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STILLED
Blink even once while reading Stilled: The Story of Inklebrawt Winklehank, and you’ll miss a clue in this tightly woven plot full of twists and turns. Brian Estvander combines space opera and old-fashioned sci-fi genres to create a plot with twists and turns. This is why if you blink, you’ll miss something essential to this carefully constructed story.
This book tells the story of Inklebrawt, David, Maggie, and Nicola, four siblings, each living their own life on Earth. Unbeknownst to some, they are from a biologically engineered race. It is up to them to keep the future of the human race safe from harm at the hands of the Shepherds. But, at the heart of it is their mother, Zayla, to whom there is more than meets the eye.
Stilled: The Story of Inklebrawt Winklehank by Brian Estvander weaves a tale that will have classic sci-fi lovers and adventure seekers blown away. The author doesn’t pull any punches and dives straight into the science and technology-driven plot. You are provided a brief glossary at the beginning to help the transition, which does help ease the transition into this complicated world.
One minute the story takes you into the character’s past, and the next, it’s in the present. It delves into the past of several of the siblings, showing little insight into why they are the way they are. Never does the narrative miss a beat. The action keeps you on the edge of your seat.
Stilled: The Story of Inklebrawt Winklehank by Brian Estvander is a gripping hard science fiction novel that takes readers on a fast-paced adventure. The deep and rich sci-fi world will captivate readers and have them fully absorbed in the space opera that the author has created.
Pages: 339 | ASIN : B09HQ46JJC
Interstellar Sex Wars and the Blind Detective
Interstellar Sex Wars and the Blind Detective, by Shawn Adair Johnston, is a lively science fiction novel about Earth, a world name Octopodia (inhabited by sentient octopus), and the intrigue of “Awakened” AI’s who want to bring serenity and beauty to the galaxy. This fascinating story takes place in the future, where Earth has created bases on Mars, have augmented animals, but hasn’t gotten past political and racial differences. Octopodia has had its revolutions and revelations but it is not as advanced in biology as humans. They seek Earth’s help, but don’t realize that “Awakened” AI’s want both races dead.
This is a riveting sci-fi story that relies less on the mystery to propel the story forward and more on the characters and their motivations to keep the reader drawn in. The intriguing villains of the story are introduced and their plan is laid out for the reader, which makes it easy for us to understand what they want without any guesswork. This will appeal to readers who want a science fiction story that doesn’t bury its ideas and instead presents them clearly.
Intrepid detective, Peter Straw, is the protagonist, but there are so many compelling characters and story lines that it’s hard to say that he’s the star of the show. He had a civil case to help dig up evidence and then he ended up going along for the ride when it came to the main story.
This is a fast paced story that does not spend too much time digging into character’s backstories and instead focuses on telling a thought-provoking story. I found the Octopoids of Octopodia to be very interesting and I would have loved to have dived deeper into their characters and learned more about them. I would’ve liked for the author to dive into present times on Octopodia with a few lines of their history to give us a sense of their past.
Interstellar Sex Wars and the Blind Detective is just as wild as the book’s title. This is a thrilling space adventure with likeable characters and a story that’s fun and intriguing. There is a lot going on in this story but the author’s writing keeps things focused and ensures the story is consistently entertaining.
Pages: 440 | ASIN: B0BLVJ23YR
Periodic East
Frigid and frozen, we find ourselves in a not-so-distant dystopian future on Earth. In Periodic East, a second ice age has arrived because of a calamity known only as The Blast. Nuclear winter is in full season, shortly after alien contact with the President of the United States. Tiberius is the leader of a group of survivors we follow in South America whose struggles against man, extraterrestrials, and the freezing tundra. At the same time as he struggles on Earth, we meet some more survivors on Icarus, the space station NASA spent its dying day building. Here we learn more about the days leading up to the end of days and how humanity will struggle against them.
Gabriel L Rodriguez gives us mystery and intrigue through his words. You will find yourself unable to set the book down and dying to know what happens next. Throughout this novel, suspense builds, and we are thrown into survival mode and left with more questions than answers. Through plot twists and mysteries, we fall in love with the characters Rodriguez has written into existence. It leaves you wanting to read chapter after chapter. The style in which we follow the story, with multiple threads and storylines, is wonderfully woven in a way that makes sense and gives us just enough from each storyline to successfully tell this story.
Periodic East is a riveting adventure, leading us into the cold and tragic future. It sets us up for more adventure and leaves you excited for the next book. I would say that sci-fi lovers and teachers of older students would be the best audience for this book. I can picture using this book to discuss alternate dystopian futures in class or to talk about the future possibilities of intelligent life coming here from elsewhere. I look forward to reading the rest of the series as it comes out!
Pages: 200 | ISBN : 9798986989129
Things That Do Not Yet Exist
Forbidden Horizon is yet another sharp sci-fi novel that contains compelling ideas and well-conceived science inserted in the fiction. What got you excited about writing this book?
Forbidden Horizon novel was a product of my deep fascination with the world of science fiction. I loved it since I was a kid and read many books about humans visiting other planets and dimensions, as well as discovering fascinating alien worlds on the bottom of the oceans. I wrote several science fictions books in the past dealing with interstellar travel and alien contact. This particular novel was different, given its exotic blend of science, adventure and political intrigue. The novel takes place at the end of the twenty-first century, and I believe that in the future separated from our time only by several decades, humans will still be faced with many problems that we face today I wanted to create a book of high adventure, suspense and mystery about the cosmos and alien life that surely exists out there somewhere and is waiting to be discovered.
What draws you to the science fiction genre and makes it ripe for you to write in?
What makes science fiction to wonderful and so attractive is that science fiction in many ways becomes a science fact with the invention of the appropriate technology and tools of science and exploration. Human beings have dreamt about visiting the underwater worlds since the beginning of time. They also dreamed about being able to fly beyond the skies and into outer space. Science fiction is a great tool for discovering the new possibilities of existence, thanks to the scientific wonders that humans are able to make. I would like to believe that one day it would be possible to send advanced space probes to the nearest stars and improve life on our own planet by protecting and cleaning its environment. Imagination of things that do not yet exist but have solid scientific foundation provides me with interesting ideas in my writing.
What scene in the book was the hardest for you to write as far as getting things as factually correct as possible before going full-blown fiction?
It is a very interesting question. There are scenes that are hard for any writer to create because the writer must be absolutely certain and correct about the scientific data he or she presents to the readers. The hardest things for me to write was getting the numbers correct in regard to the distance between the celestial objects and planetary movements. I noticed many mistakes in Hollywood movies in regard to the distance and communications between the spaceship crews going to a distant planet and the time it takes for the signal traveling with the speed of light to reach Earth and be sent back. Sometimes it takes only minutes for the people to talk to each other separated by millions of miles. Sometimes it takes hours or even days, depending on how far the humans have traveled away from Earth. Space is vast and getting the numbers and the basic science data right is very important. The readers will know that the writer did his homework.
Do aliens exist? And if so, where are they?
Do aliens exist? I believe they do. Life can exist in many forms and in many ways. Our own Milky Wat galaxy has millions of suns and tens of millions on large moons and planets where life could have evolved under certain conditions. Humans are carbon based, and we breathe oxygen and swim in water that is composed form molecules of hydrogen and oxygen. It is not inconceivable to imagine an alien civilization that has evolved to have a very different chemical composition in regard to their environment. I once read a science fiction novella long time ago featuring the accidental meeting between human and alien starships in orbit of a distant planet. The aliens were vaguely humanoid, but they had purple skin, yellow blood and could see better at night because of the low intensity of their mother sun. They breathed different gas and could swim in acid, which for humans would be fatal. As for the alien life in the universe, I think that life is very abundant there but may not have yet evolved to reach an advanced technological level. Someone had mentioned once that the possibility of intelligent life in deep space as well as its total absence could be equally terrifying. I do hope that one day we make contact with advanced extraterrestrial intelligence. What will happen then is anyone’s guess, but our world would never be the same again.
Author Interview: Facebook | Amazon
Forbidden Horizon
The human race has an ongoing debate about the existence of life elsewhere in the universe. But what if there was life outside of humans, and what if they already knew everything about us? The Xalin are just such a race. Having conquered what they considered to be human beings’ weaknesses for wars and destruction, the Xalin hatch plans to make themselves known to humans on Earth. They wish to show humans that great scientific advancements are possible, if only they could stop making critical mistakes.
Told in three parts, Forbidden Horizon by David Crane is about groups of astronauts and their adventures in outer space. Humans have already created a base on the Moon, and a group of astronauts are enroute to Mars. But when David Blackstone, the leader of the Lune One Moon base, is confronted with an out-of-this-galaxy opportunity, he has no choice but to take it.
Author David Crane’s extensive knowledge of science and space travel really shines in this intellectually-invigorating novel as the ships and methods of space travel are believable for a science fiction novel. The amount of detail about space in this sci-fi story is impressive and, at some points, a little dense. However, Forbidden Horizon draws the reader into the story so much so that you feel like you are standing inside the IMS Daedalus on your way to Mars.
Forbidden Horizon contains fascinating detail about outer space and space travel, making this an intriguing read. I would have liked more action or danger included in the story, but this still feels like a classic science fiction story, much like Isaac Asimov’s novels where the ideas are fascinating all on their own. Fans of hard science fiction will enjoy the attention to detail about space and technology and will surely be engrossed with Forbidden Horizon‘s plot.
Pages: 274 | ASIN: B0BH3HCKG7
Retribution, Records of the Argos Book Two
Nicholas Hall, Nick to his friends, has done it. He’s completed his first official mission for the Allied Consortium. Now, finally, he’s ready to return to the deep reaches of space. His crew of four has turned into a family of six, and they are back for more in Michael J. Farlow’s newest book, Retribution: Records of the Argos.
As the second installment in the series, Retribution brings back all the characters we loved from Crucible, and I have to say I’m thrilled. While the writing is clear and easy to follow, the book’s best part must be the crew and their interactions. Nick, the narrator and resident human there to bridge the gap between his otherworldly crew and us. He brings readers quick quips and his stockpile of pop culture references. Then there’s Wizzy, the outgoing and outstanding AI of the Argos. Each interaction feels realistic. From banter to strategy all the way to politics, nothing about Retribution feels forced.
Moreover, this book brings more than just a quirky cast of characters to the table; Farlow has also graced us with a beautifully written plot. Unlike other sci-fi stories that rely heavily on action, Michael J. Farlow chooses to set his sights on something more: politics and strategy. While there’s no lack of fighting, Farlow makes it clear that sci-fi is more than just lasers and ships. Each mission and every action the crew takes is well-thought-out. Acting as peacekeepers and, some might say, heroes, it makes sense. What they do matters, along with what they say and even how they say it.
Retribution: Records of the Argos is a riveting science fiction novel that takes readers on an exciting adventure. Farlow’s ability to write realistic characters and a plot that’s more than just gun smoke and space. In addition, he does a fantastic job of bringing back old, beloved characters while introducing new ones. I, for one, can’t wait for the next entry in this series.
Pages: 358 | ASIN : B0BH41NKPW
The Fight Is Never Easy
At the Threshold of the Universe follows the Castus family and their struggle for survival against a formidable enemy that will alter the course of humanity. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
This book was a long time coming for me. I knew what I had built over the course of the trilogy, and I knew how I wanted it all to pay off in the end. I was thrilled when I was outlining this novel and how well it was all coming together, which only works with deep, deep planning. I wanted to make something that was completely my own, and wrap it all up nicely.
How has character development for the main character changed for you through the series?
There are a few characters I would consider as mains in this trilogy, and each has surprised me with their growth on the pages. Eliana comes from a place of deep trauma and finds a way to live with herself peacefully. She’s mostly alone in the start of In the Orbit of Sirens, but over the course of the trilogy, she forms a family and finds happiness. Denton Castus starts as a man who’s looking for a purpose, a new way of life on Kamaria. He is thrust into a situation that gives him both of those things, but not the way he intended. Both of them have to fight for what they have earned, and the fight is never easy.
Were you able to achieve everything you wanted with the characters in the novel?
I believe so. I felt fulfilled with every plotline I created, and I feel like it all came together better than I could have hoped for. I still miss Kamaria and the days of writing this trilogy, it’ll forever hold a place in my heart. With a passion project like this, it means the world to see reviews like the one here on Literary Titan and know that I stuck the landing for some readers. I am very happy with this trilogy.
What is the next book project that you are working on, and when will it be available?
I am currently working on a world-hopping adventure set within the universe of the Song of Kamaria trilogy, but so loosely tied to it that readers are not required to read the trilogy to enjoy this new book. It’s a stand-alone. I am still knee-deep in writing out the first draft, so I won’t say too much, but I do hope to have it published sometime either early to mid 2023. I post regular updates on my website for readers looking for more information. I can’t wait to share more info!
Author Links: GoodReads | Twitter | Facebook | Website
ALL SONGS END.
War ravages Kamaria as an old enemy resurfaces from the depths of the ocean. Offering no support in the coming battles, the Auk’nai isolate themselves in their tightly guarded Nest. Outgunned and outmatched, humanity once again trembles on the edge of obliteration.
The Castus family is torn apart. Denton fights on the front lines, hoping to free Cade from a nightmarish foe. Meanwhile, Eliana and Nella set out on a path that will change everything they understand about the Sirens. The Song will end, but who will remain to hear its final verse?
LITERARY TITAN 