Review: The Cure, by Eve Smith

PUBLICATION DATE: 10th APRIL 2025
PAPERBACK ORIGINAL | £ 9. 99 | ORENDA BOOKS

LIVING FOREVER CAN BE LETHAL…

Ruth is a law-abiding elder, working out her national service, but she has secrets. Her tireless research into the disease that killed her young daughter had an unexpected outcome: the discovery of a vaccine against
old age. Just one jab a year reverses your biological clock, guaranteeing
a long, healthy life.

But Ruth’s cure was hijacked by her colleague, Erik Grundleger, who hungers for immortality, and the SuperJuve – a premium upgrade – was created, driving human lifespan to a new high. The wealthy elite who take it are dubbed Supers, and the population begins to skyrocket.

Then, a perilous side-effect of the SuperJuve emerges, with catastrophic
consequences, and as the planet is threatened, the population rebels, and laws are passed to restore order: life ends at 120. Supers are tracked
down by Omnicide investigators like Mara … and executed…

Mara has her own reasons for hunting Supers, and she forms an unlikely
alliance with Ruth to find Grundleger. But Grundleger has been working on
something even more radical and is one step ahead, with a deadly
surprise in store for them both…

Continue reading “Review: The Cure, by Eve Smith”

Cover Reveal: First Contact, Second Chances, by Fey Abernethy

First Contact, Second Chances

Everyone deserves a second chance. Even humanity.

Ex-British Army officer Joe Llewellyn is captain of the Shantivira, the alien space station secretly protecting the Earth from invasion. After Joe reveals the Shantivira’s existence to the UN, everyone wants a piece of him. Except his mother. They’re no longer speaking.

But it’s not only Joe’s relationship with his mam which is in jeopardy. His alien bosses have given him an ultimatum: either he persuades Earth’s authorities to completely restructure the global economic system – to distribute resources fairly without exceeding ecological boundaries – or the space station will be reallocated to another, more deserving planet.

With vicious, cannibalistic space pirates prowling the galaxy, brutally stripping and enslaving entire worlds for profit, Joe can’t afford to fail.

This third instalment of The Shantivira fantasy solarpunk series is a must-read for fans of Becky Chambers, Ben Aaronovitch, Ursula Le Guin, Doctor Who and anyone who enjoys supernatural sci-fi.

Book will be available for purchase on 4th May at these places

Amazon series page: https://mybook.to/shantivira 

Author website: fayabernethy.com

Author Bio –

Fay Abernethy left the UK twenty-five years ago, seeking adventure.

When not diving with sharks or falling off horses, she worked as an engineer in the automotive industry. Later, she started her own translating business and settled down in Germany with the man of her dreams.

Pre-children, they explored the Alps together – on foot in summer and on skis or snowshoes in winter. She now lives the life of a respectable citizen, having discovered that being a parent is the greatest adventure of them all.

Social Media Links –

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fayabernethybooks/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fayabernethybooks/

Amazon author profile: https://www.amazon.com/Fay-Abernethy/e/B09966L52C

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/21656346.Fay_Abernethy

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/fay-abernethy

The Storygraph:

https://app.thestorygraph.com/authors/add296b4-04aa-4782-a3f2-20dea238f900

Maria and the space-dragons investigate #1 March 2025 instalment

I’ve finally had a chance to type up some of the progress I’ve made on the Maria and Lah-Shah story I’ve been sharing with you for the last year (?). I have written more, but I’ve only just typed this next 2500 words up. I had two writing sessions this week, and I’ve got another this afternoon, so you might get an update before much longer. Certainly it won’t be three months this time.

I’m making this one available to all subscribers, rather than just to paid subs, because no one is paying for subs. I might go back through the posts and unlock them all.

I present to you Maria and the space-dragons investigate #1

Chapter 13 – Exploring Aurox by air – Maria

After a week staying with Sahrai, taking prophylactic medicine and observing the local life from the safety of the container house, Maria felt it was time to explore. Outside.

Continue reading “Maria and the space-dragons investigate #1 March 2025 instalment”

Audiobook Review: Shroud, by Adrian Tchaikovsky, Narrated by Sophie Aldred

They looked into darkness. The darkness looked back . . .

An utterly gripping story of survival and first contact on a hostile planet from Adrian Tchaikovsky, author of the Arthur C. Clarke Award-winning Children of Time.

A commercial expedition to a distant star system discovers a pitch-black moon alive with radio activity. Its high-gravity, high-pressure, zero-oxygen environment is deadly to human life, but ripe for exploitation. They named it Shroud.

Under no circumstances can a human survive Shroud’s inhospitable surface – but a catastrophic accident forces Juna Ceelander and Mai Ste Etienne to make an emergency landing in a barely adequate escape vehicle. Alone, and fighting for survival, the two women embark on a gruelling journey across land, sea and air in search of salvation.

But as they travel, Juna and Mai begin to understand Shroud’s unnerving alien species. It also begins to understand them. If they escape Shroud, they’ll somehow have to explain the impossible and translate the incredible. That is, if they make it back at all . . .

Continue reading “Audiobook Review: Shroud, by Adrian Tchaikovsky, Narrated by Sophie Aldred”

Review: Touchpaper, by David Dodds

Blurb 

‘A bloodcap, an angelus and a Jack Russell terrier. They’re all I had by me to face mortal combat with the Queen of the Ælves.
I’d be dead in minutes…’

The historic streets of Edinburgh hide a parallel realm of shadowy killers, vicious ælves and deranged shades. All that stands between them and the unsuspecting populace are a daemon called Archer and the group of angelii he’s feuding with.

Drew Macleod is caught in the middle. Someone, somewhere is hunting him. But why? Delving deeper into this parallel realm, Drew finds allies in a feisty herbalist, an ancient creature in disguise and an old clock-maker – but are any of them really who they seem to be?

Touchpaper takes us on an exciting journey in the footsteps of Neverwhere and Rivers of London. This original and imaginative story lets a quirky cast of  characters lead us into a hidden and dangerous world. The contemporary setting and the richness of the characters holds our attention in a fast-paced and at times humorous read, full of plot twists and quirky details.


Buy Links

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Touchpaper-Parallel-Realm-Book-ebook/dp/B0DR67GBRV/ref=sr_1_1

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D97469FW

Goodreads

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/222859499-touchpaper

Continue reading “Review: Touchpaper, by David Dodds”