Book Review: “The Night Window”

(See all of my Book Reviews) – “The Night Window” eBook was published in 2019 and was written by Dean Koontz (https://www.deankoontz.com/). Mr. Koontz has published more than 120 novels and novellas. This is the 5th and final book in his “Jane Hawk” series.

I received an ARC of this novel through https://www.netgalley.com in return for a fair and honest review. I categorize this novel as ‘R’ because it contains scenes of Violence. The story is set in the very near future. The primary character continues as former FBI agent Jane Hawk.

This thriller continues and wraps up the saga of Jane Hawk and the cabal that is attempting to take over America then the world with their mind control tech. The struggle with her adversaries continues and Hawk makes some new allies in her fight. It comes down to an all-or-nothing stand.

I thoroughly enjoyed the near 10 hours I spent reading this 410-page science-fiction thriller. I have read Koontz novels for years and have enjoyed them all. I have particularly liked this five-book series, though this is more of a straight forward thriller than many of Koontz’s novels. I was a little disappointed at how the series concluded. Not with the ending itself but how quickly the story was wrapped up. I would strongly recommend reading the first four books in the series (in order) before reading this novel. I like the cover art. I give this novel a 5 out of 5.

My book reviews are also published on Goodreads (https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/31181778-john-purvis).

Book Review: “The Lost Pulse”

(See all of my Book Reviews) – “The Lost Pulse” eBook was published in 2019 and was written by J.K. Kelly (https://jkkelly.com). This is Mr. Kelly’s third publication and a sequel to his first novel “Found in Time“. I interviewed Mr. Kelly after I finished this review.

I received a copy of this novel from the author in return for a fair and honest review. I categorize this novel as ‘R’ because it contains scenes of Violence and Mature Language. The story is set in the near future. Terrorism has reached new heights.

The Whitehouse is an armed camp surrounded by a wall. A well planned and executed attack on Guantanamo Bay has released many enemies of the US. A very select team is allowed to use a time travel device to fight the growing terrorism. They are restricted though to never changing history.

I enjoyed the 6+ hours I spent reading this 266-page thriller. I read the first book of the series earlier and enjoyed it as well. It is, other than the time travel, what you would expect from a thriller. The cover art is OK. I give this novel a 5 out of 5.

My book reviews are also published on Goodreads (https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/31181778-john-purvis).

Book Review: “Finder”

(See all of my Book Reviews) – “Finder” eBook was published in 2019 and was written by Suzanne Palmer (http://www.zanzjan.net). This is Ms. Palmer’s first published novel and the first in her “The Finder Chronicles” series.

I received an ARC of this novel through https://www.netgalley.com in return for a fair and honest review. I categorize this novel as ‘R’ because it contains scenes of Violence and Mature Language. The story is set in the far future. The primary character is Fergus Ferguson who identifies himself as a ‘finder’.

Ferguson’s latest job is to find and steal back the spacecraft Venetia’s Sword. He thought it would be an easy job, but instead stealing the ship back from Arum Gilger takes the deep space colony of Cernee into civil war.  Ferguson finds himself reluctantly at its midst and the growing involvement with the lives of the locals is unexpected. Then there are the mysterious aliens with the triangle ships that seem to be following him. The job is not what he had anticipated.

I thoroughly enjoyed the 11 hours I spent reading this 397-page science fiction novel. I enjoyed this novel. I liked the offbeat plot and look forward to more in the series. I like the cover art. I give this novel a 4 out of 5.

Further book reviews I have written can be accessed at https://johnpurvis.wordpress.com/blog/. 

My book reviews are also published on Goodreads (https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/31181778-john-purvis).

Book Review: “Infiltration”

(See all of my Book Reviews) – “Infiltration” eBook was published in 2019 and was written by Amy Duboff (https://www.amyduboff.com). She has published more than 15 novels. This is the first in her “Mindspace” series.

I received an ARC of this novel through https://www.netgalley.com in return for a fair and honest review. I categorize this novel as ‘R’ because it contains scenes of Violence, Mature Situations, and Mature Language. The story is set in the far future. The primary character is Tararian Guard Captain Kira Elsar.

Elsar is one of the few full telepaths. After she comes face-to-face with a military assault mech inside a civilian research lab she knows something is amiss. She goes undercover to discover who is behind the illegal alien nanotech experimentation, clandestine political dealings, and disappearances. It all leads back to her homeworld. Will she be able to stop what she thinks is a developing stellar civil war?

I thoroughly enjoyed the 5.6 hours I spent reading this 259-page science fiction novel. I am fond of ‘space operas’ like this and this one did not disappoint. I look forward to future novels in this series and will be looking for other novels by Duboff. I like the chosen cover art. I give this novel a 4.4 (rounded down to a 4) out of 5.

My book reviews are also published on Goodreads (https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/31181778-john-purvis).

Book Review: “Timebound”

(See all of my Book Reviews) – The “Timebound” eBook was published in 2018 and was written by Heather Albano (http://www.heatheralbano.com). Ms. Albano has published three novels with this being the third book in her “Keeping Time” series.

I received an ARC of this novel through https://www.netgalley.com in return for a fair and honest review. I categorize this novel as ‘R’ because it contains scenes of Violence. The story is set across the last few centuries. This time the primary character is Maxwell Carrington.

Carrington has been separated from the other time travelers. Inadvertently one of the time travel watches is found by agents of Nazi Germany. This adds an additional layer of difficulty to Carrington and his colleagues. They struggle to set the timeline back to what it should be.

I thoroughly enjoyed the 11.5 hours I spent reading this 200-page steampunk science fiction tale. I have enjoyed all three novels in this series, but I think that this is the best of the three. I think that the author did a good job of concluding the trilogy. Definitely, I would recommend reading the first two books of the trilogy before this one. The chosen cover art is OK, but something closer to the plot would have been better in my opinion. I give this novel a 5 out of 5.

My book reviews are also published on Goodreads (https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/31181778-john-purvis).

Trailer for “For All Mankind”

This Trailer for the program “For All Mankind” is out and it introduces us to a very different look at the ‘space race’ of the 1960s. In this science-fiction tale, the Russians were the first on the Moon and the ‘space race’ never ended. This is a program that will make me want to subscribe to Apple TV+.

There are 10 episodes in the first season and the second season has already been approved by Apple.

Book Review: “The Cruel Stars”

(See all of my Book Reviews) – “The Cruel Stars” eBook was published in 2019 and was written by John Birmingham. Mr. Birmingham has published more than 30 books.

I received an ARC of this novel through https://www.netgalley.com in return for a fair and honest review. I categorize this novel as ‘R’ because it contains scenes of Violence and Mature Language. The story is set in the far future. The Sturm of the “Human Republic” see any humans who have genetic or cybernetic enhancements as traitors to the species and deserving extermination. They have risen up once killing billions before they were driven into Dark Space.

Now, centuries later without warning, they are back. Their sneak attack has rendered almost all of the defenses of humanity useless. If they are not stopped the Sturm will kill billions more.

The primary character is Commander Lucinda Hardy who has been left in command of one of the few Royal Armadalen Navy warships left. She, along with her crew and four other survivors, are the only hope for humankind. The five struggle independently against overwhelming odds, but finally, join her.

I thoroughly enjoyed the 11 hours I spent reading this 416-page Science fiction thriller. I think the author has assembled an interesting mix of reluctant heroes for this saga. I like the plot as it is a little different from the common large scope space war novels. I look forward to more novels in this universe. The cover art is interesting but does not relate specifically to the story. I give this novel a 5 out of 5.

My book reviews are also published on Goodreads (https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/31181778-john-purvis).

Book Review: “Star Child: Awakening”

(See all of my Book Reviews) – “Star Child: Awakening” eBook was published in 2019 and was written by Petra Landon (http://petralandon.com). Ms. Landon has published five novels. This is the first novel in her “The Zenkoti Fables” series.

I received an ARC of this novel through https://www.netgalley.com in return for a fair and honest review. I categorize this novel as ‘PG’. The story is set in the far future. The primary character is the young girl Navi.

Navi is trying to find her way off of the mining world where she lives. She sneaks aboard a spacecraft while following a man who has been asking questions about her. Before she can get off the ship it unexpectedly leaves taking her with it as a stowaway.

She discovers that the ship’s crew is led by the only man to have been able to successfully confront the military of the sector. Before long her presence on the ship is discovered and she becomes part of the crew, at least until they can drop her off.

Her adventure does not end there as the ship must dodge space outlaws, greedy corporations, and the powerful Guild Coalition. She is exposed to many new people, some become friends while others become deadly enemies. Along the way, she is surprised to discover some secrets of her own heritage.

I thoroughly enjoyed the 6.5 hours I spent reading this 180-page science fiction novel. I enjoy space opera like this. This is somewhat of a young adult novel but reads well. The cover art is eye-catching. I give this novel a 4.5 (rounded up to a 5) out of 5.

My book reviews are also published on Goodreads (https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/31181778-john-purvis).

Book Review: “The Oppressed”

(See all of my Book Reviews) – “The Oppressed” eBook was published in 2018 and was written by Matt Thomas. This is Mr. Thomas’ second publication. This is the first in his “Wroth Worlds” series.

I received an ARC of this novel through https://www.netgalley.com in return for a fair and honest review. I categorize this novel as ‘R’ because it contains scenes of Violence and Mature Language. The story is set in the far future. The primary character is Bryan Howe leader of Free Human Special Forces Detachment 8222.

Earth had been invaded and conquered by the Hetarek. Much of the human population on Earth has been exterminated. The remainder has become Hetarek slaves. A few from Earth escaped the Hetarek and, with the help of the Ahai, have fled to the stars. The Free Human forces have begun to fight back against the Hetarek. They have already taken a few systems, now they have set their sights on Earth.

Howe and his team are inserted on Earth to start building a guerrilla army to rise up and assist in an invasion of Earth. But Howe and his team have a difficult job. Not only do the Hetarek keep a close and ruthless watch on the remaining humans, but the humans consider Howe and his colleagues “Runners’. They are looked down upon because the humans that have survived on Earth feel that they were abandoned. With a generation having passed, it is difficult to recruit survivors to risk everything to support the ‘Runners’.

I thoroughly enjoyed the 11+ hours I spent reading this 375-page science fiction novel. I liked the plot of a conquered Earth being retaken. There is a lot of action and not all of the characters you start out with survive. This is just the beginning of the story of a much longer struggle. The cover art is OK, but I would have preferred something closer to the storyline. I give this novel a 5 out of 5.

My book reviews are also published on Goodreads (https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/31181778-john-purvis).

Instrumental Music on YouTube: “Dancing on the Moon”

(See my other Music and Science Fiction related posts) – This video was uploaded to YouTube in June of 2019 by SpaceAmbient. The music is by Tisamoo (Kristóf, K, H.Hetény, Hungary.).

Not sure I would categorize this as easy listening, but I like the ‘science fiction’ feel to it.