Summary On the moon of Knyadrea, the sea yields intelligent life. For a species shaped by tides, change is the only constant. Little can be hidden in the glare of a spotlight. Charismatic and innovative, Oklas Sayve has risen to prominence in Apidecca, the moon's capital city. A politician and college director, he has the resources to effect the changes he envisions for the world. But the sovereigns he serves oppose him at every turn and his status cannot protect the low-strata students attending his college. After a young knyad is wrongly linked to insurgent activity, Oklas must find a...
Wistful Ascending by J.C.M. Berne
Summary The il’Drach Empire spans half a galaxy, built on the feet and fists of their Powered hybrid children. At eight Rohan of Earth learned that he was only half human. By sixteen he was an active superhero, using his inherited powers to fight crime, in mask and spandex. At twenty-two he left his home to fight for the his father's people, expanding the il’Drach Empire and protecting it from local and interdimensional threats. At thirty-two, exhausted by ten years of ruthless warfare, he retired to Wistful, a vast sentient independent space station, to try to live a normal life....
Return to Edan by Philip Chase
Summary From the ashes of the War of the Way arises chaos, and a new menace swarms over the battle-ravaged kingdoms of Eormenlond while disease and violence claim thousands. But the greatest threat to Eormenlond is its savior. Stark choices confront Dayraven's friends as they race to salvage what they can of their world. Amidst the vast struggle for survival and meaning is Seren, a girl from Caergilion who may hold the key to unlocking the Prophet’s mind. The convergence of plotlines sweeps the tale back to where it all began in Return to Edan, the monumental conclusion of The...
Exile by AJ Calvin
Summary Andrew grew up in the royal palace of Novania, the eldest son of the queen. He went on to achieve fame and glory as a renowned soldier, and was eventually named commander of the king’s army. The kingdom believed he would be named heir to the throne, but he has long known he is ineligible. The king is not his father. The truth of Andrew’s lineage is only partially known to the king; the identity of his father is a mystery that even Andrew is unaware of. He knows only that his father was a dragon-mage, and the dragons...
SFINCS Review: Pale Night Red Fields by Joseph John Lee
Summary The threads of fate are not so easily unwoven. There is a growing fascination among the Dusk Tribe with the land of the dead. The Tribe's shamans work tirelessly day and night to find a path to communion with their people's lost souls, but answers are slow to uncover. As both the son of a shaman and the Tribe's only Futureseer, Zarrow is ordered to view the days and weeks ahead to reveal the source of the Tribe's successful discovery, but when he does so, he finds not celebration, but destruction. Devastation. Sacrifice. And those closest to him bloodied...
Gloves of Eons by Andrew D. Meredith
Summary Factions rise — Zeal ignites — Bells toll Hanen and Rallia Clouw find themselves between power hungry factions and must choose which tools to take up to reach their goals. With the Rotha revealed to be a thinking, breathing being, Katiam Borreau must tread carefully and choose her allies wisely. Ousted from their western holdings, the Paladins of the Hammer retreat to the west to face new and old intrigue set against them. Made the unwitting messenger of dark gods, Seriah Yaledít seeks solace in the road, fleeing from blind panic gnawing at her mind. Dark tools forged, scale...
Eclipse by Herman Steuernagel
Summary Django and Mikka's paths collide as they embark on a journey that will shape the fate of a civilization built on half-truths and the backs of others. Rumors of civil war circulate through the Syndicate's orbital empire, catching both Django and Mikka in the crossfire, where the stakes are far higher than they realize. Review Eclipse is a fast-paced dystopian space opera that will keep you glued to the page the whole ride. The whole book is really a two-for-one. We get two POVs, two locations, and two distinct dystopias. I wouldn't call it hard sci-fi but I easily...
Thralls of a Tyrant God by Mars G. Everson
Summary What would you sacrifice to be free? For Senn, former slave turned rebel leader and now the powerful Herald of the Lord of Greed, the answer was everything. He thought he had left hope behind forever. But when a ghostly child with sparkling blue eyes appears to him, Senn's loyalty is tested. His own God and army turn against him, forcing him to flee into the harsh desert wasteland alone and powerless. But as he searches for revenge and a new source of power, he must confront his past, including the woman he left behind at the mercy of...
Carved Amidst the Shadows by M.T. Fontaine
Summary When the gods shaped the continent into five kingdoms to be ruled by their progeny, they did not account for the greed of men. When they created the Order from their god-blessed followers to mediate between realms, they neglected to plan against the hoarding of power. War between the royalists and the godly was inevitable. Five centuries later, the borders between kingdoms are impenetrable. No branded-born Marked can cross them without burning to ash, except the Order’s Stewards. But a damaging new war has been prophesied, one that haunts the Order, one that will come to pass if Carved...
Credible Threats by Daniel Meyer
Summary Sam Adams, sixteen-year-old wizard, has zero interest in saving the world—but staying out of the line of fire isn’t an option for wizards. When a new designer drug hits the streets, giving ordinary humans magical powers and leaving a trail of bodies in its wake, it threatens to turn his city of Williamsport’s long-simmering conflict between the haves and the have-nots into a full-scale war. The only one with the skills to protect the city, Sam finds himself thrust into a conspiracy far darker and more dangerous than he ever imagined, with tentacles stretching into the criminal underworld and...