Smorgasbord Fantasia

This was an unassuming little thriller that crept up on me, completely unannounced. and what a compulsive addictive thrill-ride it was - Passengers by John Marrs is my first book by the author and it certainly won't be the last. [ Indeed, another of his titles  The One apparently is being made into a ten-part Netflix series, I certainly want to check it out before it hits the screen!] Anyways - being closely linked to the whole AI phenomenon at work, the premise (And the delicious promise!) of this book got me hooked straight away. A world where driverless cars are norm on UK roads - and what can happen, if a Hacker gets access to the artificial intelligence servers to control the lives of the passengers within? All too plausible. With the whole debate around ethical AI gaining traction around the world, this was a very topical book, extremely cleverly executed as well.  John Marrs draws us in, reel by reel with the unexpected plot twists and cliffhanger chapter ...

Raven Song is the first book in this series called Inoki's Game , by IA Ashcroft  introducing us to this dark, dystopian world, teetering after a nuclear holocaust, filled with magic and inexplicable dangers. I took this up on a whim after I read the premise of the book. I signed up for the blog tour ( and as usual, I got a bit late in posting the review!) and started the same, the last week of my holiday season hoping I could whizz through it. Alas - a combination of reasons saw me plod through it and not wrap this up in time. Well, mainly two reasons. The pacing of the novel and of course, the new year rush that crowds in on your time. About the Book A century ago, the world burned. Even now, though rebuilt and defiant, civilization is still choking on the ashes. Jackson, a smuggler, lives in the shadows, once a boy with no memory, no name, and no future. Ravens followed him, long-extinct birds only he could see, and nightmares flew in their wake. Once, Jackson thought...

ABOUT THE BOOK: From the New York Times bestselling author of the Souls of Fire novels comes the second in the futuristic fantasy series that will make you want to keep the lights on... When the bombs that stopped the species war tore holes in the veil between worlds, they allowed entry to the Others. Now, a hundred years later, humans and shifters alike live in artificially lit cities designed to keep the darkness at bay.... The humanoid supersoldiers known as the déchet were almost eradicated by the war. Ever since, Tiger has tried to live her life in peace in hiding. But in the wake of her discovery that Central City’s children are being kidnapped and experimented on, Tiger’s conscience won’t let her look the other way. The key to saving them lies within the walls of a pharmaceutical company called Winter Halo. But as she learns more about the facility, Tiger’s mission is derailed by a complication: Winter Halo’s female security guards are being systematically at...

Ever since Sky Captain Lemise Holdif was a boy, he’s been faced with the End of Days. For decades an unknown enemy has been systematically wiping out life in the galaxy, starting with the most advanced societies. Now Arcadia, a world built from the trash of an entire galaxy, is the only planet left capable of distant space travel, and the next target. Lemise is desperate to save his home world, but his plans are interrupted when an alien visitor transports onto his ship. Lead Specialist Paelae Madison is the last of her kind. The only survivor of the First Attack, and bent on revenge for the destruction of her people. In desperation, she teleports onto an Arcadian ship and offers aid in the coming war. Arcadia sees her as a hero, but Lemise is weary to trust a stranger who’s survived over five hundred previous battles. Together the two fight to defeat an enemy far more advanced, and far more cunning than Arcadia has ever known. But extinction lurks around every corner, and The Enem...