Tag Archives: sci-fi

Don’t Read This Book at Night!

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I absolutely love horror and sci-fi – even better when they’re mixed in the same movie, book, or experience! You can find me crocheting like a woman possessed while watching scary movies with my dog and cat. (My husband is nearby, gaming on his computer and laughing when I jump or squeak in fear.)

When I found out that Kody Boye was writing a novel about an alien invasion I was giddy with excitement. He’s a talented author with solid world-building and character creation skills. I also know from reading his previous works that he’s not afraid to kill off a character – no matter how important the reader thinks they are!

kodyI got my paws on When They Came and couldn’t wait to start reading. Kody completely bypasses the lead-up to the invasion and instead drops the reader in the aftermath. Humans are trying to rebuild their society and struggling every step of the way.

The story is centered around the experiences of Ana Mia, a girl who is just coming into womanhood as the story begins. She is graduating from school and has to decide how she will contribute to her society. Against her mother’s wishes she joins The Midnight Guard, which is tasked with keeping the aliens out of the settlement, and fighting them face-to-face when necessary. It’s dangerous work but Ana Mia can’t imagine doing anything else. She has too much hatred for the aliens, since her father was harvested. (Harvesting is the terrifying practice of abducting humans. Nobody has ever come back from being harvested.)

Now, as if this isn’t all frightening enough, Kody introduces alien foot soldiers straight out of your worst fever dream. They are like werewolves, but more vicious. (No, I didn’t know that was a thing either until reading When They Came!) The reader is introduced to them one night when Ana Mia is guarding the wall, and it gets overrun. Suddenly her world is tossed into chaos and she’s forced to fight harder than ever for those she loves.

I really really want to go into more detail but I can’t. Part of the greatest fun in reading Kody’s novels is seeing what happens next. The obstacles that his characters face are never too fantastical as to be unrealistic, and they’re always heartbreaking to the extreme.

I read When They Came on my Kindle, in the dark, and with my trusty little Boston terrier. I absolutely couldn’t stop reading. Every page brought more depth to the story, more concern for the character’s plight, and more excitement. There are two more stories in the series, and I’m spacing them out a little because I know if I fly through them now, I’m going to be blowing up his social media begging for another installment.

Do yourself a solid favor and grab this series NOW. And, if you’re courageous enough, go read it in a dark room while wrapped up in a warm blanket. You’ll thank me later!

Not Your Average Monster

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I think it’s safe to say that author Pat Douglas (book name PA Douglas) has forever ruined me where koala bears are concerned.  It’s not that I thought they were super cute to begin with or anything, but after reading “Killer Koalas From Another Dimension“, I certainly won’t be lining up to see them at my local zoo.

Douglas taps into the bizarre, in the style of Killer Klowns From Outer Space, and takes the reader along for the ride.  Trust me, it takes a talented author to pull off a story about homicidal koalas – and Douglas has that kind of talent!  Not only are his monsters believable, but so are the main characters.  Joana and Tim are a realistic high school couple.  Thank the literary muses that they’re neither Bella nor Edward.  They’re a normal, immature, slightly dysfunctional couple.  (Well, maybe a little more than that – Tim’s an insufferable jerk sometimes.  But let’s face it – who hasn’t dated someone like that at some point?)  Douglas keeps them right where they need to be – in a high school mindset.   

As for the story itself, the night begins with teenagers Joana and Tim in a field.  They’re
practicing something called geomancy.  Tim is trying to open portals to other worlds by tossing stones in mystic patterns.  At first he doesn’t think anything has happened, so he and Joana leave.  Little do they know that they’ve just begun the longest night of their lives!  What they unleash are rag-clad, spear-toting, vengeful koalas.  Will they survive, or have they doomed themselves and their town to an untimely and horrific series of deaths?  I suggest you read it and find out.

 

 

Lean, green…carrot-eating machine?

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When I first heard that Eric S. Brown had written a book called “Jack Bunny Bam-Bam and the Weeper Apocalypse“, a few thoughts went through my mind.  I had no idea what the title meant, and couldn’t imagine how anyone could possibly take a green rabbit holding a gun seriously, let alone get away with writing that kind of book.  I reluctantly began reading, and I finished it within two days.

Eric S. Brown is an extremely talented author.  He was able to hook me within two pages (though it took far longer for me to admit it myself), and within a chapter I was fully drawn into the world of this strangely addictive bunny-assassin.  I’m not going to tell you what a Weeper is because I don’t want to ruin one of the books fun discoveries for you, but I will tell you this:  there’s no way in hell I’d like to meet one!  Nor would I be particularly interested in meeting Jack Bunny Bam-Bam, who is a strangely intriguing anti-hero.  While he’s not exactly likeable, his frank way of speaking and acting is admirable.  He says what he means, and means what he says.  And when he says someone is going to die, they’re most likely at his feet dead already.  Yep – he’s that kind of guy!

I will warn you – the ending is extremely frustrating.  The book feels almost too short.  Fear not though, Eric himself has mentioned on his Facebook page that there is a sequel in the making.  I strongly urge you to go out there, get that “Jack Bunny Bam-Bam and the Weeper Apocalypse”, and get hooked!