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Ben Brock

B. A. Brock has lived most of his life in the Pacific Northwest. He graduated with a Bachelor’s of Science in 2007 at Portland State University--which he mostly uses to contemplate how we can achieve a civilization more closely aligned with Star Trek. When not writing, Brock spends his time reading/reviewing novels, training for marathons, and bemoaning the fact that the world has yet to make a decent gluten free donut.

“Infected: Paris” by Andrea Speed

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Infected: Paris is a novella by Andrea Speed, and a prequel to the Infected series. I had only read Infected: Prey, the first book, before I read this. I really liked Paris. I’m a sucker for a black-haired, blue-eyed beauty. The narrator is mainly Roan McKichan, but there are some Paris point of view scenes as well. If you start with this book, you’ll still get the general set up of the world, which takes place in contemporary Seattle, where everything is essentially the same, except that a small percentage of the population has a cat infection…or turns into a … Read more

“Candle, Cup, and Casket” by Desiderii

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Note: This was recommended to me by Carole Cummings.  I’d heard that this novel (about 800 pages) was some sort of fan fiction, based off of the TV show “Merlin”.  I’ve seen some of that show, and that series isn’t based in space, and the characters are…different.  I suppose the only reason I’m quibbling over details, is because I think the author could take full ownership of this brilliant piece of literature.   King Arthur in space!  The story is told mainly from Merlin and Arthur’s point of view.  There’s magic and technology, and it’s interesting to see how they … Read more

“There Will be Phlogiston” by Alexis Hall

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Note: Someone in QSF Discussions told me about this book – I forget who – but I wanted to thank them.  I had no idea what I was getting into before I stepped into it, except I think we were discussing bisexual characters, and so everything was a pleasant surprise. This is a MMF Steampunk Novella, and I should note that this is #5 in a series.  I didn’t know that before I started it, but I didn’t find that to be a problem either, because it’s an origin story of sorts, our of bad assed trio. The backdrop is … Read more

Review: “Psychic Storm” by Aasheim, Andrijeski, Chase, Ellisson, Hunter, MacDonald, Mayer, Price, Ryan, Wood

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Note: This bundle was mainly MF Spec Fic Romance, but I was asked to do a review because it does have one MM book in it.  I wanted to support the fact that a MM novel was included in a MF bundle.  I would like more people to read LGBTQ+ fiction, and I think that this is a great idea.  Let’s keep a watch on how this goes…  Here’s to the future!   I love psychic abilities in my speculation fiction, and this bundle had everything from dream-walkers to life-stealers to clairvoyants, and yes, a few of our protagonists can … Read more