frozen planet Yiptae to find the final pieces of the gods’ puzzle. But Yiptae has problems of its own, from a violent revolution to the assassination of a key immigrant rights activist. In the middle of it all is Kaylaa, whose mysterious past leads to new opportunities, conflicts, and enemies.

Darynn, Fyra, and Kaylaa must work with new allies to solve the secret to the past while navigating the revolution and solving the murder. If they don’t, they will be buried in a frozen wasteland, and the truths of three worlds will be obscured forever.

The principal characters, Darynn, Fyra, and Kaylaa are all well written and have come alive for me as a reader. All are concerned with justice, but their approaches to obtaining it, or seeing that it is done, are different.

Darynn is a bit of a hothead. He seems to be angry all the time and if someone get in their way, they are going to have trouble. He has a special talent for being a one-man wrecking crew. He leaves destruction in his wake. One thing that keeps him from destroying everything at every turn is his budding relationship with Fyra.

Fyra is a calming influence on Darynn, and they are falling for each other. Their relationship is just beginning, but they do complement each other. On first meeting Fyra, one might think she is a compassionate, gentle fawn who appreciates nature. But don't be fooled by first impressions, she can release some wrath when the occasion calls for it.

Kaylaa is the consummate warrior. She is always ready for a fight, but she also can think and plan her battles. She is intelligent and can see situations develop before acting. Kaylaa also has a soft side she rarely lets out. I was pleased about a reunion in the story involving one who I would have to say is my favorite of the three characters in the triumvirate.

As the principal characters, those three are the best developed, but there are many others, some good, some bad, that have enough development to know and care about.

My favorite point of plot is the marriage between the elements of Sci-Fi and Fantasy. We have space travel and interesting devices that do some amazing things, and I also like the way the magic is handled. I often find magic in a story becoming the deus ex machina used to get a character - or the author - out of a tight situation. Not so here. The magic in the story is always used with good purpose, and used sparingly, making this a character driven story who use science and magic as tools, but not as defining elements.

My takeaway from Assassination is how no matter what one has done in the past, the quest for justice is a never-ending journey fraught with twists and turns. This story is full of surprises, and it is a fun read.

Whether you are a Sci-Fi fan, or a Fantasy fan, there is something in this book for you. It is a story moving at a blinding pace full of characters one can care about, and one can love to hate. Sometimes, one doesn't know what to think about them, but you always discover in the end whether they are trustworthy. The banter between them is always fun and cleverly written and reading Assassination brought a smile to my face or made me laugh out loud several times.

There is also tragedy, great scenes of battle, and some blood and guts descriptions, but they are appropriately written and entertaining.

I recommend this second book in the Star Marked series, but as mentioned earlier, be sure to read the Embargo on Hope first to get the full flavor of the characters and settings.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Justin was born in Galveston, TX and raised in the Houston area. In middle school, he fell in love with two life-long pursuits: space and writing. He knew he wanted to work at NASA and write science fiction / fantasy on the side, and lo and behold, that’s exactly what he ended up doing.

He now works for the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space, who manages the International Space Station National Laboratory. He lives in the Houston area with his wife, daughter, and various small mammals.

Well, there it is...

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