Showing posts with label science fiction. Show all posts
Showing posts with label science fiction. Show all posts
New Story - Past, Present, and Future
Labels:
creative writing,
fiction,
free book,
karen lofgren,
science fiction
·
"Modern soon-to-be college freshmen Melanie Geyer discovers she has the rare and amazing ability to Jump - time travel - between two times other than her own. One is Victorian England, the other a space station orbiting a devastated Earth far in the future. As more and more complications come to light, Melanie finds herself faced with an agonizing choice.
An 11,000 word digital exclusive from Loyalty Press and Karen Lofgren, author of the urban fantasy Imagine Someday and the epic space opera saga The Souls of the Stars."
An 11,000 word digital exclusive from Loyalty Press and Karen Lofgren, author of the urban fantasy Imagine Someday and the epic space opera saga The Souls of the Stars."
Here are the links to download:
Kindle*
Nook
Kobo
iBookstore
Smashwords
*I am still working with Amazon to get the title free on their site, but until then, if you have a Kindle and you want to read the book and not pay the $0.99, please visit Smashwords and simply download the .mobi link from them and load it onto your Kindle.
Thank you, as always, for checking out my work. If you enjoy the book, please consider leaving a review and taking a look at my other work. Look for more to come from me and Loyalty Press in 2016!
Kindle*
Nook
Kobo
iBookstore
Smashwords
*I am still working with Amazon to get the title free on their site, but until then, if you have a Kindle and you want to read the book and not pay the $0.99, please visit Smashwords and simply download the .mobi link from them and load it onto your Kindle.
Thank you, as always, for checking out my work. If you enjoy the book, please consider leaving a review and taking a look at my other work. Look for more to come from me and Loyalty Press in 2016!
Announcing a New Story!
Labels:
creative writing,
free book,
novelette,
science fiction,
writing
·
Past, Present, and Future is an 11,000 word digital standalone exclusive, due out on February 29th and will be published by Loyalty Press.
The price will be free. That's right, free. This is partially to apologize for my lack of new material published in 2015 (it was a big year for me), but also for the fact it's taking me a lot longer than I would have hoped to get a draft ready of December's sequel, July. At this point, The Brooch of Storisvaria will probably be ready first... So I'm sorry, and I hope you can enjoy this in the meantime.
Past, Present, and Future began life as a piece in my still-in-progress short story collection, The Profane and the Sacred and Other Stories. After it became much longer than I would have wanted to put in a short story collection and it became clear I wouldn't have a new novel to present in 2015, I have chosen to publish it separately for everyone to enjoy.
The story is about a soon-to-be modern college freshmen, Melanie, discovering that she has the rare and amazing ability to Jump to two times other than her own. One is Victorian England, and the other a space station orbiting a devastated Earth far in the future. As more and more complications come to light, Melanie finds herself faced with an agonizing choice.
Again, Past, Present, and Future is due out on all major digital platforms on February 29, 2016. Be sure to pick up a copy!
Book Review - Artemis Awakening
Labels:
artemis awakening,
book review,
jane lindskold,
science fiction
·
 |
| Cover image courtesy of Barnes and Noble. |
Author: Jane Lindskold
Publisher: Tor
Publication Date: May 27, 2014
Version I Read: Mass Market Paperback
Rating: 5/5
By now, it should be no secret that I'm a big fan of Jane Lindskold's work, so when I heard she had a new series coming out, I nabbed a copy at the earliest opportunity. Needless to say from my five star rating, it's good.
Centuries ago, a powerful empire dominated the stars. With their advanced technology, they were able to accomplish seemingly the impossible, like creating an entire pleasure planet for their elite, complete with residents. When the empire and their technology were destroyed in a war, the planet, named Artemis, was lost and left to evolve on its own. Now, young archaeologist Griffin Dane has come to the planet, hoping to make the archaeological find of the century. Too bad his shuttle crashes...
There's not a lot to talk about, really. It's just a good all around book. No one thing in particular sticks out, but that's because every element is done nicely and it all blends together to create a good story that still leaves some questions unanswered and some plot threads open.
Major spoilers!
First off, this book, unlike some others, has been edited down to necessity, making it very tightly-plotted. The allows the action and the story to move along at a clipped pace and never drag.
The villain, the Old One Who Is Young, is not a new breed by any stretch of the imagination, but he is an effective one. When describing the horrors of the Old One's experiment/breeding program, Lindskold pulls no punches, making a great case for why this man is so unbelievably horrible he deserves to be called a villain. (Long story short, he's breeding human beings for reasons that make sense in context, and abduction, rape, and removing children from their parents is a regular occurrence). This also allows the narrative to scratch the surface of showing how Stockholm Syndrome can cause victims to victimize others, and why they shouldn't be held entirely accountable for it. He is also mentioned early enough that his importance is consistent throughout the novel, and his betrayal is effective in its surprise.
I also found the romance realistic, especially in regards to Adara and Julyan. It's a spot-on description of a young woman, caught up in the throes of first love, falling for a man whose dominant personality becomes problematic (understatement) in the future. The interactions between Griffin and Adara and Terrell and Adara (and Griffin and Terrell's friendship in spite of the "competition") turn them into real people (albeit from completely different origins) and the reader, as well as Adara, can see the good points of each. Both Griffin and Adara thinking they are not good enough for the other (for different reasons) was a nice touch. They also make a very good team. Adara herself is sufficiently badass and crafty (pretending to be stupid around the Old One so she may avoid his attentions while sneaking about on her own to investigate), joining the ranks of other similar Lindskold heroines. Her connection to the planet itself is intriguing and I'm interested to see where it will go as the story continues.
Research was clearly done on pumas in order to write Sand Shadow, and Artemis itself is an organic, fascinating world that, hopefully, will only continue to be built upon in subsequent novels. While it's been done before, the discovery of this lost world is just as mysterious and intriguing as any which came before.
Centuries ago, a powerful empire dominated the stars. With their advanced technology, they were able to accomplish seemingly the impossible, like creating an entire pleasure planet for their elite, complete with residents. When the empire and their technology were destroyed in a war, the planet, named Artemis, was lost and left to evolve on its own. Now, young archaeologist Griffin Dane has come to the planet, hoping to make the archaeological find of the century. Too bad his shuttle crashes...
There's not a lot to talk about, really. It's just a good all around book. No one thing in particular sticks out, but that's because every element is done nicely and it all blends together to create a good story that still leaves some questions unanswered and some plot threads open.
Major spoilers!
First off, this book, unlike some others, has been edited down to necessity, making it very tightly-plotted. The allows the action and the story to move along at a clipped pace and never drag.
The villain, the Old One Who Is Young, is not a new breed by any stretch of the imagination, but he is an effective one. When describing the horrors of the Old One's experiment/breeding program, Lindskold pulls no punches, making a great case for why this man is so unbelievably horrible he deserves to be called a villain. (Long story short, he's breeding human beings for reasons that make sense in context, and abduction, rape, and removing children from their parents is a regular occurrence). This also allows the narrative to scratch the surface of showing how Stockholm Syndrome can cause victims to victimize others, and why they shouldn't be held entirely accountable for it. He is also mentioned early enough that his importance is consistent throughout the novel, and his betrayal is effective in its surprise.
I also found the romance realistic, especially in regards to Adara and Julyan. It's a spot-on description of a young woman, caught up in the throes of first love, falling for a man whose dominant personality becomes problematic (understatement) in the future. The interactions between Griffin and Adara and Terrell and Adara (and Griffin and Terrell's friendship in spite of the "competition") turn them into real people (albeit from completely different origins) and the reader, as well as Adara, can see the good points of each. Both Griffin and Adara thinking they are not good enough for the other (for different reasons) was a nice touch. They also make a very good team. Adara herself is sufficiently badass and crafty (pretending to be stupid around the Old One so she may avoid his attentions while sneaking about on her own to investigate), joining the ranks of other similar Lindskold heroines. Her connection to the planet itself is intriguing and I'm interested to see where it will go as the story continues.
Research was clearly done on pumas in order to write Sand Shadow, and Artemis itself is an organic, fascinating world that, hopefully, will only continue to be built upon in subsequent novels. While it's been done before, the discovery of this lost world is just as mysterious and intriguing as any which came before.
Neither Karen Lofgren nor Loyalty Press has any affiliation with the author or publisher. This review constitutes Fair Use.
Book Review - Jurassic Park
Labels:
book review,
dinosaurs,
fiction,
jurassic park,
michael crichton,
science fiction
·
 |
| Cover art courtesy of Barnes and Noble |
Title: Jurassic Park
Author: Michael Crichton
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Publication Date: November 1990
Version I Read: Mass Market Paperback
Rating: 4.5/5
Ah, Jurassic Park. Perhaps one of the only times in history that the movie has been better than the book.
That’s not to say the book is bad. It’s actually very good. It just has the misfortune of being overshadowed by one of the most successful (and in my opinion best) movie adaptations of all time. (Apologies. This review cannot help but make comparisons, and this is opinion, meaning there is quite a good argument to be had as to why the book is better.)
Nearly everyone knows the story of Jurassic Park. Rich eccentric builds a park with dinosaurs on an island off the coast of Costa Rica. And later there’s running and screaming.
Now, science will tell you this can’t work. DNA degrades over time, rendering it impossible to clone. Not to mention getting enough DNA from a blood sample in a mosquito to clone from is also highly unlikely. Not to mention the fact that T-Rex would have had feathers, dilophosaurus probably couldn’t spit venom, and velociraptor was the size of a chicken. But none of that matters, because both the book and the movie are just that freaking awesome.
I’ve been a fan of Jurassic Park since basically as long as I can remember. I had to convince my mother to let me see it when I was, like, five, and as I’m typing this, we’re actually going to go see it at a midnight showing at a local art theater, so I’m super excited.
So back to the book that started it all. I read the book many years ago when I was younger, but I opted to reread it last month in order to better comprehend it as my adult self. Obviously there are a lot of differences; some of which work better or answer questions those familiar with the movie might have. You obviously have a lot more time for detail in the book, which certainly adds to the credibility of this park. For example, the book elaborates on the reason the dinosaurs’ vision is based on movement (because of the added frog DNA), why the triceratops/stegosaurus was sick, and Dodgson’s motivations in contracting Dennis Nedry to steal the embryos.
There’s also the characters in general, as most have significant differences from their movie counterparts. (Wu and Harding get to do things! Gennaro is kind of badass! Hammond is an asshole! Grant has a beard!) Hammond being rather unsympathetic is particularly jarring to those familiar with the film, and I do wish he’d had something else to him, because as-is he’s kind of a flat character. It's also pretty horrific that two of the main deaths (Wu and Regis) were because they were trying to help someone else. Yeah, it was douchy of Regis to run off on the kids when the Rex attacked, but he came back out of guilt only to be Tyrannosaur dinner. And Wu died because he was trying to warn Ellie there were raptors nearby. Yikes.
A lot of it, I think, comes down to personal preference as to whether you like movie!character or book!character better. I think nearly everyone prefers movie!Hammond, and I certainly prefer book!Gennaro. Muldoon is pretty close between the two versions, but he gets to live in the book, which is nice. In contrast, book!Malcolm dies. It was an interesting choice for Spielberg to switch the ages of the kids - in the book, Lex is the younger sibling, and not nearly as useful. The elaboration on their parents’ divorce and the fact that Lex is obviously the favored child of their father, however, is well-done and quite sad for both Tim and Lex.
Although I do find Crichton’s choice to try and keep us guessing for the first parts of the book as to what’s going on rather well done, it is kind of odd when, even just from looking at and reading the book’s cover, it’s clear there are dinosaurs running around. Guitierrez’s presence was also odd, as you’re almost led to believe he will be the main character, before it then switches to Grant for the remainder of the book (until Guitierrez shows up again, somewhat randomly, at the end).
The book is technically classified as a thriller, and I think it succeeds in that area pretty well, particularly the scenes with the raptors near the end (and in the laboratory with Grant), the aviary scene, and the part when Grant and the kids are trying to avoid the T-Rex and get to the riverboat. I always admire writers who can make us feel afraid or anxious without the help of visual media, the way film can do, I feel, more easily. Goes to show how powerful the human imagination is.
The one thing I wasn't too keen on was the prose itself. While obviously written by a scientific mind for an intelligent audience, the prose are pretty "basic," which can take away some of the awe and imagery I'm sure Crichton's trying to conjure.
While I hold scientific progress in high regard and generally disagree with Crichton’s rather anti-science standpoint, I think the cautionary point about “just because you can do something doesn’t mean that you should” is well-taken. (That, or they could just have people who know what they’re doing running Jurassic Park)
The verdict: Jurassic Park is a great book that, if you like dinosaurs or smart thrillers, you should read, no matter your familiarity with the film.
Neither Karen Lofgren nor Loyalty Press has any affiliation with the author or publisher. This review constitutes Fair Use.
Neither Karen Lofgren nor Loyalty Press has any affiliation with the author or publisher. This review constitutes Fair Use.
Goodreads Giveaway!
Labels:
aliens,
book giveaway,
free book,
giveaway,
Goodreads giveaway,
science fiction,
space opera
·
 |
| You know you want it. |
Enter the giveaway HERE!
Here's the synopsis:
Over a hundred years in the future, Earth has fallen under the invasion of a hostile alien race-the Drevi. Half the population has been captured as specimens, while the rest are fighting for their lives in a resistance movement that has achieved more defeats than victories.
Ted Anderson, a 42-year-old information specialist from the American States, thought nothing could save him from his new life. In spite of being an aide to a leading Drevi scientist who treats him well, he is reminded every day what he truly is. A specimen. An Inferior with no future.
Then two strange new aliens arrive as representatives of their government, wanting to free humanity from the invading force. And all of Ted's dreams come true. He's on a starship, shooting through space at speeds he had never before imagined. And most of all, he is free again.
Now Ted is drawn into a dangerous conflict to save all he knows and loves. But the fate of more than just humanity might rest on his shoulders.
In this stunning new science fiction epic, author Karen Lofgren weaves a tale of the human condition, and how even in the darkest of times, it can shine through into the future.
Seriously, it's a chance at a free book. Why are you hesitating?
And even if you don't win, the ebook is only $2.99 on Amazon, Nook, and Smashwords. Not sure if you want to buy? Free samples are available at all of those links. So go check it out!
Happy Halloween (And Some Other Stuff)
The thing is, Halloween proceeds National Novel Writing Month by a day. So I will be holed up in my room starting tomorrow in the little spare time I have, typing away for most of November. My NaNo profile is here: http://nanowrimo.org/participants/kumaokaasan, where you can follow my progress and check out the novel I'm working on as my project. I will do my best to be active on the site, but with some changes at my work and trying to complete NaNo, I probably won't be updating this blog much in November.
In December, I plan to have a giveaway on GoodReads of some signed copies of December, my newest novel. (hehe) More details on that to come, and I promise I'm working on July, its sequel. ... Just not in November. *sigh*
December - The Souls of the Stars Book 1
Labels:
alien invasions,
aliens,
occupations,
science fiction,
space opera,
war
·
December
Karen Lofgren
Series: The Souls of the Stars Saga (Book 1 of 2)
Release Date: August 9, 2014
Genre: Science Fiction [Space Opera]
Over a hundred years in the future, Earth has fallen under the invasion of a hostile alien race—the Drevi. Half the population has been captured as specimens, while the rest are fighting for their lives in a resistance movement that has achieved more defeats than victories.
Ted Anderson, a 42-year-old information specialist from the American States, thought nothing could save him from his new life. In spite of being an aide to a leading Drevi scientist who treats him well, he is reminded every day what he truly is. A specimen. An Inferior with no future.
Then two strange new aliens arrive as representatives of their government, wanting to free humanity from the invading force. And all of Ted’s dreams come true. He’s on a starship, shooting through space at speeds he never before imagined. And most of all, he is free again.
Now Ted is drawn into a dangerous conflict to save all he knows and loves. But the fate of more than just humanity might rest on his shoulders.
In this stunning new science fiction epic, author Karen Lofgren weaves a tale of the human condition, and how even in the darkest of times, it can shine through into the future.
Cover image courtesy of NASA, ESA, and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI AURA)-ESA Hubble Collaboration. This publication is in no way endorsed by NASA.
Buy:
Ebook:
For Kindle
On Smashwords
For Nook
Paperback:
On Amazon
On Createspace
At Barnes and Noble
Hobo Zombie and Other Stories
Labels:
fantasy,
science fiction,
short stories,
short story collection,
urban fantasy,
zombies
·
Hobo Zombie and Other Stories
Karen Lofgren
Release Date: September 16, 2013
Genre: Urban Fantasy, Fantasy, Science Fiction
A zombie becomes a hobo because of exile and a desire for freedom. An ancient dragon ventures down from his sacred mountain into modern North Korea. A teenage girl finds a mermaid washed up on a beach. A young woman witnesses aliens crash land in a corn field. Hobo Zombie and Other Stories features nine short stories by Karen Lofgren, author of Imagine Someday. Nine stories that are beautifully fantastical yet strangely real.
Buy:
Ebook:
For Kindle
On Smashwords
For Nook
On Kobo
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