An Interview with Donna Sundblad

 A special thanks to David Applegate of Future Fantasy for his time.

 

 

Astounding YA Dark Fantasy whodunit

Slipstream is a YA Sci-fi/Dark Fantasy thriller that opens with a gruesome murder of a young pregnant Asian heiress. When the authorities arrive, they find her sliced open and the baby gone. A necklace retrieved from the body turns out to be a high-tech amulet. The eccentric engraver who crafted it was a founding member of the defunct Pacific Rim Rapturits. It turns out the dead woman is his daughter and the half-sister of Detective Connor, who is working the case. Years pass with no breaks in the case until Connor learns that the baby lived, and her name is Raven. 

 

 

Alice Godwin uses Dark Fantasy as the canvas on which she paints this fantasy whodunit with the flare of a noir thriller. The opening chapter delivers just enough backstory to generate questions that frame the plot that unfolds in fractured pieces from varying points of view that fit together like a Japanese puzzle box. 

 

When the reader meets Raven, she is 16, lives in a post-apoplectic high-tech world where ecopods drive below the streets through a cobweb of underground freeways and some live in eco-tech housing and artificial closed ecological systems. Yet, Raven's world still suffers from inequality and injustice as power and wealth control lives and enrich the already-rich minority. 

 

Raven isn’t among the rich. She’s a gifted young lady with remote viewing skills, being reared by the carnies. Her visions fill her with dread, but she finds solace in a place called the Ghostlands where the whisperings of the web and electromagnetic humming that surround everything no longer haunt her. Here her head is silent. Here she enters a free-fall state into silver streams where things are tranquil and perfect–until Ceriful, a being from another reality crosses boundaries and brings the slipstream in his wake. Raven’s essence flows into it. He needs Raven to restore his realm. But, if she does, what does it mean for her world?

 

Book Recommendation

I recommend this book to those looking for their next fantasy mystery read. Filled with suspense, foreshadowing, and flashbacks, it delivers a surprise ending. Whether you’re interested in cozies or noir fiction, I’m sure this magical mystery will glue you to the edge of your seat. The opening chapters had a disjointed feel as scenes jumped to differing points of view and made for a slow start, but I realized those early chapters laid the foundation I needed to unlock the puzzle of this dark fantasy mystery. People who enjoy books like Beyond the Black Door by A.M. Stickland will find this book to their liking. I give it four stars and look forward to book 2.

 

As BookHookup, I am a long-time book reviewer, and I received Slipstream as a free review copy and have not been compensated for reviewing or recommending it. This review is posted in collaboration with #Black Phoenix Book Tours. Some links in this post are affiliate links. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to amazon.com and affiliate sites.

 

  

About the Author Alice Godwin

Raised in the most southern of Australian cities, Hobart (Nipaluna), capital of the heart-shaped island of Tasmania (Lutruwita), gateway to the Southern Ocean and Antarctica. Impacted by the mystical land of her childhood, Alice can recall days of climbing through Eden-like forests and around glacial waterfalls, where mystical ravens and colorful parrots flew through the Antarctic Beech forests, adding to her sense of wonder in the world around her.

 

Her family were European exiles from various countries from Turkey to Lithuania. She is the first mother in four generations to give birth to her children in the same country she was born in. Her first job was in the Editorial Library of The Mercury newspaper in Hobart before joining the chaotic, colourful world of fashion in a design studio off Chapel Street in South Yarra, Melbourne. Eventually she headed further north to Sydney and some interesting years working at the Museum of Contemporary Art situated between the iconic Harbour Bridge and the Opera House on Circular Quay.

 

Around this time she began writing and her first short story was shortlisted in the Northern Territory awards and printed in their anthology ‘Extra-Territorial’ and so she continued, stopping briefly for a few years when her two sons took her on other adventures. She has had forty short stories published in magazines, anthologies, and literary journals in Australia, USA and UK. She won the Australian Horror Writers Assoc short story of the year (2008), Wyvern Publications UK YA short story competition and has been shortlisted for the Irish Aeon Award.

 

Alice Godwin’s Social Media

http://www.alicegodwin.com/

https://www.instagram.com/mermaiddreams88/

https://www.facebook.com/AliceGodwinAuthor/

Hague Publishing’s Social Media

https://haguepublishing.com/blog/

https://www.facebook.com/HaguePublishing

Fast paced near-future science fiction romance

Terraworks by Richelle Manteufel carries the reader into TerraWorks, a fast-paced, virtual roleplay gaming-world crafted with great visuals. The cyberpunk vibe of this world melds with fantasy/sci-fi elements to create protagonist, Ean Lightcross, a half-elf avatar who lives her virtual life at breakneck speed as a skyboarder willing to ignore the rules of skycraft to get out of a fix or win a race. Her hecidecimal sidekick (Hex) warns such disobedience to the TerraWorks code of skycraft must be reported, but Ean trusts her instincts and takes risks that often prove to her benefit. She has her eyes set on winning the SkyRate Grand Championship race against the undefeated fay sorcerer, Gale Emodicus.

 

For fun, she takes a break and goes to a Spectral Tyrants concert. Her curiosity piques when she sees the lead singer’s rare avatar type. A skeleton. Skeleton avatars are not a good choice for combat among gamers, but they make exceptional mages and sorcerers. Most players don’t have the patience needed to improve skills as a skeleton. His rarity intrigues Ean, and she moves for a closer look at the skeleman, Elias Mage. She gets caught up in the music. Her fists clench in passion as she watches his every move. After the concert they meet at a vending machine, and as the saying goes, the rest is history. What starts as a friendship quickly transforms into something more, but what are the chances of a romantic relationship forged in virtual reality making it? Ean and Eli fall in love, but have never met in the real world. It’s more than a crush. They have real feelings, hopes and dreams, but what can the future hold for them. At first, they keep their relationship secret, but the  compelling question for the reader is: who are they in real life?

Richelle Manteufel does a magnificent job of immersing the reader in a virtual world that feels believable while totally different from real-world reality. She engages the senses and intellect while altering factors that can be omitted or stretched. I don’t want to say too much because I want readers to experience it for themselves. And the use of avatars as main characters brings the romantic relationship to a new dimension. A whole new level of hidden identity romance. 

This fast paced near-future science fiction combines gaming concepts with popular fantasy tropes. If you enjoyed Arena by Holly Jennings, I think you'll enjoy this book. I give it a strong four stars and recommend it to gaming enthusiasts, romance fans, metalheads, and of course, sci-fi and fantasy fans. TerraWorks is book 1 in the Terraworks series, and I look forward to Helios (book 2) in the future. 

As BookHookup, I am a long-time book reviewer, and I received TerraWorks as a free review copy and have not been compensated for reviewing or recommending it. Some links in this post are affiliate links. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to amazon.com and affiliate sites.

Solarpunk coming of age fantasy **spoiler alert**

Amos the Amazing is the action-packed magical adventure of twelve-year-old Amos. The adventure starts with the book cover where artist Adrián Ibarra depicts an alternative, fictional world that visually interacts with the audience with the slightly hapless protagonist dressed in his bunny slippers and a red bathrobe running along the rooftop.

Amos is a clever, curious, bullied child from the Solarpunk futuristic city of Chongqing, China, who loves spicy foods. When the story opens, his curiosity distracts him without consideration of the consequences but his life turns upside when consequences land his mother in the hospital from an allergic reaction to his very spicy ice cream. As a result, his busy father drops him off with his grandparents for a week and the adventure begins with plenty of love and hard work and his friends Thunder the cat and Rufus the dog. 

Amos has a vivid dream in which Thunder leads him to the musty closet in his room, and he discovers a hidden compartment holding a dusty old wooden trunk. Inside that box is a silver ring on a chain and an old robe. He slips them on, looks at his reflection and sees his face change into an old, wrinkled person as a dull ache fills his head. His eyes grow dark and murky and transform to an amber glow. A voice says, “Be careful what you wish for…” The mouth of the reflection bares razor-sharp teeth and releases a scream of agony before the mirror shatters, leaving behind an emptiness. Amos awakens with a shadowy figure standing over him until Thunder hops onto him. Fearful images course through his mind until he hears Grandma calling him for dinner.

 

Amos’s decisions impact his growth as a character. When grandma expects him to feed the rabbits, chickens, and goats, instead of doing things the proper way, he tries to carry all the bowls of feed and hay at one time to get the job over with. The food slips from his hands and scatters across the floor. He leads the chickens into the house to clean up the mess and feed them at the same time but it turns into a disaster, and Grandma tasks him with making things right. He cleans the mess on his hands and knees and returns to his room angry, crying, and feeling like nothing is good enough for Grandma.

He wishes he had magick to get the work done, thinks about the trunk in his dreams, and searches the closet. To his surprise, he finds the box. Within it he discovers a cloak, a chain holding a pendant and ring, and a folded piece of paper that he slips into his pocket. He puts the items on and enters a dreamlike experience with Thunder at his side. His necklace hums with energy. Green fog creeps along the forest floor, and Thunder takes off. A slinky, nine-tailed red fox snuggles beside Amos, wraps his nine tails around him, licks a tear from his face, and rubs up against the pendant. His jaws open wide, and he swallows Amos’s head. The boy wakes in his bed back at Grandma’s but feels unwell. Whispers between Grandma and the Doctor tell him something is wrong with him, plus Grandpa is injured and maybe poisoned. He has lost half of his soul to the trickster fox, and if he doesn’t do something, Grandpa will die.

With the help of Thunder, Amos finds the magick door at Anju Ancient Town and enters a different realm—a zany world. Just think Wizard of Oz meets Alice Through the Looking Glass with fae, gnomes, wizards, trolls, and unnatural, steampunk clockwork creatures! 

As much as his new surroundings and circumstances distract Amos, he has a goal to get his soul back and find the cure for Grandpa. One wrinkle in his plan is that because he only has half a soul, he occupies another body for most of this adventure, and that body belongs to Fis, a Paladin of the Summer Queen and a seventeen-year-old female. This coexistence opens the door for plenty of conflict, humor, and growth, which Jorah Kai accomplishes with panache!

Questions flood Amos’s mind at every turn. He takes them on fearlessly and with determination, but his path isn’t as easy as following a yellow brick road because even in this wacky land, Amos makes mistakes and experiences consequences.

My thoughts on Amos the Amazing

In this coming-of-age story, Amos grows to think of others more as he runs a race to save his soul and his grandfather’s life. While this book falls into the YA (Young Adult) category, I think it carries appeal for readers of all ages. Amos the Amazing is highly imaginative and action-packed with well-choreographed fight scenes. I highly recommend this book to readers of all ages who enjoy books like Harry Potter or the Percy Jackson series. If you are ready for adventure and enjoy exploring new fantastical worlds safely from home, this one is for you. I give it a hearty 5 stars! At the writing of this review, Amos the Amazing is available for preorder on Goodreads and Amazon, and is slated for release on Oct. 31.

As BookHookup, I am a longtime book reviewer, and I received Amos the Amazing as a free review copy and have not been compensated for reviewing or recommending it. Some links in this post are affiliate links. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to amazon.com and affiliate sites.

 

About the Author Jorah Kai

“We don’t rise to the level of our expectations (dreams), we fall to the level of our training.” ― Archilochus

Someone once told Jorah Kai to write what he knew, but since he was 12 and knew very little, the avid reader set off on a lifelong journey to master a variety of esoteric subjects. He’s been a lifelong student, martial artist, musician, English teacher, writer, newspaper columnist, editor, web designer, dance music producer and touring DJ, black rock city existential detective and philosopher, fire-breathing gypsy circus performer, standup comedian, and family man; which offered many profound insights into the human condition before uprooting his life and moving to a city of 34 million people halfway across the planet.

Jorah Kai has been an English teacher in Chongqing, China, since 2014 and editor for iChongqing, an English news desk for the 34 million-person cyberpunk metropolis, since 2018. He was the first Canadian journalist to report on the early Chinese outbreak and lockdown in 2020 and wrote a syndicated diary column for Chinese and Canadian (CTV News) audiences which was expanded and published in 2020 as his first novel, the epistolary tale ‘The Invisible War’ (Kai’s Diary) by Chinese New World Press in English and Chinese, which became an Amazon Bestseller for China Books and then Canadian press Royal Collins in English for a second edition. Both the column and book were celebrated as providing critical health information and guidance during an emergency. It was designated by the foreign affairs office as one of the top 10 foreign language books and 25 overall notable books published in China in 2020.

Kai enjoys conversing in foreign languages because it’s more mysterious, and he enjoys playing guitar and eating pizza as much as he hopes you love his books. He lives at the confluence of two mighty rivers, the Yangtze and the Jialing, with a large and loving family for many years as a human being and then forever after as the most immortal of all supernatural beasts, a writer.