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g_r_frank's reviews
45 reviews
Arklight Regulus by G.B. Holley
4.0
This is the third (and final?) book in the Arklight series, which I have enjoyed reading. Over the course of the series the author explored a number of fascinating historical sites, ideas, theories, and locations related to popular UFO / ancient alien concepts. G.B. Holley has a wonderful knack for writing interesting and exciting action scenes which jump to life. I think the action scenes were some of the best written parts of the series!
In addition to the action scenes, the details of real life locations, military terms, and nautical/diving related topics in the story bring a feel of reality to this fantastic tale. I enjoyed the whole series and it kept me reading. I really enjoyed the sections where characters explored new locations.
Between some of the action scenes, there are a number of long dialog areas where the characters discuss what they think is happening. Some readers might find these sections to be somewhat long and drawn out, although they all help to move the concepts of the plot along to the next area. I would have liked to see some of the characters move a little more from the physical location where most of this third volume's story took place, but other side characters do go to various new locations and that helped a lot. The main characters staying in pretty much the same physical location through this book, and the long dialog areas were the only things that made me drop on star from rating it a perfect five, but I still enjoyed the series as a whole and recommend it to readers who are intrigued by the ideas of ancient alien stories and like a good alien invasion story.
In addition to the action scenes, the details of real life locations, military terms, and nautical/diving related topics in the story bring a feel of reality to this fantastic tale. I enjoyed the whole series and it kept me reading. I really enjoyed the sections where characters explored new locations.
Between some of the action scenes, there are a number of long dialog areas where the characters discuss what they think is happening. Some readers might find these sections to be somewhat long and drawn out, although they all help to move the concepts of the plot along to the next area. I would have liked to see some of the characters move a little more from the physical location where most of this third volume's story took place, but other side characters do go to various new locations and that helped a lot. The main characters staying in pretty much the same physical location through this book, and the long dialog areas were the only things that made me drop on star from rating it a perfect five, but I still enjoyed the series as a whole and recommend it to readers who are intrigued by the ideas of ancient alien stories and like a good alien invasion story.
From the Grave of the Gods by Alan K. Dell
5.0
From the Grave of the Gods is set in a current-day hard science fiction universe, which then takes you into an adventure of humanity’s first real contact with advanced alien civilizations – an amazing, full-length novel by new author Alan K. Dell.
It’s wonderful to find a great page-turner from a new writer. The deeper I got into this book the more I couldn’t put it down (I know that is cliche’ but very true, I read the last 50% of it in a nearly consecutive 6 hour binge!)
The prologue to the novel presents a sequence of Commander James Fowler’s memories in the format of a forced interrogation of his mind, by an unknown pair of alien tormenters. Some of them are very cryptic but I believe it’s setting up things for the future Augment Series novels. One of these memories leads into the first chapter of this initial novel.
The story begins with the first manned mission to Mars in 2025, a mission to investigate what is at first believed to be an unusual comet impact site. The adventure follows the crew members through the mission as it morphs into a mysterious and traumatic ordeal, and the conspiracies and conspiracies which follow them back on Earth after the mission.
The major characters are very compelling and my connection to the them continued to grow stronger as the plot expanded and the dangers of the adventure deepened. I found myself anxious and personally invested in the jeopardy that the characters faced.
The pacing of the plot shows the patience of a seasoned storyteller, keeping us in the action and also giving the reader time to rest and invest in the characters. The universe that’s set in motion by this story is compelling. I can see how the series has a lot of room to expand and become even more exciting as the future novels come out.
This novel is a wonderful read on its own, and ends with it’s own satisfying conclusion, but I anxiously await Dell’s future novels in this series.
It’s wonderful to find a great page-turner from a new writer. The deeper I got into this book the more I couldn’t put it down (I know that is cliche’ but very true, I read the last 50% of it in a nearly consecutive 6 hour binge!)
The prologue to the novel presents a sequence of Commander James Fowler’s memories in the format of a forced interrogation of his mind, by an unknown pair of alien tormenters. Some of them are very cryptic but I believe it’s setting up things for the future Augment Series novels. One of these memories leads into the first chapter of this initial novel.
The story begins with the first manned mission to Mars in 2025, a mission to investigate what is at first believed to be an unusual comet impact site. The adventure follows the crew members through the mission as it morphs into a mysterious and traumatic ordeal, and the conspiracies and conspiracies which follow them back on Earth after the mission.
The major characters are very compelling and my connection to the them continued to grow stronger as the plot expanded and the dangers of the adventure deepened. I found myself anxious and personally invested in the jeopardy that the characters faced.
The pacing of the plot shows the patience of a seasoned storyteller, keeping us in the action and also giving the reader time to rest and invest in the characters. The universe that’s set in motion by this story is compelling. I can see how the series has a lot of room to expand and become even more exciting as the future novels come out.
This novel is a wonderful read on its own, and ends with it’s own satisfying conclusion, but I anxiously await Dell’s future novels in this series.
Expiation (Shadeward Saga, #4) by Drew Wagar
5.0
Dramatic conclusion of the Shadeward saga... Emotions and action runs high in this one. The characters the reader has learned to love, hate, mistrust and forgive find themselves in the final struggle to bring peace to their alien world and reveal the truth of their civilization's past. While I was sad to see this series end I was very satisfied how author Drew Wagar wrapped everything up. Great ending to an amazing series.
Emanation by Heather Murphy, Mr Drew Wagar
5.0
Excellent mix of adventure and character story telling. It is probably most accurately labeled a science fiction book but reads like a fantasy novel (series actually - 4 books) where the main plot is a civilization on a foreign planet that has forgotten its origin as colonists from Earth. The story and characters are excellent, and filled with adventure. The genre' busting story is both fascinating and interesting for its basis in scientific knowledge of planets that could orbit red dwarf flair stars. If you love both fantasy and sci-fi.. this is a great mix!
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