Star Trek #21 - Uhura's Song By Janet Kagan - Didn't Love It & Didn't Hate It

Star Trek #21 - Uhura's Song by Janet Kagan

I found this book through an offer by the publisher offering it and others on Amazon for a bargain price.

I'm kind of on the fence about this book. I didn't hate it or love it. The plot is good; I like the idea of the Enterprise called to aid people in distress. That is what the Federation is about. On the other hand, I had a tough time getting all the way through the story and considered not finishing it a few times.

I think there are just too many words in this book. It seemed to have a lot of filler and unnecessary banter between characters. There is a lot of dialog broken up with a few scenes of action.

The USS Enterprise is sent to a planet populated by a feline race, where a deadly disease is escalating. Dr. McCoy and Nurse Chapel beam down to the planet and begin searching for a cure but are having little success. A cure becomes even more urgent when it is learned the disease is jumping species and humans are also infected. They learn about a possible cure on a faraway planet where the felines are originally from. Kirk leads the Enterprise to that planet where Uhura learns about a song that tells about the cure in its last verse. Unfortunately, Kirk and company may not hear the last verse because they are not considered adults on this planet. In order to be adults, one has to make a five-day trek through treacherous territory and survive. Kirk, Spock, Chekov and Uhura are guided by two felines through the walk. They encounter numerous obstacles along the way in the effort to discover a cure to take back.

All the regulars of the Enterprise crew are present for this romp, with a few new characters. I thought the regulars were written well and recognized their voice in the text. The feline characters were a different culture and were well developed as the story unfolds, but I felt the author might have dwelt too much on them and their culture.

One character that helped the story move forward was Dr. Evan Wilson. She took over as chief medical officer when McCoy was left behind to search for a cure to the disease. She has a great sense of humor and enjoyed perplexing Spock; they shared a light-hearted relationship where Spock usually got the short end of the stick. Her scenes with Kirk were also funny and helped with the pacing of the story. There were several moments where the author seemed to hint at a romantic relationship between her and Kirk, but thank goodness, it didn't get that far. It would have been the point at which I would have not read on to the end. Dr. Wilson is also a mysterious character. No one seems to know where she comes from, and it is never really explained to my satisfaction who or what she actually is.

With the title, Uhura's Song, I was expecting a story centering on Nyota Uhura. It didn't happen - it was all about Kirk, Spock, and Wilson (taking the place of McCoy). I found the title misleading causing me even more disappointment.

I had difficulty understanding exactly what the plot of the story was. At the beginning, the disease seemed to be the main plot of the book, but as I read on, that appeared to become a subplot. Then the main plot of the book became the culture of the feline race and their interactions. It was a little confusing, and I found myself wanting to tell the author to find a point and make it. There wasn't anything that stood out to me as a main plot as I meandered through this.

If there was an intended dominant theme, it was also lost on me. Is it about people helping others with a difficult situation? Is it a first contact story? Or is it a coming-of-age story? Perhaps I missed the point altogether.

Uhura's Song was a book I neither hated nor loved. It didn't hold my attention, and I had a hard time getting through the entire story. I felt it was too long and had too many details. I felt the title didn't represent the story well and was looking for a story featuring Uhura, but she was more of a side note. If you are a reader that enjoys stories that has some good world-building, this one has it. If you like cultural first contact stories, this is the one for you. If you enjoy a good solid Trek story, the premise is good, but the execution is lacking.

Writing is hard. Please don't misunderstand and think I am trashing the author. Kagan was a brilliant writer. There is a lot of positive in this book, and one cannot argue against an author who wins Hugo awards for her writing. This one just didn't excite me as much as I hoped.

                                    Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

Janet Kagan (1946-2008) was an American author. Her works include two science fiction novels and two science fiction collections, plus numerous science fiction and fantasy short stories that appeared in publications such as Analog Science Fiction and Fact and Asimov's Science Fiction.

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Skybound By Lou Iovino - What Would Happen If The Earth Stopped Spinning? Here's One Possibility

 Skybound by Lou Iovino

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Skybound is an apocalyptic Sci-FI novel exploring the events following the appearance of a mysterious object appearing above the Earth and apparently causing a complete breakdown of the laws of physics. This event, as one might expect, throws the entire planet into chaos as people speculate the nature of the object.

Overall, I found Skybound an entertaining story with a lot of strengths and a few weaknesses. I liked the characters and their development; they are people I grew to care about and what happened to them. I liked the story for the most part.

What I call weaknesses are just some personal, nit-picky stuff that I will not dwell on because the story is worth a read.

Life in Franklin, Colorado, goes along as usual. Two lifelong friends, Father Michael Williams and Deputy Jimmy Bell, have coffee and pie at the Crispy Biscuit Diner when Father Williams finishes confession.

At nearby Peterson Air Force Base, a class of students from the high school is taking a tour guided by Noel Williams. Her job is to track and adjust the orbits of communication satellites in geosynchronous orbit.

In low earth orbit, the International Space Station under the command of Yanez Prescott continues research in its labs.

Life goes on normally until a peculiar, giant object suddenly appears above the Earth and the planet stops spinning on its access. Chaos breaks forth as Father Mike's church collapses, the diner burns catches fire, Noel sees the satellites she is in charge of drifting out their orbits, and so does the ISS.

The result is a fight for survival and to understand what has happened.

The major strength of Skybound is its characters. There are no superhumans among them. They are all people who are believable and can care about. Most of them do their best to cope with the situation, while some have a few problems. Of all the principal characters, my favorite was more in a supporting role as opposed to being a major character.

Aster Meekins (aster is the Greek word for star) is one of the students on the tour of Noel's lab at Peterson AFB. At first, she is quiet and unassuming. She is a science nerd and not one of the popular kids in school. Mostly self-taught, she becomes important in the story as an assistant to Noel as events unfold. She is smart and knows her stuff, but Aster also offers a lighter side to the story because of her teenage wisdom. I felt bad for her because she would have had a brilliant future as a scientist.

Another favorite character was Astronaut Yanez Prescott. She is not only the commander of the ISS, but she is also a military pilot, and a tough character when she needs to be. Her survival story is both heart wrenching and heroic at the same time. Following her from the station carrying what she thinks will be vital information on the object to the conclusion of her segment is compelling. 

My favorite point of plot in Skybound revolves around the relationship between Aster and Noel. They have to work together to keep the flow of information going in an old radio station. During that time, they develop a close friendship. There isn't a lot of humor in the story, but what there is happens mostly between those two.

I enjoyed this mostly character driven story. There was some questionable science in a few places, but then again, it seemed the object that appeared in the sky may have messed with physics and changed things significantly. My major reservation with Skybound was with the ending of the story. I will not spoil it, but I have to say it left me a bit unsatisfied and bewildered.

Other than that, I recommend it for the reasons I mentioned before. Fine, well-developed characters, good dialog, and interesting situations and puzzles to solve.

As I read, I couldn’t stop thinking about how it felt a lot like another book I’d read by Niven & Pournelle a while back.

It is a very good first novel.

Lou Iovino is a ten-year veteran of the comics industry. He is the co-creator of THE LAST WEST, a two-volume graphic novel available exclusively on Comixology. He has also written for Zenescope Entertainment on several of their flagship titles including ROBYN HOOD, VAN HELSING, GRIMM TALES OF TERROR and RED AGENT.

His debut novel SKYBOUND is available now at Amazon and on Kindle and Kindle Unlimited.

In days gone by, Lou taught basic, advanced, and technical writing and world classics at Rutgers University. He is currently teaching advertising at Villanova University.

He lives in New Jersey with his wife and two sons.

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The Exodus Betrayal By N.C. Scrimgeour - Thrilling Sci-Fy/Cyber Punk

The Exodus Betrayal by N.C. Scrimgeour

I received an advance review copy free; I am leaving this review voluntarily.

The Exodus Betrayal is a sci-fi thriller/cyber punk novel that is well written, exciting, and difficult to put down. I especially enjoyed the strong female principal character, Alvera Renata. The story is told from her first-person perspective revealed with the first line of the book, "Welcome to my head." What follows is a fast-moving story of betrayal and intrigue. The story is not overly long and there is no filler. There are lots of unexpected twists and turns to add to the suspense contained within. I just think it is a splendid book, and it is well worth looking at.

Warrant Hunter (bounty hunter) Alvera Renata lives on the planet New Pallas. It is a dismal place where corporations pay low wages to do very dangerous jobs. The "sletes" (short for Obsoletes) work in mines extracting various materials for the corporations on an upper level of the planet called the Spire. The sletes slave away without adequate food and no access to medicine, they have no other choice. Over everything is a mysterious space station orbiting above the planet. No one really knows what it is doing there, or who occupies it because anytime someone tried to travel to it, they are killed before they can even get close.

Alvera doesn't care for the way the common folk of the planet are treated and feels an urge to make changes. But she is only one person. It's going to be an arduous task, if not impossible.

As is mentioned in the book's prologue, Alvera wishes she had a mind of her own. She has cybernetic implants that enhance her abilities, but she is also monitored and receives messages through her tech. The sad thing about Alvera is she really doesn't have an identity she can call her own, and even worse, she doesn't know it. She is tough and determined and has made a few enemies during her time on the job. Even though she is tough, she also has compassion. She cares about the people on the planet's surface wand believes everyone should have an equal opportunity to reach their potential. Unfortunately, her ambitions are controlled by a man who is the embodiment of evil. His name is Ryce.

Ryce has no redeeming qualities. He is controlling, manipulative, and knows just how to make Alvera do things he wants her to do, and things she doesn't want to. He sees no value in the lives of the sletes. Ryce is the ultimate user and doesn't care who is hurt. He is a brilliantly written villain, and I disliked him from the first time he was introduced in the story.

My favorite point of the plot is how Alvera grows as she learns more about herself. She is secure in who she is until she learns a key point about her past. It throws her into a lot of self-doubt, but she copes with it. With the story told in the first-person point of view, we get a lot of insight into her putting pieces together, but she never loses sight of her goal. A victim of deception and betrayal are only obstacles for her to remove.

My major takeaway from Betrayal is the good versus evil trope in this book. Ryce is the epitome of evil in this story, while Alvera is the good. The only problem is, sometimes even good must revert to evil tactics to be successful. Alvera is not beyond stooping as low as Ryce to advance her cause, the only difference is Alvera frequently has regrets for what she is forced to do. 

The blurb from the back cover mentions a comparison with Blade Runner. AI read I had that noir kind of feeling all the way through. It just seems like Alvera had way too many things against her to succeed. Other things I appreciated was the world building the author presented. She does a great job of showing a story that unfolds like a film in one's mind with visuals and descriptions that are vivid, but not overstated.

I recommend The Exodus Betrayal as a finely crafted Sci-Fi story with a strong female lead to rival any I have seen so far.

N. C. Scrimgeour is a science fiction and fantasy author whose books focus on character-driven stories in vibrant worlds, from folklore fantasy to space opera.

After completing her Masters in English Literature, she went on to work in journalism and marketing and communications while pursuing her passion for writing.

When she’s not working on her books, she enjoys playing story-driven RPGs, watching and reading all things science fiction and fantasy, and getting outdoors with the dog for a good walk!

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An Audience For Einstein by Mark Wakely - An Amazing Character Driven Young Adult Science Fiction Must Read!

An Audience for Einstein by Mark Wakely

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

I found this book on the BookSirens site. What immediately caught my attention was the cover art and the title. The blurb sealed the deal, and I downloaded it. I've since read An Audience for Einstein and was mesmerized from the first page. This is an incredible treatment of the old sci-fi trope of transferring memories from one being to another. It is young-adult sci-fi book I would say is appropriate for 7th grade readers and up. Don't be fooled by the designation young adult. Anyone who is just looking for a great story to enjoy will enjoy this one, no matter the age, or what genre you enjoy. 

Percival Marlowe is a retired professor and Nobel laureate, dying from old age.

Dr. Carl Dorning is a former neurosurgeon turned researcher.

Miguel Sanchez is a street urchin who hangs out with older boys who spend their days on the streets panhandling for cash.

So, what do these three people have in common? Dr. Dorning's research is to prolong life by transferring one person's memories to others. He receives funding from Dr. Marlowe to continue his research and have his memories transferred to someone younger so he can continue his groundbreaking discoveries in astrophysics. Thinking Miguel has no family or future, Dorning chooses Miguel to inherit not only Marlowe's property, but his memories as well.

Dorning delivers an amazing sales pitch to Miguel, but doesn't tell him everything. One small detail Dorning leaves out is, if what he plans to do is successful, Miguel will no longer exist while Marlowe continues to live; Miguel will become Marlowe.

Miguel is not a bad kid, but he is in a bad situation as far as his family life is concerned. His situation leaves him vulnerable to be exploited by Dorning. He never seems to trust Dorning, but the promises made to him are so appealing, he doesn't want to pass it up. He believes it will not only help him but will help his family as well. He is scared, but really has no place else to go. Miguel meets Dr. Marlowe, and they have a friendly relationship, visiting together about many things.

Dr. Marlowe is old and frail. He doesn't have long to live, and he's made a deal with the devil in the person of Dorning. He also doesn't know all of what will happen when his intellect is transferred to Miguel. If he did, he most likely wouldn't go through with the procedure.

Dr. Carl Dorning quit his career as a neurosurgeon to pursue his idea on mind transfer. He lives alone in a home with a full laboratory in his basement, funded mostly by Marlowe. His character is strange in that, as a reader, I liked the guy one minute and despised him the next. He seems to care for both Miguel and Marlowe, but he actually only cares for his work and its success. It is more of an obsession than a research project and this make him scary.

All three characters are well developed, and in the case of Miguel and Marlowe, they are people the reader can care about and a young reader might actually empathize with Miguel at some level. As far as Dorning is concerned, he comes across as somewhat of a snake-oil salesman who convinces others his motivations are noble, but his only motivation is a successful outcome to his project and his own fame once he releases his findings.

My favorite point of the plot in An Audience for Einstein is when we meet Miguel's family and see that they aren’t the people they are assumed to be. I found my own implicit bias causing me to make judgements about his mom and dad and thinking he might be better off with Dorning. I was pleased to learn his parents do care about him and are working toward making a better life for themselves and Miguel as well.

What I am taking away from this book is the theme of one's identity. Dorning justifies taking Miguel's identity by deeming him as one who has no potential. As far as he is concerned, Miguel will be given a gift that will improve his life. He is, in essence, plotting the murder of one human being's personality in favor of making them someone who they were not meant to be. On the other hand, Miguel thinks he and Marlowe will live sharing personalities. When he learns the truth, he asserts he wants to be who he is, free to explore his own potential. Dorning is not just unethical, he is criminal, and one might even find him pathological. Along with Miguel, Marlow doesn't have all the facts, but when he learns the eventual outcome intended by Dorning, he also rejects the taking of another life to enhance his own.

I was fascinated with An Audience for Einstein from the first page and the book held my interest and attention all the way through the end. There isn't any filler in this story, and it moves at a lightning speed. There is a lot in it to provoke thought on many levels and I think it is a wonderful story to introduce a young person to the world of Science Fiction. There isn't a lot of jargon the wade through, the language is plainly written on a level anyone can enjoy. The characters are well written and real. They will elicit emotions and reactions in the reader's mind.

I looked on Wakely's web page and found he has done his homework on the science in the story. There is an actual scientific hypothesis on the idea of memory transfer. Follow this link to see the basis for that part of the story: http://www.anaudienceforeinstein.com/from-the-author.html

The author also provides resources for teachers who may like to use An Audience for Einstein in their classes. Follow this link for those resources: http://www.anaudienceforeinstein.com/resources-for-educators.html

I recommend this book for anyone who enjoys a good story whether or not a sci-fi fan. Five Stars.

Mark Wakely has held a lifelong interest in all things science-related, dating back to high school when he won the Bausch & Lomb science award in high school. Mark holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and is a college administrator at prestigious Elmhurst College in Elmhurst, Illinois. He lives in a nearby town with his wife and three children, and is an avid reader and amateur astronomer.

Here is a link to the author's blog: https://markwakelyauthor.blogspot.com/

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Star Trek: TNG: The Battle Of Betazed By Charlotte Douglas and Susan Kearney - A Desparate Struggle For Freedom

Star Trek: The Next Generation: The Battle of Betazed by Charlotte Douglas and Susan Kearney

The Deep Space Nine episode, In the Pale Moonlight (Season 6, Episode 19), Captain Benjamin Sisko mentions several happenings during the Dominion War, including the fall of Betazed. As far as the television episodes are concerned, the reference in Pale Moonlight is all we get on what had happened to the home world of Deanna Troi.

In The Battle of Betazed, authors Charlotte Douglas and Susan Kearney, tell the tale of the liberation of the planet under siege by Cardassian and Dominion forces. I love when a reference in the television episodes is picked up by authors and fleshed out in a book. Here, readers are treated to a TNG story with a lot of characters we know while introducing new characters we see for the first time. It is also fun to see familiar characters perform when they are forced out of their comfort zones, which is the case in this story.

I found Battle securely seated in the Star Trek universe. As I read, the story unfolded, as one might expect, with some fascinating twists along the way. It is an entertaining story from the start and the action doesn't let up until the end. It is well worth the time to read.

The Battle of Betazed is told with stories from three points of view. First are the happenings on the planet Betazed itself, focusing on Lwaxana Troi and a group of refugees/resistance fighters who struggle for survival. Next, on the planet Darona (the 6th planet in the Betazed system) lives a mass-murderer who can kill with his thoughts. Finally, Cardassian scientist Crell Moset conducts research on Sentok-Nor, a space station in orbit around the planet Betazed.

Betazed is occupied by fifty thousand Jem'Hadar troops who oppress the population. They are brutal in their administration of the population. With the planet blockaded, food and medicine supplies are becoming less by the day. Lwaxana Troi is the leader of a group of refugees who have taken shelter in a cave undetectable to the Jem'Hadar. Children are falling victim to Rigelian Fever because of a shortage of the drug Reytalyn. In a desperate attempt, a messenger is sent to ask for help from the Federation. The messenger is killed, but the message is received. The USS Enterprise is charged with the mission of liberating Betazed.

Hent Tevren is serving a life sentence in a maximum-security prison for the criminally insane on Darona. With the help of Commander Vaughn, Deanna Troi is charged with breaking Tevren out of the prison and taken to Betazed to teach other telepaths how to use his malevolent psionic talent for murder against the Jem'Hadar. Deanna worries how doing this will forever change the people of her planet from the nonviolent race they are.

Nor class space station, Sentok-Nor, orbits the planet Betazed. Commanding officer Gul Lemec does his best to maintain and support the occupation of the planet. He is also constantly clashing with Dr. Moset, a scientist who found the cure for a deadly disease. He is considered a monster by the people of Bajor for killing their people to find that cure. Only he really understands what the nature of his research is, but considering his history, the cost will be astronomically high.

These three story threads weave together into a tapestry that is very satisfying and will be appreciated by Trek afficionados.

Most of the characters in this story behave as one might expect. The authors do a fine job capturing the nuances of Picard, Riker, and the rest. The most notable changes are Deanna Troi and her mother Lwaxana. Deanna has been raised to reject violence to solve problems. When the existence of her people is threatened, she has to accept that meeting violence with violence is the only way to save the society on her home planet. There comes a point in the story where she must take command and make decisions contrary to her nature as a Betazoid. She is forced to set aside her principals to achieve her goal which takes as much courage as it does to carry out acts of necessary violence against a foe whose very nature is violence. Deanna is well written, and readers should find her character dynamic and compelling.

When we see Lwaxana in the television series, she is mostly something of a free spirit full of joviality. It is fun watching her pick on Picard, chase after her next husband, and interact with characters that may find her a little hard charging. But in this story, she is also forced to step out of character and become a leader. According to the authors, she is emaciated because of the food shortage and worry. She is also forced into making distasteful decisions to ensure the survival of her people, but she accepts the task. Gone is the joviality we are used to, but only for a while.

Two of the principal antagonists of Battle are Dr. Moset and Tevren.

In the Voyager episode, Nothing Human (Season 5, Episode 8), the Doctor calls on a holographic representation of a Cardassian doctor who is notorious for infecting thousands of Bajoran citizens with a disease to find the cure for the same disease for his own people. On the space station Sentok-Nor, Moset, considered a hero by the Cardassians, is conducting research for the Dominion. In the mind of this megalomaniacal doctor, nothing matters but his research. Anyone who dies under his watch is nothing more than a means to an end. He doesn't see himself as evil, which makes matters even worse. He believes he is justified no matter who is hurt.

Deanna encounters Tevren early in her career as a psychologist as an intern to the maximum-security facility on Darona. During that time, she found him to be evasive and condescending. Later, when she has to encounter him again, she learns just how irredeemable he is. Through most of the book, he is only referred to by name and why he is needed to help liberate Betazed. What Deanna doesn't know is just how deeply she will be affected by being in proximity to this person.

The predominant theme in Battle of Betazed I found was how people may have to step away from the things they believe in to achieve a goal, no matter how uncomfortable it may be. With this story, the people of Betazed, a normally peaceful people opposed to the taking of life, find they may have to kill the Jem'Hadar soldiers just to survive. The Jem'Hadar are genetically engineered to take life without thought or remorse. The Betazoid people are left with little choice if they want to remain a coherent society. While they seem willing to do this, they also wonder what the consequences may be once the crisis is averted.

As I read this book, I had a feeling I had read some of this before. I knew I had never read this particular story before, even so, I knew some of what I was reading was related to something I had read in the past. What I found was I read a story with a similar flavor from Keith DeCandido. In the collection Tales of the Dominion War, there is a short story penned by Keith titled The Ceremony of Innocence is Drowned featuring several of the same characters in The Battle of Betazed. 

At any rate, I deeply enjoyed this book and recommend it for readers who enjoy Trek lore and are looking for something they may have overlooked. It is a well-written roller coaster ride resolving a question posed in the Deep Space Nine television series. The characters we do not know are well developed and we understand their motivations for being involved. The three elements of the story are woven together and come to a fine conclusion with a plot twist I found unexpected.

Five stars for The Battle of Betazed!

Charlotte Douglas has loved a good story since she learned to read at the age of three. After teaching that love of books to her students, she now enjoys creating stories of her own. Often her books are set in one of her three favorite places - Montana where she and her husband spent their honeymoon; the mountains of North Carolina, where she has a summer home; or Florida, near the Gulf of Mexico on Florida's west coast, where she's lived most of her life.

Susan Kearney, a native of New Jersey, writes full time and has sold books to the industries' top publishing houses - Grand Central, Tor, Simon & Schuster, Harlequin, Bell Bridge Books, Berkley, Leisure, Red Sage, and Kensington. As an award-winning author, Kearney earned a Business Degree from the University of Michigan. Kearney's knowledge and experience spans throughout the romance genre, and her fifty plus books include contemporary, romantic suspense, historical, futuristic, science fiction, and paranormal novels. She resides in a suburb of Tampa - with her husband, kids, and Boston terrier. Currently she’s plotting her way through her 54th work of fiction.

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Embargo On Hope: Star Marked Book 1 By Justin Doyle - Sci-Fi and Fantasy Go Together To Make A Fascinating Story Of A Young Man Coming Of Age

Embargo on Hope: Star Marked Book 1 by Justin Doyle

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. Embargo on Hope will be released to the public on August 20, 2021 but is available for pre-order.

Recently, I received a review request from author Justin Doyle for his first major work, Embargo on Hope. It is the opening story of a trilogy in his new Star Marked series.

Embargo is a young adult, sci-fi/fantasy story set in the future on the planet Vastire.

I am not a fantasy fan for the most part, so if I read a book in that genre, it must be good, really good. I would say that this one qualifies as one I enjoyed. It moves at a comfortable pace and isn't bogged down with a lot of technical language. The reader will pretty well understand everything. Some of the character names will take a little getting used to, but I also found them to be clever. The story is well written with a good amount of world building I particularly enjoyed. I thought the ending was pretty amazing, and of course, it is open-ended, but it is also a story complete in itself. 

A governing body called the Planetary Alliance has placed the planet Vastire under an embargo. No goods, services, or people may leave or go to the surface of the planet for any reason. In order to enforce the sanction, other members of the Alliance are required to provide ships to blockade the planet.

On the planet, conditions are in a constant state of deterioration. A religious sect has imposed a caste system on Vastire. The lowest of the castes is the Olan-Har. Subsequently, they are the ones who suffer the most. The people of this cast have no access to food, water, or medicine. They are despised by all other castes and have fallen to a survivalist state of existence. They are constantly in conflict with themselves, and people live in bombed-out buildings and are forced to forage or beg to survive.

Darynn Mark is a member of the Olan-Har and is not happy with what he sees happening on his planet. When he meets up with Kaylaa Reesae, he is compelled to bring down the imposed caste system. In order to do that, he, Kaylaa and his best friend's sister, Fyra, go on a quest to get answers. Unfortunately, the way to where they need to go is fraught with people and beasts who make things difficult for the trio.

The story is told from the first-person point of view of Darynn. He is a tough, streetwise kid who can handle himself in a fight. He doesn't hesitate to kill, but as his character grows, he shows signs of remorse. His motivation through most of the book is to learn facts about his father, a great "Shard" warrior in his time (Shard is the planet's police force. They investigate and apprehend offenders). Darynn is uneducated, but he is bright and able to think for himself. When he is joined by Kaylaa, he realizes his mission in life is the same as his father's was - to break the caste system and achieve equality for all the people of Vastire, but especially for the people of his caste, the Olan-Har.

Kaylaa, a native of another planet in the Planetary Alliance, has been assigned to help Darynn through his quest of discovery. She is a skilled warrior packing a matched pair of plasma rapiers. She has a tendency not to show emotion but believes in the cause. Kaylaa is smart, she plans how the trio (including her, Darynn and Fyra) can best cope with difficult situations. 

Fyra is a compassionate young woman and is also Darynn's  love interest. She is devout in Vastire's dominant religious beliefs. She is wholly opposed to violence resulting in death but can understand how it is sometimes necessary for survival. Her brother was Darynn's best friend until he was accidentally killed while foraging for medicine to cure some ailment she had at the beginning of the story. If she has feelings beyond friendship and camaraderie for Darynn, she doesn't let it show, much to his dismay. Fyra is not well trained in combat, but she is smart, having completed some college education.

I have two favorite points in Embargo. The unfortunate thing is, if I talk about them, they will make up major story spoilers. I'll just say that one point involves a character's discovery of the past, and, the other, a battle resulting in achieving a goal.

Aside from that, a plot point I picked up on involved the three principal characters. To me, it seemed like Kaylaa and Fyra were like the two different sides of Darynn. Kaylaa being the logical, impassionate planner, while Fyra was the awakening compassionate side. While they were absolutely fine characters y themselves, I couldn't help thinking the same things I thought when Spock and McCoy reflected the different sides of Kirk in Original Series Star Trek. But unlike Trek, the conflicting sides analogy is far more subtle in Embargo, but it was there for me, nonetheless.

The dominant theme of Embargo is a young man comes of age by learning his life's purpose. Darynn strives to figure out his purpose in life is to improve his world by fighting injustice in the best way he can. His journey is a difficult one, and he feels quite alone in his quest, but he isn't. It will take a major victory, making him a rallying point to motivate others to action.

While not a fan of fantasy, I found much of this story in that genre. I mentioned this to the author who explained he is mixing two genres, Sci-Fi and Fantasy. He told me to imagine "Middle Earth on Tatooine." Well, after thinking about that, it makes sense, and this is definitely a synthesis of two different types of stories. The thing is, I enjoyed this story and was fascinated by the diversity of characters. The story is pretty intense in the beginning and end with a stretch of many varied trials and challenges to overcome in the middle. I recommend this story as something both sci-fi and fantasy fans will enjoy. It is loaded with satisfying moments for both types of fans.

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 are with his wife, daughter, and various small mammals.

See Justin's web page: https://starmarked.mailchimpsites.com

Well, there it is...

Qapla!

Optima Terra: The Many Lives Of Darren Decko - The Light Side Of Sci-Fi - Entertaining Dystopian/Utopian Story - You Decide

Optima Terra: The Many Lives of Darren Decko by Scott Simms

Optima Terra means Perfect World according to (Canadian?) author Scott Simms. The book is a light sci-fi tale that is both dystopian and utopian at the same time. Strange, right? Well, it is a strange story. I enjoyed this book and the adventures of Darren, the principal character, who finds himself in a myriad of bizarre situations.

What attracted me to this book was the cover - not because it was fancy, but because it was so minimalist in its design. The other element attracting my attention was the blurb - it just seemed like something I would enjoy.

The story opens with a seventeen-year-old Darren Decko in school. It spans his life through age twenty-six. During this time, Darren faces many challenges to him, both mentally and physically, while he strives to achieve the Gold status. The idea is to mount up points on his smart phone (or his "life card") through his performance on the jobs he is assigned. While in school, he meets the love of his life, a young woman named Rachel. In this highly regulated world, there are no guarantees people will see each other as they pass from one "Rotation" to another. A Rotation lasts 121 days. At the end of a rotation, all those except for skilled people - doctors, scientists, etc. - move from one place to another and perform different jobs or attend different schools as assigned by their life card.

Darren's life goal is to spend his life with Rachel, and he will do anything it takes to make that happen, including bringing down the Rotation System.

The story follows Darren for nine years of his life. He is a good person who is curious about the history of his world. He wants to understand the how and why of where he is. While he enjoys the benefits of the system, he is also dismayed by it because he does not know of his family. Family becomes very important to him as he gets hints about the world before the "New Era." When he meets Rachel, he wants to spend the rest of his life with her, but the system won't allow that. So, he decides the system needs to be changed. Darren is not the only one who wants change, there are many others who feel the same as he does. He decides the system need to be changed for everyone.

The key thing I enjoyed about the plot of this story was the elaborate and detailed world building by Simms. The plot unfolds through the backdrop of a world that provides everything people need to have a satisfying life within certain guidelines.

When a person finished school, they are sent into the workforce in the Rotation System. Everyone gets a new life every 121 days under the system. They are provided a place to live, complete with clothing, food, and an assigned job. Job assignments are sent to people on the first day of the new rotation. In one rotation, a person might be a garbage collector. In the next, they may find themselves a CEO of a major corporation. The training for these positions is provided while on the job, so it's a little stressful on the first days of an assignment.

Points are earned and awarded for adequate performance on the job, but points can also be taken away for poor performance or by committing an infraction of rules. Everyone is monitored by an army of flying robots - "bots" as they are referred to - and these bots may take points for rule infractions, failure to comply, or they may even hand out punishment.

Smart phones are vital to the citizens. They get information on their assignments on them as well as keep track of points on them. Phones are also a means of communication and work pretty much as they do for us today. One can store information, photos, locations of others on the devices, but they are wiped between rotations.

The world itself, Earth in the distant future, is a global community with no apparent government. There are no wars or conflicts, no environmental difficulties, and most people seem content with their situations. There are those who choose not to live within the system, and they are reduced to a low level of subsistence, barely squeaking out a living. Others not in the system have formed communities where they live an agrarian lifestyle that is difficult, but it is free.

A map of the planet is included at the front of the book to help one orient themselves as the story unfolds.

I'm not sure, but I think one of the themes the author wanted readers to think about is the dependance we have on technology in our world. Everything and everyone in Optima Terra is heavily reliant on tech. Everyone is monitored throughout their entire lives and the only thing that still seems private in life is one's own inner thoughts. As mentioned before, all the most basic necessities of life are provided for, but there is more to life than shelter and food. The society in this story has turned their lives over to the whatever power determines the rotations in the system. There are no long-term relationships on Optima Terra. Even how children are brought into existence is highly regulated. As I think about the world presented in this book, I know it is a place I would not want to live in. So, I think Simms is warning us to be careful to make sure technology remains a tool, and that we don't give up too much of our existence to it.

While the theme of machine control over humanity is usually framed as post-apocalyptic in most sci-fi, that is not the case in Optima Terra. This is a light sci-fi story meant to entertain more than frighten the reader and the writer did a good job incorporating humor in the text. Along with humor, there are many poignant moments, especially as Darren interacts with Rachel, and others important to him.

I recommend this story for those who want a relaxing read. It will be relaxing as long as one doesn't take it too seriously and think too deeply about it.

Scott Simms is a writer of urban fantasy and speculative fiction, preferring everyday situations with light sci-fi or fantasy elements introduced to an "everyman" or "everywoman."

I received an advance review copy of Terra Optima for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Well, there it is...

Qapla!