Grave Chronicles Series By Shannon Knight - Epic Sci-Fi/Fantasy

Grave Chronicles Series by Shannon Knight

Just a short post here to spread the word about a great series by my friend, and extraordinary author, Shannon Knight. I've received copies of all three books for free and am writing this review voluntarily.

The Grave Chronicles series is a sci-fi/ fantasy series set in the future. 

It is important to note that these books are not standalone stories. I urge readers to read the series in order to get the full effect of the story.

The first book of the series is Grave Cold. In it, the reader is introduced to some characters appearing throughout the series. The blurb on the back of the book will give one a sense of what to expect...

Something strange is happening in the District of Portland (DP). As a result, a biting cold is spreading out from the city, expanding into the far wilderness, acting as a beacon for ravens. Most people don’t know that when someone dies, they remain trapped within their bodies until a raven, a long-lived person with a duty to the dead, releases them. For some reason, the cold call of death has expanded so far as to reach Nyle, a raven who hasn’t stepped foot into a city for centuries.

Cait, a beautician in DP with a mysterious problem of her own, has been unable to sleep due to the dead invading her dreams. She decides to camp outside the city walls and meets Nyle, who recognizes her as a necromancer and convinces her to smuggle him in. Together, they discover that the dead of DP are being used as an energy source. They must protect the dead and stop the technology from spreading before the abuse of the dead becomes a worldwide menace and they themselves end up on a laboratory table or trapped in a machine.

In the second book, we are introduced to more characters, and ones we already know are greatly developed. For me, the main theme in Death Rights is fighting for justice in a society stripped of the rights of the living and the dead.

In the final book of the series, Memento Mori Station, the reader moves a thousand years into the future. The raven, Nile, still lives and learns there is a place where he must go to help his friend, and correct a mistake he made. It will take a twenty-year space voyage to complete the tasks, but then, what's two decades for someone who has lived for as long as he has? This one is a space opera the likes of which I found to be marvelous!

Shannon's storytelling defies being placed into a single category and should appeal to a wide range of readers. The Grave Chronicles are loaded with allegory, speaking to moral, ethical, and political issues of the past and present, and hopefully, will speak to the future.

Series Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Shannon Knight lives in the Pacific Northwest with her faithful feline, the best cat on this planet. Their adventurous lives include coffee, reading, ribbon games, and K-dramas.

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Black Void: Nowhere To Run By Paul Yantus - Sci-Fi Action And High Adventure On A Global Scale

Black Void: Nowhere to Run by Paul Yantus

It has been quite a few years since I've read a book like this one. Many years ago, I took a deep-dive into the stories of Dirk Pitt as written by author Clive Cussler. I read everything from Cussler I could get my hands on and loved every one of them. Black Void is a story in that tradition, with high adventure on a global scale in the modern era.

It is a fast-paced story with almost no downtime. The science occurs mostly at the beginning of the story, and the rest is characters doing their best to survive as they are chased all around Europe, and into the United States.

I was entertained while reading and didn't want to stop reading.

If you enjoy a tale of high adventure, readers should find this a thrill-ride that is satisfying. Black Void is part of a planned series of books, but this one will standalone, having a definite end point. But the ending blatantly hints at a sequel that I will watch for.

A group of scientists, mathematicians, and computer experts gather at the CERN Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland to test the theories of a Dr. Greene. The project is headed by a brilliant physicist, Dr. Andrea Coster, who believes what Greene has suggested can be done. The object is to prove that the team can create and control a micro black hole in the laboratory. The way it is first envisioned is not working for various reasons, but the team soon comes up with an alternative idea.

Success!

Well, sort of. The team comes up with a method that works, but it is a tad bit bigger than they had hoped it would be. Their discovery does exactly what a black hole is supposed to do, annihilates all the matter in a radius around it. That includes living matter too. Gone without a trace.

There are those who learn about this discovery and have nefarious reasons for wanting it. Andrea wants to make sure the knowledge never falls into the hands of those who want to use it as a weapon. With the help of an ex-soldier, she has to go on the run to protect the world from getting its hands on something very dangerous.

It isn't easy playing keep-away from a large, very wealthy and ambitious group of people who have eyes and ears everywhere. But for the sake of humankind, she and her companion must find a way.

Andrea Coster is a brilliant scientist who has both a professional and a personal stake in seeing the black hole project is a success. She is good at managing the project and is excellent at managing people, unlike her egotistical boss, Dr. Greene. She is relentless in her pursuit of achieving her goals and has skills beyond being a scientist.

Jack Agnew is an ex-soldier who has seen too much and suffers from PTSD. His skills are beyond those of a common grunt. He has had enough of his former life and just wants a job that doesn't require a lot of death and destruction. His story isn't revealed all immediately, but by bits and pieces through the story. He starts out as the team's liaison officer, but becomes a key character in evading his and Andrea's destruction.

Petra Neumann is a wiz with technology who becomes a guardian angel to Andrea and Jack. She starts as a reclusive person, but Andrea befriends her and she opens up. She is also my favorite character in this story.

Petra is not only my favorite character, but her storyline is my favorite plot point. She is so cool and competent, and she knows her stuff. I hope she is back for the sequel!

My takeaway from Black Void is always to be aware of those who bring you gifts, especially ones that are of great benefit. Usually, the things they are doing for you aren't actually for you; they are more to advance their own agendas, and will eventually come with a very high price tag.

This applies to an unfortunate character who appears in the story's opening. 'Nuff said on that.

As I moved through the story, I wondered how much of the science involved actual fact and what was made up. That is when I went to the author's webpage and started doing some exploring (webpage address below). I found that much of what Yantus writes about is based in fact and was impressed by the amount of research he must have done to bring this story to life. As a matter of fact, there is quite a bit of information on the author's page that one will find interesting and informative, but it also might be a little spoilery, so I might suggest one reads the book before exploring the web page.

While I enjoyed this book, I also found a few plot holes and some things that I wasn't clear about. I will not go into detail about my thoughts on this because I do not want to be misunderstood. As I said, I liked this story, and I think a wide range of sci-fi fans and those who like adventure stories will also enjoy it.

I thought the backdrops provided were described well, and I could picture what was going on in my mind as I read.

This is Paul Yantus's first novel, and it is a good one! I cannot wait to see his growth as a storyteller as he continues to develop his craft. To him I say, keep writing; you did great!

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Paul Yantus was born and raised in Detroit. He’s been married for over 30 years and has four children and two dogs.

Paul earned degrees in technology and business. After a successful career as a technology entrepreneur, he has channeled his voracious appetite for technology and science into writing science fiction.

Find more information about Paul and about Black Void on his website: https://paulyantus.com/

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The Photo Jumper (Photo Jumper Series Book 1) by Tony Bible - Low-Tech Sci-fi With A Huge 'Wow' Factor!

The Photo Jumper (Photo Jumper Series Book 1) by Tony Bible

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

At the outset, I have only one word to describe this book - WOW!

The Photo Jumper is an amazing tale of a man with a special ability allowing him to visit the past by jumping into photographs. This is a character-driven tale of Allister, who has an ability even he doesn't completely understand. It is extremely well written with characters that a reader can care about, descriptions of the settings that come alive, and it is emotionally charged, running a full gamut of the emotional spectrum. I was absorbed in this story from the moment I started reading all the way to the end. This is one of the best books I have read this year so far. Not to be missed.

Allister McClamroch is, more or less, an ordinary guy with an extraordinary ability; he can jump into and out of photographs at will. He can interact with others in those images, and he can even take inanimate objects into and out of photos. While he cannot bring people with him, he can relive old moments and enjoy new experiences that enrich him. There are rules he cannot break. He cannot go into a photo and stay there forever.

But not all is fun and games for him. There are consequences for actions, both good and bad. 

In the real world, he has his share of problems. He is a lonely person, and at times seems like a tragic character. He has a sense of responsibility and works hard to take care of those obligations, sometimes falling short. One thing he is dealing with is an obsession over the death of a high school friend. Allister is determined to see his friend and his friend's family receive the justice that is their due.

But there is also so much more to this tale.

Grayson is a cop. He is also Allister's friend and confidant. The two work to solve cold cases while Allister works to become a private investigator. Then there's Mila. A woman Allister meets completely by chance who becomes someone special in Allister's life.

All the characters in this book are believable as people one might meet anywhere, and they come alive as the reader gets deeper into this tale.

My favorite plot point in Photo Jumper involves character transformation. Every photo Allister jumps into becomes a real place for him, but when he jumps out, everything is reset to what it was before he jumped in. Not only is this a great plot device, but it affords the principal character an opportunity to reflect on his decisions and even make things right for himself. It is difficult to explain without spoiling important aspects of the story, so I'll just leave this right here.

The primary theme of the book, and my takeaway, is while one can be obsessed by past situations, there is always hope for a better future if one can focus on the things in life that are important. The author sums it up in a quote from Buddha: "In the end, only three things matter: how much you loved, how gently you lived, and how gracefully you let go of things not meant for you."

Or perhaps another quote that applies is from Star Trek. Mr. Spock observes in the episode entitled Amok Time...

"After a time, you may find that having is not so pleasing a thing after all as wanting. It is not logical, but it is often true."

The Photo Jumper is a well written, highly entertaining sci-fi adventure. I was mesmerized from the start and was never bored, nor did I run into anything that took me out of the story. It unfolds much like a movie would in the reader's mind. The tale is loaded with twists and turns, and I didn't find anything predictable. There are some disturbing moments of violence, but those were not gratuitous and helped to move the story along. The science fiction is on the lighter side, so there are no long-winded explanations of how things work, and there isn't a lot of jargon to bog down the flow of the story. It is one fine story I can recommend for any reader; it has everything one can want from an engaging reading experience. Highest Recommendations!

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

"Writing stories like no other."

Tony's passion is writing science fiction and fantasy with an emotional punch. Raised with humble beginnings in Georgia, his early childhood limited travel. The only way to experience other places was with voracious reading and imagination. He draws inspiration from fantasy/fiction genres, dreams, comics, the supernatural, and roleplaying games. He applies his degree in world history to deliver relatable but unpredictable storytelling that readers demand.

Tony is never not writing, but breaks away to burn new recipes in the kitchen, neglect chores to obsess over football, and play with his dog. He is based in San Antonio, Texas, happily married, raising two children, and works in the financial industry.

Tony has a lot of future work in progress. Check out his web page at https://tonybible.com/ for more information.

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