Book Reviews

Our Child of the Stars by Stephen Cox

Synopsis:
Molly and Gene Myers were happy, until tragedy blighted their hopes of children. During the years of darkness and despair, they each put their marriage in jeopardy, but now they are starting to rebuild their fragile bond.

This is the year of Woodstock and the moon landings; war is raging in Vietnam and the superpowers are threatening each other with annihilation.

Then the Meteor crashes into Amber Grove, devastating the small New England town – and changing their lives for ever. Molly, a nurse, caught up in the thick of the disaster, is given care of a desperately ill patient rescued from the wreckage: a sick boy with a remarkable appearance, an orphan who needs a mother.

And soon the whole world will be looking for him.

Review:
When Molly and Gene adopt a young alien boy, they have to live in constant fear of their secret getting out. The beginning may sound a lot like Superman’s origin story, but this little boy doesn’t look human and has unique abilities. And his existence is a hard secret to keep.

Our Child of the Stars is an exciting and emotional roller-coaster. The characters are engaging and the alien child is incredibly endearing. This is an impressive debut that surprised me. I didn’t want to put it down and actually finished in one day. The intensity builds as the government closes in on the Myers family. And some questions are finally answered about the aliens. I thoroughly enjoyed this charming and unassuming story.

Star Trek: Picard: The Last Best Hope by Una McCormack

Synopsis:
A thrilling novel leading into the new CBS series, Una McCormack’s The Last Best Hope introduces you to brand new characters featured in the life of beloved Star Trek captain Jean-Luc Picard—widely considered to be one of the most popular and recognizable characters in all of science fiction.

Review:
When it’s discovered that the Romulan star will go supernova, Picard gives up the Enterprise to head up a monumental relocation of all the Romulans its potential wake. Starfleet and many officers are not as eager to help their long-time enemies. And even some of the Romulans themselves spurn the Federation’s assistance. Meanwhile, Commander Geordi LaForge is assigned to oversee the seemingly impossible task of creating a fleet large enough to relocate the overwhelming number of refugees. But an incredible tragedy threatens the relocation efforts and Picard’s future in Starfleet.

The Last Best Hope is essential reading for Star Trek: Picard fans. We’re given a deeper look at the events leading up to Picard’s resignation from Starfleet and the tragedy on Mars. I really enjoyed this well-paced, character-driven story. We’re given a better look at Raffi’s heartbreaking backstory. And I enjoyed the story behind where the rogue synth’s came from. And of course since the Romulans are one of my all-time favorite aliens, I really appreciated getting the story behind some of Picard’s efforts at relocation several unique groups. I loved this intense novel of drama, suspense, and intrigue. And this was a perfect tie-in to the fantastic, new show. I can’t get enough of this series.

The Life Below by Alexandra Monir

Synopsis:
It was hard enough for Naomi to leave Leo, a fellow Final Six contestant, behind on a dying Earth. Now she doesn’t know who to trust.

The International Space Training Camp continues to dodge every question about its past failed mission, and Naomi is suspicious that not everything is as it seems on her own mission to Europa. With just one shot at Jupiter’s moon, Naomi is determined to find out if there is dangerous alien life on Europa before she and her crew get there.

Leo, back on Earth, has been working with renegade scientist Dr. Greta Wagner, who promises to fly him to space where he can dock with Naomi’s ship. And if Wagner’s hypothesis is right, it isn’t a possibility of coming in contact with extraterrestrial life on Europa—it’s a definite, and it’s up to Leo to find and warn Naomi and the crew.

With questions piling up, everything gets more dangerous the closer that the mission gets to Europa. A storm threatens to interfere with Leo’s takeoff, a deadly entity makes itself known to the Final Six, and all questions the ISTC has been avoiding about the previous mission get answered in a terrifying way.

If the dream was to establish a new world for humans on Europa…the Final Six are about to enter a nightmare.

Review:
The Life Below is the 2nd book in The Final Six series. Naomi and the chosen astronauts are bound for Europa, but there’s a saboteur on board. And ship and mission is still being controlled, and monitored, by people back on Earth. Meanwhile, Leo is training to take a secret ship to meet up with Naomi’s and warn them that there is life on Europa – right where they are set to land.

This sequel is much more exciting than the first, as it mostly takes place in space, with danger constantly looming. This thrilling adventure is fast-paced and unpredictable. I wish we’d get more character depth from the other crew members. But the strength of this story is the plot and suspense – like a scifi, thriller movie. I can see why this series has been optioned for film. And there is a dramatic finale that will leave readers eager for the next installment.

Starsight by Brandon Sanderson

Synopsis:
All her life, Spensa has dreamed of becoming a pilot. Of proving she’s a hero like her father. She made it to the sky, but the truths she learned about her father were crushing. The rumors of his cowardice are true–he deserted his flight during battle against the Krell. Worse, though, he turned against his team and attacked them.

Spensa is sure there’s more to the story. And she’s sure that whatever happened to her father in his starship could happen to her. When she made it outside the protective shell of her planet, she heard the stars–and it was terrifying. Everything Spensa has been taught about her world is a lie.

But Spensa also discovered a few other things about herself–and she’ll travel to the end of the galaxy to save humankind if she needs to.

Review:
When an alien crash-lands on their planet, Spensa decides to take her place in order to steal vital technology for humanity. But Spensa isn’t trained for espionage. And she only has her secret AI to keep her company.

Starsight is the second book the Skyward series. This story is very different from the first as far as the setting goes. But there is still a lot of flight action and suspense. And there were several surprising twists along the way. I really enjoyed the new, diverse characters. In fact, I enjoyed this sequel even more than the previous novel. With plenty of danger, suspense, intrigue, and drama – this well-paced story left me excited for the next installment.