Debut Novel 'Oracle' - Win A Signed Copy

Olympics-mania is at fever pitch!
 What better way is there to get into the Olympic spirit than a book set around the London Games?

J.C. Martin releases her debut novel, crime thriller Oracle, today! To celebrate, she's holding a month-long Oracle Olympics Blog Tour, with tons of games and prizes, including a possible grand prize of an iPad3 (for more details, visit J.C.'s blog)! 

And it all kicks off with today's Opening Ceremony!


Read on to find out how you could win a signed paperback copy of Oracle right off the bat!


So what is Oracle about, anyway? Here's the blurb: Oracle 

With London gearing up to host the Olympics, the city doesn't need a serial killer stalking the streets, but they've got one anyway. Leaving a trail of brutal and bizarre murders, the police force is no closer to finding the latest psychopath than Detective Inspector Kurt Lancer is in finding a solution for his daughter's disability. Thrust into the pressure cooker of a high profile case, the struggling single parent is wound tight as he tries to balance care of his own family with the safety of a growing population of potential victims. One of whom could be his own daughter. Fingers point in every direction as the public relations nightmare grows, and Lancer's only answer comes in the form of a single oak leaf left at each crime scene. 


Purchase Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK | Barnes & Noble 


 Intrigued? Here's your chance to win a signed copy of the book!


All you have to do is visit all the blogs in the Parade of Nations in order (for a complete list of blogs, visit Olympics HQ here), including this one! Each blog will have a secret letter. Collect them all to decipher the secret message. Then go back to J.C.'s blog and enter your answer in the Rafflecopter for your chance to win! Answer some additional bonus questions to multiply your chances of winning! 


 The contest will remain open till midnight EST on Friday 3rd August. The winner will be announced on J.C.'s blog! 


 So here is my secret letter : First Serve (from a tennis fan, India's best chance at a double's bronze medal) :)


 Click on over to  J.L. Campbell @ The Readers’ Suite  for the next letter! Good luck!


 That's not all, more prizes for pushing Her book up the Amazon top lists, and a chance to test your flash fiction skills (100Words story) and win a Book Depository Gift Voucher at J.C's Blog

A Book Review And the Gut Wrenching Question - IWSG

The first Wednesday of every month is officially Insecure Writer’s Support Group day for participating blog owners who may be professional or amateur writers. (All you need is the passion and output, published or not). Started by Alex Cavanaugh the author of the sci-fi space opera CassaStar and sequel CassaFire, it is a means for writers to talk about their fears big and small. It is also an opportunity to connect to other writers who may have conquered these or are sailing in the same insecure boat as you.


Today's post is a wee bit different. In keeping with the July 4th fireworks, a book review of the Ninja Captain's CassaStar and the introspective question that results. 

CassaStar - Alex J Cavanaugh

(Book one of the CassaTrilogy)

Publishers -  Dancing Lemur Press

Genre - Speculative Fiction - Soft Science Fiction - Space Opera

Ebook - Novel - Paperback - 246 pages 

Price Rs 731 - 800 (Actual Rs 914) /$15.95  - $10.00

Available at Amazon Kindle Store and Flipkart(India)/IndiaTimesShopping

Blurb:

To pilot the fleet’s finest ship…
Few options remain for Byron. A talented but stubborn young man with a troubled past and rebellious attitude, his cockpit skills are his only hope. Slated to train as a Cosbolt fighter pilot, Byron is determined to prove his worth and begin a new life as he sets off for the moon base of Guaard. 

Much to Byron’s chagrin the toughest instructor in the fleet takes notice of the young pilot. Haunted by a past tragedy, Bassa eventually sees through Byron's tough exterior and insolence. When a secret talent is revealed during training, Bassa feels compelled to help Byron achieve his full potential.
As war brews on the edge of space, time is running short. Byron requires a navigator of exceptional quality to survive, and Bassa must make a decision that could well decide the fate of both men. Will their skills be enough as they embark on a mission that may stretch their abilities to the limit?

This is the first book in the series by Author and fellow blogger Alex Cavanaugh and works as a standalone novel.
The story is set in a far away, unnamed galaxy and revolves around a small, elite group of fighter pilots from the planetary race of Casaans. It focuses primarily on the training and inter relations between the pilots and their navigators, and in turn with their mentors.

The concept of advanced  mind powers and the ability to to enhance their flying skills is intriguing. It opens up a whole lot of possibilities in the application of the same in other areas of their life, something I am hoping is explored in the other books in the series.


The protagonist, Byron, whose attitude and behaviour often puts him at odds with those around him, possesses the said ability in its rarer state. His journey to the elite training camp at the remote moon base, his interactions with his navigator cum friend and instructor turned mentor help in his coming out of social isolation, albeit slowly. His flying abilities and new found temperament are further tested during the first assignment which finds him in the midst of an escalating war at the edges of their space. 


The story has been crafted with care, the technology not too far fetched, and the world though alien is painted with human like qualities and emotions. Friendship, trust, courage and belief in each other forms the crux of the story. The training scenes are well drawn and the few battle scenes are gripping. The final battle is reminiscent of Star Wars and the like.


My major grouse is the lack of female characters which I understand has been addressed in the next book CassaFire. 
Believable characters and scenarios make it a pleasant, fast read. 
The dialogue was stilted and formal in places but I construed it as to be peculiarity of that race. 


While the story doesn't offer much in terms of technology and world descriptions, and thus may not find favour with hard core science fiction fans, it's a well written tale appealing to readers of character driven plot lines, first timers to the genre, and fans of young adult fiction.


As an avid science fiction reader of both the soft and hard (I may not always understand the intricacies and theories) science varieties, and someone who prefers exploration and invention  to military action and description, I found CassaStar a pleasurable read. 
For the writing, the characters and the interesting premise, I give this a between 3.5 and 4 star rating.


Personal Disclaimer: This book was an original purchase used for the purpose of review, hence the post in entirety is my basic impression after reading the book. It is not based on intervention by the author or publishing house.


My IWSG question for the month. Forget the support system, the audience, the sales, will my debut book be as well crafted and interesting??


  Happy summer to many, happy autumn to a few and happy delayed monsoon to the rest. :)

Why does being Stuck in the Middle resemble Climbing the Mountain?

Time for RFW - Romatic Friday Writers and Saturday Centus weekend combo. The devilish part of me  loved meshing two meme prompts often, earlier. Time to pay attention to the curve-tailed me!

I put the book down, awaiting the phone call. Mom came in and handed me a cup of coffee. The author's mind reader had nothing on her, sipping the still hot beverage.

TRING...I spilled the contents of my cup, enough to feel the burning sensation through the thin cotton of my salwar. 

"Mohit..." "David here.”

"Sorry, I was expecting Mohit's. What did he say?"

He cleared his throat. I didn’t need his jumble of words to know. I hated romances for a good reason.

"Are you ok?" I wasn't, but had to be...she would need strong shoulders to cry on.

*Salwar - leggings of the traditional South Asian wear salwar kameez.

*edited piece from my short story, the Ring of Finality being the ending.

Just Some Things That Needed Saying

SoAnd

Courtesy Anees.Smile4U

I will be back on Fri/Sat with my RFW...be prepared to critique.

An Adventure And A Romance - Book Review

Defying Gravity - Cherie Reich
(book one of the Gravity Trilogy)

Publishers - Surrounded by Books Publishing

Genre - Speculative Fiction - Soft Science Fiction - Space Romance

Ebook - Novelette - 60 pages, Price $ 0.99

Available at Amazon Kindle Store

Blurb:

A Futuristic Space Fantasy Novelette
Homesick upon the SS Perseid, Linia, a young linguist, thinks she signed up for a mission of peace, but her crew members have another plan: attack the planet Medusa.
Bored with his dying planet, Alezandros, a space cruiser pilot, joins the Medusan army in his quest for adventure.
When the SS Perseid clashes with the Medusans' cruisers, Alezandros and Linia's lives intertwine. Sucked through a wormhole, they crash upon a post-apocalyptic Earth and are captured by cannibals. In adjacent cells, Alezandros and Linia cast their differences aside for a common bond: escape. But when romantic feelings emerge between them, they might do the unthinkable because for a Medusan and a Persean to fall in love, it would defy gravity.


This is a novelette by fellow blogger and author Cherie Reich.
It tells a story that starts of with both, depressing aspects of a planet peopled below the surface and the sinister strategy of a enemy planet that seeks to launch an attack via a space mission under the guise of exploration.
The author interweaves Greek mythology with a battle in space with its own set of unexpected.consequences.
The protagonists, Alezandros and Linia's lives gets complicated as they end up travelling through a wormhole and landing on a hostile, damaged, old Earth.


How they end up prisoners in the same camp unknown to each other, wrestle their hostile captors and escape using their special powers, and the budding romance between them in the process forms the rest of it.


The author has clearly taken the effort to build different planet worlds, races, language while keeping  it all in sync with the basic characterisations of the myth.
She has created believable characters whom you can't help but root for.


This is a soft science fiction of danger and romance. The length of the work makes it difficult to create a more scientifically layered world. Hence, this may not appeal to science fiction aficionados of the hard and soft genres alike.


I would recommend this pleasure read to first timers to science fiction and to romance readers who enjoy varied settings specially out-worldly and other worldly. And lovers of short fiction would enjoy this.

For the writing and the interesting premise, the book gets a between 3.5 to 4/5 rating from me.


Personal Disclaimer: This book was an original purchase used for the purpose of review, hence the post in entirety is my basic impression after reading the book. It is not based on intervention by the author or publishing house.