REFRACTED by Sheila Deeth

I don’t know why I put off reading this surprising book. Once started, I read it from beginning to end, not wanting to stop. Then I found myself wanting to read it all over again.

It isn’t until you’ve finished Refracted that you completely understand what you’ve been reading, and why the story is structured the way it is. It all comes together in the end.

Sheila Deeth has an incredible talent for writing vivid description that captures the imagination. She is very good at putting you into her scenes with sensory impressions. You can almost see the sights, hear the sounds and smell the scents.

The first seven chapters begin similarly with, “We played, ran or walked ‘through the fields’ that day.” There is a reason for this that is disclosed later in the book.

Each chapter is about a different youth in a different setting, many are Biblically familiar.  You’ll find yourself on Noah’s Ark in chapter one, then with Moses in chapter two. See if you don’t relate to the other settings as well. Each chapter stands alone, yet each follows a familiar theme of love, danger and separation.   

Should I give away the end? Even a tiny portion? So tempting, but sorry … decided not to.  The end provides cohesiveness, and it’s why I wanted to read this short novel over again with more understanding of what was taking place.  I appreciated it all the more the second time through.  

Even the cover represents much of what is in this novel, but again, all its significance isn’t apparent until you’ve finished the book.

No one else writes like Sheila Deeth. The depth of her thoughts combined with her vivid depictions make her novels unique. This is one genre that goes beyond explanation. You have to read it to experience it. Get a an eBook copy from Amazon, Barnes & Noble or Smashwords.com.  Sheila Deeth’s writing will surprise you too.

—Gail Lewis

Format: Kindle Edition

File Size: 61 KB

Publisher: Gypsy Shadow Publishing (July 15, 2010)

Sold by: Amazon Digital Services

Language: English

ASIN: B00433TBTQ

Amazon Kindle Edition

INFINITE SPACE, INFINITE GOD II, editors Karina & Robert Fabian

This compilation of twelve science fiction stories had me hooked at the very first one. After reading Infinite Space, Infinite God II, I want to read the first book, Infinite Space, Infinite God I. The book’s Christian Catholic flavor serves to enhance the tales, making them moral and causing their futuristic spin to become more exotic.

The Ghosts of Kourion by Andrew M. Seddon is outstanding. So much so, that I immediately advised my husband to read it even before I read any of the others. He thought it was great too, and normally he’s not a sci-fi (speculative fiction) fan. This is an exceptionally well-told saga.

An archaeologist traveling into the past for study, encounters human emotions in himself he didn’t expect to deal with, and ends up making a difference in the lives of those who went before us. The fact that this story was inspired by an actual 1985 archaeological dig at Kourion, on Cyprus, where the skeleton of a young girl and her mule were uncovered, makes the story even more intriguing. Well written and extremely engaging.

Antivenin by Karina Fabian, pg 25. The author has chosen to write about rescue nuns in space, a fascinating concept. These good women go to the aide of a space ship in trouble and encounter a cargo of escaped, venomous snakes within it, endangering their own lives.

An Exercise in Logic by Barton Paul Levenson, pg 42. When all reason fails to convince aliens to save thousands of humans on New Canaan, what will convince them? Perhaps the tale of a tail? Tension builds with interesting description. Well worth reading.

Cathedral by Tamara Wilhite, pg 57. Genetically enhanced human geniuses suffer an early demise, but bring wealth to those who control them. Katerina learns the drugs she helped produce are addictive and evil, yet she finds a way to undo those wrongs before her death by producing “Cathedral.” Read the story to find out what it is and what it does. A thought provoking, futuristic tale.

Otherworld by Karina L. Fabian, pg 67. An interesting voyage into what minds might think and do in a cyber dimension. Take a fascinating trip into a surrealistic cyber world. Does sin really count when it's virtual?

The Battle of the Narthex by Alex Lobdell, pg 79. A very tall alien race is baffled by the sameness of “man” on a dozen different planets and quietly studies men on earth, trying to discover the answer. Meanwhile, an old alien soldier is charged with protecting a “small” member of their race who, with make-up to hide his gray skin, can move freely among the earthlings. The two form a special bond of affection, and when the boy’s life is threatened, an amazing “miracle” offers the old soldier a way to protect the young prince. Humor, excitement and futuristic devices will keep you reading to the end.

Tenniel by Colleen Drippe, pg 108. A bishop or a savage? This is the story of decisions hard made and hard lived with afterward. A Bishop decides it’s necessary to kill in order to save lives and win converts.

Tin Servants by J. Sherer, pg 122. In order to serve his people, Paul becomes an android--but can he really care for them as a tin servant?

Basilica by John Rundle, pg 141. Caprizo battles machines and thwarts an enemy armada to keep a doomsday weapon from their hands.

Cloned to Kill by Derwin Mak, pg 166. How can a man of peace protect a clone designed to kill?

Frankie Phones Home by Karina Fabian, pg 179. A sixteen-year-old alien abductee calls her family on the way back for official First Contact.

Dyads by Ken Pick and Alan Loewen, pg 183. Enter the fascinating culture of the Thalendri in a story of intrigue, terrorist and religious tolerance.

During this blog tour, the Kindle editions of both Infinite Space, Infinite God I & II will be on sale for just $2.99 at Twilight Times Books. See link below:

Twilight Times Books for InfiniteSpace, Infinite God II

Also available at Fictionwise.com for ebooks

THE UNWANTED by Daniel Carter

My time spent with speculative fiction is somewhat limited; however, The Unwanted is probably one of the most imaginative works of the genre I've ever read. This book has more twists and turns in it than four Bavarian pretzels--and it's only the first book in the trilogy.

Tibon, a fiendishly brilliant scientist, is on a quest to avenge the politically motivated and officially covered-up murder of his family over 25 years ago. He selects the genetic engineering and ultimate control of a race of super humans to achieve that revenge. But one day something goes terribly wrong with his plan. Two nurses flee with five of his infant subjects, all of whom had been marked for termination. The nurses lose themselves and the babies in the backwoods of Oklahoma, where, with the help of a few friends, they raise the children. Thus is the beginning of the Family.

The core of the Family comprises these five genetically altered children, each with their own unique giftings. The nurses, Janet and Michelle, had no knowledge of the genetic experimentation. Until, that is, strange things begin to occur as the babies grow and their "abnormalities" begin to manifest in shocking ways. Janet chronicles the infants' unnerving development in her journal as the women strain to cope with what is unfolding before them. Now, enter the FBI and Tibon's forces, both of whom are searching for the missing children for counterpoised purposes, and you have the makings of a volatile situation bound to explode at the crux moment. And rest assured; explode it does--in more ways than one.

Mr. Carter blends depravity and greed, love and redemption, treachery and guile, and innocence and loyalty into a fast-paced tale that will keep you turning page after page. Ultimately, you'll discover how a single man's fanatical arrogance fares against Divine purpose, and in ways you'd least expect. Cool!

I must confess that people who write this kind of stuff, and write it well, worry me. I mean, c'mon; how does a mind living in the everyday world come up with a scenario that seems so far off the wall, but then so successfully roots it in the real world that it doesn't even nudge incredulity? Does Mr. Carter know something we don't? I wonder...nah!

— Bruce Judisch

Product Details:
Trade Paperback: 240 Pages
Language: English
Publisher: OakTara
ISBN-13: 978-1602902237

THE FOX'S HONOR by L.D. Alford

A fascinating read for the science-fiction buff happily suffering from a debilitating touch of the romantic notion.

In The Fox's Honor, Mr. Alford transports an unbending code of chivalry and honor to a futuristic world light years displaced in time and distance from the Avalon in which such Arthurian ethics were born.

The romantic will not be disappointed in the love story between Sir Devon Rathenberg, alias "The Fox," and Lady Tamar Falkeep, the woman who has stolen The Fox's heart. Denied any chance of a future due to social station and propriety, Sir Devon and Lady Tamar must conceal their love. But when, in a twisted turn of events, The Lady thwarts Sir Devon's planned death, a new course deciding the fate of the Human Galactic Empire is demanded--a course that will take them and their noble houses into collision with the tyrannical faux Emperor Perod.

Neither will the sci-fi buff be disappointed with Mr. Alford's detailed account of escaping the constraints of physical space via null space transportation, meticulous attention to the demands of orbital dynamics, and descriptions of the astro-/aeronautical nuances of intergalactic spacecraft. Those Star Trek afficiandos owning a copy of Hayne's USS Enterprise: Owner's Workshop Manual will demand a similar work from Mr. Alford. I take that back; they won't need one. Mr. Alford, a test pilot himself, renders treatment only an aeronautical engineer's mother could love to the technical aspects of space travel and the vehicles that conquer it.

The Fox's Honor is Book Two in The Chronicles of the Dragon and The Fox. It's prequel is The End of Honor, and it's followed by A Season of Honor. I didn't need the prequel to enjoy The Fox's Honor. I am, however, driven to purchase the sequel. I suspect you will be, too.

— Bruce Judisch

Product Details:
Trade Paperback: 296 pages
Language: English
Publisher: OakTara
ISBN: 978-1-6029010-7-0