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May Science Fiction Reviews for You

May Science Fiction Reviews for You that may please you. Where do I start? I’ve been so busy reading books I barely have had time to read my own reviews. But here they are, somewhat in time order.

May Science Fiction Reviews
Book cover

The Science Officer (The Science Officer #1)
Rating 4 of 5 stars
Shelvesread edit
FormatKindle Edition edit
StatusMay 9, 2022 – Finished Reading2 Show more
ReviewDelightful little novella. He introduces a vivid character, former Space Academy graduate and space scout, Javier Aritza, who raises chickens, fruits and vegetables while exploring the universe.

Too bad he runs into pirates. But with some aggressive negotiation skills, he agrees to join them as their science officer. Their air is barely breathable and their water barely drinkable but he fixes that.

For such a short read, Blaze Ward packed in a lot of character development and adventure.

Recommended!
Andy Zach’s review

May Science Fiction Reviews – Your Next Review

Get Your Zombie Turkeys Laughter
Zombie Turkeys front cover. Click to get a copy!


May 19, 2022

it was amazing

OK this was funny, I actually started with volume 2 in this series (My undead mother in law) and all the things that I was missing in the story in the one I started are explained here, its brilliant and very funny XD, one thing that I love about this series, the people reading the book (there’s more than one ^__^) they actually sound like they’re having fun, and that’s twice the fun for us that are listening to the audiobook.

If you want a series that makes you laugh, with lots of gore and at the same time, even normal life, yeah people get to know each other and they even marry, yeah I guess you could say this is for all ages hahah

I got a free ARC from StoryOrigin and this is my honest opinion

Sofia rated it 

Click here to get Zombie Turkeys for free.

May Science Fiction Reviews – Your Third Follows

May Science Fiction Reviews
Book cover
Review ofThe Mind Field (The Science Officer #2)
Rating4 of 5 stars
Shelvesaction-adventurehumormilitary-scifireadscience-fiction edit
FormatKindle Edition edit
StatusMay 18, 2022 – Shelved as: science-fictionShow more
ReviewOkay, Blaze Ward’s first book was good and his second was better.

The story begins with the pirate crew going to a haunted system. Ships that go there, never come back. And that almost happens to them, but thanks to the quick thinking of Javier, their Science Officer, they escape.

Does the stalwart, former military pirate captain use the opportunity to escape? Nope. They get into problems they never expected.

I won’t give away any spoilers.

Read and enjoy. (less)
by Andy Zach

May the Fourth Review Be With You – May Science Fiction Reviews

Sofia

May 03, 2022

SciFi Story Fuel My Undead Mother-in-law
May Science Fiction Reviews
My Undead Mother-in-law cover. Click to get yours.

it was amazing

One of the most funny books about zombies, where the zombies are not the monster or the bad guy, actually being zombified, cures all sorts of health problems, from being overweight to the death doors, and you feel much more energetic and strong.

What can I say that wont give spoilers, but it will explain in details what I did enjoy about this audiobook, both voice actors, you had a male and a female, they seemed to enjoy themselves while they were reading it, so it was so much more fun, it was also very nice the way they interact with the other, great fun, the story was also fun, and with lots of action and violence, but in a way that you will find yourself laughing out loud while listening to the violence, yeah the first dinner in the parents-in-law in the first few minutes of the book set what I was sure I would find during the book and it didn’t disappoint.

Just try it out, keep in mind that this it’s not your usual zombie story 😉 it was really a good fun, and I highly recommend, I started by this volume, I understand this is the second in the series, but unlike many other stories I didn’t find myself lost or in need to go back and read or listen the first book in the series, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want to go back (sure I want) but if like me you start by this one, I don’t think you’ll find yourself lost in anyway.

Thank you StoryOrigin by the free Audible and I am leaving this review voluntarily. (less)

Sofia rated it 

Your Fifth May Science Fiction Review

May Science Fiction Reveiws
Review ofThe Gilded Cage (The Science Officer #3)
Rating4 of 5 stars
Shelvesaction-adventuremilitary-scifireadscience-fiction edit
FormatKindle Edition edit
StatusMay 19, 2022 – Shelved as: science-fictionShow more
ReviewMuch to my delight, Blaze Ward continues his high-quality writing in the third installment of his military scifi series, The Science officer.

Javier Aritza was captured by space pirates, who destroyed his scout ship and upset his life. He negotiates his way out of slavery and into a valuable officer on their ship, where he can pay off his slave debt.

But things change. The imperturbable captain Zolokov keeps generating new challenges for Javier. Once again, Javier must risk his life to save a crew member or three. One of them hate his guts. They’re in a den of pirates. Oh my.

Oddly, Javier had been there before.

Read and find out what happens. 
Do you want to review one of my books? Click here and tell me and I’ll send you one.
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Writer’s Block My Experience – This is why I don’t write more

What Do Readers Think

Writer’s Block My Experience: I’ve written eight books in seven years. It doesn’t sound like I have writer’s block–but I do.

I’ve been struggling to finish Secret Supers in Space for seven months. That’s the first draft—just 50,000 to 60,000 words. Usually, I get that much done in two to four months.

What’s my big problem?

Writer’s Block My Experience – What Is Writer’s Block?

It means you can’t or have difficulty writing. Duh!

A more official definition is:

Writer’s block—wanting to write and not writing—is a persistent problem that every writer (yes, every writer, even Stephen King) deals with, and one that has ended far too many writing careers.

The first thing I saw in my search

The last book I wrote in this series was Villain’s Vacation:

Writer's Block My Experience
Chapter icon from Villain’s Vacation

I got off to a flying start in November, writing for NaNoWriMo, the official National Novel Writing Month organization.

Here’s a chart of my monthly writing, so you can see what my writer’s block looks like:

MonthWords Written
November3,973
December0
January423
February0
March1517
April211
May (so far)0
Chart of my writing ‘progress’

Total? 6129 words in 42 hours of writing for 142 words per hour.

Pretty pathetic for a professional author, but I have an excuse: I was finishing two other books: 1) Zombie Detective audiobook (now published)

and 2) my first non-fiction book, The Gospel Medley. Believe it or not, this is at least the 20th round of edits for this book, over the 35 years I’ve worked on it.

The Gospel Medley
Writer's Block My Experience
The Gospel Medley cover. Click to get

So that takes care of December through March. I can’t multi-task. What’s my problem in April and May?

Writer’s Block – the problem of self-publishing

I get easily distracted while writing. First of all, there is research. I’ll write and then need some fact, like “Where are there underground nuclear silos in Kansas?” This question arose for My Undead Mother-in-law.

The same thing happens for Secret Supers in Space. What does the ISS look like? What is the capacity of the Dragon capsule for SpaceX? Where does SpaceX launch from? What is the curriculum for Space Camp? What is the daily agenda?

But that’s not all.

More Distractions

Every publisher and author needs to market your book. That doesn’t mean selling, although that’s what you want to happen. Rather it means telling people who might like your book that your book exists and is worth reading and WHY it’s worth reading.

This is a very important thing to do. You, as an author or publisher should do it every week, if not every day. If people don’t know about your book, they can’t buy it. If people don’t know how much they will enjoy and laugh at my books, why should they buy them?

So I joined Story Origin this year to market my books. That’s absorbed my time, every week, as I promoted my newsletter, books, and other newsletters and books.

I also have maintained Amazon ads, although I’ve cut my expense from $300/month to $50. I found a better way to advertise: through Free Kindle and Discount Books.

The Bottom Line – What Should I Do?

Give me your best and worst suggestions. Everyone who does so will get a free ebook of mine to read and review. Reach out to me any time at my email: [email protected] Or subscribe to my newsletter for all my blog posts and news, as well as free books.

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Science, Science Fiction, and Fantasy Reviews

The Book of Atrix Wolfe Science Science Fiction, and Fantasy

Science, Science Fiction, and Fantasy Reviews – I’m bursting with reviews and the latest science news for you. Let’s dive right in!

The Book of Atrix Wolfe
Science Science Fiction and Fantasy
Cover of Patricia MiKillip’s book

Once again Patricia McKillip shows she is the mistress (mage?) of fantasy through this great mystery fantasy.

What’s so great about it? It begins with a horribly close battle between a besieging army and a castle. Both sides are losing men and neither will give in or negotiate. The world’s greatest mage, Atrix Wolfe, feels compelled to intervene to stop the final battle. He’s filled with outrage at the atrocities of war, and uses all his power to make a terror worse than either army. Both flee before it and the war ends.

The king of the castle dies, with many of his army, killed by the magical thing on the field of battle. His wife dies in sorrow, leaving a baby, Tallis, who is reared by his older brother, now the king.

Unfortunately, Atrix Wolfe loses control of his magic. The thing still kills. Plus there are many magical side effects. An unknown child appears after the battle, mute and dazed. She becomes a kitchen scullery maid, named ‘Saro’.

Atrix Wolfe, horrified by the magical backlash, forsakes magic and goes into hiding. The baby prince Tallis grows up and is sent to mage school. That’s the start of the mystery, twenty years after the battle. Tallis finds a mysterious book. Seemingly a basic book of spells, why was it hidden in a broom closet? It has no author and none of the spells work correctly.

Lovers of mysteries and of fantasy will delight in this classic. 

Andy Zach

Where’s the Science, Science Fiction?

Right here you’ve got some science!

And here’s your science fiction, derived from this article. Reversing aging? Check out my villain in this book: (Hint: the villain is not the undead mother-in-law.)

SciFi Story Fuel My Undead Mother-in-law
Science Science Fiction
My Undead Mother-in-law cover. Click to get yours.

5.0 out of 5 stars 

Actually a better mystery each book he writes!

I read the whole book in just a few days. This is the first one that I couldn’t figure out what was going to happen before it did! I was even a bit concerned for the Zombies. (Now there’s something I never thought I’d hear myself think!)

The worst part is that I was in a rush to get back to my real life, so I hurried to get to the end…and what happens? I had to get the next book! I’m glad Kindle let me buy their unlimited plan, or else I would have to mortgage my house to find out what happens next! Save yourself the headaches and buy the set. You’re going to, anyway!

june

More Science, Science Fiction? Why Not?

I’ve got to tell you, I love 1950s SciFi, both books and movies. I grew up with it, and it’s part of me.

But where is SciFi in my books? Try this book icon for a clue:

Paranormal Privateers Chapter 9 icon
Science Science Fiction
Flying Saucer over Washington DC – Paranormal Privateers Chapter 9 icon

Paranormal Privateers: The Adventures of the Undead

(The Life After Life Chronicles Book 5) Kindle Edition

by Mr. Andy Zach (Author), Sean Flannagan (Illustrator), Dori Harrell (Editor), Rik Hall (Editor)  Format: Kindle Edition

5.0 out of 5 stars 

A virus did that?

Whew! Lots of stories within stories with a wink of incredulity as we read along the pages. Tongue-in-cheek adventures, modern day villains’, and zombies; wait, are they still zombies or not? Yep, we have that zombie virus run amok with various creations to transform them back and forth. How much of a zombie body do you need to regenerate?

Gung-ho leader of the group Diane Newby, husband George, are charging on fighting crime with the discreet eye of the government as their silent partners. Somali pirates, Harrod’s London Store with real bulls in the china shop, parasitic cyborgs, virus-antivirus, bacteria, and other minute details tangle the story line into a braided rug of conspiracies and innovative solutions. And little do they know, but their arch enemy is among their group.

This was a slow read for me because so many things happen that go back into something revealed earlier that I really concentrated to meditate and map out all the subplots that make this a “HOOT “of a read. Andy Zach must keep a storyboard as big as an unabridged encyclopedia! This is a read and reread type of book that will never be loaned out because the reader will want to keep it safely hoarded away for multiple times.


Kindle Customer

Do you have a favorite SciFi Story?

Let me know and I’ll give you a free book. Just click here.

Plus, I have two books going on sale on March 20th, 2022, just in time for spring. They’re superhero books, from my comic book days.

Secret Supers:

What happens when ‘differently-abled’ people become ‘super-abled’? Kindle Edition

by Andy Zach  (Author), Ian Bristow (Illustrator), Leslie McKee (Editor), Rik Hall (Editor)  Format: Kindle Edition

4.4 out of 5 stars    23 ratings

Jeremy Gentle fell flat on his face at therapy. That was normal since he had cerebral palsy. But his new superpower wasn’t normal.

Then things got weirder when his best friend, Dan Elanga, got a different superpower. But Dan was still blind.

Kayla Verdera and Aubrey Wilcosky, two girls in their middle-school special ed class, discovered they too had new superpowers. Kayla was mute and needed a walker. Aubrey lost two legs and used crutches. But they were as powerful as the boys.

What should the four friends do? Jeremy knew if the word got out, it’d be a media circus. Then they started fighting crime, as the Secret Supers. Who knew a disability could be a perfect disguise? No one would ever think of disabled kids as superheroes. Then they ran into problems they never expected.

And the other book on sale is . . .

Villain's Vacation cover
Science Science Fiction
Villain’s Vacation cover

Four disabled seventh-graders with superpowers take a vacation at Coaster World. They need a break from fighting criminals. Ever since the beginning of the school year when they acquired their unusual abilities, they’ve been training and using those powers to fight crime in their town.

ittle do they know the arch-villain they recently defeated also loves coasters and is vacationing at Coaster World. Worse, the villain wants revenge. Nothing less than turning these teens to a life of crime will satisfy.

Can Jeremy, Dan, Kayla, and Aubrey withstand the villain’s attacks? Or will they become Super Villains?

You can only find out by reading the adventure ‘Villain’s Vacation’.

Amazon