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:

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(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...

This post is part of the magnificent ZOOLOO Book Blog Tours...

Matt gets Defragged and meets Glitch...

Defrag (The Glitch Logs Book 1)

Rachel Beck (@rachelthebeck)

 

Reviewed by Matt Adcock (@Cleric20)

 

 

Hey chooms – tune your chrome augmentations to ‘full cyberpunk pleasure’ and jump into the gritty cyberpunk world of Neosaka. Here the neon-washed streets serve as a backdrop for a tale of hacking, heists, and hidden agendas. The protagonist, Glitch, is a hacker / runner with a knack for getting her hands on valuable data in a city dominated by powerful corporations. Sounds like your sort of cyber fun? Oh boy it really is…

 

So without splurging too much plot - when Glitch finds herself in the midst of a high-stakes heist gone wrong. A rival crew emerges, setting off a dangerous chain of events that forces her to navigate a treacherous landscape of shifting alliances and imminent danger. With a relentless security force closing in, Glitch must find a way to unite with her rivals if they are to have any chance of survival.

 

Beck's world-building in Defrag is shiny. Neosaka comes alive with an atmosphere that drips with tension and cybernetic allure. 

 

Glitch is a relatable and sympathetic protagonist, wracked with internal conflicts as she hits hidden agendas and the deep societal implications of Neosaka's corporate dominance. 

 

Defrag is a gripping cyberpunk adventure that combines high-stakes action, intricate world-building, and well-developed characters. Beck's writing is worth checking – the good news is that there is a whole series – so be sure to check Overclocked and User Error which follow…

Until 21 July you can get Defrag as part of the Fanatical CYBERPUNK BUNDLE 

(along with that there Complete Darkness you might have come across) >>> CIICK to get a copy 

It's not every day you get to ask the main character of a cool book some Q's - but today is that day...

MATT MEETS GLITCH!

MATT: If you were granted cyber-augmented powers who or what would be your nemesis?

GLITCH: I don’t have to wonder: I know. His name is Axiom and that asshole has had it in for me for years now. He sold out our team for a plushy corporate job and it’s been war between us ever since. Well, that and I’m wearing an extremely expensive piece of cyberware that was supposed to be his big payout for selling us out. So yeah, I don’t see this ending until one of us is dead. 

MATT: What is the most life-affirming thing you’ve ever read or watched in a book/film of any genre?

GLITCH: I don’t watch a whole lot of media, but I used to compete professionally in the video game Champions of Nuur. I dunno about life affirming, but hearing a crowd of hundreds chanting your name from a stage does make you feel pretty alive.

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

GLITCH: I dunno where you draw the line between “parade” and “riot” but it would be a riot. 

MATT: If you could choose a super power what would it be?

The power to phase through walls (and bullets) would make my life a whole lot easier. 

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

GLITCH: There was a guy I used to know that went by the name of PatchNotes. He had this idea that the last act of rebellion in a city as sold out as our is to give a damn about other people. I wouldn’t say I do what I do because of him, but he definitely shaped the way I see the world.

MATT: There’s a masked assailant with a gun to your head, who is most likely to be under the mask?

GLITCH: Ooof, tough question. At this point in life, I can think of a whole list of people who would pay for the privilege. Nebula maybe, since I got her fiance killed on a job? Axiom, for the whole stealing his cyberware thing? Nine, because that’s just the kind of guy he is? I think the real takeaway here is that I need to work on my people skills.

MATT: What is the meaning of life?

GLITCH: Whatever goodness you can claw out of it that the corporations can’t immediately turn into a profit extraction opportunity.

MATT: What was the best gift you’ve ever been given?

GLITCH: When I was a kid, my mom got me a dog. Like, a real one, not a robopet. I think it was supposed to help me develop social skills or something. It didn’t, but I really loved that dog. It was just happy to see me, you know? Didn’t matter what kind of day I’d had, it was always just thrilled that I was around. I miss that dog. 

MATT: If you could have a sidekick of any sort – what would it be able to do for you?

GLITCH: Talk to people for me maybe? Teach me to talk to people? I don’t mean I want dating advice or anything: I just want people to stop looking at me and thinking to themselves, “You know, violence is probably a good solution here”. Like is it an attitude problem, or do I just have one of those faces? 

MATT: What would you like written on your tombstone?

GLITCH: I probably won’t die rich enough to be able to afford a tombstone, but if someone wants to donate one, tell ‘em it should read “It was always personal.” And scratch an image of a moth into it while they’re at it. 

MATT: Any final words you like to add…

GLITCH: I’m not really one for speeches. Keep moving. Take care of each other. When danger comes knocking, kick it in the teeth. Figure out what’s more important to you than money and then chase that until they catch you. And every day, every f***ing day, wake up and fight the lie that your only worth is what shows up on a corporation’s bottom line. Good luck.

Matt receives a Death Warning (review)

 Death Warning

(The seventh book in the CSI Eddie Collins  series)

Andrew Barrett (@AndrewBarrettUK)

Reviewed by Matt Adcock (@Cleric20)

"Sheila stared at the wall, a spot - possibly a dead fly, just beneath the clock. Her eyes did not blink, they did not stray, and apart from a gasp, Sheila did not breathe. 'Just answer me one thing,' Christine said. 'Have the police been in touch?'

The fly was the centre of her universe. The world slammed on the brakes. This was the last thing she expected to hear today. This was the last thing she expected to hear today..."

Just when you thought it was safe to go to Leeds… Here’s a nicely grim detective-em-up that sees the ‘hero’ CSI Eddie Collins back and up to his neck in death, family drama, and worse of all, being filmed by a TV crew making a show about his department.

This was my first experience of the fiction criminal world of author Andrew Barrett and it’s a lot of fun (if your definition of ‘fun’ is people getting brutally stabbed to death and dumped, suicides that might be linked and a possible demented killer on the prowl…)

Also - side questions - is there ever a time when it’s OK for the authorities to break the rules? What about to let a mother hold her daughter one last time? CSI Eddie Collins and his small team, are going to have their work cut out to show that there is a killer and that the killer could strike anywhere (well, in the Greater Leeds Area at least).

Death Warning is your invitation to join Eddie as he dives headfirst into this dark and thrilling crime investigation, where he faces tragedy and horror, and where he risks everything to find the truth before the killer finds him. One thing I will say is that if anyone from Leeds Council reads this they may well put out a fatwa on Barrett for scaring off potential visitors.

Anyway, the plot sees the film crew shadowing him driving Eddie round the bend, his colleague Benson definitely having a midlife crisis and his father Charles is going off into his own world, in a nutshell, there is lots here beyond the killer plot to keep you engaged.

What does all this add up to? Well in the capable hands of Barrett - a really excellent police procedural thriller that builds to a nail-biting climax. The good news for me is that there are 6 previous adventures in this series which I’ll be reading soon!? Get your copy here

Who is Andrew Barrett then?

Amazon says he is a renowned crime-thriller author and CSI from Yorkshire. He has been writing gripping tales of crime scene investigation since 1996, featuring compelling protagonists such as SOCO Roger Conniston and CSI Eddie Collins. His novels offer a riveting and realistic portrayal of the intricate world of forensic examination, and offer an immersive experience to readers.

Andrew's novels draw readers into a criminal universe, offering a realistic and harrowing account of the battle between criminals and the police, flavoured with humour and sarcasm. His stories are brimming with suspense, taking readers on a journey filled with unexpected twists and turns.

If you're looking for a thrilling story, check out Andrew's impressive contributions to the crime fiction genre. You can find out more about Andrew at www.andrewbarrett.co.uk where readers can also sign up for his newsletter and claim a free starter library. Discover the captivating world of crime-solving with Andrew Barrett - only for the brave-hearted.

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

öööö

(4 - Crime-em-up that police thrillers should absolutely read!)

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

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

This post is part of the magnificent ZOOLOO Book Blog Tours...

UK demand for The Last of Us game jumps 9,800% after TV series finale

The Last Of Us - Can't Believe It's Over...

Matt Adcock (@Cleric20)

The Last of Us is one hell of a video game - so you can't blame watchers of the smash HBO TV series for wanting to get in on the original action.

And we're not talkig just a few - some nerds have pulled together stats (research sponsored by King Casino Bonus ), show that The Last of Us fans are keen to give the video game a try, after the final episode of HBO’s Season 1 perfectly set up more episodes in the record-breaking series, based on the video game’s sequel.

 

With a second season on the TV series already having been given the green light just two episodes into the first season, fans are considering filling the gap by giving the game a go. 

 

The TV series has been a huge success after debuting in January, having consistently seen its same-day audience numbers grow each week, with episode four’s numbers up 60% from the first episode, which saw over 4.7 million viewers tune in to watch the premiere. 

 

The average audience for the series’ first five episodes approached close to 30 million viewers across all platforms, according to HBO, whilst episode eight attracted 8.1 million viewers - which only represents 20-40% of the show’s total gross audience per week. 

 

Immediately after the finale aired, Google searches for ‘The Last of Us season 2’ increased by a huge 9,800%, before gradually decreasing in interest as the night progressed. 

 

It also inspired an influx of interest around the original source material - The Last of Us video game from Naughty Dog, which will celebrate a decade since its release this June. 

 

Related searches made last night point to the TV finale as the main driver behind the increased interest, with queries for ‘who plays Ellie in the last of us video game’ also rising. 

 

Ashley Johnson - who voiced Ellie in the video games - appeared in last night’s finale in an integral role, much to fan’s delight, who were thrilled to see her in the hit show. 

 

Other searches included ‘the last of us game ending explained’ - as last night’s season finale followed the original video game’s storyline closely - and ‘how did the last of us video game end’, as fans look to see how true the episode was to its source material. 

 

Some regions are significantly more invested in giving the video game a try than others, the data shows, with the majority of Google searches coming from Scotland and Wales.

 

So, what will the second season have in store, if it follows the story of the original game’s sequel? The Last of Us Part II is set five years after The Last of Us, and follows a revenge-set Ellie and soldier Abby as they continue to navigate the apocalypse. 

 

Joel also briefly appears in the game’s opening sequence, with him and Ellie having built a life in Jackson, Wyoming - although their relationship has become somewhat strained. 

 

It remains to be seen how closely the TV series’ second season will stick to the game’s storyline, but fans will be pleased to hear that the story will continue either way. 

 

Speaking on the findings, King Casino Bonus said: “After any season finale, there’s typically an uptick in interest around a second series, as fans are sad to see their favourite show head on hiatus. However, 'The Last of Us’ has easily one of the highest increases in searches we’ve seen in a while - and it’s cool to see that this includes the video game. 

 

“The show has almost reached Game of Thrones level popularity amongst its fans after just one season, and we can’t wait to see how many more new players the series can accumulate between now and its second series - which hopefully won’t be too far away!”

Data gathered from Google Trends over the last 24 hours. Raw data available on request - credit for this info to kingcasinobonus.uk.

Out of a potential 5, you have to give The Last of Us a Darkmatters:

ööööö

(5 - The end of the world is worth watching - and playing!)

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

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