Matt visits The Shadow Galaxy and meets the author Jendia Gammon

THE SHADOW GALAXY 

 

J. Dianne Dotson ( @jdiannedotson / @jendiagammon )

 

Reviewed by Matt Adcock (twitter @cleric20 threads @cleric20 )

 

“She leaned toward the figure, and saw the outline of a humanoid shape, partially obscured by shadow and a thick layer of ochre-colored dust. The eyes were switched off, and dark. She stepped closer, and found herself staring up at this tall figure, with its smooth face, with no sharp angles. She reached out and touched that face… The eyes flashed open, and two hands seized hers.” RODER

 

In space, no one can hear you scream ’Ooooo that’s a cool collection of short fiction and poetry from the cross-genre author, science writer, and artist J. Dianne Dotson!’

 

Doesn’t matter because once you’re caught in this heavy-duty attention-grabbing black hole of short stories and poetry, you will hardly have time to realise that you’ve been whisked off to magical realms, haunted by some fascinating ‘what if’ horror and fantasy and made to search your heart by some Appalachian tales. 

 

Writing as J. Diane Dotson, Jendia Gammon journeys beyond the conventions of average sci-fi, she trips the light of fantastical oddities and takes you kicking and screaming into some very unnerving places. It all feels deeply personal capturing emotions, longing, regrets, and escapism and it’s written in an engaging and readable style that you won’t easily tire of.

 

RODER is my favourite of the tales – it is the snapshot of a young woman named Roan who risks her life to help find a robot who captured her heart. It’s a gripping and heart-melting burst of joy – and worth the price of admission on its own!!

 

I had the chance to put the Darkmatters Interview Q’s to Jendia and here is what she said:

 

Matt: If you were a superhero – what powers would you have and who or what would be your nemesis?

 

Jendia: Teleportation, and I’m guessing fresh taffy would make a fine adversary. 

 

Matt: What is the best sci-fi scene you’ve ever read? 

 

Jendia: The final goodbye between Lyra and Will in HIS DARK MATERIALS.

 

Matt: If you were hired to throw a parade of any scale or theme through the centre of London what type of parade would it be?

 

Jendia: The Most Fantastic Parade full of characters, creatures, and ships from sci-fi, fantasy, horror, and fairy tales.

 

Matt: You’re in a strange town with £100,000 that you have to spend in a single evening – talk me through what you get up to…

 

Jendia: I’d pay everyone’s food and utility bills that needed it, for as long as the money stretches.

 

Matt: Who inspires you most (can be living or dead)?

 

Jendia: Ray Bradbury, Ursula K. Le Guin, Octavia Butler, President Jimmy Carter, my husband Gareth L. Powell (Darkmatters review of his Embers of War Trilogy), teachers, librarians, astronauts, medical workers, and scientists. 

 

Matt: What is the meaning of life?

Jendia: Help others, enjoy the little moments, and eat good chocolate.

 

Matt: What was the best bit of copy you’ve written / or that you’re most proud of?

Jendia: I’m proud of all my books so I can’t pick one favorite line. But I do like this one in LUMINIFEROUS:

 

“If it’s chaos to be with you, I’ll take that over order. I’ll hold your hands in hell, and I’ll love you in the heavens.”

 

Matt: If you could have a robot servant – what would you get it to do for you?

Jendia: Bake me pies.

 

Matt: What would you like written on your tombstone?

Jendia: I won’t have a tombstone.

 

Matt: Any final words you like to add...

Jendia: Reach out to your loved ones often.

 

Out of a potential 5, you have to go with a Darkmatters:

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(4 - Recommend you take a trip through this Shadow Galaxy...)

>>> Imagine a world where the earth is becoming hell?

Click below to find out in my dark sci-fi novel...

Code Red, repeat this is Code Red (by Ian Loome) Review

 

CODE RED

Ian Loome(@inkubatorbooks)

reviewed by Matt Adcock (@Cleric20)

CODE RED - defined as follows:

- A condition of heightened alert against imminent danger

- also unauthorized extra-judicial punishment meted out within the military

- and a kick-ass thriller that will give you heart palpitations with its excitement overdose!

"The day had gone from bad to worse. On arriving home, he'd been informed that his computer network and home security had been breached, They had no idea what might have been seen or taken from the system.

And then there was the matter of the dead cop..."

What do you do when your hero of the day has sworn he’ll never kill again? Well in Ian Loome's excellent new thriller-em-up Code Red, you just wait because some promises are hard to keep. 

Meet Bob Singleton an ex-CIA assassin (who still has the skills), he's been badly messed up thanks to a  terrible past, and now finds himself living in a LG refrigerator box behind a dumpster in downtown Chicago - yep, you read that right...

Like most unstable heroes Bob just wants to be left alone. But before you can say 'look out Bob - your past is coming back to haunt you!' - that's exactly what happens because he falls in with some folks who need his special skill set to stay alive...

The twisty plot cracks along as if it's being pursued by a group of trained killers - which is ironic because young Marcus and nurse Dawn have stumbled onto a conspiracy, that has put their lives in danger and a group of trained killers are after them!?

It's down to Bob to protect them, and fortunately, that's the sort of thing he's good at. What follows is a high-energy, gripping tale which sees Bob out to discover the truth about what happened in his murky past because it's all linked to the plight of the innocents who are now in his care.

I really liked the characters in Code Red. Bob himself is a great hero - props to his using a rubbish bin lid like a frisbee to take down an assassin... Even the more dubious characters are interesting like the ex-marine who also draws comic characters - nice little details like this add flavour and fun to the story and make you care a bit more than in lesser writers' works.

So, if you like your action crunching and your heroes emotionally detached, I have a Code Red for you, and the good news is that this is just the first in a new action thriller series.

So if you enjoy Lee Childs, Jack Carr, etc and haven't come across Ian Loome - today is your lucky day!!

Who is Ian Loome?

Writer of thrillers and mysteries. His books have been downloaded more than a half-million times on Amazon.com and have regularly featured on the Kindle best-seller lists for more than a decade. For 24 years, Ian was a multi-award-winning newspaper reporter, editor and columnist in Canada. When he’s not figuring out innovative ways to snuff his characters, he plays blues guitar and occasionally fronts bands. He lives in Sherwood Park, Alberta, with his partner Lori, a pugnacious bulldog named Ferdinand, a confused mostly Great Dane puppy named Ollie, and some cats for good measure. This is his first action thriller with Inkubator Books.

Out of a potential 5, you have to go with a Darkmatters:

ööööö

(5 - CODE RED? CODE 'MUST READ' MORE LIKE...)

>>> Imagine a world where the earth is becoming hell?

Click below to find out in my dark sci-fi novel...

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