SciFi (Near Future) – Page 2 – Erin Penn's Second Base

Book Review (SERIES) Dragons of Boston

August 16, 2022March 25, 2022 Erin Penn

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BOOK BLURB ON AMAZON for DRAGON DREAMS

Introducing a new techno-thriller from Chris A. Jackson – The Dragons of Boston!

The monster awakens…

Harvard PhD student Aleksi Rychenkna longs for the peace of solitary study, away from people, questions, and human interaction. With a new advisor, a new project, and a fascinating new mystery, a preserved specimen that defies identification and contains human DNA, she has everything she wants.

But the mystery runs deeper than Aleksi bargains for. Powerful people are interested in her work; people who can make or break a young scientist’s career. Then, after an accidental exposure to the specimen’s strange DNA, she finds herself…changing.

It begins with dreams, nightmares of blood filled with violent images and urges. When threatened by another student, her social anxiety shifts to aggression. Her reflexes and instincts sharpen, and she is becomes stronger and faster than she should be. Aleksi begins to realize her dreams are more than psychosis.

Because they’re not dreams at all. They’re memories. And now the powerful people aren’t just interested in her, they’re hunting her.

MY REVIEW for DRAGON DREAMS

Even keeping the best records, maintaining the best containment, doing everything right, things can go grievously wrong. When Aleski discovers the bone slab she is working on is from an entirely different dig, her world shifts on its axis. She had just changed advisors and started a new project. Now this … DNA and X-ray mess of paleontology. She does her best to continue with her project despite everything, including a nasty head cold and an on-campus murder.

If that isn’t enough, she dreams of dragons. And she isn’t the only one.

Character driven, this action-packed story keeps you moving to the very end.

Deeper thoughts
My biggest problem with the book is how much the main character’s (Aleski) personality changed after her infection. We got to know her as a person, identify with her, and she changed so much she became unrecognizable. But then, she did become a dragon.

The theme of the story does seem to be about transformation. Is the person what they look like on the outside or what they are on the inside personality wise? Are they their experiences, even when the experiences are forgotten? Are they something else entirely? The questions aren’t addressed head-on, but they do nibble in the back of your head as you read the book.

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BOOK BLURB ON AMAZON for DRAGON NEMESIS

The stunning techno-thriller trilogy that began with Dragon Dreams continues!

Aleksi Rychenkna’s metamorphosis is complete.

A long-extinct evolutionary twist that lies hidden with the human genome now soars through the skies above Boston. Hunted by the government that would use her as a weapon, sought by a secretive organization that can reshape human flesh, and loved by the one man who keeps her horrible secret, Aleksi lives in the shadows.

But the transformation that reshaped Aleksi into Homo Draconis is contagious, and she harbors a plague that could reshape the world of mankind.

There is, however, the promise of hope. But can Aleksi trust those who say they can make her human again? If it means a chance to regain her life, to become Aleksi Rychenkna again, to be with the man she loves again, perhaps it’s worth the risk.

But the powers that want an army of dragons will risk humanity to get one. Aleksi is not the only Dragon of Boston, but those who made him know not what they have unleashed. This new dragon has but one irresistible urge burning in his mind: he must find Aleksi Rychenkna. For male dragons are driven only to eliminate rivals and procreate.

MY REVIEW for DRAGON NEMESIS

Even better than the first, Dragon Nemesis starts where Dragon Dream leaves off in the Dragons of Boston series.

Each book easily stands alone, but also supports the overarching narrative. No cliffhangers!

The new male dragon in town, David, is a world of difference from Penningly in so many ways. Will he be able to throw off the dragon instincts, as he has done all his life with his human instincts in response to his training and responsibilities? Or will his long history as a solider, as a killer (spy-assassin), make him succumb that much faster? Be that much more deadly in his skill and sanity? I fell in love a bit with David.

The cops show up again, as does Hutch’s ex and her family, and the DHS. The story is logical and full, the world and its characters fully realized. Great story!

Amazon Cover

BOOK BLURB ON AMAZON for DRAGON LEGACY

The Captive Dragon…

While Aleksi struggles to become human again, Lori Watkins, the single surviving victim of the rogue dragon, David Gilford, begins her metamorphosis in captivity.

Traumatized by the death of her fiancé and tormented by the dreams of the dragon she is becoming, Lori is struggling for sanity. She has only one hope, for others know she’s being held captive. But with a dragon in hand, Lori’s captors aren’t likely to make a deal with the secretive organization that wields more skill in manipulating the human genome than they do, and Aleksi’s new family will never trust the government with the ability to cure the Homo Draconis infection.

But angering the Department of Homeland Security is not unlike taunting a dragon, and Lori’s captors are as much out for vengeance as they are for the secret of creating an army of non-infectious dragons.

The two organizations are doomed to clash, and in the middle stands the man Aleksi loves. But if one thing is more dangerous than keeping a dragon captive, it’s threatening one’s loved ones.

MY REVIEW for DRAGON LEGACY

The conclusion of Dragon Legacy works as a stand-alone, though the story will be much better if you have read the whole story.

The first third of the book sags with personalities being pieced together; healing and hurting; and political maneuvers. Then the bombs go off and the rest of the book is a Thriller ride all the way.

Q is for Quinn – Book Review: When You Had Power

April 19, 2022March 5, 2022 Erin Penn

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When You Had Power by Susan Kay Quinn

BOOK BLURB ON AMAZON

For better, for worse. In sickness and in health.
It’s a legal vow of care for families in 2050, a world beset by waves of climate-driven plagues.

Power engineer Lucía Ramirez long ago lost her family to one—she’d give anything to take that vow. The Power Islands give humanity a fighting chance, but tending kelp farms and solar lilies is a lonely job. The housing AI found her a family match, saying she should fit right in with the Senegalese retraining expert who’s a force of nature, the ex-Pandemic Corps cook with his own cozy channel, and even the writer who insists everything is stories, all the way down. This family of literal and metaphorical refugees could be the shelter she’s seeking from her own personal storm.

She needs this one to work.

Then an unscheduled power outage and a missing turtle-bot crack open a mystery. Something isn’t right on Power Island One, but every step she takes to solve it, someone else gets there first—and they’re determined to make her unsee what she’s seen. Lucía is an engineer, not a detective, but fixing this problem might cost her the one thing she truly needs: a home.

When You Had Power is the first of four tightly-connected novels in a new hopepunk series. It’s about our future, how society will shift and flex like a solar lily in the storms of our own making, and how breaks in the social fabric have to be expected, tended to, and healed. Because we’re in this together, now more than ever before.

MY REVIEW

Hopepunk – Climate change science fiction. This novel is a short read at only 200 pages – a pleasant afternoon and a bright change after the last book I slogged through. The main character (MC) is extremely likeable, the supporting character cast a delightful mix, the mystery provides all the pieces you need to solve it alongside the MC, the worldbuilding solid, the hint of romance adding that final dash into the mix to offset the metallic tang of thriller-style danger to make it perfect.

Beach read, end-of-day beside the bed, winter snuggles with hot cocoa – however you like your lighthearted fare, this will do you.

And if you like meatier subjects, the eco-realism of climate change and renewable energy research providing the worldbuilding can be treated in more depth than a simple “oh, cool sci-fi backdrop”.

NOTE 1 – Ongoing plotlines. This is one of a series of short intertwined novels. Lucia’s portion of the story ends with her HEA. But the mystery-thriller continues in the next book.

NOTE 2 – POC. Main character is Puerto Rician. (MC in the next book is Black, and the third book Asian American.)

D is for Drowning – Book Review: Into the Drowning Deep

April 5, 2022March 5, 2022 Erin Penn

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Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant

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The ocean is home to many myths,

But some are deadly. . .

Seven years ago the Atargatis set off on a voyage to the Mariana Trench to film a mockumentary bringing to life ancient sea creatures of legend. It was lost at sea with all hands. Some have called it a hoax; others have called it a tragedy.

Now a new crew has been assembled. But this time they’re not out to entertain. Some seek to validate their life’s work. Some seek the greatest hunt of all. Some seek the truth. But for the ambitious young scientist Victoria Stewart this is a voyage to uncover the fate of the sister she lost.

Whatever the truth may be, it will only be found below the waves.

But the secrets of the deep come with a price.

MY REVIEW

Read for book club.

Near-future sci-fi fantasy horror. Climate change has impacted the ocean, and the change of environment modifies territories – what is available to hunt, eat. Things which should not come to the surface do so – from the Drowning Deep.

Preachy in the way that only sci-fi can be preachy. Taking a premise and drawing it out into a possible conclusion.

Great things – lots of different characters with different motivations. A unique monster that might be real (the very best option for horror). A reason, which while not quite sane but was still reasonable, to go “into the dark room” – you know, what we normally scream at people for in the horror movies we watch at home. Lots of different types of science, and no one person is an expert in any type – more like the normal science community than most books. Some great quotes. Deaf characters.

Not as great – preachy got a little noticeable. The scientists were a little too uncaring about their chances – a few did go “I know I might die, but this is the only chance and the knowledge is worth it”, but I really think more would do it. Giving that they had the entire world to draw on, I do see the company underwriting the expedition getting enough scientists willing to make the trade between research and safety to fill the ship. Not enough language barriers when dealing with a large scientific contingent – but since it was for an entertainment company, I could see them limiting it to pretty and/or well-spoken scientists who speak their audiences language.

The bad – you know, nothing was really bad. The book was a fun read.

I could put down the book when I needed to (not a horror fan), but it was engrossing when I read it. I marked lots of quotes.

To sum up: Near-future sci-fi fantasy horror – which hits all the ticks for its genres.

Flash: Not All Who Wander

February 27, 2022February 27, 2022 Erin Penn 1 Comment

Image courtesy of the Internet Hive Mind

Today’s flash is based on a sign I saw while delivering mail today, “Not all who wander” and below it was a painting of a RV. And I thought to myself, “Not all who wander, leave home.”

***

Becca stood, leaning against the tree nearest the cliff’s edge, to watch the specular Aurora Polaris, doing her best to ignore the black hole in her field of vision on the left side stating the game simulation number, the companies involved in programming it, and all the other required matter so people never forget virtual reality is not actually reality. She could hack the credits spot to non-existence, but then she would spend another six months in rehabilitation without VR and there was no way she was going through that again just to get rid of the annoying spot.

She did have a list of things she was willing to get banned for, but not for simple credits. Getting rid of all credits … maybe, be people deserve to get paid. Especially – Becca glanced over to the credits space, expanding it for a moment – Northern Reaches, who developed the Northern Lights visuals. She snapped her eyes back to the green and blue curtains dancing across the sky.

“There you are.” Garret dropped on the ground next to her.

“Here I am.” She agreed, nodding at him.

“I just wanted to thank you for your help in the underground fortress.” The fighter, and leader of the gaming party who hired her character, plucked at the grass, not meeting her eyes and somehow shrugging down so his nearly seven-foot half-giant frame didn’t tower over her while he sat beside her. “Virgay and Daph wouldn’t have made it through without your healing.”

“De nada. You paid me well for that task.” Becca waved a green hand, the Aurora lights sparkling against her scales.

“I was…” Garret coughed to clear his throat, “I was wondering if you would like to join our band of adventurers.”

Startled, Becca made eye contact. “Um, well.”

“I mean, not to take you away from your normal group-“

She cut in. “I don’t have a normal group.” Rocking against the tree, she tried to decide what to say next. The last three days had been awesome, especially Garret. He made her laugh more than anyone had since, well, more than anyone ever. They talked late into the night. But that didn’t really change the reality side of her life. Better to bite the bullet now, because as idyllic as this episode had been, VR recreation time would end soon. “What I do have is a very unpredictable schedule. I mean I like you peeps well enough …” Becca switched the cutoff mid-stream. Her life had enough lemons, and Garret-time had made the normal lemons feel like a souffle these past few days. “and I really liked you. But I don’t know when-“

An internal alarm went off.

“You are kidding me.” Becca glanced over at her personal dashboard. “Already?”

“Becca?” Garret glanced in the direction of her stare.

“Garret I’m so sorry, I’m… will you shut off! I heard you the first time…about to have my Unplug Time.”

He stood to reach out to her, she could see the protest in his golden eyes.

“Look, I don’t know when my next…Turn Off!” Becca stabbed the air until the alarm stopped. “Look, I really like…Damn it, it’s pulling me out.”

Garret blinked as the dragon-kin cleric disappeared. Triple Zed. He really liked her. And his party was going to need another cleric soon. That had only been the third chapter of the adventure. The half-giant fighter meandered back to the rest of his party.

***

Becca carefully touched each finger on her right hand to her right thumb while waiting for the VR tube to open, then did the same with her left hand. Success. Every finger worked!

She waited for the medical bot to unhook vitals, help her swing her legs over the edge, and do the basic tests. Becca couldn’t feel her toes today as the bot checked. You win some, you lose some. Still an improvement over the state she was in before she started the most recent round of therapy. The new VR suite cost triple what a normal one would, but it pumped her full of medications and worked her muscles throughout her Hookup to the specific therapies her doctors recommended instead of just the standard maintenance of health. Before her degenerative nerve condition had her to the point of not even being able to move her head. Now she had motor control of her hands, arms, and shoulders.

“Did you have a nice time Becca?” The robot asked. Its base programming included minor companionship interaction. People didn’t react well to a tool moving them around.

“The rec time went well, thank you for asking R9.” Becca rocked with the robot as it transferred her to her mobile-chair. “What is on the program for today?”

The medical robot reviewed the two doctor visits for the day, as well the food orders and other basic maintenance normal Reals needed to do during their required Unplug day. While listening with half an ear, Becca did something she had never done before. She sent a Contact Card to Garret’s dashboard. He could now message her outside the game if he wanted.

Not meet her. Never meet her. Who would want to deal with the medical trainwreck of her life? But … maybe … be a virtual friend?

(First published 2/27/2022; 879 words)

Flash: Fence Post

March 28, 2021April 26, 2024 Erin Penn

Photo by Qasim Malick on Unsplash

Watching the world walk by is nothing new. Malik held up the fence at the sector’s edge monitoring those going from home to work, looking for discrepancies. Behavior changes, new faces, different groupings, someone arriving late or showing up too early. The “haves” relied on him and others like him to keep their “staff” in line. Unlike most in the queue below, he rarely dealt with the privileged directly, staying on this side of the fence.

Carefully ignoring “silver-trim” for the fifth day running, he wondered how long he would tolerate his life. Noor, the poor buffoon, jogging up late again gave him an excuse to miss the woman he carefully wasn’t seeing. Malik jumped down the thirty feet from the fence posting, cybernetic legs easily handling the landing, a gift thanks to the combination of landmines from the war and the “haves” who arranged the war and still wanted his skillset.

(words 151; first published July 3, 2022 – from a picture prompt for a Facebook writing group. Aim is about 50 words)

Fence Post Series