Colony Collapse (The Shattered Stars Book 1) by KE Wolfe

Rating: ★★★★★

Genre: Science Fiction

Format: eBook

Pages: 88

Read: 03/28/23

Synopsis:

The Galactic Federation exists only as a memory. But in a distant corner of the galaxy, the Burning Apollo carries out its impossible mission: to reunite the scattered fragments of humanity, to seek out forgotten stars, to bravely rediscover what was lost long ago.

Episode One: 

The boy from the ice planet distrusts the woman from the sky. For four hundred years his people have struggled to survive, even as they fight over the destroyed vessel that remains their ancestral home. When disaster strikes, the boy must call for help from the woman’s friends beyond the clouds. But the voice that answers will change the future of this planet forever—and not necessarily for the better.

an episodic science fiction series in the tradition of Star Trek: The Next Generation but written with a grunginess and energy closer to Firefly.

Review: 

A planet long forgotten, trying to survive through the tests of time and continuing desolation. Reaching out to the other planets in the galaxy, they are calling out to their last hope of survival. There is much distrust among the colonies and some tough decisions must be made. Do what must be done or risk the ending of life. 

This is the first installment of a planned series with each coming out every three months. As a huge fan of Star Trek, (yes, I said that, it is one of my comfort go to series to watch), I had no doubt that I would enjoy this science fiction space opera. It's not deep sci-fi, it's light and fun with a lot of heart and soul. 

Fun characters and great world building. I am looking forward to more as each is released. This is a series that is well worth investing the time to be purely entertained, feel a little nostalgia, and go on a trip in outer space.

This was a great adventure, creative and a whole lot of fun!

Goodreads Author Links:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/

Amazon Author Links:

https://www.amazon.com/stores/Kyle-Muntz/author/

https://www.amazon.com/stores/edward-j-rathke/author/

https://www.amazon.com/stores/KE-Wolfe/author/

Review Links:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/

https://www.bookbub.com/reviews/

https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/

Kyle Muntz

https://radicaledward.substack.com/

https://thepalecity.com/

https://www.clashbooks.com/

Edward Rathke

https://radicaledward.substack.com/

Scratched by Matt Micheli

Rating: ★★★★

Genre: Horror

Format: eBook

Pages: 73

Read: 03/23/23

Synopsis:

Droves of the rich and beautiful have invaded the small town of Brawlton, forcing out the many generations of good-natured, wholesome townspeople. On the outside, these new inhabitants seem to have it all, but they soon learn that there is more to life than Botox, silicone, and spreading rumors while sipping on over-priced martinis.

There is something lurking in the woods, and it is hungry for blood.

Review:

Brawlton, a small quiet town once full of pride and comfort. Now the Hollywood elite have pushed their way in and taken over, causing the townspeople to leave. Their businesses have been taken over and their once life of comfort no longer exists.

So begins a look into the lives of the new occupents. Vain and catty people with broken relationships and they are all under the watchful eye of something hiding in the darkness of the woods. Ever lurking and hungry for the blood of broken hearts and lonely souls.

There is not only a dreadfulness of so many loosing their lifestyle and their homes, but there is also the creeping dread of a monstrous being deep in the woods, coming out to feed its hunger.

The elite characters, even though they are quite unlikeable, were entertaining as they banter over drinks and meals. Always trying to be the best of the best. They made me feel all kinds of emotions, which is what good character development should do. 

The two horrors within co-exist and as it comes to an ending, a resolution occurs which I thought was very well done.

An intermingle of drama, horror, and a creature feature. 

"There is a creature that lurks right outside the city, in the shadows, in the night. This creature terrorizes young women, along its path, eating goats and cows alike. It looks for the lonely, the entitled, the sad, the women needing more attention and romance to be had. So listen well, women of the land, it is best not to expect too much from your man. And you should always be careful what you wish for, and love and appreciate your man, no matter what, forever more."

Goodreads Author Link:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/

Amazon Author Link:

https://www.amazon.com/stores/Matt-Micheli/author/

Bookbub Author Link:

https://www.bookbub.com/authors/matt-micheli

Review Links:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/

https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/

Author Website Link:

https://www.mattmicheli.com/

Autumn Gothic by Brian Bowyer

Rating: ★★★★

Genre: Horror

Format: Paperback

Pages: 343

Read: 03/18/23

Synopsis: 

In San Francisco, Sierra falls in love with her favorite author. After learning that Vivian Kane grew up in a haunted house, she persuades Vivian to take her to the mansion in West Virginia, where they encounter a savage entity known as the Sorceress of Night.

In Los Angeles, Delilah—a celebrated musician—kills humans as sacrifices to the ancient gods of death. When Mark—her guitar player—discovers her evil ways, she gives him two choices: leave California, or become her next victim. He flees, and then Delilah changes her mind, killing people across America while pursuing him as he travels east. After she tracks him to a mansion in the mountains of West Virginia, monsters both human and inhuman collide on Halloween night.

Review:

"Everyone," she told him, "needs to be wanted, to see themselves reflected in the waters of another person's desire. It pushes back our feelings of being insubstantial, the fear that our entire identities could just crumble and blow away at any moment."

Drugs, booze, murder, sex and love. Double it, triple it, and then multiply it by 100%. 

There are many characters portrayed as flawed, some edging on unsound, and others just trying to get through the storms of life. 

A haunted mansion with deep buried secrets, and a telepathic sorceress that craves the blood of children.

A massive combination of mayhem and visceral depravity.

Each characters storyline connects as they all come together in a fight for their lives.

Kicked into high gear from the beginning, it only amps up from there. It becomes a hypertense, whip cracking, jacked up story, leading to an unrelenting bloody, gore filled book of atrocious events.

Goodreads Author Link:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/

Amazon Author Link:

https://www.amazon.com/stores/Brian-Bowyer/author/

Bookbub Author Link:

https://www.bookbub.com/authors/brian-bowyer

Review Links:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show

https://www.bookbub.com/reviews/

https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/

Little Black Crimes by Nathaniel Blackhelm

Rating: ★★★★★ 

Genre: Crime Noir/ Short Stories

Format: Paperback/eBook

Pages: 189

Read: 03/14/23

Synopsis: 

For the sinners and antiheroes in LITTLE BLACK CRIMES, the road to deliverance is paved with brutality, and chock-full of deadly twists and turns.

Heavy are the crosses and crowns of these wayward souls, who wrestle with the pain of loss, the torment of lust, the burning need for retribution, redemption, power.

Sparks and bullets fly in these tales of noir and terror that ignite the page, blazing their way into the pantheon of modern pulp.

Review:

"Mine was a chronicle of abuse by men; his, a history of family disappointments."

Crime Noir, stories that delve into the darkest places of the heart, mind, and soul. Desires that are unconscionable. Desires that go beyond the acceptable. The war within, churning and boiling, yearning for release. The sleazy, seedy, and corrupt looking for their next victim, their next fix, or the redemption they feel they deserve. 

Pitch black, gritty, deep poetic prose with an inky and gloomy atmosphere, these stories cause the mind to stagger. Breaking the boundaries with the need to process the atrocities within. Checking the locks on the doors, making sure the windows are shut tight, and leaving a light or two on through the night. 

Doom and gloom, despair, and a discernment of deep emotions, wanting to believe there are no such thing as monsters, but knowing full well they do exist. 

Fans of dark crimes, terror and horror, stories that will leave you feeling uncomfortable and a little chilled, I recommend you grab yourselves a copy of "Little Black Crimes" , but be sure to grab that warm drink of choice and a warm cozy to wrap up in to help with those spine tingling chills. 

"Time can’t kill the heart, no matter how hard it tries. That’s what my mamá used to tell me. A lot can happen in four years. Old loves can die. New loves can be born. Anything you can imagine. It’s all possible if it’s the heart."

Goodreads Author Link:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/

Amazon Author Link:

https://www.amazon.com/stores/Nathaniel-Blackhelm/author/

Review Links:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/

https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/

https://www.close2thebone.co.uk/wp/

Uncanny Valley Days by C.J. Sampera

Rating: ★★★★★ 

Genre: Horror/Occult

Format: eBook

Pages: 223

Read: 03/04/23

Synopsis: 

Rocked by grief and recurring apparitions of her dead brother, Olivia is losing her grip on reality and may have inadvertently invoked a cybernetic, serial-killing slasher demon. Or is it all in her head?

Olivia Peramo is a writer and an artist at heart, barista by trade who struggles with multiple mental health issues. All of which have only been intensified by the recent loss of both her parents and her older brother Alejandro. And to top it off, she may have just inadvertently invoked an evil entity with one passive-aggressive rage tweet.

Soon enough, the people that cross Olivia start winding up dead, and she’s being made to watch each grisly murder as they unfold. Is she part of some elaborate hoax? Is this sinister force really breaking her reality and murdering innocent people? Or has Olivia completely lost it and started killing them herself? Not to mention, the ghost of her dead brother keeps popping up every time she smokes a little weed.

Review:

“T H I S. I S. N o T. A. G a M E.”

"He’s a glorified guard dog in Hell, an agent of pure chaos and pestilence, but a guard dog, nonetheless."

Life has not been easy for Olivia. She lost her parents and her brother in a plane crash. She misses them so much and she feels quite alone. Working in a job she really doesn't care for, she is just trying her best every day to make it or break it. Her mental illness keeps her in some very dark places and the guilt she feels inside for not being with her family on that fateful day has her wishing that she could leave this life behind. 

When she decides to make a post to Twitter of a summoning circle she sets in motion a series of events that puts herself and others around her on a path of destruction. She is now not only fighting her own demons, she is fighting a demon from hell. One that was created through a cybernetic summoning that took on a life of its own and stepped through the veil into our world. The only way he can be destroyed is by being permanently deleted deep within the system of which he was created. Until then he destroys everyone connected to Olivia and he is becoming stronger as he feeds on Olivia's darkness. 

“When we are in our bodies, on Earth, there are certain frequencies that we can’t tap into. The spirit world is all around us, but we can’t see it because it’s behind the veil. When you take something that alters your state of consciousness it opens your perception and sort of lets you peek behind that veil. See, hear, feel things you wouldn’t be able to normally. Of course, to do this, it also has to shut down something else, like common sense or your inhibitions… sometimes motor functions if you’ve taken too much of something hard.”

This story not only creates a character suffering from mental ilnesses, pain of loss, and fighting ones own inner demons, it has given life to a new kind of demon that feeds on all the darkness inside humanity, creating even more pain as his desire is to destroy life. He revels in death and the knowledge of being untouchable. 

I started reading this without knowing much about it. I avoided reading the synopsis as I wanted the element of surprise and wow what a surprise it was! Not like anything I have ever read before, I found myself completely engaged in the story, connecting to the characters and being utterly horrified by the cybernetic demon. Just the thought that the demon was practically impossible to destroy and was able to slip past the veil was frightening. The atmosphere was chilling as the demon appeared and the descriptiveness of his death blows were gruesome and shocking. 

Exciting storyline, great characterization, and an excellent build up to a great ending!

Goodreads Author Link:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/

Amazon Author Link:

https://www.amazon.com/stores/C.J.-Sampera/author/

Review Links:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/

https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/

https://fedowarpress.com/