Review of First Contact (In Her Name: The Last War, Book 1)

First Contact ( In Her Name: The Last War, Book 1)

Written by Michael R. Hicks

Staring at the viewport of your ship you find yourself in awe as you jump out of hyperdrive and see an alien vessel, no several alien vessels headed your direction. Little did the crew know that their ship, the Aurora would make first contact! History of the human race will never be the same in this exciting series by Michael R. Hicks.

I found myself absolutely enthralled from the first hook and chapter. Every page turned was a new life I found myself within the written pages. From the main character and protagonist Ichiro Sato, Steph, Valentina, Mills and other supporting characters I was so impressed with each person's development that it really gave the book depth and it was as if you really knew each of the characters!

My deephearted praises to the author who really knows how to tell a story and weave his web to capture you within its pages! I have read all of his In Her Name Series and will be posting reviews for each book individually.

For now you have to read this book and the entire series to have an experience that will leave you feeling amazed, enraptured, exhausted, joyful and sad as you turn the last page. Not because it ends, but because the journey is over and there is no more to read!

This book in my opinion should have its own set of movies and trilogy for the entire series! I give it nothing short of 5 out of 5 stars for this breathtaking thrill ride! Thank you to Michael R. Hicks!

Stay Tuned!

I will start picking up where I left off so long ago by posting more book reviews. Stay tuned and hope to catch up with so many fellow bloggers I have lost contact with.

Hope to see you all again on your blogs as well as mine!

Also, don't forget to visit my wife's blog at http://godsheart-heart2heart.blogspot.com.

she also posts daily reviews on facebook and has them all linked together as well.

Cerulean Dreams book review

 CERULEAN DREAMS, WRITTEN BY DAN O'BRIEN 

ABOUT THE BOOK

Orion, the last city of men. Deep within the desert, a secret lay waiting. Young women found dead in the street. A corporation that controls the sleep of a populace that never sees the light of day. Alexander Marlowe seeks to unravel the mysteries of Orion as he helps a young girl, Dana, flee the city. The closer they come to the truth, the greater the danger that hunts them. Follow them as they search beyond the boundaries of everything they have ever known for answers.

BOOK REVIEW:

As a reader of his other novel "The Ocean and the Hourglass", I knew I would be in for another good surprise! What I found was a great plot with an amazing cast of characters.

Alexander Marlowe uses the visor that connects him to the network that runs the city but he doesn't like it.  Most of the surviving humans after the Water Rights War have all inhabited the city and it's a utopia society - or so they would have everyone think. All of the citizens of Orion use the visors as their main link to everything, but little do they know how much Cerulean Dreams controls them while their visors are on!

Alexander Marlowe is an investigator - used to be cop. He watches the news and knows that young blonde girls are disappearing but no one seems to care.  He takes it upon himself to investigate what is happening which leads him to Dana, a woman who technically is off of the grid.  She tells him the Lurking are coming to get her and she refuses to go.  Marlowe's visor malfunctions and he soon finds himself a wanted man - wanted for the murder of the young girls who have disappeared.  He now also sees through his visor manifestations of ghosts and other phenomena gliding around the rooms, buildings, and city streets. He knows that the government is behind another project called "The Lurking", and why he is a wanted man, but does not know how to uncover the corruption within the Cerulean Dreams project.

Dana urges Marlowe that they must leave Orion, the city but Marlowe believes they won't exist outside of its walls.  All that is out there is desert but Dana beseeches him.  If they stay, they die. If they go, they die, but she is sure that once the Truth is revealed, it will explain everything. If you want to find out what happens, then read Cerulean Dreams by Dan O'Brien and find out how it ends!

This book has a great storyline that somewhat reminds me of Blade Runner in a futuristic land of corrupt governmental politicians and technology that runs the world. I rate this book a 4 out of 5 stars for it's writing content is good, but sometimes I found myself a little confused within the story itself and had to go back a few times to see what I missed. Cerulean Dreams is still a great read for the Sci-Fi futuristic genre readers out there!

I received this Advance Readers Book for the express written review only with no monetary compensation or gain involved. 

 

 

American Sniper book review

American Sniper, Autobiography of Chris Kyle

Book Description:

He is the deadliest American sniper ever, called “the devil” by the enemies he hunted and “the legend” by his Navy SEAL brothers . . .

From 1999 to 2009, U.S. Navy SEAL Chris Kyle recorded the most career sniper kills in United States military history. The Pentagon has officially confirmed more than 150 of Kyles kills (the previous American record was 109), but it has declined to verify the astonishing total number for this book. Iraqi insurgents feared Kyle so much they named him al-Shaitan (“the devil”) and placed a bounty on his head. Kyle earned legendary status among his fellow SEALs, Marines, and U.S. Army soldiers, whom he protected with deadly accuracy from rooftops and stealth positions. Gripping and unforgettable, Kyle’s masterful account of his extraordinary battlefield experiences ranks as one of the great war memoirs of all time.

Review:

I received this book for my review only with no monetary interest provided by the publisher for my written expressed review.

American Sniper is one story of just one man who had an incredible journey during the war in Iraq/Afghanistan. While I am so honored and proud of Chris Kyle defending not only Americans in Iraq and the surrounding areas, but other military members as well. I can’t help but read between the pages to see see his wife struggling to raise their first child by herself. With Chris contemplating a second tour and re-enlisting for another 4-5 years of being deployed back to Iraq, his Wife is left with a feeling of loss and anger towards her husband for not putting his wife and family first. Chris has done some amazing things by being a SEAL! Things that many of us Americans could not even fathom having to deal with. Chris has my utmost respect and admiration for helping to protect the American ideals that make our country great. What I don’t particularly like is how he put his country over his wife and children when coming up on his 2nd tour. With a wife and child at home and another on the way, he decides to re-enlist for another dangerous deployment that could end his life and leave his wife without a husband and his children without a father.

I have to take the side of his wife after his first tour that he should not have re-enlisted to be with his wife and family. He served his country with honor and saved many lives, while at the same time killing so many terrorists that threatened any type of life in Iraq. After his first tour however, he was plagued by thoughts of not being their for his fellow soldiers that he forgot the most important rule in life. To be a loving father and husband, for that is what is truly will be remembered by the ones you love and whom you will depend on in life. Yes he has many memories as a sniper and has remained very close to other SEAL’s throughout his life, but it is his wife and children that will make him the man that he is.

I would rate this book a 3 out of 5 stars. I would rate this book higher, but I felt that his patriotism truly leads his life over his family. God, family, country is how it should be. Thank you Chris Kyle for your service and your pride for America. Now take the time to have a happy and fulfilling relationship with your wife and children. God Bless you!

The Realms Thereunder book Review

The Realms Thereunder; written by Ross L Lawhead Book One of The Ancient Earth Trilogy

Review by Steven Smith

This book was given to me for the express intent of my personal review only with no monetary gain whatsoever and is only for my review.

Ross Lawhead has taken his first step in fulfilling a fictional based storyline that I will no doubt have to read the next book called The Fearful Gates. He has a great storyline that you can relate to regarding a secret history of England and the sleeping Knights who protect the realms of ancient Earth before, during and after of any evil doing. I found myself immersed in this book for the first few chapters. I found the characters of Freya and Daniel to be compelling and well written. However, after the first 4 to 5 chapters I found myself being confused on the storyline where Freya is once in a chapter with Daniel and 2 other knights, then is all of a sudden pregnant and has a different story line altogether. I found myself disconnected with how it switched from past to present, one realm to a different realm and one story to another very distracting! I found myself being very confused between which part of the story line I was at and had to skip either back or forward to find myself figuring out where I should be.

Better timeframe negotiation and chapter development should be given to better straighten out the story as most readers I feel would be very confused in this book. I feel like Ross who although has a great storyline, needs to define the chapters and stories within stories to better give understanding of where each character is at. I think that while he definitely has a great premise for storytelling, I was let down on many occasions trying to figure out where the characters were going or coming from. Chapter formatting and development needs to be well written and chronological instead of fragmented the way this book is structurally put together haphazardly.

I would rate this book a 3 out of 5 stars for The Realms Thereunder by Ross Lawhead.

For Ross’s first book however, he as a strong writing ability that will hopefully bring more fluidity and structure to his next series of books to come.