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#Review: CassaFire #sci-fi #book

Goodreads

Title:  Cassafire

Series: Cassastar #2

Author: Alex J. Cavanaugh

Genre: Space Opera

Pages: 240

Reading Level: Adult

Content: PG (military subject matter, some violence, & adult situations)

After reading book one in this series, I needed a break. The first book caught me off guard. I had no idea it would be so emotional. I fear I may have waited longer than necessary, but the wait was totally worth it. Like the first book in this series, this sequel has its action packed moments, psychologically challenging struggles, and of course, its gut wrenching moments of joy, sorrow, despair, and then hope.

In CassaFire, we find our hero, Byron exploring the known universe in the service of scientists. To put it plainly, the world’s greatest combat pilot is a taxi driver for smart people. Of course, we know he’s doing this to fulfill a promise he made to Bassa, from book one, but what we don’t know is just how exciting space exploration is about to become for the not-quite-middle-aged pilot.

This installment of the Cassa series does two things right away that as a fan of this world pleased me to no end. It brought in more galactic races and it uses more “special abilities” or powers. The geek in me loves that Cassians can’t live without their telepathic abilities and it’s interesting to see how these abilities are perceived by others in the universe.

Author Cavanaugh does an excellent job of touching on some very sensitive subject matters without bringing the story down or belittling the subjects’ importance. He touches on subjects such as: racism, superiority and right, colonization, choice vs duty, and more. There is even a slight, yet significant romance to keep you wondering what will come in the future.

I think this book is suitable for all readers, though younger children may not understand some of the deeper points and those averse to sci-fi themes may have trouble seeing beyond the setting to appreciate the true message of this piece, which I believe is love and loyalty grounded in personal experience and not simply tradition and duty.

See my review of CassaStar here.

I give this book a 5.

LoveIt

This review has been posted to GoodReads.

If you’d like a Kindle copy of this book, try this link: Amazon

Get a print copy with free international shipping at this link: Book Depository.

Thank you for taking the time to read this post. If you like it let me know and share it with others. See you next time, Toi Thomas. #thetoiboxofwords

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#Review: The Affinity Bridge #mystery #paranormal #book

Goodreads

Title:  The Affinity Bridge

Series: Newbury and Hobbes #1

Author: George Mann

Genre: Steampunk, Sci-fi

Pages: 350

Reading Level: Adult

Content: R (violence, drug use, scary and mature themes, some gore)

I bought this book at a bargain bookstore and almost feel like I ripped them off. Even though I didn’t love this book, I still underpaid for it.

I’ve been wanting to dive into the steampunk genre for some time, but I keep getting distracted by my faves. Every now and then, though, I do pick up something steam and always seem to enjoy it. The main problem with this book is that it has a reputation and I let myself get caught up in the hype. I was expecting, maybe, too much from it. In any case, I did like it and here’s why.

The story is a mystery in the manner of Sherlock Holmes but set in a world of steam with large blimps floating over London and zombie-like creatures lurking in the dark. This isn’t a spoiler, this is how the book opens up- and what an opening it is. Holmes and Watson are played by Sir Newbury and his assistant Miss Hobbs (who I liked right away).

Punch card powered Automata are at the center of the great mystery which involves royalty, a blimp crash, and a few murders. The pace ebbs and flows and the promise of “dark arts” is lacking. The descriptions were probably my favorite part. All in all, I can’t complain too much. It’s a good story and a credit to the genre. I plan to read more in this series (I think it’s a series).

I give this book a 4.

LikeIt

This review has been posted to GoodReads.

If you’d like to obtain a copy of this book, try this link: Amazon

Get a print copy with free international shipping at this link: Book Depository.

Thank you for taking the time to read this post. If you like it let me know and share it with others. See you next time, Toi Thomas. #thetoiboxofwords

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Books

#Review : Chinese Take-out #spy #book

Goodreads

Title:  Chinese Take-out

Series: NA

Author: Ian Mathie

Genre: Historical fiction, Spy Thriller

Pages: 287

Reading Level: Adult

Content: PG-13 (war and mature themes, some sexual content/references)

I’m kicking myself for taking so long to read this book. I mean I have it in both ebook and paperback form, but hey, sometimes life gets in the way. The first thing that drew me to this book was the fact that it’s a work of fiction from an author who’s known for writing memoirs. The second thing that caught my eye was the amazing cover.

Chinese Take-out starts out seeming to be two stories running in parallel until it’s revealed later that there is more than one thing linking these two “cases” together. Yes, cases is important. Green, aka the Nose, is a “company man” who has been pulled away from his preferred assignment in China to deal with a domestic matter involving arms dealing. This is essentially an espionage thriller and if you still don’t know what “The Company” is, this may not be the book for you.

I could go into more detail about the plot to give you a big build up and still leave out the details, but I don’t want to. I want anyone who decides to pick this up to be just as surprised as I was. I will throw you a few bones just so you can see if you are truly interested. The story has: a cover-up, a rebel, a huge misunderstanding, a mentor/buddy theme, and of course spying. Also, the story takes place during the formation of The Peoples Republic of China, so seeing the characters use and try to understand technology that we’d find archaic was actually, kind of, amusing.

I loved the characters in this book. The story itself was told in such a matter-of-fact way, that the characters were the one thing you could form an emotional bond with. When these guys bounced from one mini-mission to the other, you were with them and rooting for them, not wanting to leave anyone behind. I won’t pretend this was an action packed story, but the weaving of clues and messages and secrets was riveting.

I’d say this book was written for an adult audience, but a teen with a thirst for espionage could totally get into this. This is probably a read mainly for the fellas, but hey- I loved it.

I give this book a 5.

LoveIt

This review has been posted to GoodReads.

If you’d like a Kindle copy of this book, try this link: Amazon.

Get a print copy with free international shipping at this link: Book Depository.

Thank you for taking the time to read this post. If you like it let me know and share it with others. See you next time, Toi Thomas. #thetoiboxofwords