July 31, 2016

“Cut, Paste, Kill” by Marshall Karp – Scrapbooks of Vengeance

Cut, Paste, Kill by Marshall Karp (Book cover)
Keeping a scrapbook is one of those hobbies accessible to virtually anyone on the planet, regardless of who they are or where they come from.

It's a celebration of life, one where all the important moments that had an impact on someone are brought together, immortalised in its pages. For the most part, scrapbooks highlight one's joys and happiness, what ultimately made their life worth living.

July 30, 2016

“A Time to Love and a Time to Die” by Erich Maria Remarque – The Empty Homecoming

A Time to Love and a Time to Die (Book cover)
When a war ends it seems customary that the light of good be shined upon the victors, while those defeated be relegated to the least pleasant pages of history.

Needless to say, this happened at the end of the Second World War and allowed many of those on the Allies' side to get away war crimes, while on the other hand all who lived under the Axis rule were lumped together as murderous animals.

July 26, 2016

“The Fireman” by Joe Hill – Hellfire on Earth

The Fireman by Joe Hill (Book cover)

Humanity will most certainly one day be wiped out from existence, and whether that takes thousands, millions or billions of years isn't really all that relevant in the large scheme of things, at least when compared to the rest of the universe.

It's a topic that has fuelled the imaginations of authors for centuries upon centuries as they imagined all the possible ways things could come to an end.

July 21, 2016

“The Atlantis World” by A. G. Riddle – Salvation of the Ancients

The Atlantis World by A. G. Riddle - book cover
A little while ago A. G. Riddle started The Origin Mystery series, captivating the minds, hearts and imaginations of countless science-fiction fans around the world, establishing himself as a modern force in the genre.

In the first two books in the series he took readers through an extravagant adventure involving human genetic manipulation, a race of ancient aliens, a plague to wipe out humankind by forcing its evolution... in short, never a dull moment.

With the third book in the series, The Atlantis World , Riddle finally brings it all to a close as the stakes get raised higher and higher, with the light of salvation dimming ever so quickly.

July 17, 2016

“Terminal” by Marshall Karp - Disposable Hitmen

Terminal by Marshall Karp (Book cover)
We all know that life is the kind of thing that can insidiously flip all of your plans upside down, and pull the plug on your existence.

However, we go on day to day without being too concerned by that fact, mainly because the probability of it all ending is one we feel we can neglect... and rightfully so, for most people actually do end up living until a relatively old age without all that many problems. On the other hand, there are those who suffer terrible misfortune, being diagnosed with incurable illnesses, making the clock tick ever faster.

July 15, 2016

“The Black Obelisk” by Erich Maria Remarque – Life After Defeat

The Black Obelisk by Erich Maria Remarque (Book cover)
With us having the tendency to divide our worlds between us and them, we seldom take the time to look at what's happening on the other side of the hill, and that is ever-more true in times of war, where the other side of the front can be populated by nothing but scum (or so both sides tell themselves).

Luckily enough, we have plenty of thinkers who recognized the importance of empathizing with and trying to understand those on the bad side of history.

July 10, 2016

“The Atlantis Plague” by A. G. Riddle – A Rebirth in Pestilence

The Atlantis Plague by A. G. Riddle - book cover
Genetic manipulation and bio-engineering are topics which are likely to gain quite a lot of traction in the coming years as our technology in those realms expands ever-further.

As you might imagine, the ability to manipulate life on a molecular level is a rather heavy proposition, one which raises numerous moral as well as practical questions, especially what it could mean down the line for the race as a whole.

A. G. Riddle is the kind of author who certainly isn't afraid to explore these grey and vague areas of modern life, as he does fantastically in the second book in The Origin Mystery Series, The Atlantis Plague.

July 8, 2016

“Have You Seen This Girl?” by Carissa Ann Lynch – The Fallen's Vengeance

Have You Seen This Girl? by Carissa Ann Lynch (Book cover)
Many of us can certainly identify a few painful and humiliating moments that marked us during our childhood, but for the most part the majority of us are indeed lucky enough not to have suffered the kinds of events that deform our lives forever.

Unfortunately, there are some about whom the same can't be said, people who have suffered irrevocable changes at the hands of very real monsters. Their stories go in a number of different ways in real life, but in Have You Seen This Girl? by Carissa Ann Lynch, it goes the way of bloody vengeance.

July 3, 2016

“The Atlantis Gene” by A. G. Riddle – Preventing Our Evolution

The Atlantis Gene by A. G. Riddle - book cover
When it come to the big picture behind humanity's evolution, science has managed to leave relatively few blanks for us to fill in, at least when we're speaking generally.

However, the closer we look the more we see that certain segments of our timeline have been lost throughout the countless years we've traversed as a race... leaving ample room for imagination to take over.

In the worldwide-famous The Atlantis Gene by A. G. Riddle, the author makes great use of that idea, concocting a riveting adventure that begins with a rather unusual quest: to stop mankind from evolving.