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THE CALL OF ABADDON
The Call of Abaddon is a dark and deeply imaginative sci-fi thriller that follows Jason, a gifted young scavenger in a crumbling, post-apocalyptic Earth. Haunted by mysterious psychic voices, he and his ragtag team, his snarky brother David, the cool-headed warrior Sam, a charming robot named Talos, and others, venture into the deadly undercity ruins of New Toronto. Along the way, they uncover tech relics, battle infected machines, and confront a terrifying force known as Abaddon, which seems tied to Jason’s dark past and immense psychic power. With a powerful blend of dystopian survival, supernatural mystery, and fast-paced action, the novel builds toward a cosmic-scale threat that only Jason might be able to stop.
I loved how lived-in the world feels. Colin Searle vividly describes a decaying megacity. The dialogue is snappy and real, especially between Jason and David, who constantly needle each other like real siblings. And Sam is just a total badass. Their banter and quirks give the story heart, even when the stakes get terrifying. The tech and world-building are deep without being exhausting, and the tension ramps up fast. I could almost smell the ozone when Talos powered up his weapons or feel the chill when Abaddon whispered from the shadows. It’s that good. I’ll admit, the action scenes get a bit chaotic at times, but I’d take that over sterile precision any day.
What hit hardest, though, were the emotional beats. Jason isn’t just battling aliens or viruses. He’s fighting his own fractured mind. The scenes where Abaddon claws into his thoughts gave me goosebumps. And that growing fear that maybe you’re not in control anymore? That freaked me out. Searle really nails the horror of losing your grip on yourself. At the same time, the bond between the characters, their loyalty, their scars, their bad jokes, kept pulling me back from the edge. It’s a rough, painful, sometimes funny ride that asks big questions without preaching. What makes a person human? What’s worth saving in a world that’s already lost so much?
I’d recommend The Call of Abaddon to anyone who loves gritty sci-fi with a human soul. If you liked Mass Effect, The Expanse, or even the psychological messiness of Evangelion, this one will grab you by the collar. It’s dark, intense, and full of heart. Fans of high-stakes salvage runs, haunted psyches, and sentient evil lurking in the walls? This is your next obsession.
Pages: 414 | ASIN : B0F8PBT974
Kheira & Khogee: The Legend Begins
Kheira & Khogee: The Legend Begins is a cosmic love story wrapped in science fiction, spirituality, and mysticism. At its heart, it’s about two soul-connected beings, Kheira and Khogee, who are Twin Flames separated by memory loss and a mission that transcends lifetimes and galaxies. Kheira has forgotten who she is. Khogee remembers just enough to guide her back to herself. Together, they must resist powerful agents sent to erase them from existence and rekindle the deep spiritual light that binds them across space and time.
The book is written almost like a telepathic dialogue between lovers, with a flow more like a play than a novel. It’s heavy on feeling and energy and light on traditional narrative structure. At times, this made it difficult to follow, especially since the plot dips in and out of time and dimensions without much warning. But strangely, that worked. The lack of structure echoed the timeless, otherworldly nature of their connection. It felt less like reading a story and more like being swept up into someone’s intimate dream.
Emotionally, the book hit me in waves. There’s a yearning between the two leads that’s raw and constant, and I was moved by their devotion. The writing focuses more on energy exchanges and inner awakenings than on external world-building or dialogue. That’s not a flaw, it’s a choice, but it means the story will either totally click with you or leave you lost. What stood out to me was the unwavering message of unconditional love, spiritual power, and remembering who you truly are. It’s beautiful. At times, it’s overwhelming. But it’s always sincere.
I found Kheira & Khogee: The Legend Begins to be less of a sci-fi adventure and more of a soul journey. I’d recommend this to readers who are deep into spiritual work, soulmates, reincarnation, or Twin Flame concepts. If you’ve ever felt like you’re waking up to something ancient and real inside you, this might feel like home.
Pages: 243 | ASIN : B0DMG8CSXW
A Magical and Vast Universe
Beast of Phe’lak follows a woman trapped on an alien planet, under the control of a powerful beast who spots a delegation on the beach that triggers century-old memories, and a chance to regain her freedom. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
The inspiration began in Queen of Highwings, the first book in my Chronicles of Phe’lak Trilogy—of which Beast is the third book. Phe’laki General George muses about the beast with regard to the palace’s understructure, which once served as another dragon’s lair. He thinks that the underpass was sealed to prevent attracting the Beast of Phe’lak to such a luxurious dwelling because, unlike the original resident, the Dragon of Yand, the beast is not benevolent. I received many questions, including: ‘What happened to the beast?’ and ‘Is it related to the beloved Yandar dragon?’ The character Hele’ne lived in my head for a long time. I always knew who she was and how she ended up on the alien planet. I naturally wove her in.
Hele’ne is a fascinating character. What scene was the most interesting to write for that character?
I must say, I love all her scenes. My top favorites include her introduction scene, her interaction with the beast and then with Wolfpack at the beginning of the story. I also love her exchanges with Rel and Drace, as well as her final scene in the last chapter. This last scene is very powerful.
For readers who have not yet read the rest of the Worldmaker® series, what do you want them to know about the world you have created?
It is a magical and vast universe, spanning galaxies and constellations. Each new world—whether a star system, planet, or moon—comes to life in vivid detail. The people who populate these worlds, whether they are queens and kings, scientists, military archers, or regular people, are just as authentic and lifelike. There are four humanoid species introduced so far: the empathic, winged Yandar; their slightly smaller telepathic cousins, the non-winged Yendai; the benevolent, non-meta giants known as the Phe’laki; and the malevolent K’tul. The main characters are complex and richly developed, and their extensive dialogues throughout the stories enhances the immersive quality. The illustrations are glorious. If you purchase the PDF, please read in full-screen, two-page format to get the full benefit of the artwork.
The primary genre is Sci-Fi/Fantasy, but with elements of the paranormal, a touch of horror, and unconventional romance, always with a hint of humor. LGBTQ+ and polyamorous marriages are part of the norm alongside exclusive and binary ones.
The storylines follow the saga of Worldmaker Yanara’s family, whose children have evocative names: Snowfox, Hawklord, Asimia, Dragonlord, Wolfpack, Sunstorm. Can you guess the kings among them? The Worldmaker and Dragoon? The Pathfinder?
Where does the story go in the next book, and where do you see it going in the future?
I received requests to write more about the Dragon of Yand and his wife, Yira, and also of Drace and his husband, Rel. I can’t stop writing about these two. I could serialize their adventures. However, I meant to write the third trilogy in my series, the one that brings the war to the K’tul homeworld. We’ll see. For the next couple of months, I’ll be taking a breather and focusing on earning a few accolades for Beast to adorn its cover, just like my other books. It has already received a few awards, the most prominent among them being the No. 1 Book/Manuscript on Coverfly’s Red List this month (out of 57,000 scripts).
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Beast of Phe’lak
This book throws you headfirst into a world of magic, pain, and tangled emotions. Hele’ne has spent centuries trapped on an alien planet, isolated and broken, under the control of a powerful beast who both saved her life and stole her freedom. When a group of new arrivals shows up on the beach near her prison, something stirs—faint memories, a flicker of purpose, a chance at freedom. What follows is a story that twists through identity, power, and survival, where every choice carries a cost, and every shadow hides something sharp.
What I loved most was how deeply personal it all felt. Beneath the dragons and battles and cosmic stakes, this is a story about trauma, real, raw, and relentless. Hele’ne’s connection to the beast is terrifying in how familiar it feels. It’s a portrait of control disguised as care, and it chilled me. And yet, there are soft moments too, brief flickers of tenderness, humor, even love, that make the heavy parts hit even harder. Elia dives into the darker emotions, showing what it means to fight for your own mind, your own body, your own name.
The writing is lush and dreamlike. The lore runs deep, the world is massive, and if you haven’t read the other books, you’ll probably spend a few pages catching up. But there’s something wild and beautiful about that, too. It feels alive. The characters are vivid, passionate, and impossible to ignore. Some are haunted, some are healing, all are trying to hold onto something in the chaos.
In the end, Beast of Phe’lak is for readers who want their fantasy to cut deep. It’s messy and magical, yes, but it’s also full of heart. It’s for anyone who’s ever felt lost, controlled, or broken and dared to imagine something more. If you want to be shaken, moved, and maybe even changed a little, give this one a shot.
Pages: 309 | ASIN : B0F7FD49NL
A Catastrophic Future
Renegade follows a space captain who discovers his father is the target of an assassination attempt, leading him to defy orders and go rogue to hunt down the assassin. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
First, I think it was only a matter of time before Nick’s father (Van Childs) and the leader of the Consortium would be the subject of an assassination. Second, I wanted to put Nick back on Earth after years of absence. And finally, I wanted a story that centered more around Nick and not the Argos team as a whole. Doing these things required a story backdrop that would carry Nick forward in a compelling tale with some complexity that people would want to follow.
What are some things that you find interesting about the human condition that you think make for great fiction?
As the book suggests, humans are becoming more and more reliant on automation of one kind or another, especially with the addition of AI. As a result, and as each generation passes, we lose the fundamental skills and sense of initiative that earlier generations had. In Renegade, I suggest what society might be like after the major threats to humans have been eliminated and governments can divert money from military preparations to social causes. The need and even willingness to work fades when everything is taken care of by the government. One of the most significant issues that exists even today is the lack of skilled labor. Who will take care of plumbing issues years from now? Who will fix your cars and other modes of transportation? All these skilled positions are fading as the older generation passes. Given the scenario in Renegade, that could be catastrophic. When writing about the future, I think it is important to project current events and capabilities and guess what impact society would have in the not-so-distant future.
When you first sat down to write this story, did you know where you were going, or did the twists come as you were writing?
Initially, I had an idea that I might normally have run with, but this time, I mapped out the outline of the book from beginning to end. That’s not to say that I didn’t make changes along the way; there were many. With as many characters as the book contains, filling their backstories was a significant challenge. I constantly had to refer back to things that I wrote early on. One of the hardest parts was choreographing the battle scenes in space. I had over thirty sheets of paper with each stage of the battles to ensure consistency in locations, attacks, damage, etc. Twists and turns presented themselves along the way.
What is the next book that you are working on, and when will it be available?
The next book will be called Defiance. In it, the Argos team will return to the planet Brintal at the request of the world government. Something strange is happening there, and they need the help of Captain Nick Hall and his crew to solve the mystery. As one might suspect, there are complications, including the existence of a new species that can threaten Brintal and all of the worlds of the Consortium: the home of the Argos. It should be a page-turner!
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Captain Nick Hall has always followed orders—until now.
When an assassination attempt targets his father, he defies Guardian Force and the Consortium, embarking on a rogue mission to hunt down the assassin. What he discovers is far worse than he imagined.
Earth, once a dominant force, has fallen into complacency after the Arkon war. Advanced technology has made life easy, and global defenses have crumbled. Two powerful factions see this weakness as their chance to seize control, using covert sabotage and open warfare to reshape the planet’s future.
With limited resources, minimal support, and enemies closing in from all sides, the Argos crew is facing their most dangerous fight yet.
Packed with high-stakes action, political intrigue, assassinations, and space warfare, Renegade is an explosive chapter in the Records of the Argos series.
If you love intense battles, deep strategy, and heroes willing to break the rules to win – Join the fight for Earth’s survival.
Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwiches from Outer Space! (A Twenty-First-Century Fairy Tale)
Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwiches from Outer Space! is part zany sci-fi adventure, part heartfelt coming-of-age story, and part sharp commentary on youth, education, and social change. It follows Violet—a strong-willed, smart, and slightly overburdened teen—who just wants to start a school newspaper and save the world from ignorance. Instead, she ends up hiking through the forest with her best friend, two chaotic little brothers, and eventually discovering what appears to be a literal alien spaceship with a sandwich in it. You can’t make this stuff up—except, of course, I.S. Noah did, and did it with charm, sass, and a lot of insight tucked under the goofiness.
I adored Violet. She’s the kind of teen I wish I had the guts to be when I was that age—smart, mad as hell about the world’s problems, and totally driven to do something about it. Her internal monologue had me nodding and laughing in equal measure. Like in Chapter 1, when she vents about classmates calling facts “fake news” and quoting Asimov? Chef’s kiss. Relatable, sharp, and kind of heartbreaking. Also, the banter between the kids feels so real. Brad, her pain-in-the-neck brother, is hilarious in that “I want to throttle you but you’re also kind of brilliant” way.
What surprised me most, though, was how layered this book is under all the humor. Sure, there are fart jokes and banana slugs and a glowing alien disc, but there’s also real commentary on truth, science, journalism, and what it means to grow up in a world flooded with noise and nonsense. Violet’s drive to bring back the school newspaper is more than just a school project—it’s her way of fighting for reason in a world full of opinions. And then you get a twist like the sandwich from space—I won’t spoil it, but let’s just say it’s both hilarious and bizarrely thought-provoking. Who knew intergalactic peanut butter could stir up so many questions?
If you’re into stories that mash up teenage drama, sci-fi nonsense, heartfelt moments, and a healthy dose of “what the heck just happened?”—this book is for you. Teachers, nerdy teens, exasperated older siblings, and anyone who’s ever rolled their eyes at misinformation or dreamed of aliens—y’all will love this. It’s smart. It’s weird. It’s got heart. And somehow, it makes space sandwiches feel profound.
Pages: 256 | ISBN : 9798887316918
Renegade: Records of the Argos, Book 4
Renegade, the fourth installment in the Records of the Argos series, drops you straight into a tense, post-Arkon War universe, where Earth’s fragile new order is under threat. The story follows Captain Nick Hall as he returns home to find his father, the Commander of Guardian Force, nearly assassinated. With his crew scattered and orders to stand down, Nick goes rogue to track down the attacker and uncover a conspiracy that stretches from Geneva to São Paulo. It’s a space opera packed with political tension, cool tech, a snarky AI, and a relentless sense of urgency that had me flipping pages like a maniac.
As a diehard fan of The Expanse, I felt right at home with Farlow’s blend of grounded world-building and layered political drama. The Earth Federation, strained by internal divisions and past trauma, felt eerily familiar—like the uneasy alliances in The Expanse’s Earth-Mars-Belter triangle. One moment that really stuck with me was when Nick returns to Earth and sees how society has grown soft post-conflict. Wizzy, the ship’s AI, quips about Earth’s complacency, saying people had “no challenge” left. It’s the kind of subtle world commentary that sneaks in under the radar.
Then there’s the writing style. It’s clean and direct, like Farlow’s trying to get out of the way and just let the story flow through you. The sniper scene early on with Paul Aubert was chilling. Quiet tension. Perfect pacing. I was holding my breath as Paul assembled his Dragunov in Geneva. That kind of scene-building takes skill. Later, when Nick’s alone on the Argos, grappling with the betrayal and powerlessness, it doesn’t drag—it simmers. The emotional weight is there, but it never bogs down the momentum. And Wizzy steals the show. Picture a sarcastic cousin of Mass Effect‘s EDI with zero filter and perfect timing. Every conversation between him and Nick crackles.
What surprised me most was how personal the book felt. Sure, it’s got galaxy-spanning stakes, secret missions, and sleek shuttles, but the heart of Renegade is one guy trying to protect his family and figure out who he really is when the rules break down. Nick’s torn between doing what’s “right” and doing what’s necessary. When he breaks protocol and sneaks back to Earth as “Walter Scott,” it’s risky and maybe dumb, but it’s so human. That’s what makes these kinds of stories sing.
If you love sci-fi with teeth—gritty, smart, character-driven with a pulse—you’ll enjoy Renegade. Especially if you’re into series like The Expanse, Battlestar Galactica, or anything where politics, tech, and loyalty are tangled up in a mess of consequences. Farlow doesn’t reinvent the space opera wheel, but he sure as hell tunes it up and makes it roar.
Pages: 338 | ASIN : B0DY6VMFF5
Return to the Galaxy
Return to the Galaxy is a wild ride that blends gritty military realism with classic sci-fi adventure. At its core, it’s the story of Ewan Scott, a retired British Special Forces officer lying on his deathbed in 2038 who is offered a second chance at life by Jera, a mysterious alien AI avatar. In exchange for healing, youth, and purpose, Ewan must help prepare humanity for an interstellar future and a looming war that threatens Earth’s existence. The book weaves between Ewan’s vivid flashbacks of the Falklands War, present-day emotional reckonings, and a galactic history lesson that unfolds like a cosmic epic.
The book starts grounded, with grim and deeply human moments from Ewan’s military past, like the chaotic bayonet charge during the Battle for Mount Tumbledown. The details there felt raw and real: the terror, the gallows humor, the sheer physicality of it. Then, bam, we’re in a hospital room in 2038, talking to an avatar who injects nanites and heals cancer with a touch. It could have been too jarring, but somehow, Gillies makes it work. The emotional contrast between war and future tech gave the whole story more weight than your usual sci-fi romp.
The world-building is absolutely bananas but in the best way. We get a full-on download of galactic history, like this whole layered explanation of the Saret Federation and their colony systems: Light, Foster, and Wild Colonies. The way Gillies uses AI-driven flashbacks and Jera’s direct brain-to-brain communication with Ewan to show us these massive space empires was surprisingly effective. I was especially hit by the bittersweet moment when a pregnant colonist says goodbye to her children before leaving for a distant planet. It made this massive world feel very personal. That’s rare in sci-fi, and I loved it.
At times it feels like a mashup of a war memoir, a space opera, and a philosophical chat about humanity’s future and not all the transitions are smooth. Some exposition dumps, especially Jera’s monologues about history, dragged a bit, like the detailed timeline of colonization. But just when I felt bogged down, Gillies would toss in a zinger, like a van-driving blow-up doll named “Bouncing Betty” or a flashback to dodging landmines. Ewan’s dry humor and lived-in sarcasm saved the tone whenever it got too heady.
Return to the Galaxy is emotional, funny, high-stakes, and thought-provoking. It asks big questions: What do we owe our species? What makes a life worth living? And how far would you go to start over? I’d recommend Return to the Galaxy to fans of Old Man’s War by John Scalzi, military fiction lovers who are curious about space, and anyone who likes their sci-fi with a side of heart. It’s a bit rough around the edges, but it punches way above its weight.
LITERARY TITAN 