Review: Nirvana

Nirvana by J.R. Stewart
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

(Revised Advance copy via NetGalley... pub date Nov. 10. 2015.)

I am revising my review after I read the revised version of this science fiction novel.

Admittedly, I did not give it a great review after reading it the first time. I do love science fiction and this promised to be good. I had a great deal of potential to be really good, and now the delivery surpasses expectations!

This story is now very well organized. I was being jerked hither and yon in the story before, but now the story flow is wonderfully like a rushing stream. Tension builds to a nerve-wracking point as Andrew and Larissa's story unfolds. The story is told from mostly one point of view (hooray!). Larissa is on a mission to discover what happened to her beloved Andrew, and she discovers corporate intrigue can be deadly.

The character development is great.

I this story will probably have great impact on something that is very close to reality... virtual reality. It is scary what is being done and is being considered in this field of science. Nirvana shines a bright light into this rather dark industry. Kudos to the author for that! And Kudos for good story telling.

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Review: Star Wars Battlefront: Twilight Company

Star Wars Battlefront: Twilight Company by Alexander Freed
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The story line is very good. You get a good feel for the weary soldiers fighting for freedom. You also get a better feel for the oppression of the Empire's system of domination.

The reader is given a timeline so you know where you are in this convoluted space opera. That's a very good thing.

While the story is good, the story telling is not top-notch. It seems rather more like a ramble than an action packed adventure. In other words, it is more a series of events rather than a story. While that can work for an experienced writer, Freed doesn't seem to be able to pull it off well.

Character development is choppy, and there are way too many points of view. Sometimes you have to read more than half a page to tell who's point of view you are reading. I hate that, therefore the 3-star review.

Advance copy from Netgalley...

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Review: Ashley Bell

Ashley Bell by Dean Koontz
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I'm not sure this book was actually ready to be read. There are about 10,000 words that need to be edited out, only then will it make a fine suspense thriller. This isn't in the literary category that The City was in, it's just plain too wordy.

Although, the character development is superb. I would know these people if I met them on the street. The dialogue is natural, and everyone talks in their own character. Even the supporting characters are well-developed. That takes tremendous skill. But there are some paths that Koontz takes the reader down that truly bog down the story flow. Koontz does do very well with description, but somehow this book doesn't coalesce into his regular tale-weaving style.

If Random will toss this to an editor that can do the story justice rather than taking it raw from the author, this could be a best seller, or at least make a good showing. As it is now, that won't happen.

Advance copy from Netgalley...

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