Spotlight on The Price of Safety buy Michael C. Bland

A surveillance-heavy future U.S. blurs lines

between utopia and dystopia in “The Price of Safety”

Family takes center stage in fast-paced sci-fi thriller

DENVER, CO – In a 2013 interview with David Marchese of New York Magazine, Margaret Atwood famously stated that “within every dystopia, there’s a little utopia.” Michael C. Bland’s “The Price of Safety” (World Castle Publishing, April 6, 2020) embodies this punchy aphorism, diving into a fictional society where all citizens are safe, yet all are watched. In connection with current concerns regarding corporate and governmental data mining, Bland pulls readers along the fine line between progression and regression.

By 2047, no crime in the U.S. goes unsolved. No wrongdoing goes unseen. When Dray Quintero learns his 19-year-old daughter Raven committed a heinous act, he covers it up to save her life. This pits him against the police he’s respected since he was a child and places him in the crosshairs of Kieran, a ruthless federal Agent. To survive, Dray must overcome the surveillance system he helped build and the technology implanted in the brains and eyes of the citizens.

Forced to turn to a domestic terrorist group to protect his family, Dray soon realizes the sheer level of control of his adversaries. Hunted and betrayed, with time running out, will Dray choose his family or the near-perfect society he helped create?

MICHAEL C. BLAND: Michael is a founding member and the secretary of BookPod: an invitation-only, online group of professional writers. He pens the monthly BookPod newsletter where he celebrates the success of their members, which include award-winning writers, filmmakers, journalists, and bestselling authors. One of Michael’s short stories, “Elizabeth,” won Honorable Mention in the Writer’s Digest 2015 Popular Fiction Awards contest. Three short stories he edited have been nominated for the Pushcart Prize. Another was adapted into an award-winning film. Michael also had three superhero-themed poems published in The Daily Palette. He currently lives in Denver with his wife Janelle and their dog Nobu. His novel, The Price of Safety, is the first in a planned trilogy. For more information about Michael’s life and work, visit www.mcbland.com.

Spider’s Revenge by Jennifer Estep

Estep does a strong female protagonist very well.   This book is part of a series but stands alone quite nicely.  Estep does a good backstory in an organic manner.   Gin or Spider’s  goal is to kill Mab, the fire elemental and queen of crime who destroyed her family.

The story is fast paced.

Gin whose alter ego is Spider the infamous assassin does a great deal of introspection.   This is part of the organic nature of the backstory.   She finally accepts that she needs to allow those who love her to help her.

Good story, I recommend it.

This book may have been received free of charge from a publisher or a publicist. That will NEVER have a bearing on my recommendations.

Queen of Storms by Raymond E. Feist

This is book two of the Firemane series.   Book one was King of Ashes which I thoroughly enjoyed.   This book picks up with Declan and Hatu settling down and finding love.   The expected villains are supplanted by unexpected villains.   Chaos ensues.

The story includes battles, kidnappings and intrigue as well as perfidy and treachery.   Some bit players from the first book are provided with larger roles to play.   Feist, once again, disposes of some characters with the stroke of a pen rather than the swift, sure stroke of a sword.   I hate when he kills off someone who I have enjoyed.

The plot is tight and intricate and assorted variables are introduced to keep you guessing.   Feist is a master story teller.

I really enjoyed this book and hope Feist is working diligently on the next volume,  the sooner it arrives the better. 

This book may have been received free of charge from a publisher or a publicist. That will NEVER have a bearing on my recommendations.

When the Tide Rises by David Drake

Commander Daniel Leary and Adele Mundy are a mismatched pair.   Leary a natural naval warrior and Mundy, a sure shot librarian.   Once again they go up against a superior force of the Alliance while defending their beloved Republic of Cinnabar. 

Daniel, again, uses his unique skills to address his orders in a manner his superiors never considered.   Mistress Mundy's skills in data acquisition provide Daniel with the logistical edge to support his creative military genius.

Drake seems to value loyalty and courage as he ascribes those characteristics as well as an inordinate sense of duty to his characters.

Drake demonstrates that leaders who lead with their subordinates fates in mind get the loyalty of those subordinates.

A little less action than I would have hoped, Drake became a bit pedantic in this volume.

Regardless, I still enjoyed the book and recommend it.

This book may have been received free of charge from a publisher or a publicist. That will NEVER have a bearing on my recommendations.

Spotlight on The Sisters Grimm by Menna van Praag

 Menna van Praag’s 

THE SISTERS GRIMM 

(Harper Voyager; 3/31/2020) is one of the most anticipated SF/F publications of the spring with Library Journal already praising the epic fantasy for its “highly imaginative plot and vivid worldbuilding.” A bewitching novel evoking the dark edge of V.E. Schwab and Leigh Bardugo, THE SISTERS GRIMM “braids mystery, magic, and a vicious hunt for power into a dark, delicious story of four estranged, supernatural sisters.” (Publishers Weekly)

THE SISTERS GRIMM is sure to resonate with readers of Deborah Harkness and Erin Morgenstern who seek out strong female characters.  Fans of SyFy’s hit series The Magicians will be enthralled with the lives of Goldie, Liyana, Scarlet, and Bea—the daughters of a demon who desires earthly domination and uses his offspring to help him corrupt humanity. 

The daughters dream of a strange otherworld: the shadowland of Everwhere.  Here the four girls, half-sisters connected by blood and magic, began to nurture their elemental powers together, but are separated at the age of thirteen. Now, five years later, they must search for one another to rediscover their supernatural strengths and return to Everwhere to realize their full potential. As Goldie, Liyana, Scarlet, and Bea are beset with the challenges of their earthly lives, they prepare for the battle that lies ahead. On their eighteenth birthday, they will be subjected to a gladiatorial fight with their father’s soldiers. If they survive, the daughters will face their father and confront the sinister intention of their creation.

Kirkus praises “…van Praag's atmospheric prose, intriguing premise, and diverse cast of characters receive high marks.” 

This book may have been received free of charge from a publisher or a publicist. That will NEVER have a bearing on my recommendations.

Anti-Grav Unlimited by Duncan Long

Phil Hunter got fired from his lab job right after he made a revolutionary breakthrough.   He sought solace with his friend Craig when someone made an attempt on his life.   He soon discovered that revolutionary breakthroughs threaten the status quo and the haves do not want to share with the have-nots.

Phil finds a friend in Nikki, Craig’s cloned lover.  Together they cobbled together a gang with a broken down spacer and put together a team to reach for the stars.

There is plenty of action and some descriptive passages of a dystopian nature.  

The book reads like a YA but I don’t really know if it is, regardless I enjoyed it.

This book may have been received free of charge from a publisher or a publicist. That will NEVER have a bearing on my recommendations.