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Book Review: Killswitch Protocol by M.J. Kuhn

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5/5 stars. I have been fortunate to have read some really good, newer science fiction this year, and this cyberpunk, dystopian novel by M.J. Kuhn might very well be the best of them. I believe this is Kuhn’s third novel – two fantasy books and now this scifi story. As a young writer, Kuhn has polished prose beyond her years, and I am impressed with her ability to tell a fascinating story that has kept me interested and entertained. New Avarita is an isolated society that follows the rules of the founder, Lucre, who developed an implantable chip and created an algorithm designed to maximize production and usefulness within the society, while eliminating those who were no longer needed and we’re taking up important resources, using Ascent. Individuals who do not contribute can be removed from society at the metaphorical flip of the switch. Most people have been brainwashed into believing Ascent is good and just; they do not give it a second thought and celebrate the life of the Ascende...
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Book Review: Massif by Garth Nix

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5/5 stars. What if the first alien contact species that humanity meets is a sentient floating mountain? That is the basic premise for this story, but it also so much more. This novel is a science fiction space opera in the vein of The Expanse, with found family and a small cast of close-knit friends and fellow shipmates. It is a military sci-fi adventure like some of David Weber’s best writing. This story at times reminded me of Adrian Tchaikovsky’s Alien Clay or Shroud, where the alien life on the planet might be what kills our heroes. This novel also has elements of cosmic horror that profoundly affects the reader’s view of what first contact might eventually lead to. With all that being said, this novel releases on September 8, 2026, in the USA and should be read by all fans of science fiction, especially if you enjoy any of the elements that I previously mentioned. Nix has authored a wonderful story of friendship, camaraderie, and what it means to look out for each other in warti...
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Book Review: Suppression of Powers (Turn Six of the Hybrid Helix) by JCM Berne

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4.5/5 stars. Another great installment in the life of Rohan and his compatriots. (There are a few spoilers here if you are not caught up to this point in the series.) This story was one of the more difficult to read for me, as Rohan attempts to learn to use the fighting technique gifted to him by Spiral. Spiral used it to defeat a god in battle. If Rohan can learn to use it, maybe he can defeat the new Hyperion. Berne writes characters in a way that is both consistent and frustrating. I deducted half a point from my rating for my frustrations, but those might not reflect everyone’s experience of this novel. For all of Rohan’s intelligence and powerful abilities, he makes some bad decisions, and Berne relishes the level of conflict that he throws Rohan into. In this story, he has suppressed his powers, has to deal with a young Kaiju on Toth 3, a group of Tolene’ans who want to kill him - in revenge for the deaths of their families in one of Rohan’s most difficult past decisions, gets ...
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Book Review: The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones

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4.75/5 stars. SGJ is a master of turning a normal-seeming situation into something completely off the rails. This is the story about four childhood friends from the Blackfeet Reservation who, one day ten years ago, killed a group of elk on a hunting trip. One of those elk was pregnant, and one of the friends buried the fetus before the game warden caught them. Now, ten years later, something strange has started happening to these four men. This horror story builds up slowly, but once the action gets going, it is nearly non-stop. Lewis and Ricky have moved away from the reservation. Ricky gets killed, and now Lewis is afraid for his own life. At first, it seems Lewis starts losing his mind and becomes increasingly paranoid after seeing images of an elk in his rented house. He feels the most guilt for the elk slaughter and with the ten-year anniversary upcoming, he knows the elk is out for vengeance! These thoughts lead him to suspect both his wife and his coworker of being the elk rei...
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Book Review: Carry Me to My Grave by Christopher Golden

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4/5 stars. Christopher Golden certainly has a magnificent imagination. This story takes an often-told story about the immortal vampire and turns it on its side. Maggie Wise is dying. She has lived a long life and has three children, two of whom are no longer around. Only Malcolm, her youngest son, and his brother’s wife, Violet, have stayed by Maggie’s side as she has succumbed to her old age. Her only request of Malcolm is for him to return her to Maine, and the place of her birth, to bury her after she has died. Little do Malcolm and Violet understand what exactly taking Maggie’s corpse on this journey to her hometown will mean for them, and what they will have to go through to get her there, because Maggie hasn’t shared all of the details with her son! The characters in this story are well-developed. The story, the action, the mystical questions (and the answers) are all superbly written. My only issue with the story is that it ends exactly the way the reader imagines it will. Th...
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Book Review: Maya: Seed Takes Root by Anand Gandhi & Zain Memon (audiobook narrated by Hugo Weaving)

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5/5 stars. Hugo Weaving is the narrator of this audiobook, which releases on Aug 25 2026, and does an absolutely fantastic job with the voices and depicting the action throughout the tale, as one would expect from such a talented actor. In all honesty, I was unsure about this story at first, particularly if I would mesh with it as a reader/listener. I remember it being immensely popular on Kickstarter a few months ago and debated with myself at the time whether to back it or not. I decided not to back the Kickstarter, but regret that decision now. After listening to this first installment, I am excited to see more of these novels published and I look forward to continuing the story. I have no doubt the physical copy is beautiful! This fantasy story uses some traditional tropes, but the fresh setting for the story expands the narrative in beautiful ways. The novel has vibes of the world building from James Cameron’s Avatar series without the conflict between cultures. This story does ...
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Book Review: The Infinite State (Decurion Saga 1) by Richard Swan

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5/5 stars. I have read all of Swan’s fantasy novels, but this is the first of his sci-fi stories that I have read. I have been anxiously anticipating The Infinite State since it was announced, and I am not disappointed in the product of Swan’s imagination. With the vibes of ‘1984’ and ‘V for Vendetta,’ a totalitarian regime, the Decurion Empire, controls its citizens, and their thoughts, through displays of power, intimidation, and fear. One woman dreams of a different life, safely away from this country and the Eternal Father (Pater Aeternus), after the sudden death of her husband, an important party member. She inherits a hefty sum of money from her husband’s estate and decides to buy her own planet. This story does a wonderful job of distinguishing the importance of free thought and living free from the fear that a misspoken word could result in death. Katherine, our planet-buying widow, sets out to establish a country where all citizens have input into the decisions of the countr...
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