The Martian

by Andy Weir

The Martian is one of those books that if many authors had attempted it, wouldn't have worked. The majority of the novel follows one man surviving on Mars with little more than a shelter, 2 rovers, a few space suits, air, water and potatoes. There are no monsters, no antagonists (unless you count the planet itself) and very few props.

While this might not sound like the most riveting read, its actually one of the most gripping, intelligent and above all entertaining novels I have r...

The Violent Century

by Lavie Tidhar

The Violent Century has been one of my Holiday reads, a book I bought when it first appeared but had not had time to enjoy until now. It has to be said that Lavie Tidhar is a master linguist. His voice is confident, it's boldy unique and daring.

With The Violent Century the author turns his attention to war, the second world war to be precise. Like a select few, Fogg and Oblivion were altered by the Vomacht machine. In 1932 a quantum wave swept the globe giving some strange powers s...

Aliens: River of Pain

by Christopher Golden

The story behind LV-426 is more terrifying than anything my childhood imagination lent after watching Alien and Aliens on VHS. Although before my generation, both Ridley Scott and James Cameron contributed to one of the most terrifying storylines in cinema history. And for this reviewer, it has become a personal favorite—even more so with Titan Books’ release of the new Alien strain: Alien: River of Pain. This final installment is the conclusion to a three-part series that isn’t quiet a...

Aliens the Female War

by Steve Perry

Steve Perry recruits his daughter, writer Stephani Perry, to conclude a separate storyline to one of the best SciFi franchises of all time. Filled with plenty of Xenomorph-action and a conclusion that no one would guess, Aliens: The Female War rocks hard and entertains like a champ!

Now joined by Ellen Ripley, Wilks and Billie’s story picks up immediately after meeting Ripley at the end of book two. With Earth’s future still hanging in the balance and much of humanity destroyed...

Wool

by Hugh Howey

I missed out commenting about this novel when it was first released. There was such a rush by everyone to say how great it was I felt that I would be adding but a small ripple to a raging Tsunami. Everyone from the big papers to the big authors have commented how magnificent the book is, and they are right.

It is also one of the novels that showed the world that self-published works could not only be exceptional but commercially successful too. It won the 2012 Kindle Book Review "I...

Skink No Surrender

by Carl Hiaasen

Richard’s cousin Malley has just run off with some guy she met online, and Richard knows that things aren’t as great as she tells him they are. What’s a boy to do but to go after her, along with Skink, a ragged, one-eyed ex-governor of Florida?

The unlikely pair find themselves encountering storms, crazed wild hogs, some guns, and massive gators during the quest to find and safely return Malley.

Skink—No Surrender is a fast-paced, funny, and thrilling read, with be...