The great thing about ebooks is, there’s never a shortage. No need to wait on boats or shipping to get your sci-fi and fantasy fix!
#SciFi Worth Reading: The Salvage Crew #BookReview
The Salvage Crew by Yudhanjaya Wijeratne was an exciting read. What started as a simple mission to recover ship parts became more and more immersed in problems and complexity.
Filled with adventure and the thrill of exploring an alien world, the story’s main character is an AI. He used to be human and is now an overseer. It’s his responsibility to keep the mission on track. He also enjoys writing poetry.
The crew of three humans is deeply flawed, and they have varying reactions to the adversity they face. Their human-ness makes the story interesting and kept me turning the pages. There was mystery, exploration, discovery, disaster, pain, and evolution. I liked the grit and flawed nature of the characters and the universe in which they operate. So many themes and ideas in this novel resonated.
Hope you enjoy it as much as I did. As you’ve probably guessed, I highly recommend adding this book to your library. I’ll have to see what else this author has to offer as a reading treat.
They thought this was just another salvage job. They thought wrong.
An AI overseer and a human crew arrive on a distant planet to salvage an ancient UN starship. The overseer is unhappy. The crew, well, they’re certainly no A-team. Not even a C-team on the best of days.
And worse? Urmahon Beta, the planet, is at the ass-end of nowhere. Everybody expects this to be a long, ugly, and thankless job.
Then it all goes disastrously wrong. What they thought was an uninhabited backwater turns out to be anything but empty. Megafauna roam the land, a rival crew with some terrifyingly high-powered gear haunts the dig site, and a secret that will change humanity forever is waiting in the darkness.
Stuck on this unmapped, hostile planet, lacking resources, and with tech built by the cheapest bidder, the salvage crew must engineer their way to payday…and beat Urmahon Beta before it kills them all.
September #SciFi and #Fantasy Deals and Freebies!
Explore the Backworlds! #99c #SciFi Sale!
All this month, The Backwords is only 99c! Grab your copy Quick!
Available in ebook at all etailers
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In the far future, humanity settles the stars, bioengineering its descendants to survive in a harsh universe. This is the first book in the science fiction series, The Backworlds. A space opera adventure.
After the war with the Foreworlders, Backworlders scatter across the remaining planets. Competition is fierce, and pickings are scant. Scant enough that Craze’s father decides to improve his fortunes by destroying his son. He tells his only boy their moon isn’t big enough for them both and gives Craze a ticket for the next transport leaving the space dock.
Cut off from everyone he knows with little money and no knowledge of the worlds beyond, Craze must find a way to forge a new life and make his father regret this day. First, he must survive.
#SciFi Worth Reading: Binti #BookReview
Binti by Nnedi Okorafor is a beautiful read. It’s a novella, so it’s easily devoured in a day. I read this Hugo and Nebula winner cover to cover in one sitting. It deserves the awards. I’ll definitely check out the author’s other work since this one was such a treat.
It was easy to identify with Binti. She’s a 16-year-old girl who wins a scholarship to the finest university in the galaxy. Of the Himba people, her family and friends aren’t happy about her leaving. Himbas don’t leave their land or their traditions. If she leaves, they won’t welcome her back.
The story opens with Binti running off in the night to catch the starship. It was easy to feel the burning hope of a bright future and the loss of home as Binti sets off. Her people wear red clay and she really sticks out at the spaceport and on the ship.
Despite being such a misfit, Binti doesn’t give up her customs or her people’s traditions. How can we shed what we are? We can’t completely. Customs and traditions are the foundation of self.
For a short work, this book explores a lot about self and the beauty of not conforming. The words are froth with meaning and wisdom. The story definitely has a lot of delicious layers.
On the way to the university, the love of mathematics brings Binti friendships and a budding romance. I was enjoying her growth and learning about the galaxy as Binti learns about it. Then it all dramatically changes.
I won’t ruin the surprising twists for you. This tale was gripping and gorgeous and amazing. The writing is impeccable and I sopped up every word. Definitely worth reading. I couldn’t put this book down and am excited there are two more books in this series. Don’t miss this gem!
Here’s the official blurb:
Winner of the Hugo Award and the Nebula Award for Best Novella!
Her name is Binti, and she is the first of the Himba people ever to be offered a place at Oomza University, the finest institution of higher learning in the galaxy. But to accept the offer will mean giving up her place in her family to travel between the stars among strangers who do not share her ways or respect her customs.Knowledge comes at a cost, one that Binti is willing to pay, but her journey will not be easy. The world she seeks to enter has long warred with the Meduse, an alien race that has become the stuff of nightmares. Oomza University has wronged the Meduse, and Binti’s stellar travel will bring her within their deadly reach.
If Binti hopes to survive the legacy of a war not of her making, she will need both the gifts of her people and the wisdom enshrined within the University, itself — but first she has to make it there, alive.