science fiction

Book Review: The Institute

/ Kristi / Leave a comment

The Institute
Stephen King
Read by Santino Fontana

My rating: 4.5 / 5
Genre: Sci-fi thriller

When 12-year-old genius Luke Ellis is kidnapped from home, it turns out his kidnappers don’t care at all about his high IQ. They want him for his minor psychic abilities, along with other kids, all of whom are taken to the Institute and given lots of tests and shots. When they first arrive, they are in Front Half, where the food is good but the adults are cruel. Luke learns that kids are eventually taken to Back Half, after which, they’re told, they’ll be returned to their families. But Luke doesn’t trust these people who punish any slight insubordination with brutality, and as his time in Front Half nears its end, he becomes increasingly desperate to escape.

I really enjoyed this book and was engaged all the way through. Even when I felt like the narrative had taken a strange turn, or when I was confused when the first several chapters seemed completely unrelated to the main story, I was interested, invested, and always looking forward to when I could get back to listening to the audiobook again. The suspense and intensity build throughout the book, as stakes get higher and more is revealed about the Institute. I really appreciate that the main character isn’t the strongest, psychically speaking. He’s a genius, but really on a meager TK (telekinetic). He needs help from other kids, especially one that’s a particularly strong TP (telepath). And the anticipating of seeing how Luke’s story would intersect with the seemingly unrelated man we’re introduced to in the first 15 chapters adds to the suspense.

The ending was a little anti-climactic, maybe a little bit of a letdown after an otherwise great story. Overall, though, I really enjoyed my first full-length Stephen King novel. I’m still not sure I’m ready for any of his horror books yet, but this won’t be my last King novel. Santino Fontana did a great job with the narration, too, and added to my enjoyment of the book. I can’t speak to how this compares to King’s other works, but I do recommend this books to anyone interested in the premise or genre.

Find out more about The Institute

See what I’m reading next.

If you’ve read this book, or read it in the future, feel free to let me know what you think!

Book Review: The Hot Marble

/ Kristi / 1 Comment

The Hot Marble
by Rosemary B. Althoff

My rating: 2 / 5
Genre: Christian sci-fi

When 10-year-old Patrick and his 8-year-old sister Gracie watch something fall from the sky and find a hot marble. Patrick asks his physicist brother Lewis to analyze the otherworldly marble, and that leads to all three siblings, plus Lewis’s engineer friend Fred to another world. Lanthra has two moons, a near-total ban on electricity, and heavy conflict between two sides—those who follow Earth’s Jesus and those who follow earthly demons.

I was intrigued by the melding of sci-fi and Christianity when I decided to read this book. The author does have some interesting ideas here, particularly on the sci-fi side of things. The ban on electricity and also on traveling to Earth makes this a medieval-type world, but with pockets of technology that come across like magic. But the Christianity side is underwhelming, if not downright confusing at times. First and foremost, the theology of creation, the fall, and the redemption provided through Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection is questionable here. God created the entire universe, and when Adam and Eve sinned, the entirety of the creation was cursed. This means there can’t be planets out there with people who are not under the curse, but that is what Althoff is presenting here. The people of Lanthra have observed Earth enough to know about the curse (which they say affects only people from Earth, though I guess it can spread to people of Lanthra via demons that travel there?) and the birth, death, and resurrection of Jesus. I guess all of this means that people of Lanthra aren’t under the curse of sin (not that they refer to sin or even creation or the fall at all, just a vague curse), so it really don’t matter if they worship Jesus or not, though it still seems to be a bad thing that some worship Satan/demons. Beyond that, one character from Lanthra seems to be a sort of prophet, in direct communication with God in some form. And characters are said to have inner “dragons” that could be seen to simply be their consciences or inner desires, but one character’s inner dragon talks to him? And it’s all presented as if this is some well-known concept that shouldn’t seem unusual to the reader, but I was really lost.

I understand that, even when a book is written with a Christian worldview, unbelievers will have sinful, fallen natures. Fred and Lewis want nothing to do with Christianity, and their character arcs seem to be the driving force behind the religious aspects in this book. But Fred, in particular, made me really uncomfortable ogling women all the time. And there was a line that really stood out to me as a red flag, which involved one character telling Fred that the “Master” wants to enjoy various things about him, including his “taste for busty women.” Um…no…just no.

There truly are some great allegorical moments in this book, and I think I can see what the author was going for. But in the end, I think there was too much going on in too many different directions for me to be able to pick out one cohesive story to enjoy. And the book ends on a cliffhanger that I was fortunately able to see coming. As for recommendations, the book is marketed, at least on Amazon, in teen and children’s categories, but I would not recommend it to those ages at all. All 4 of the characters mentioned in the synopsis have POV sections, but he older brother and his friend are in their 30s, and they are larger characters than the 10- and 8-year-old. There’s also a fair amount of language in the book. (In fact, now that I think about it more, it bugs me A LOT that this book is listed in the categories of “Children’s Action & Adventure Sci-Fi Books” and “Children’s Science Fiction Books” on Amazon with the amount of language and discussion of women’s bosoms that is included in it!) If you’re interested in the premise of spiritual warfare crossed with physics and aren’t bothered by the issues I had with it, you might be interested in this book.

I received a copy of this book for free from the author in exchange for an honest review.

Find out more about The Hot Marble

See what I’m reading next.

If you’ve read this book, or read it in the future, feel free to let me know what you think!

Book Review: Winter

/ Kristi / Leave a comment

Winter
The Lunar Chronicles #4
by Marissa Meyer
read by Rebecca Soler

My rating: 4 / 5
Genre: YA sci-fi

Spoiler notice: The following review will contain some spoilers for the previous books in the series, starting with Cinder.

Winter may be a princess, but she is still very much under the thumb of her stepmother, Queen Levana of Luna. Cinder and her friends from Earth are on a mission to stop Levana from marrying Emperor Kaito of the Eastern Commonwealth and gaining a foothold on Earth. Winter may be able to be of help to them, if only she can keep a handle on her hallucinations.

This book is both Winter’s fairy-tale retelling of Snow White and the conclusion to the story that started all the way back with Cinder. That makes it a sort of culmination of the Cinderella retelling in the first book as well. And because each book introduces a female protagonist and a male romantic counterpart, everything coming together in this book felt a little too repetitive to me. Their overall stories were different, but 4 romances resolving not too far apart was a bit much for me. Though to be fair, a couple of these romances were at least partially resolved before the end of this book, so it could have been worse. And I don’t mean to say that I didn’t enjoy the book. I really liked the way the main plots played out, the threads from previous books that Meyer weaved together in this final installment. After several books talking about the moon colony, getting to go there in this book added a new, exciting dimension. I like that Meyer explored so many different facets of that world.

At times, it seemed as though so many characters/pairs of characters got to be a bit too much for the author, too difficult to make sure they all had their own distinct personalities. For example, when Thorne (my favorite character since book 2) had cause to be concerned for Cress, I wish he had reacted more Thorne-like, as opposed to doing this best impression of Wolf’s broodiness. Thankfully, Thorne was more himself by the end of the book. Most of the time, though, I could see distinct differences in how Cinder, Scarlet, Cress, and Winter acted, thought, and talked. Part of that last one might have been due to the audiobook narrator putting on a slightly different voice for some of the characters, but since that’s how I consumed this series, the narration was definitely a plus for me in that area.

Overall, this was a solid YA sci-fi series for me, and I am sure I’ll revisit it again in the future. Fans of futuristic sci-fi and/or fairy tale retellings, maybe around age 15 and up, should definitely consider checking out this series, starting with the first book (you really don’t want to dive in here on the final book).

Find out more about Winter

See what I’m reading next.

If you’ve read this book, or read it in the future, feel free to let me know what you think!

Book Review: The Darkest Minds

/ Kristi / Leave a comment

The Darkest Minds
Book #1
by Alexandra Bracken

My rating: 4 / 5
Genre: YA dystopian

When the small percentage of survivors of a plague that affects children and teens begin to exhibit special powers, they are feared, hunted, and locked up. But some avoid capture or manage to escape the camps. Ruby spent six years in a camp, and when she manages to leave, she has to figure out who on the outside can be trusted. Both adults and other children present unknown risks she might not be prepared to deal with.

The set-up for this book is scary, but it’s all too believable that adults would lock up kids if they turned out to be dangerous. Ruby’s time in the camp is summed up at the beginning and is a sad and poignant backdrop to the rest of the story going forward, exploring the emotional and psychological toll of such treatment on young individuals. I like the dynamic of Liam, Chubs, and Zu and the way they incorporate Ruby into their group, fostering a sense of camaraderie and mutual understanding amid their shared struggles. The romance didn’t really stand out to me, but at least it didn’t make me cringe, serving as a subtle undercurrent rather than the main focus of the narrative. To be honest, I felt like Ruby connected with and had more chemistry with Chubs than Liam. The plot overall is engaging; yes, a lot of the middle involves these four kids driving toward an unlikely dream, but I really don’t remember being bored, as their journey is filled with moments of tension, growth, and unexpected turns.

My biggest issue with the book is that Ruby mostly doesn’t act like someone who was locked up from age 10 to age 16. Her emotional development, her knowledge of the world, social skills, etc. should basically be at a 10-year-old level. This crops up in very minor ways, but not nearly what I think would be realistic. There are times when she answers questions about life or, even more narrowly, her home state of Virginia that would just make me shake my head and think, “There’s no way I would have known that at 10 years old.” I also wish there could have been some adults that weren’t just bad. A kind guard at the camp, a legend about a group that actually is trying to help kids, etc. That part of the set up maybe wasn’t so realistic, but maybe that will be explored more in a future book. Overall, I enjoyed this story a lot, even with those issues. I’ve already recommended it to my 16-year-old daughter and think other fans of YA sci-fi, especially dystopian worlds, should give it a try.

Find out more about The Darkest Minds

See what I’m reading next.

If you’ve read this book, or read it in the future, feel free to let me know what you think!

Book Review: Cress

/ Kristi / Leave a comment

Cress
The Lunar Chronicles #3
by Marissa Meyer
read by Rebecca Soler

My rating: 5 / 5
Genre: YA sci-fi

Spoiler notice: The following review will contain some spoilers for the previous books in the series, starting with Cinder.

Living alone on a satellite for 7 years, Cress is tasked with working for Queen Levana but works against her any way she can. When Cinder, Scarlet, and the rest of their band of outlaws contact Cress looking for help, her life will never be the same.

This book brought back my full enjoyment for the series (not that I didn’t like Scarlet; I just didn’t like it quite as much as Cinder). Scarlet and Wolf taking more of a back seat this time helped a lot, and Cress really was a nice addition to the team. For as much as I enjoyed Thorne in the previous book, he really comes into his own here and has become one of my favorite characters in the series. I was really glad to see some advancement in the main storyline, and there’s a lot of humor throughout. 

Rebecca Soler continues to do a great job with the narration. I’m really enjoying the world Meyer has created here and the overall plot and characters, so I’m looking forward to seeing how the series ends in the next book. Fans of futuristic sci-fi and/or fairy tale retellings, maybe around age 15 and up, should definitely consider checking out this series, starting with the first book (these are not stand-alones).

Find out more about Cress

See what I’m reading next.

If you’ve read this book, or read it in the future, feel free to let me know what you think!

Book Review: Scarlet

/ Kristi / Leave a comment

Scarlet
The Lunar Chronicles #2
by Marissa Meyer
read by Rebecca Soler

My rating: 4 / 5
Genre: YA sci-fi

Spoiler notice: The following review will contain some spoilers for the previous book in the series, Cinder.

Scarlet’s grandmother is missing, but the police don’t seem to care. She starts following clues to track her down on her own, somewhat reluctantly accepting the aid of a mysterious street fighter called Wolf. Meanwhile, Cinder has to escape from prison and figure out where to go next on her quest to understand her identity.

I didn’t love this book as much as the previous, but I did still enjoy it a lot. I think the main difference here is that there was a lot of focus on the building relationship between Scarlet and Wolf, and I just wasn’t really feeling it. On the plus side, though, since we have a new main character in this book, I was glad that Scarlet is different enough in her personality compared to Cinder that I didn’t feel like it was a repeat of Cinder and I didn’t have a hard time keeping the two characters separate in my mind when Cinder had her own POV scenes throughout this book. Scarlet is quick-tempered and stubborn, though maybe her personality is part of why I had a difficult time buying her growing relationship with Wolf.

Scarlet’s search for her grandmother was broken up by Cinder’s continuing story and, less often, Emperor Kai trying to prevent war with Queen Levana. My favorite thing about this book came in the form of a new side character—Thorne. Though he’s quite inappropriate at times, he’s a great comic relief. The overall advancement of plot in this book kept me invested, and I’m looking forward to seeing where it goes from here.

I listened to the audiobook, and the narrator did a great job with the different characters, though she seemed to drop Scarlet’s slight accent now and then. I still recommend this book (though definitely start with Cinder; these are not stand-alone books) to fans of futuristic sci-fi and/or fairy tale retellings, maybe around age 15 and up (there was more in the way of physical interaction in this book than the previous, though it was still pretty clean overall).

Find out more about Scarlet

See what I’m reading next.

If you’ve read this book, or read it in the future, feel free to let me know what you think!

Book Review: Cinder

/ Kristi / Leave a comment

Cinder
The Lunar Chronicles #1
by Marissa Meyer
read by Rebecca Soler

My rating: 5 / 5
Genre: YA sci-fi

As a cyborg, Cinder and her kind are considered second-class citizens, so much so that cyborgs are chosen at random to be test subjects for possible cures to the plague that has been threatening New Beijing and the surrounding country. But when the nation’s prince brings Cinder, a gifted mechanic, an android to fix and then Cinder’s step-sister falls sick with the plague, events lead to a more dangerous adventure than Cinder ever could have anticipated. And her mysterious past will prove to be more of a liability than she ever knew.

There’s so much going on in this book, and while sometimes that can be bad in a book, it all worked together here. It’s no secret that this is a Cinderella retelling, but really, that’s just a small part of it (though it still made me think of Ever After a lot while I was reading). It’s a starting point and a vehicle for part of the plot, but the bulk of the story revolves around secrets that Cinder begins to learn throughout the story. I enjoyed the unfolding of all of these secrets and the connections that were made between seemingly separate subplots. There were several side characters that I also really enjoyed, including an android sidekick with a particularly perky personality chip.

There were a couple of revelations in this book that I predicted, at least one pretty early on, but I don’t think much of it was meant to be a huge twist or anything. I would have been pretty surprised and even a little disappointed if I’d turned out to be wrong. At the end of the book, I was surprised when the story ended on a cliffhanger. I’m not usually a fan, but I think I’m starting to realize that how much it bothers me depends a lot on how much I enjoyed the book up to that point (which makes a lot of sense, really). So though it felt abrupt, I’m pretty invested and am definitely happy to continue the series.

I listened to the audiobook, and the narrator did a great job with the different characters, including a couple of accents. My 15-year-old daughter has read most of this series and loves it so much that she kept wanting me to listen to the book when she could be around and listen with me. That’s an endorsement in itself, but I also recommend this to fans of futuristic sci-fi and/or fairy tale retellings around age 14 and up—it’s quite clean in all respects, which isn’t too common for YA these days.

Find out more about Cinder

See what I’m reading next.

If you’ve read this book, or read it in the future, feel free to let me know what you think!

Book Sale!

/ Kristi / Leave a comment

In honor of the release of book #3 in the Pithea series (and what a good time for it, with so many of us snowed in), the book that kicks off the whole series is available for only $0.99 for the next 5 days, and my novelette The Triangle (unrelated to the series) is free now through Thursday! See below for links and a little more information.

Pithea cover, Kindle

Pithea is the first book in a series of speculative, futuristic fiction. Check it out on Goodreads and Amazon.

1
The Triangle is a stand-alone novelette of Christian fiction. Check it out on Goodreads, and go here to get your free copy!

As many who will read this already know, authors, especially self-published or indie authors, need reviews to allow more readers to find their books. If you take advantage of either, or both, of the deals on my books, please make sure to leave me a review on Amazon, Goodreads, or preferably, both!
*Both of these books are also available through Kindle Unlimited.

Power Released!

/ Kristi / Leave a comment

My third full-length novel, book #3 in a series of futuristic speculative fiction with a Christian worldview, is now available to purchase in 3 formats on Amazon: Kindle, paperback, and hardcover! I’m so excited to see this series continue! See synopsis below and go here to buy the book.

Power on Goodreads

Power

For as long as Alexander Surett can remember, he’s planned to be a bounty hunter like his dad, bringing in criminals to stand trial. And when he gets his first taste of Power usage, he knows that the Power is what he will use to chase those criminals. But during the years-long training on the way to that goal, he stumbles onto an innocuous item from his dad’s past that leads him to question everything he’s been told. Soon it becomes clear that his family’s past tragedy is only the tip of the iceberg.

He brings his unwitting training partner, a Cleric named Leahna Isa, along on his search for answers, and together they attract the unwanted attention of the leader of a band of mercenaries. Rusalki Morano doesn’t like to be told “no,” and the consequences will have devastating effects on both Alexander’s and Leahna’s families—and all of Pithea.

By sharing your email, you agree to receive a periodic email newsletter from the author. Unsubscribe at any time.

Processing…
Success! You're on the list.

Book Review: The Infinite Glade

/ Kristi / Leave a comment

The Infinite Glade
The Maze Cutter #3
by James Dashner

My rating: 1 / 5
Genre: YA dystopian

Not only did this book have a lot of the same problems as the previous two—too many characters, too little to care about, too many factions and no clear understanding of who was good or bad—but on top of all of that, there was far too few answers given. Elements that were touted as super important throughout the trilogy (like the Cure and the Evolution) are seriously downplayed here and never come to fruition of any kind. More characters are added that end up being completely pointless and a POV character added in the previous book also really had no point by the end. I struggle to understand what Dashner was going for in general or why these books didn’t get stopped before publication. But here’s the thing that is probably important for anyone reading this review to know: I didn’t particularly care for the first trilogy either. I liked the first book and truly wanted to know more about the world set up within it. But it felt like Dashner had written himself into a corner and proceeded to pants his way through the rest of the series, which ended up a convoluted, shallow mess. It was probably my mistake to read this follow-up trilogy, but I really hoped that it would be more of a call back to The Maze Runner, something that could possibly redeem the world for me. Instead, it deteriorated even further. This means that I obviously don’t recommend this trilogy to anyone. And yes, a lot of people enjoyed the first trilogy more than me and thus might enjoy this follow-up more too. Beware, though, that the overall rating, at least on Goodreads, of this trilogy is quite a bit lower than for the original trilogy, and reviews I’ve read indicate that plenty of people who loved the original didn’t like these books nearly as much.

I received a free review copy from the publisher in exchange for my honest unedited feedback.

Find out more about The Infinite Glade

See what I’m reading next.

If you’ve read this book, or read it in the future, feel free to let me know what you think!