Science Fiction Book Reviews | Self-Publishing Review

Review: The Capsule by Olga Loukianova

As our world continues to be increasingly reliant on technology, the fear of losing one’s individuality is similarly growing. Author Olga Loukianova presses hard on that slow-burning wound with her dystopian novel, The Capsule, a chilling take on the fate our species.

During the so-called “Age of Perfection,” life has been simplified and streamlined. People exist within perfect capsules, where all their physiological needs are met and managed by Systema, the technological savior of humanity. Interaction with reality outside the capsules is discouraged, and in most cases, unnecessary, as you can instead exist in Net City, which offers all […]

Apex: A Max Ahlgren Novel (Crucible Book 3) by Ryan W. Aslesen

In Apex, the third thriller in the gripping Crucible series from Ryan W. Aslesen, Max Ahlgren is once again recruited for a high-stakes mission that will take him closer to answers about his family, but also straight into the heart of the jungles of South America, where his hunt for a missing boy quickly becomes a hunt of a very different kind – with him as the prey.

Similar to the previous Ahlgren novels set in Alaska and North Korea, this exotic adventure offers intrigue and a deeply spiraling web of lies with our never-say-die protagonist leading every bullet-riddled […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2019-05-22T11:02:19+02:00May 22nd, 2019|Categories: New Releases|Tags: Science Fiction Book Reviews|

Review: Enemy Immortal by Jim Meeks-Johnson

Two centuries in the future, our world will look very different, but hopefully it won’t turn out anything like the vision Jim Meeks-Johnson’s presents in Enemy Immortal, his debut work of science fiction.

Two alien empires – the Entanglement and the Immoral Ascendency – are vying for control of the galaxy, and the fate of Earth may hang in the balance. Lieutenant Jade Mahelona works for the Solar Defense Force, and is tasked with investigating a lost colony on a distant world with a motley crew of bizarre companions. Little do any of them know that they are placing […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2020-09-14T07:29:22+02:00April 30th, 2019|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Science Fiction Book Reviews, Space Opera Book Reviews|

Clouds and Earth (The Peace Outside #1) by Sayde Scarlett

150 years in the future, the Long War may be over, but new advancements mean that the battlefields have merely changed, not disappeared. Clouds and Earth, the first installment of The Peace Outside series, is a riveting new sci-fi thriller from author Sayde Scarlett that drops readers into a radical future.

Extrapolating the Big Brother fears of the modern day into a truly data-fueled dystopia, Scarlett lays out a chillingly prophetic story. She introduces Lt. First Class Sandy Attiyeh, a soldier who must find a new path to apply her skills, and turns to the shadowy corporate side of life. […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2019-04-11T07:11:43+02:00April 9th, 2019|Categories: New Releases|Tags: Science Fiction Book Reviews|

Review: The Promise (Book 1 of the Piecer Chronicles) by Maxx Powr

In The Promise, a futuristic new thriller by Maxx Powr, readers are dumped onto an Earth of the future, where the scars of an attempted alien takeover 20 years earlier have barely stopped bleeding. When that same threat returns in even more devastating style, a young band of unexpected heroes must rise up in defense of the only home they know.

After the human population was nearly destroyed by an alien invasion, recovery has been slow, but promising. Birth rates are rising, the militarized nature of life is beginning to shift, and there is even talk of ending the […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2019-04-04T10:25:39+02:00April 3rd, 2019|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Science Fiction Book Reviews|

The Request for Lambency by ileso DMC

Although there are many different belief structures surrounding religion in the world, one underlying theme remains quite constant: “You can’t take it with you.” However, what if some greater power suddenly changed that rule? In The Request for Lambency, a visionary new YA novel by ileso Dmc, readers are whisked off to a near future where people can, in fact, take one thing into the afterlife with them.

This development obviously creates a mania all across the globe, a craze that feels all too possible in this age of viral desperation to make it big, and the modern propensity […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2019-02-11T12:11:16+02:00February 10th, 2019|Categories: New Releases|Tags: Science Fiction Book Reviews, Speculative Fiction Book Reviews|

Review: The Scent of Distant Worlds by W.D. County

Leaving behind all you have known for worlds that humans have never seen may sound like a grand and honorable adventure, but troubles – both internal and external – are bound to arise. In The Scent of Different Worlds by W.D. County, the crew of The Far Traveler is on a mission to explore an inhabitable world in the Goldilocks Zone, a potential new home that can support life, but the sacrifices they must make are daunting no matter where or when you’re from.

The crew has the opportunity to explore some of the first intelligent life forms to have […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2019-01-28T12:07:27+02:00January 26th, 2019|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Science Fiction Book Reviews|

Infinity: The Secret of the Diamonds by Tejas Mathai

Every family has its secrets, but for Jack Stone, the hidden parts of his family and his father’s ambitious inventions could very well change the course of the universe. In Infinity: The Secret of the Diamonds, young author Tejas Mathai welcomes readers into a world of fantasy and magic, unraveling a sci-fi thriller that pulls from all the best parts of various popular genres, both past and present.

Jack Stone always knew that his father was a brilliant man, but when a team of otherworldly defenders ends up on Earth with a clear interest in his family, this 18-year-old […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2019-01-21T12:45:48+02:00January 18th, 2019|Categories: New Releases|Tags: Science Fiction Book Reviews|