Science Fiction | Self-Publishing Review

Elashom the Great Refuses and Other Stories by Erick Drake

A wide-ranging short story collection in both content and form, Erick Drake’s Elashom the Great Refuses and Other Stories is a lush, clever, and quick read for fans of the supernatural and strange.

The collection features six enchanting science fiction and fantasy tales, set everywhere from historical seventeenth-century England to the futuristic darkest reaches of space. Drake’s subjects also entertainingly run the gamut: the dead soul of a witch’s boyfriend trapped in a dreamcatcher, a surprising seance with a devilish twist written in play format, and a story about a declinatory sculptor inspired by the Biblical milieu of William Blake.[…]

Michelle Hogmire2021-11-18T08:26:29+02:00November 18th, 2021|Categories: New Releases|Tags: Erick Drake, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Short Stories|

Review: Pink Gallery to Mar Suite by Chris Leite

Author Christopher Leite drops readers into the mind of a ruthless android in Pink Gallery to Mar Suite, a grim and bloody novel of revenge, lust, and the existential angst of an AI assassin.

In this gritty slice of the future, ICQA-1037 is just a hard-working robot killer trying to get laid after four long years, but his standards are high, his patience is thin, and his temper seems perpetually ready to boil over and explode. Being one of the most advanced forms of technology on the planet doesn’t make up for his loneliness, or confusion at the petty […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2021-12-21T07:24:52+02:00November 9th, 2021|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Science Fiction|

The Terminal Code by J.W. Galliger

A refreshing and raw splash of dystopic creativity, The Terminal Code by J.W. Galliger is a futuristic crime thriller that will leave you hungry for more, though not necessarily eager for the decades to come.

A murder inside an immersive virtual reality world called SCAPE leaves investigators terrified and mystified by the implications. Identifying a deadly flaw in an escapist platform that serves billions brings up an impossible question: what are the true boundaries of reality? If our mind believes something deeply enough, can it be manifested with deadly consequences? Bringing the story home for today’s readers, the novel questions […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2021-11-02T02:45:23+02:00October 30th, 2021|Categories: New Releases|Tags: Science Fiction, Thriller|

Review: Pike’s Passage by John J Spearman

Taking an unexpected turn in the Sandy Pike series, Pike’s Passage by John J Spearman is a stellar second installment of his sci-fi saga. Capturing the same authenticity in terms of detail and world-building, this follow-up turns inwards to a more adventurous and character-driven drama, rather than a sprawling epic.

When Sandy Pike sees his lifelong dream of being a starship captain slipping away as the Alliance stumbles into an unthinkable cosmic defeat, he refuses to let the mistakes of other men steal his shot at happiness. The idea of entering the freight business means a smooth transition away from […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2021-09-16T03:50:24+02:00August 12th, 2021|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: John J Spearman, Science Fiction|

Review: The Timepiece and the Girl Who Went Astray by O.R. Simmonds

A whirlwind of an adventure set in the eternally mysterious city of London, The Timepiece and the Girl Who Went Astray by O.R. Simmonds is a bold and meticulously penned thriller. William Wells only wanted a special gift for his girlfriend Abigayle, but his thoughtfulness may be something he comes to regret, in this clever masterwork of time travel fiction.

After Will witnesses the brutal shooting of the kindly shop owner who sold him the titular watch, it doesn’t take long for him to realize that something much more dangerous is happening on the streets of London. The ornate watch […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2021-08-09T01:22:43+02:00July 20th, 2021|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Science Fiction, Time Travel|

Review: Sun Wolf (Space Unbound Book 2) by David C. Jeffrey

A stunning follow-up to the debut of David C. Jeffrey’s Space Unbound series, Sun Wolf is an invigorating shot of prophecy, elevating the stakes for this future world to a universal scale.

While the first book in the series sets the foundation of actors, alliances, advancements, and unique alien life forms, this sophomore serving delves deeper, exposing more complex enemies and a much larger conflict than mere resource squabbling. When the greatest discovery of Earth’s New Age of Space becomes unstable, everything humanity has fought for could be wiped out of existence.

The fearless Aiden Macallan, the eccentric Elgin Woo, […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2021-07-20T06:07:33+02:00June 20th, 2021|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: David C. Jeffrey, Science Fiction|

Review: Pride of Ashna (Foundra Book 2) by Emmanuel Arriaga

The fate of the Huzien Empire is once again threatened by unknown cosmic forces in Pride of Ashna by Emmanuel Arriaga, a jaw-dropping and imaginative sci-fi adventure that expands and improves on the first installment of the Foundra series.

Neven Kenk’s humble heroics continue in this fast-paced sequel, particularly once he discovers that the woman he loves is onboard a pleasure cruise that has been taken over by merciless space pirates in the Outer Rim. A dauntless warrior scarred by the trauma of intense loss as a child, Serah’Elax is a new and incredible protagonist in this female-fronted second installment, […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2022-04-08T06:02:36+02:00June 6th, 2021|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Emmanuel Arriaga, Science Fiction|

Review: The Doomsday Machine by Erick Drake

Take a raucous ride through endless space, dark humor, and epic strangeness with The Doomsday Machine (Space Scrap 17 Book 1), a wild debut novel from Erick Drake. Magicians, alien war machines, spiteful coalescing gods, and one fearless scrap scavenger collide for a uniquely tongue-in-cheek space adventure.

Admiral Daryl is a scatterbrained, entertaining, and tone-setting figure, as well as the father of Daisy Daryl, the protagonist, a brand new captain in Daryl’s less-than-impressive space garbage-hauling fleet. The main conflict of the novel is not with her potentially chaotic first mission through a wormhole, but rather the contentious relationship with […]