Tag: multiverse

Posted on

#BookReview: Quantum Radio by A.G. Riddle

Stargate Meets The One. There really is a lot to love about this book, and the fact that it has elements of two scifi movies that I personally love (one which became a cult classic, the other of which has largely been forgotten) was more icing on the cake and something I could use in this review to give an idea of the scope of this book without actually revealing any spoilers. If you like either of the IPs I listed in the title here, you’re likely going to enjoy this more hard-scifi (ish) take on them, where Riddle manages to ground them at least somewhat more in actual reality… and yet still tell an intruging tale of family, secrets, and how far a person will go within the scope of what he has set up. Truly an excellent setup here, and apparently even Riddle himself doesn’t yet know how long he’ll take this series – but I for one can’t wait to see where he takes it next. Will it be a Stargate type? Quantum Leap type? Something truly novel and groundbreaking? Riddle’s talent as a storyteller – shown well in this very book – alone says the next book will be good. I challenge him to make it truly, truly *great*. Very much recommended.

This review of Quantum Radio by A.G. Riddle was originally written on January 13, 2023.

Posted on

Featured New Release Of The Week: The Order by Jeremy Robinson

This week, the Modern Day Master Of Science Fiction ascends to levels truly few authors have ever known. This week, we’re looking at The Order by Jeremy Robinson.

The Master Ascends To Douglas Adams Level. I’ve long considered Jeremy Robinson to be the Modern Day Master of Science Fiction. With this book, he even manages to ascend all the way up to Douglas Adams level scifi insanity – while, like Adams, making the insanity completely work within the tale he is telling here. I’m not going to ruin any of the surprises or the hilarities, because both are awesome and deserve to be experienced without warning. But truly, for those fans of Adams – and he is among the more popular science fiction writers *ever* with his Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy -… do yourself a favor and check this one out. Though this *is* one of the final books in Robinson’s “Infinite Timelines” Avengers Level Event, and thus you really do need to read at *bare* minimum Exo-Hunter first (as the story is told through the eyes of our hero from that tale), but also The Others and Flux, the other two books on this branch of the timeline. And as The Dark is referenced heavily, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to read that one before this one either. If you’ve done all of that though, you’re truly going to love how this book comes together – and you’re going to want to read them just so you can get to this book to see just how truly utterly insane (in the best possible ways) it really is. Very much recommended.

Posted on

#BookReview: Project Legion by Jeremy Robinson

The moment we have been waiting for years to arrive… does.

Robinson has been teasing his fans with the idea of setting up an Avengers level event for several years, and the anticipation has been growing with every book since he first mentioned the idea. With PROJECT LEGION, he *finally* gives it to us, and the result is simply stunning.

This book is somewhat similar in structure to the actual first Avengers movie the MCU did. It introduces the various team members in such a way that even if you’ve never read any of the preceding books, you know enough about them to enjoy this book. But reading the preceding books allows you to have many more “cool!” moments. It even follows the Avengers type in introducing its most powerful team member… and then having this person away until the final “camera circling the team as the theme plays” Avengers moment.

Long time fans of Robinson will LOVE this book, as several characters from various worlds from literally the beginning of Robinson’s fiction writing career through some of his most recent books finally merge into one amazing story. To get easily one of the best stories I’ve read in 2016, read this book. To get the various nuances and “cool!” moments, read at least 5 of Robinson’s previous works first – ones that detail the various team members, including the CHESS TEAM book THRESHOLD, DIDYMUS CONTINGENCY, UPRISING (also called XOM-B), MIRRORWORLD, THE LAST HUNTER, and at least the previous two PROJECT series books. All of those books are great in their own right. When Robinson manages to bring all of these together…

Let’s just say that the Avengers movie made over a billion dollars at the box office… and this book is better.

This review of Project Legion by Jeremy Robinson was originally published on November 2, 2016.

Posted on

#BookReview: Refuge by Jeremy Robinson

This book was originally published in 5 parts. The following are the reviews for each part, compiled together here.

Night of the Blood Sky:
Small town New Hampshire. July 4th. Most of the town is emptying out to go to the fireworks in a nearby town, a few are staying behind to either get drunk or get frisky. Nothing too earth shattering.

And then the church bell starts ringing… without anyone pulling it!

When the bell stops ringing, the town itself appears to be the same… except that somehow everything outside the borders of the town has… changed. Buckle in your seatbelts, because things are about to get wild!

Darkness Falls (w/ Daniel S. Boucher):
Book 2 of the Refuge Saga opens with a new primary character waking up from a drunken stupor to the new “reality” of life in Refuge. The church bell has once again sounded, and now a darkness has fallen, along with ash falling like snow and covering everything. Thanks to Book 1 taking care of the setup, this book dives right in to the mystery and action. More creepy, more monsters, and more heartache than Book 1, this is an excellent continuation of the series!

Lost in the Echo (w/ Robert Smartwood):
This series just keeps getting better and better. Each book building on the last, in this one we finally get a few answers, including the last words of the book.

In this one, Refuge starts out fairly peacefully – a welcome respite from the dark and ash of the previous book. Frost decides the town needs heavier weapons in case big bads like the ash monsters come back, and the only place that might have what they need is the abandoned National Guard depot on the edge of town.

But is it really abandoned?

Ashes and Dust (w/ David McAfee):
The Refuge Saga continues, this time the town gets transported to a world that is barren and dusty, possibly from some sort of nuclear explosion that seems to have originated from where Refuge now sits.

But then, the monsters are discovered, along with some startling revelations…

Excellent episode, and def sets up this season’s season finale in book 5…

Bonfires Burning Bright (w/ Kane Gilmour):
This series was GREAT. You start off in a not untypical small NH town that happens to have a few high tech upgrades – the entire town has been switched to solar power, for example, putting the local electrician out of business. The town is getting ready for July 4, including most of the town going to the next town over to watch the fireworks.

And then, the local church bell starts ringing… (Minor point that I’m unsure about: Where I live in the South, there are FAR more than one church per town!)

When the bell stops ringing, the world outside of City Limits is completely different… and very strange. This starts a sequence that repeats throughout the series, with the town bell ringing and the town transporting to a new world filled with its own mysteries and dangers. Along the way, the people remaining in the town are just trying to survive – and later trying to figure out exactly what is happening and how to stop it. By the end of Season 1, they find out WHAT is happening, and even a bit of HOW it is happening…

But how can they stop it? CAN they stop it? Will they ever return home? How will they know it is actually home? All of this needs answered, and for those answers we must wait for Season 2 (at least!)…

These reviews of the components of Refuge by Jeremy Robinson were originally published on January 23, 2014, January 23, 2014, January 28, 2014, January 28, 2014, and February 18, 2014.