John Staughton, Senior Reviewer

An epic fourth installment of the Weapons of Choice series, Finn’s War by Nick Snape is propelled forward at a blistering pace by gripping sci-fi action in a fully realized world. When the long-suffering squad at the heart of this series finally reaches a colonizing seed ship, they find an unexpected alien landscape where power, profit, and control have taken hold. As ever, these fearless warriors must push their finely tuned abilities and cutting-edge tech to the limit in order to protect one another, and outsmart the forces of oppression. There are occasional plot holes or moments of disbelief, but […]

Ray Keating has compiled an accessible, wide-ranging compendium that analyzes and clarifies the complexity of economics in The Weekly Economist II: 52 More Quick Reads to Help You Think Like an Economist. Despite the political football that economics has become in the political sphere, Keating remains remarkably impartial here, offering fair critiques and reasonable assessments of economic decisions, theories, and policies across time. From JFK’s unusual taxation policies to the impact of Covid-19 on entrepreneurship, this is an impressive second installment of the author’s economics essays, avoiding repetition from the first collection, and offering cogent advice that feels more […]

A galactic military thriller bursting with royal intrigue and adventure, Wielders of Woe: Inferno by Jeffery Roarke Jr. skillfully blurs the lines of sci-fi and fantasy. Fearlessly wielding the fiery powers of his mystical charna, Prince Halcion is forced to embark on an epic quest of redemption, determined to reclaim his stolen birthright. Slow-burning and patient, with revenge-heavy hints of Dumas, the detailed prose is sparkling and creative, while the expansive worlds that Roarke has created feel real enough to touch. Setting the stage for a compelling sci-fi/fantasy saga, Inferno is an exceptional opening salvo for a new series.[…]

One young man must defy the oppressive distinctions of a futuristic society in Nations of Niche, a frightening parable of the future by Micah Ingram. In this uniquely imagined dystopia, one’s class has been replaced by one’s “niche,” resulting in a chilling allegory of a restructured world, wherein humanity has reinvented ideas of purpose, labor, productivity, and the meaning of life itself. At times, the book reads more like a fable than a novel, without much emotional development of the characters, but still with a clear focus on the thematic message. The premise is strong, but the book is […]

A dystopian vision of a divided America comes pouring from the pages of The Greater Good by Seth Daniel Parker, a relentless prophecy of a novel that will make you shudder with recognition. A Job-like protagonist escapes the matrix of a mind-shattered nation to become a firebrand for the next revolution. With ominous and poignant undertones of Kafka, Orwell, Heller, John Kennedy O’Toole, and even Hunter S. Thompson, the author pulls back the curtain on a sick society, while poking fun at our unspoken and collective terrors with wit, shock, and raw storytelling power. Laced with timely social critique and […]

An engrossing remastered fairy tale from the delicate pen of author Jenny Knipfer, The Regal Pink is a well-crafted first installment of the Retold Fairy Tales series, which reimagines classic storylines. Flipping genre tropes of the damsel in distress, Diana is a rebellious and curious flower-fairy determined to free the wish-granting Daniel from the cruel clutches of his uncle. As these young protagonists chase down their own destinies, defying expectations and supporting each other’s journeys, the slippery slopes of love are seemingly impossible to avoid. With straightforward prose and a stripped-down storytelling style that moves at a fast pace, this […]