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Golden Son

September 28, 2023 by Melanie

“Fast-paced, gripping, well-written—the sort of book you cannot put down.”—Terry Brooks, New York Times bestselling author of The Sword of Shannara

Golden Son (Red Rising Series Book 2) 

 

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Red Rising hit the ground running and wasted no time becoming a sensation. Golden Son continues the stunning saga of Darrow, a rebel forged by tragedy, battling to lead his oppressed people to freedom.

NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY NPR, BUZZFEED, AND BOOKLIST • “Gripping . . . On virtually every level, this is a sequel that hates sequels—a perfect fit for a hero who already defies the tropes. [Grade:] A”—Entertainment Weekly

As a Red, Darrow grew up working the mines deep beneath the surface of Mars, enduring backbreaking labor while dreaming of the better future he was building for his descendants. But the Society he faithfully served was built on lies. Darrow’s kind have been betrayed and denied by their elitist masters, the Golds—and their only path to liberation is revolution. And so Darrow sacrifices himself in the name of the greater good for which Eo, his true love and inspiration, laid down her own life. He becomes a Gold, infiltrating their privileged realm so that he can destroy it from within.

A lamb among wolves in a cruel world, Darrow finds friendship, respect, and even love—but also the wrath of powerful rivals. To wage and win the war that will change humankind’s destiny, Darrow must confront the treachery arrayed against him, overcome his all-too-human desire for retribution—and strive not for violent revolt but a hopeful rebirth. Though the road ahead is fraught with danger and deceit, Darrow must choose to follow Eo’s principles of love and justice to free his people.

He must live for more.

Praise for Golden Son
 
“Stirring . . . Comparisons to The Hunger Games and Game of Thrones series are inevitable, for this tale has elements of both.”—Kirkus Reviews

“Brown writes layered, flawed characters . . . but plot is his most breathtaking strength. . . . Every action seems to flow into the next.”—NPR

Don’t miss any of Pierce Brown’s Red Rising Saga:
RED RISING • GOLDEN SON • MORNING STAR • IRON GOLD • DARK AGE

 

 

 

Filed Under: Adventure, Best Sellers, Featured, Science Fiction

Project Hail Mary: A Novel

September 22, 2023 by Melanie Leave a Comment

“Two worlds in peril, a competent (but flawed and human) man, a competent alien, unending scientific puzzles to unravel, with humanity itself at risk, this one has everything fans of old school SF (like me) love. If you like a lot of science in your science fiction, Andy Weir is the writer for you.”—George R. R. Martin, New York Times bestselling author of A Game of Thrones

Project Hail Mary: A Novel

 

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the author of The Martian, a lone astronaut must save the earth from disaster in this “propulsive” (Entertainment Weekly), cinematic thriller full of suspense, humor, and fascinating science—in development as a major motion picture starring Ryan Gosling.

“An epic story of redemption, discovery and cool speculative sci-fi.”—USA Today

“If you loved The Martian, you’ll go crazy for Weir’s latest.”—The Washington Post

Ryland Grace is the sole survivor on a desperate, last-chance mission—and if he fails, humanity and the earth itself will perish.

Except that right now, he doesn’t know that. He can’t even remember his own name, let alone the nature of his assignment or how to complete it.

All he knows is that he’s been asleep for a very, very long time. And he’s just been awakened to find himself millions of miles from home, with nothing but two corpses for company.

His crewmates dead, his memories fuzzily returning, Ryland realizes that an impossible task now confronts him. Hurtling through space on this tiny ship, it’s up to him to puzzle out an impossible scientific mystery—and conquer an extinction-level threat to our species.

And with the clock ticking down and the nearest human being light-years away, he’s got to do it all alone.

Or does he?

An irresistible interstellar adventure as only Andy Weir could deliver, Project Hail Mary is a tale of discovery, speculation, and survival to rival The Martian—while taking us to places it never dreamed of going.

 

 

 

Filed Under: Adventure, Best Sellers, Featured, Science Fiction

The Handmaid’s Tale

September 16, 2023 by Melanie

“A novel that brilliantly illuminates some of the darker interconnections between politics and sex…just as the world of Orwell’s 1984 gripped our imaginations, so will the world of Atwood’s handmaid!”  ~ Washington Post Book World

The Handmaid’s Tale

 

Now a Hulu Original Series

The Handmaid’s Tale is a novel of such power that the reader will be unable to forget its images and its forecast. Set in the near future, it describes life in what was once the United States and is now called the Republic of Gilead, a monotheocracy that has reacted to social unrest and a sharply declining birthrate by reverting to, and going beyond, the repressive intolerance of the original Puritans. The regime takes the Book of Genesis absolutely at its word, with bizarre consequences for the women and men in its population.

The story is told through the eyes of Offred, one of the unfortunate Handmaids under the new social order. In condensed but eloquent prose, by turns cool-eyed, tender, despairing, passionate, and wry, she reveals to us the dark corners behind the establishment’s calm facade, as certain tendencies now in existence are carried to their logical conclusions. The Handmaid’s Tale is funny, unexpected, horrifying, and altogether convincing. It is at once scathing satire, dire warning, and a tour de force. It is Margaret Atwood at her best.

 

 

 

Filed Under: Best Sellers, Dystopian, Fantasy, Featured

The Space Between Worlds

September 10, 2023 by Melanie Leave a Comment

When I started this book, I was intrigued by the ancient/future civilization that could traverse hundreds of alternate worlds. I wanted more science and technology and instead was swept away by the very familiar dichotomy of rich versus poor, black versus white, educated versus street smart. A delicious and soul searching trip into how society molds people and how tiny changes in life make all the difference. You MUST read this one because it has so much relevance to our current world. – Amazon Review

The Space Between Worlds

 

NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW EDITORS’ CHOICE • An outsider who can travel between worlds discovers a secret that threatens the very fabric of the multiverse in this stunning debut, a powerful examination of identity, privilege, and belonging.

WINNER OF THE COMPTON CROOK AWARD • FINALIST FOR THE LOCUS AWARD • “Gorgeous writing, mind-bending world-building, razor-sharp social commentary, and a main character who demands your attention—and your allegiance.”—Rob Hart, author of The Warehouse

NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY NPR • Library Journal • Book Riot

Multiverse travel is finally possible, but there’s just one catch: No one can visit a world where their counterpart is still alive. Enter Cara, whose parallel selves happen to be exceptionally good at dying—from disease, turf wars, or vendettas they couldn’t outrun. Cara’s life has been cut short on 372 worlds in total.

On this dystopian Earth, however, Cara has survived. Identified as an outlier and therefore a perfect candidate for multiverse travel, Cara is plucked from the dirt of the wastelands. Now what once made her marginalized has finally become an unexpected source of power. She has a nice apartment on the lower levels of the wealthy and walled-off Wiley City. She works—and shamelessly flirts—with her enticing yet aloof handler, Dell, as the two women collect off-world data for the Eldridge Institute. She even occasionally leaves the city to visit her family in the wastes, though she struggles to feel at home in either place. So long as she can keep her head down and avoid trouble, Cara is on a sure path to citizenship and security.

But trouble finds Cara when one of her eight remaining doppelgängers dies under mysterious circumstances, plunging her into a new world with an old secret. What she discovers will connect her past and her future in ways she could have never imagined—and reveal her own role in a plot that endangers not just her world but the entire multiverse.

“Clever characters, surprise twists, plenty of action, and a plot that highlights social and racial inequities in astute prose.”—Library Journal (starred review)

 

 

 

Filed Under: Fantasy, Featured, Science Fiction

A Man of Our Kind: The Swithen Book One

August 31, 2023 by Melanie Leave a Comment

 I’ve read everything Arthurian that I can lay my hands on and this is certainly the best in years. No political BS, just a very good Arthurian story. Carry on, Scott!!! – Amazon Review

 

A Man of Our Kind: The Swithen Book One

 

The birth of Merlin.
The betrayal of Britain.
Two threads intertwine. The Swithen begins.

Are you ready to embark on a reading journey unlike any other? The longest, most cohesive interpretation of real Arthurian legend—faithful to the Medieval sources of the years 1136 to 1485—begins here.

The devil wants a man on earth to lure people into temptation. He chooses an innocent woman to bring his child into the world. That woman, Adhan, soon finds her life turned into a nightmare as a demon picks off her family one by one, drawing ever closer to her. Soon the demon’s work is done—in a time when an illegitimate child incurs the punishment of death—and she is desperate to save her own life while thwarting the devil’s plans for her child. But the demon who attacked her didn’t count on her indomitable strength—or the unique gifts of her incredible son… a child that will become Merlin, the greatest wizard of all time.

Elsewhere, evil mastermind Vortigern treacherously twists the natural succession to install himself as king, sending young heirs Pendragon and Uther (King Arthur’s future father) into hiding. When armies of Saxons arrive seeking to settle and slowly conquer Britain, Vortigern allows them in, even marrying the daughter of their leader. As the tyrant king kills this person and betrays that one, it becomes not a matter of when he will be overthrown, but which of his rapidly-multiplying enemies will do it.

This new novel is a completely rewritten version of “Our Man on Earth,” the former Swithen Book One, and includes the Vortigern story for the first time while completely transforming the previous book’s contents, including changing Merlin’s mother’s name from Meylinde to Adhan, a name located in an obscure Arthurian source.

Combining elements of horror, fantasy, action and unexpected humor, this novel contrasts an intimate tale of faith and mother-son tenderness with the violent story of a tyrant king running Britain asunder in his quest for power. It brings the world of Britain in the year 450, when magic was as real as the air we breathe, to life for the present day—and offers fresh insights into the characters and stories we thought we knew so well.

Faithful to the Arthurian literature of the Medieval age, this is the starting point of an unprecedented 25-novel interpretation of the real legend of King Arthur (the first five available now). The Swithen retains the weirdness, mystery and entrancing beauty of the original Medieval tales while filling in the character development and connecting material they are missing. Join the saga as it begins and discover why this story has endured for a thousand years.

 

 

About the Author

Scott Telek is exactly the kind of guy you would imagine spending over a decade reading and studying the different versions of the Arthurian legend, then devoting the rest of his life to writing the longest and most detailed telling of the Medieval King Arthur legend in existence.

His series The Swithen is committed to staying faithful to the actual Arthurian legend as laid down between the years 1136 and 1485. Too many King Arthur stories stray so far from the original Medieval sources, they lose the magic and mystery that made this saga so enduring in the first place. Telek’s rule, and the challenge he has set for himself as a writer, is that he cannot change anything from the ancient story, he can only add or enhance scenes and characters, but anything he does add has to slot seamlessly into the existing story. In this way, when you read The Swithen, you can know that you are discovering the actual Arthurian legend and not some made-up story.

Telek has been a professional writer for over 30 years. His degrees are in English Literature and Psychology, both of which he brings to bear on turning blank archetypes such as Merlin, Arthur and Morgan le Fay into fully fleshed out characters with relatable flaws and emotions. He has also maintained a film review website (some of which you can find in books here), created films of his own and studied oil painting. He was born in Michigan, lived in New York City, Chicago, and is now a permanent resident of Ontario, Canada.

Telek’s love of nature and ongoing interest in legend and folklore led into his obsession with the Arthurian legend. Discovering that most of us actually don’t know many of the stories it contains, and that any telling would need to be longer, not shorter, in order to fully deliver the epic scope and majesty the saga deserves, he plotted out 25 novels… No making it up as we go! Five of them are out now, taking us from the birth of Merlin to Arthur’s coronation as king. The Swithen offers readers an ongoing fantasy saga they can grow with over the next 20 or so years. And it just happens to be one of the greatest stories ever told.

For more information visit https://theswithen.com

The book series: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B079VVHH94

Filed Under: Adventure, Fantasy, Featured

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