Tag: sci-fi book review

Thad Saves the Galaxy: An Epic Space Adventure by C.T. Fleck Review

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

A carefree young man seeking adventure and purpose in life finds his world turned upside down when an alien woman named Zinka draws him into a galactic battle like no other in author C.T. Fleck’s novel Thad Saves the Galaxy: An Epic Space Adventure. Here is the synopsis. 

The Synopsis

When adventure calls, sometimes it’s best to send it to voicemail 

If Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy meets Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure with a bit of Dude, Where’s My Car? sprinkled in sounds like a good time, you’ll love Thad Saves the Galaxy!

When an alien named Zinka drops into Thaddeus Kinglsey’s life, he finally gets the adventure he’s been waiting for. Zinka is an exiled Aldinian who is being pursued across the galaxy by the evil tyrant Derask. She crashed on Earth and needs help repairing her ship. Thad jumps at the chance to do something extraordinary and begins an adventure he will never forget. Unfortunately, Derask learns of Thad’s involvement and destroys the Earth to punish him.

With the Earth a smoldering cloud of dust, Thad and Zinka begin a quest across the galaxy to put an end to Derask’s tyranny. This dynamic twosome recruits a colorful cast of characters to their cause: Tik, a mighty Tauran with a penchant for mind altering substances, Pangaea, a sarcastic humanoid who is more then she seems, Danny, the only other Earthling left who happens to be a dreadlocked pot dealer, Leonidas, a lovesick Voltan hero, and Preet, the shapeshifting Queen of the Mercenaries. But they need more than a gang of friends to defeat Derask. They need ships, and lots of them.

Can this oddball team find a way to take down the galaxy’s most powerful dictator? Does ‘winging it’ ever really work? Can you find love on a planet full of mercenaries? These questions and more are answered in this whimsical romp across the Milky Way.

Thad Saves the Galaxy is a humorous galactic adventure with a vibrant cast of human and alien characters, space battles, and outrageous fun.

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The Review

This hilarious dark comedy and sci-fi parody is brilliantly executed. The author does a fantastic job of world building and creating a mythology that readers can instantly get sucked into. Awakening the hero within this week smoking, carefree and comical young man, Thad becomes the hero nobody asked for, or quite frankly wanted. Yet his odd way of looking at life and humor amazingly compliment the more tragic and emotional story elements introduced throughout the novel.

The twists and turns this story take will certainly keep readers on the edge of their seat as they explore the Milky Way Galaxy in a whole new light. A more adult take on the classic sci-fi and space epic adventure genre, readers will laugh and cry as they follow Thad as he tackles themes of racism, homophobia, gender equality and the inherent battle of good vs evil, all the while he smokes weed and finds new and hilarious ways of getting into trouble. 

The Verdict

This is a must read sci-fi adventure and dark comedy like no other. A humor filled adventure that blends elements of Seth MacFarlane’s recent space epic show The Orville with George Lucas’s world building in the Star Wars universe and the humor of a Seth Rogen film. You are not going to want a single second of this hilarious book, so be sure to pick up your copy of Thad Saves the Universe by C.T. Fleck today!

Rating: 10/10

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About the Author

C.T. Fleck is the pen name of Corey Hofecker. After dropping out of college, for the second time, he discovered the joys that are inherent in both reading and writing, and that his previous distaste of said subjects was just a lack of freedom to read and write what he truly wanted. Being a firm believer that there is beauty in the absurd, he quickly became obsessed with the sci-fi genre. In it he saw the vast possibilities and the probability of how weird our universe can get. Corey lives in rural West Virginia where he occupies his time with reading, writing, video games, and tabletop RPGs. He is an unashamed feminist of sorts and an avid supporter of LGBTQ+ rights.

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The Deep Tunnel: An Andromeda Brown Novel by Adam Alexander Review

A fresh start of another school year becomes nearly impossible for Andromeda Brown and her friends as they continue to traverse the strange alien presence invading Earth and leaving them caught in the middle of an intergalactic secret war in author Adam Alexander’s novel, “The Deep Tunnel: An Andromeda Brown Novel”

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

A fresh start of another school year becomes nearly impossible for Andromeda Brown and her friends as they continue to traverse the strange alien presence invading Earth and leaving them caught in the middle of an intergalactic secret war in author Adam Alexander’s novel, “The Deep Tunnel: An Andromeda Brown Novel”. Here is the synopsis. 

The Synopsis

Having foiled an alien invasion with the help of some very out-of-town friends, Andromeda Brown’s seventh grade future looks set: boredom at school, extra-terrestrial help with her homework, and – hopefully – only modest amounts of detention. The world, however, has other ideas. A grisly death in the Chicago sewers can mean only one thing. The alien Kulrada are back. Even worse, her father has decided she needs a nanny. A human nanny would be bad enough, but no human would ever wear so much beige. Andromeda’s nanny is totally a Kulrada robot. Not knowing what she looks like, the nannybot has been searching for her all summer, and now, somehow, it’s cooking dinner in her kitchen while trying to work out if Andromeda is the target it’s looking for. If Andromeda lays low, her out-of-town friends will be unable to stop alien invasion 2.0. But if she tries to act, her cover will be blown, and the nannybot will tear Andromeda and everyone she knows to pieces. Andromeda’s life has once again become impossibly complicated. And that’s not even counting the sudden rash of earthquakes.

The Review

The unique balance struck between the life and death alien battles these children are caught in the middle of and the everyday trouble of growing up these kids must face makes this novel shine brightly. This Children’s/YA Sci-Fi story brought about the creative blend of action, alien mythology and strong and relatable characters, especially in protagonist and hero Andromeda Brown. 

From alien robots posing as nanny to shocking deaths too grisly to imagine and a mysterious group making prophecies of an apocalyptic nature that begin to come to be true, this novel has everything. While some of the character’s relationships will make more sense for readers who have read the previous book in the series, the novel itself stands strong on it’s own feet, presenting the reader an enjoyable journey of emotions and action that stands apart from the rest of the YA novel pack.

The Verdict

This is a great read for children, YA and adult audiences alike. A fantastic fusion of young heroes and adult dangers, this story showcases the rising power of a young hero in Andromeda, brings a strong female protagonist to life and highlights the bond that comes with true friendships in the face of great tragedy and danger. If you haven’t yet, be sure to grab your copy of Adam Alexander’s “The Deep Tunnel: An Andromeda Brown Novel” today!

Rating: 10/10

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About

Adam Alexander, who has been described as “an especially skilled author,” is a writer of SF/Fantasy for readers of all ages.  Noted for his diverse casts of well-rounded characters and tightly-plotted story lines, his Middle Grade adventure novel, The Shifter’s Trail, and his award-winning YA Dystopian, Archangel, are already in print.  He has two other novels heading toward publication: The Deep Tunnel (for Middle Grade readers) and the fully adult Starship 4.  Check out the Books page for excerpts!

Adam, a native-born Scot and escapee from Harvard Law School, lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with a wife, child, and two embarrassingly large dogs.

Adam supports the following causes with proceeds from his book sales.  Even if you don’t buy a book, please consider making a donation.

National Science Teachers Association

Association For Women In Science

ChickTech

Official Website

Kings of this World by Peter Bailey Review

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

Two men find themselves in a fight for survival in a post apocalyptic sci-fi adventure unlike any other in author Peter Bailey’s novel Kings of the World. Here’s the synopsis:

Matthew is just trying to hold the wreckage of his life together after his girlfriend left him for another woman. A chance to review a West End play seems like a lucky break, until it turns into an X-rated nightmare. The next day London tears itself apart, people make love in the streets and kill each other over a dirty sandwich. Overnight everything changes, the city is very quiet, people smile and nod, but what they smile and nod at is only visible to them. The only other normal person is Jeremy, sarcastic, intelligent and frequently wrong. Together they form an uneasy alliance that lasts until cone shaped aliens land and begin harvesting people like wheat. The last two survivors in London begin a desperate search for a way to stop the aliens before it’s their turn, unaware that millions of people have already killed themselves to give them the perfect weapon. Will Matthew and Jeremy realize the weapon they have been given before its too late? 

The novel was fascinating. The stark difference between Matthew and Jeremy play out in both comedic and dramatic ways. The unique alien invasion scenario plays out in the streets of London as these two men must find a way to tolerate one another and work together to stop the madness before it’s too late.

An even paced novel, the story does a wonderful job of exploring the invasion scenario from beginning to end, analyzing the painstaking process these invaders go to and exploring the various motives behind an advanced civilization’s attack on our world. The characters however are what made this novel shine the brightest. While the setting of London was an inspired choice, the characters themselves gave the alien invasion scenario a more realistic and practical approach. Rather than seeing the military response or world leaders trying to lead desperate fights, we see two average men with serious emotional baggage and conflicting personalities force themselves to bond together in an effort to survive. The way they analyze the scenarios in this novel and the friction their relationship causes in their plans makes this a must read sci-fi novel.

A wonderful blend of Stephen King’s Cell meets Independence Day, Kings of the World by Peter Bailey is a phenomenal adventure into the alien invasion genre. Full of shocks, twists and turns that will have you on the edge of your seat, this modern day classic science fiction novel is a must read for any fan of the genre. If you haven’t yet be sure to pick up your copy of Kings of the World by Peter Bailey today!

Rating: 10/10

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About the Author

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Peter Bailey was first inspired to write by a combination of Las Vegas and a dental abscess. Since then, he has spent his days fixing IT issues and his nights trying to express the darkness inside us all, using a strange amalgam of the writing styles of Terry Pratchett, Stephen King and Dave Barry.

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