Tag: action

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#BookReview: Venom by Michael McBride

Scifi Horror Action The Way It Is Supposed To Be. If you like your action tales with a tinge of horror, or perhaps your horror tales with a lot of action in them, this is going to be a book – and a series – that you need to check out. Following on from the fallout of Spores, Book 1 of this series (so read it first!), the survivors of that tale quickly find themselves involved in another similar event – this time half a world away, in the jungles of Sierra Leone.

This book has so much going on. New leaders trying to find their place in an existing organization. So. Many. Bullets. Flying. A few key – and spectacular – explosions. A chilling and disturbing mystery just on the edge of science fiction – plausible enough to imagine it being science fact. An unstoppable enemy hoard. So. Much. Gore.

I’m not exactly one to ask about coarse language and shit, as I am a programmer and thus (according to a college professor that said this in my presence nearly three decades ago now) cuss *worse* than a sailor, but I don’t remember anything overly bad. If you’re one that can’t stand a single instance of the word shit, well, you’ve already stopped reading this review anyway. But seriously, that and maybe a fuck here or there are about as bad as it gets – and I don’t even remember any of those really.

For the sex scene crowd, no matter the direction you prefer… yeah, *some* action tales have those scenes… this one does not. This is all about the horror and action and the only thing that goes away from that really at all is the element of the new leaders adapting to their roles.

Overall truly a great tale of its type, one that is both very fun and very horrific at the same time… and one that sets up at least one other tale in this world rather well.

Very much recommended.

This review of Venom by Michael McBride was originally written on April 24, 2026.

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#BookReview: Hollywood Payback by Jon Lindstrom

Hollywood Hope. This one is very different from Lindstrom’s debut, actually corrects some mistakes it made (somewhat), and even manages to land haymakers even Stephen King couldn’t land quite so well… while directly calling out King. Yes, Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption is called out a few times in this tale, and yes, the tale largely follows a similar path to a point… and yet Lindstrom really does take that framework and make it his own in a tale as old as Hollywood itself.

At its heart is a guy who went to Hollywood as a typical midwestern guy looking to make it as a star… who then encountered Hollywood as it actually is, up to an including a #MeToo level scene (that is brief yet present) before falling to its also far too real underbelly (or so I’ve been told – I’ve never been further west than Phoenix, AZ, and I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve so much as crossed the Mississippi River). This section is mostly told in flashbacks to his days before prison even as our main narrative starts as he is being released from prison, and in both sides we get an emotional, heartfelt look at both sides of that inflection point, one with a lot more heart than Lindstrom’s debut… yet also with a fair amount of action.

The action at hand is both of the Carolina Reaper level (if brief, but fairly explicit) on the one hand in the before-prison scenes (along with some perhaps more jalapeno level spice in the post-prison timeline) and of the Without Remorse sheer bloody brutality level in several scenes deep into the text.

It is within the Without Remorse type sections that we get into where Lindstrom made some improvements from Hollywood Hustle… and still shows areas he still needs to clean up. One scene in particular describes suppressed gunshots as Hollywood almost always does… which particularly in that exact situation is very nearly as far from the truth as possible. Yet later in the text, Lindstrom accurately has a character say the reality of what suppressors actually do… before showing them again being used in a more Hollywood fashion. But it is within that last part in particular that Lindstrom really shows his improvements with guns, as he specifically names – and accurately describes – a particular $1,300 ish exotic-ish shotgun and exactly how to actually use this exact model. That he then employs it with such mastery and beauty is just… chef’s kiss. Truly. Though those with low tolerances for gore are going to want to self sensor the movie running in your head in this bit! (But the Without Remorse references in this review should have warned you of that already. 😉 )

Overall this was a really solid mix of emotional depth and excellent action that really any reader will likely find at least something to enjoy about this book, particularly when you add in the free-roaming Los Angeles vibe where not many areas of the city are left unexplored in some manner.

Very much recommended.

This review of Hollywood Payback by Jon Lindstrom was originally written on April 20, 2026.

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#BookReview: The Ozark Howler by David Wood

Solid Creepy Creature Feature Thrills. If you’re a Creature Feature kind of person, or perhaps an XFiles or Buffy the Vampire Slayer or similar type show fan, you’re going to love this book. Yes, it is deep in the Dane Maddock Universe, but Wood is generally careful these days of not adding in *too* much to any given story that you need to know about beforehand, and here it basically amounts to one or two characters from other books directly showing up + a few references to the immediately prior book where Maddock himself updates his relationship status. Spoilers for those books, but mild. If you’re really particular, always start at Book 1 of a given series anyway, or perhaps in the case of this sprawling universe, start from Original Publication Date and read through the series that way.

But for old and new fans alike, this particular entry really is classic Maddock and Bonebrake. Two long time buddies getting wrapped up in yet another Indiana Jones type investigation, this time more on the cryptid/ creature side with some historical/ archeological connections rather than the more pure historical side ala the prior book, March 2026’s Kingdom Of Pirates (the one that sets up the references here to Maddock’s relationship status). The creature at hand is one of the creepiest and most terrifying of the series to date, and in fact there are certain scenes that those of the more faint of heart may want to skim through a bit. For everyone else though, they’re the exact type of gory, gritty creature feature adventure/ survival tale that at least some readers will be *right there* for, and those readers in particular are truly going to love this book.

The fact that this book leaves enough dangling – while telling a complete tale in its own right, to be clear – that it is almost blatantly obvious that either the next book Woods releases or perhaps one of the next books Woods releases will be a direct sequel to this one is really just icing on the cake, as these threads are left perfectly dangling such as to entice readers to be ready for the sequel without feeling like any real form of cliffhanger and certainly not one story cut in half. This is absolutely a complete tale within itself – indeed, one of the elements that helps it feel this way is *also* one that blatantly sets up the “a sequel is coming soon” feeling – and that sequel is sure to have even more epic and direct action than this one did, which means it will truly be one hell of a ride.

After all, this book was extremely fun in all that it did. Topping this? It’s going to be like fighting over which Orlando coaster is better – Velocicoaster or Guardians Of The Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind.

I for one can’t wait to get my hands on it.

Very much recommended.

This review of The Ozark Howler by David Wood was originally written on April 14, 2026.

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#BookReview: Settle Down by Jeremy Robinson

Darude Meets Eminem. In this tale, the New God of Science Fiction gets more overtly political than in any other book I’ve ever read from him – and I met the guy back in *MySpace* back when he had just two books available (both via Print On Demand in the pre-Kindle era before this was anywhere near as common as it is now), so I’ve read them *all*. And yet he gets political in ways that I had to point blank ask him “Is this characterization based on *me*?”, as in the very first scene where the politics is directly introduced, the character espousing it is said to be a former Southern Baptist from Georgia who now more wrestles with their faith, but the exact topics discussed here are things that I *know* I have openly discussed a few times over the years in arenas where Robinson could have seen those discussions.

Beyond the directly personal and/ or overtly political though, this really is Robinson going yet again into areas even long time fans like me would have never guessed. Yes, he has done some elements of various pieces of this story in other ways and in other overt setups, but he has never before put the together in quite this manner or with really even close to this actual sequence. Thus keeping even long time fans on our toes… while still ultimately delivering the same kind of kickass balls to the wall scifi thriller adventure that we’ve come to know and love from him.

So come for an adventure unlike any you’ve ever seen. Seriously, this tale ranges from at times Emily Bleeker to at other times Orson Scott Card or even Richard Phillips (his “Second Ship” trilogies in particular), and it even has at least some elements of the 2000s era Battlestar Galactica remake… (Let’s see who catches *that* connection other than myself. 😉 ) It has heart. It has humor. It has action. It has thought provoking moments and moments that will make you question everything you know and believe.

And yes, it has elements such that apparently Dr Dre *also* sent one Jeremy Robinson along with Marshall Mathers to “piss the world off”. Seriously, if you’re not at least mildly offended by *something* in this book, I’m going to start questioning your humanity, truly. And yet, even here, even at his most overtly political… everything included here is in direct service to the story Robinson is telling here. Your mileage will absolutely vary on the politics at hand, but see the earlier sentences of this paragraph and read the damn book anyway. You’ll have fun, no matter your politics – and again, I’m going to question your humanity if you don’t. Because this book has bits of damn near everything anyone could want in a book – showing how Robinson truly is the New God of Science Fiction.

Very much recommended.

This review of Settle Down by Jeremy Robinson was originally written on March 30, 2026.

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#BookReview: Kingdom Of Pirates by David Wood

Indiana Jones And The Pirates’ Superweapon. Part of the appeal of Woods’ Dane Maddock adventure series, of which this is the latest book at the time I write this review, has always been that he puts more (and more believable) action into Indiana Jones-type archeological/ mythological based adventure tales, and this is one of the books in the series where this becomes even more pronounced than some others in the series. Which Wood uses to great effect here, and which could actually draw in new readers to this series.

Dane Maddock and his friend and business partner Uriah ‘Bones’ Bonebrake’ are former Navy SEALs (whose adventures began even back then, in prior stories in this universe) and at this point in our overall universe, they’ve been around the block more than a few times and yet are still going quite strong indeed. But because they’ve been around the block more than a few times, their world has expanded quite a bit, and yes, a few prior players – both friend and foe – resurface in this adventure. So for those readers who absolutely can not have any spoilers ever, start with the earliest Maddock books (by publication date) and work your way up to this one. For everyone else, Woods does a solid job characterizing these characters within this book and explaining the relevant prior connections that you’re still going to be able to enjoy this book, just perhaps without some of the foreshadowing certain names will evoke in readers who have read more in this series.

And oh, yeah, the pirates. Duh. This tale is solidly pirate and solidly New Orleans and Louisiana Bayou, as Maddock and Bonebrake find themselves on the hunt for a long-lost pirate treasure while investigating in – and being chased through – large swaths of the city and region. Along the way, we get everything from fist fights to deceptions to gun battles and, yes, even some sword play. In a tale set in roughly our world and time. 😀

Seriously, long time fans of either Maddock or pirate lore generally are going to love this book, and those new to either will likely find themselves drawn into this web. Even as one of the longer books in the series at approaching 400 pages, it never really feels like it is anywhere near that long. Everything here feels both earned and necessary, and the pacing is such that the reader is always invested in seeing what happens next.

Overall a solidly fun action/ adventure tale in that exact Indiana Jones vein that has been so popular for so long (including long before Indy was a thing himself), this is one of those longer tales where you can just sit back, turn off your brain, and have some fun.

Very much recommended.

This review of Kingdom of Pirates by David Wood was originally written on March 12, 2026.

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#BookReview: Sisters Of Mercy by Yuval Kordov

Interesting, Short, And Dark. This is one of those novellas that you can read in a couple of hours – I did. And yet there is also *so much* within this particular one. For those who try to claim that sub-100 page tales can’t really do much… this one proves you wrong. 😉

Now, I picked it up because of some controversy on Twitter wherein a couple of judges for some random “contest” got all up in arms and claimed they couldn’t handle the “zealous” religious talk or praying or even mechs in this tale. And I’m going to get to that in a moment.

But for exactly what this book is in and of itself, outside of what anyone else says about it, it really is damn solid. It thrusts you straight into its post apocalyptic world the way few books do – Jeremy Robinson’s UNITY (which, full disclosure, I literally have a tattoo of a version of the symbol that plays a major role in that particular tale) is one of few I can think of off the top of my head that do *this* good a job of putting you *right there*, *right now*. And again, given the sub-100 page nature of this book… it doesn’t have much choice there. 😉 And yet even after that introduction, Kordov manages to layer *so very much* into this tale, and in the end… well, there may yet be a dusty room or two. 😉

Now, getting back to what brought me here (and I’ll put a brief yet relevant bio as a post script to this review for those unfamiliar with me)… yes, this book has a *lot* of directly religious language. Hell, there’s more prayer in this novella than a lot of *Christian Fiction novels* I’ve read over the years! In that regard, it is quite similar to how prayer and religious language are used in other post-apocalyptic scifi IPs such as Handmaid’s Tale, Doom, or Fallout New Vegas’s Honest Hearts DLC. Which, obviously, are some quite highly praised properties!

Thus, yes, if you have a problem with religious language generally… this tale really isn’t going to be one for you. Just leave it be. There is no need for you to read it and severely mischaracterize pretty well everything about it because *you* have a problem with religious language.

As to how the religious aspects are used within the text here, again, it is more generic scifi than anything remotely real world. The closest it gets to “real world” is that after a sufficient amount of time has passed after a World War III event and human knowledge has sufficiently regressed, yes, such a society likely would return to exactly this kind of religious language to explain things that they’ve now long lost the ability to speak to more scientifically. This isn’t some crusade to “cleanse” anything remotely like our world. This isn’t a Brave New World allegory of the previous’ centuries Western European global expansion. It is a story of mechs and demons and symbiotes in a far future world and the potential for even man made creations whose explicit purpose is to kill may find that there may be things they haven’t been told about.

And again, Kordov does a truly excellent job of telling his story his way. If that way isn’t something you can stomach, well, there are other stories for you. Be well and have a nice day!

Ultimately an interesting story that serves as a seemingly solid and even tantalizing taste of Kordov’s style and this particular world (apparently this novella is set in the world of a trilogy Kordov wrote) that could well entice readers to experience the larger trilogy.

Very much recommended.

Post Script Brief Bio: I was raised in the Southern Baptist Convention, though I left it over 20 yrs ago now and now the closest religious tradition to my own specific views are some incarnations of the Anabaptists. My earliest exposures to scifi reading were actually largely Christian scifi, such as Josh McDowell’s Powerlink Chronicles and the works of Frank Peretti and Bill Myers. I became such a fan of Robinson that I eventually got a tatoo inspired by his work specifically due to his ability (displayed more earlier in his writing career than more recently) to bury deep and thought provoking allegories underneath what are ostensibily kickass scifi action tales. Indeed, Unity itself is just such an allegory, in this case of the Triune God. I also happened to grow up in the town where Lottie Moon, one of the SBC’s earliest missionaries and the person whom its annual Christmas fundraiser (“missions offering”) is named after, once lived a little over a century before my birth. My dad was a deacon for many years, and my last Pastor when I was still in the SBC eventually became a President of the Georgia Baptist Convention. My Christian education – even just via going to church at this particular church for so long, without ever having actually been to a religious-based school – was such that when Robinson first announced one cover of one book several years ago now, I immediately messaged him and told him what the allegory of that particular book was, given its title and that cover. He quickly changed the cover to make it less obvious. 😉 All that to say… yeah, religious language in a book doesn’t scare me. At all. 😉

This review of Sisters Of Mercy by Yuval Kordov was originally written on March 11, 2026.

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#BookReview: The Hunted by Steven Max Russo

Solid Thriller Uses Guns Both Effectively And Not So Effectively. Seriously, this is one book that uses one particular gun *phenomenally* – one of the best uses I’ve ever seen of this particular gun, easily. But revealing that particular gun gets into spoiler territory.

Most of the rest of this tale is a really solid cat and mouse type thriller where danger lurks nearly behind every word and the action is of a sufficiently frenetic pace that fans of masters of balls to the wall action like Matthew Reilly and Jeremy Robinson will likely enjoy quite well. From the prologue through the epilogue, danger and intrigue is always *right there*, and we get several very satisfying action sequences and payoffs throughout. For the pure adrenaline action book this is, it really is quite a fun one.

But then we get to the issues where guns *aren’t* used as effectively, and to be fair this is a touch of nitpicking where those “less familiar” with guns than I am likely wouldn’t notice anything wrong at all… but readers anywhere near the level of proficiency with guns that these characters are supposed to have – all private military contractors of some form, many of them former special forces – are known to howl quite loudly about when they see these exact errors. Yes, I’m talking about Spec Ops/ PMC type characters referring to “magazines” as “clips”. Every. Damn. Time. Once, hey, maybe Russo mistyped and simply missed it in editing. Every time? Seems Russo, who clearly thought out and perhaps even researched *so much else* from a tactical and even practical perspective about so very many of the action sequences here – up to and including specifying several different types of guns in several different situations and using them quite effectively and realistically… *kept referring to magazines as clips*. GAH! So yes, this was bad enough from these specific types of characters that I ultimately felt I didn’t have a choice but to deduct a star for this reason. I always seek to be both as objective as possible and 100% honest in my reviews, and this was absolutely something that stuck out to me every time it happened. And yes, *for me*, it took me out of the scene every time. As noted earlier, for someone less familiar with guns – say non-American audiences, or maybe readers in the Northeast or Left Coast – some of the areas in even the US with the tightest gun regulations and thus far less general public familiarity with guns – hey, this particular thing may not be an issue for those readers. But for anyone even moderately familiar with a gun, yes, this will absolutely be an issue.

Another gun related issue – that only happened a couple of times, to be clear – is suppressors. Yes, Russo used the correct term here, which was great. But he also described them as taking the sound of a gunshot from an M40 sniper rifle down to “a bit louder than a pellet gun”. No. Just no. The *best* suppressors currently on the market in 2026 reduce a shot by *maybe* 40 decibels – and I’m being generous there. They take it from standing beside the action end of a jet engine to standing beside the speakers at a Metallica concert. At best. Which, to be fair, *is* QUITE “a bit louder than a pellet gun”. The way I typically describe it is that it takes the shot from being heard from 5 miles away (ish) to one mile away (ish), particularly in the relatively open fields of that particular scene. Yet again though, familiarity with guns. If you only know guns from entertainment and not from some form of actually having fired them, Hollywood in particular is *horrendous* about the suppressor issue specifically… but you wouldn’t know any better as you read this book. But those with more familiarity and experience with guns… again, this is a significant issue for at least those readers.

But again, overall – outside of the “magazine” vs “clip” issue and the suppressor issue – this really was a very solidly written, very fun action thriller with balls to the wall action sequences and fairly realistic tactics based on the settings as described – up to and including a few critical mistakes made by both heroes and villains. Truly a fun read that a lot of guys in particular are going to love.

Very much recommended.

This review of The Hunted by Steven Max Russo was originally written on January 7, 2026.

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#BookReview: The Memory Thief by Kayla Eaden

Phenomenal Story. Absolutely HORRID Storytelling. In the hands of someone with the skills of a Roth (DIVERGENT) or a Collins (HUNGER GAMES) or a Rowling (HARRY POTTER) or a Dashner (MAZE RUNNER) or a Robinson (THE LAST HUNTER) or a Phillips (RHO AGENDA) or a Harrison (INFINITY) or or or or or… this could have been an absolutely PHENOMENAL story that would keep you on the edge of your seat for at least a trilogy of trilogies, if not a near-mid-double-digits long series of all 300+ or even 600+ page books. There is *that much* material covered here, and it truly sounds PHENOMENAL.

Unfortunately, Eaden isn’t one of those authors, or even anywhere near that – at least right now. In this form as presented in this book, the story reads far more like Eaden had a decently detailed outline… and for some weird reason thought she had a cohesive book. No ma’am. You have a pretty solid outline to do at minimum that trilogy of trilogies I mentioned above or even that far longer series I mentioned above. I’m dead serious that such an expansion, along with better editing and admittedly more advanced and refined writing and storytelling skills could truly be one for the ages. This simply isn’t that, and it is a true shame, because the potential is absolutely there.

Also, I can’t leave this particular review without a note about how this book came to my attention and why I chose to buy it – and even redeem a Kindle Reward certificate to do so – and read it. On Threads yesterday, Ms. Eaden was getting absolutely slammed for the AI art on the cover and her defense thereof. She wasn’t holding her own very well, and I’m one that when I see an author or book getting just absolutely destroyed by a mob like that, I can’t help but at least step in and try to call the mob off, if not actively defend the person they are attacking so vociferously (if I happen to agree with the person). Thus, I *needed* to read the book. Maybe the AI cover was just some dirt on a filet mignon – a travesty, but otherwise a great piece of meat. Yeah, this wasn’t that. At best, it was more akin to dirt on beef tongue. Still a travesty if you’re truly dirt poor and this is the best you have, but something to just be tossed into the trash can if you have even enough money to replace it with instant ramen or some such. Yes, this story in this form truly was that bad.

Not recommended. Not in this form.

This review of The Memory Thief by Kaya Eaden was originally written on January 6, 2026.

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#BookReview: Parallax by Jeremy Robinson

The New God Of Science Fiction Exposes New And Unexpected Abilities. Straight up, I’m writing this review as one of *the* very first people to read this book beyond Jeremy and his long time editor, Kane Gilmour, and I’m targeting this review as much to Jeremy’s long time fans in his Facebook group, the Tribe, as I am to more general readers who possibly haven’t ever even heard of Robinson.

With this book, Robinson – who first came to my attention with several intricate, detailed, and spot on allegories of Biblical events wrapped up as kick ass science fiction action – manages to craft a romance subplot here that is rather spicy -jalapeno level, if not habanero. And yet he manages to do this *in service to* his overall kickass science fiction action thriller. So even if the romance side gets you into the door here – and it really is both completely unexpected from Robinson and yet at least as well done as most any romance book I’ve ever read, and better than many of them – know that Robinson never strays far from his roots, even with this new ability.

Another new ability – and I say this next one as someone who literally has a tattoo of an image Robinson created on one of the arms he is using to type this very review – is the particularly poignant quotability deep in this book. As in, Ender’s Game level quotability and profoundness in a couple of key sections in particular. Quotes I *WISH* I could share publicly, but can’t until after this book releases almost six months to the day after I finished reading it.

The final new ability is perhaps the most interesting of all – this is the first book I’ve ever read from Robinson where even *I* – who absolutely *LOATHES* the very concept of a “trigger warning” – point blank told Robinson and Gilmour that they may want to consider adding one to this particular text. As one of the reasons I detest them so very much is the simple fact that they are *always* spoilers, no matter how generally they are crafted, unfortunately the only thing I can note here is that in two sections in particular, both in the front half of the book and both effectively side by side, Robinson brings into this tale certain real-word tragedies that he has never before brought into any of his books, tragedies that are so dark that they tend to be blights nearly any time they are even mentioned at all. (To be clear, Robinson uses them in a responsible manner that adds depth to the characters involved without glorifying – indeed, while explicitly condemning – the tragedies at hand.)

These are all depths of storytelling that Robinson has never plumbed so deeply or so well, that despite being one of the earliest readers to have read his books at all and having been a reader of his works for nearly two decades now (since *MySpace*!), I had never really known him to show. That he is adding these kinds of abilities into his storytelling now, this deep into his career and as he beings to approach his 100th novel (and may have even already broken that?), shows remarkable advancement that very few authors ever really display – which only serves to make Robinson stand out (in great ways) all the more.

And then, yes, the kickass scifi action that is Robinson’s bread and butter. You’re never getting far from it in this book, and yes, Robinson’s more recent pop culture referencing and frequent use of all manner of cussing is equally prevalent throughout our action here. Long time fans or those just looking for a fun few hours of distraction from the so-called “real” world will find here exactly what Robinson has always done so very well – crafting an exciting and pulse pounding scifi thriller that will allow you to think if you so choose, but which also works perfectly well with all “thinking” turned off and just sitting back and enjoying the show.

Further, this is also Robinson showing some of the very profound thoughts he sometimes buries to greater or lesser degrees – this time barely buried at all, *IF* at all. Surely to get cancelled or crucified over some of the things his characters say in nearly every book he writes, this one is no different. I can tell you that even knowing Robinson as long as I have, even having shared a couple of meals over the years directly at his side… even *I* can’t tell you his actual political or religious beliefs. So before you think to one star this book over those comments… know that yes, we, Robinson’s long time fans, see them… and those reviews say far more about you than about him. 😀

Overall quite possibly Robinson’s best yet – which is not said lightly, in part due to said tattoo 😉 – that also seems to possibly be leading… somewhere beyond this particular book. Will it? We shall see…

Very much recommended.

This review of Parallax by Jeremy Robinson was originally written on November 2, 2025.

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#BookReview: Labyrinth by A.G. Riddle

Interesting – Yet Long – Provocative Look At Actual AI. This is one of those scifi tales that in 2025 feels like it could be a year or two from being reality, that indeed there are very likely companies working on exactly the kind of tech used in this tale – and indeed, there are and have been. I know for a fact that one of the Computer Science *part time* professors at Kennesaw State University was working on immersive computer simulated therapy as far back as 2000, when I started there as a 16yo kid. (Hi Dr. North! :D)

The tale told here is suspenseful yet reasonably realistic while still clearly being fiction. (We hope?) In its more suspense elements in the front half of the book, it works particularly well.

Where it starts going off the rails a touch – and becoming ever less realistic, while also maintaining a fairly stunning amount of realism in how things actually play out, to a degree – is more with the events of the second half. Indeed, there is one seemingly rather long section that seems like it could have been cut entirely and a few – rather than seemingly a few hundred – pages used to cover that part of the tale, similar to the 80 page “Galt’s Speech” in Atlas Shrugged, except more actually integral to the story here, which is where the “yet long” bit in the title of this review comes in to play. Even through this section though, there is a touch of an homage to The Odyssey, which is unclear if was the intent or not – but cool either way.

Overall, I’d say this is one of Riddle’s better works as a whole. You’ve got the near future scifi. You’ve got the almost domestic thriller level suspense in the front half in particular -which I’ve never really seen Riddle even attempt, and thus shows a fair amount of growth as a writer. You’ve got enough of a romance tale here that technically this satisfies all known RWA rules to be ruled a “romance novel”. You’ve got a few different homages to classic tales from Crichton (Disclosure in particular) to Homer. And yet you’ve also got an 800+ page book whose halves wouldn’t work quite as well – at least as written here – as separate books, and where another 200-300 pages to make a trilogy could be excessively long to boot, making this feel like the perfect way to present this particular story even if the one book feels (and is) long.

Very much recommended.

This review of Labyrinth by A.G. Riddle was originally written on November 2, 2025.