#BookReview: Ascending by Meg Pechenick

Contact meets Mass Effect’s First Contact War meets Arrival meets Ender’s Game. Reading through this wholly original tale (at least in its particulars – the generic story is more of a trope of scifi), this reader absolutely got flashes of all of the above. And considering that I personally *love* all of the above, that was not unwelcome. Truly a strong tale of first sustained contact, exploration, and the difficulties in understanding and assimilating with a wholly alien world. Truly excellent work, and I’m looking forward to seeing where this goes. Very much recommended.

This review of Ascending by Meg Pechenick was originally written on October 13, 2019.

#BookReview: Synapse by Steven James

Christian Mass Effect? Religious Deus Ex? Fair warning on this book: It is explicitly Christian Fiction – and it is pretty damn heavy handed on the preaching. If that isn’t your thing, you don’t want to read the first sentence of this thing. The story itself is decent enough, but the hyper preaching aspects drag what could have been a pretty awesome scifi tale that could challenge some of the Golden Age masters into just another book that likely won’t reach much beyond your local (dying) Christian Bookstore. Instead of a subtle exploration of whether robots could have souls ala Blade Runner, you get what amounts to mini sermons – which is theoretically appropriate, with the central character being a preacher. Overall a solid story that could have been so much more, and recommended if you can withstand the preaching.

This review of Synapse by Steven James was originally written on October 9, 2019.