Inanna Phantom: The Cairns of Sainctuarie #3 ~ Review with Giveaway and Trailer

Join Us For This Book Tour from Jan 27, 2020 to Feb 14, 2020!

Inanna Phantom
The Cairns of Sainctuarie #3
By Hawk MacKinney

Since The Missing Planets (book 2) several years have passed and the rift incursion threat seems to be a thing of the past. But the threat to the League, Terato, Myr, and Jupiterr has returned and with it a faction threatening to destroy everything.

Once again war is threatening the peace that many hold dear and history seems to be on the verge of repeating itself as Murian society faces upheaval in an attack none suspected. But Murian leadership is just the latest to sustain a violent loss in this war. A war that seems to be of opportunity preying on those who can be manipulated and attacking those who could oppose them.

Korvo, Eklam, and David Martin are determined to not let the known and the unknown have their way. But there is a cost and all are about to find out just how much it will be.

Now you could read the Inanna Phantom as a standalone book but it will read much better if you read The Missing Planets first as it helps develop the characters more fully. And when you read the entire series one has a better grasp of what some of the Murian phrasing, that has made its way into the other League worlds, means.

There is a glossary of terms located at the end of the book to help out with a few of the words. In my personal opinion, each book builds upon the other with this third one being my favorite in its dip into science fiction. The cast of characters has become familiar with a few more outstanding with their strength of character - character which is needed if they are to survive.  This is most definitely a book for fans of Science or Fantasy Fiction and I think those who enjoy Star Wars, especially those relegated to the netherland of cannons (Yuuzhan Vong of  The New Jedi Order) since the Disney expansion will find a similar feel though totally different in setting and situation.

I received a complimentary copy of this book with no expectations but that I offer my honest opinion. All thoughts expressed are my own.

Book Details:

Book Title:  Inanna Phantom, Volume III - The Cairns of Sainctuarie  by Hawk MacKinney
Category:  Adult Fiction (18 +),  270 pages
Genre:  Science Fiction
Publisher:  Sage Words Publishing
Release date:  Sep 2019
Tour dates: Jan 27, 2020, to Feb 14, 2020
Content Rating:  PG-13: Some of the war scenes are graphic.

Book Description:

The threat of rift invasions seems long passed. Plentiful harvests abound. The Murian first-contact Terato Outpost has grown into the sprawling Terato-Murian Terminus Terato with a hub of relay portals reaching across the vast uncharted galactic expanses and connecting with its eon-extinct Lantaraan prehistory. An exploratory Terato-Murian Jupiterr outpost is established on the gas giant seventh planet, and its quantum and gravitational energies are used to power outpost portals for an archeological survey of the fourth planet, Eorthe. The Lantaraan database aboard Terato’s ancient Downday moon shows that one or more planets of the Solaris planets have apparently been lost. Expanded archeological records on other Lantaraan orbital bodies in the Solaris system show the fourth planet from the star—Eorthe—to be a sterile wasteland. Except it is not. Eorthe’s civilization is not to the level of the Murian Empire, but it is far advanced to those of a pastoral Terato. Terato and Eorthe form the confederated United Terran League under the nominal figurehead leader of League High Judikarr Eklam a’Qoc. Jupiterr outpost expands into a major League stronghold, Jupiterr Base when civil unrest erupts in the League, the unexpected return of rift intrusions threatens, and the Murian Emperor Klarvko Celo is assassinated. As they prepare for confrontations with an unknown ancient enemy, the internal tensions on Myr and Eorthe push Murians and Teratoans to dangerous discords.

Buy the Book:
Amazon.com ~ Barnes and Noble ~ Indie Bound

Meet the Author:

Hawk has authored several works of fiction including a historical romance Moccasin Trace which was nominated for both the prestigious Michael Shaara Award for Excellence in Civil War Fiction and the Writers Notes Book Award. His Cairns of Sainctuarie Science Fiction Series and his Moccasin Hollow Mystery Series have received national and international attention.

With postgraduate degrees and faculty positions in several medical universities, Hawk MacKinney has taught graduate courses in both the United States and Jerusalem. His professional writing includes articles on chordate neuroembryology, and aerospace research on muscle metabolic behavior in multi-orbital environments.

Connect with the Author:     

website  

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Tour Schedule:

Jan 27 – Rockin’ Book Reviews – series spotlight / guest post / giveaway
Jan 28 – Delilah Bluette - book review of The Bleikovat Event - Volume I
Jan 29 – Book Corner News and Reviews - book review of The Bleikovat Event - Volume I / giveaway
Jan 30 – Book Corner News and Reviews - book review of The Missing Planets – Volume II / giveaway
Jan 31 – Nighttime Reading Center – book review of The Bleikovat Event - Volume I / giveaway
Feb 3 – Book Corner News and Reviews - book review of Inanna Phantom – Volume III / giveaway
Feb 4 – Delilah Bluette - book review of The Missing Planets – Volume II
Feb 5 – Locks, Hook, and Books – book review of The Bleikovat Event - Volume I / guest post / giveaway
Feb 6 - Turning the Pages - book review of The Bleikovat Event - Volume I / author interview / giveaway
Feb 6 – Locks, Hook, and Books – book review of The The Missing Planets - Volume II / giveaway
Feb 7 – Nighttime Reading Center – book review of The Missing Planets / giveaway
Feb 7 - Delilah Bluette - book review of Inanna Phantom / guest post
Feb 11 – Turning the Pages - book review of The The Missing Planets - Volume II / giveaway
Feb 12 – Turning the Pages - book review of Inanna Phantom – Volume III / giveaway
Feb 13 – Locks, Hook, and Books – book review of Inanna Phantom - Volume III / giveaway
Feb 14 -  Nighttime Reading Center – book review of Inanna Phantom – Volume III / giveaway

Enter the Giveaway:

Win 1 of 5 print book of Hawk MacKinney's INANNA PHANTOM, 

1 of 5 ebook of Hawk MacKinney's INANNA PHANTOM, 

or a $20 Amazon Gift Card 

(open USA and Canada) 

(11 winners) 

(ends 2/21/2020)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

 

The Missing Planet:The Cairns of Sainctuarie 2 ~ Review with Giveaway

Join Us For This Book Tour from Jan 27, 2020 to Feb 14, 2020!

The Missing Planets
The Cairns of Sainctuarie #2
By Hawk MacKinney

More than 30 generations have passed since The Bleikovat Event and the Murian people and the planet Myr are part of the Confederated League of Allied Star Systems. A League in which the planet Teranto hopes to become a full planet member. But some unexplained deaths among the Teratoan people is being blamed upon the Murians bu those opposed to change.

Eklam a'Qoc, unlike his Uncle a'Qoc, is more than willing to embrace the change and improvements such an alliance will bring. The unexplained deaths are troubling but Ek doesn't blame the Murian people or his mentor Grand Duke Herklo Korvo. Korvo is concerned especially when unexplained attacks start targetting various points throughout the League - attacks that appear capable of destroying a world and its people.

Facing an ancient mystery with ties to Teranto stories of long ago referencing "Old Ones" who would one day return, Ek, Korvo, and other scientists make a journey to discover the truth. But this is a journey from which they might not return. Rift intrusions are threatening the stability of everything they hold dear and the very portals they need to use.

Traveling to the further reaches of space to an unknown planet that an ancient map refers to as Jupiterr in the Solrais system Ek and Korvo are faced with an unwelcome truth their unknown enemy has seemingly found them yet again. With time short and growing shorter, they do the only thing possible, reach out with a warning to the inhabitants of Eorthe about the threat to their very existence.

This book has a good steady, pacing and a lot of technical talk which if you don't understand is nothing to worry about (just pretend that you get it and read on). There is a glossary of terms located at the end of the book to help out with some of the local phrasing but not the technical. This book while the second in the series can totally be a stand-alone title given the great length of time that is between books, the new characters, and the new setting. I have to admit I liked this book better than the first probably just because it was more scientifically driven, but both had the urgency of survival as a driving force behind the action. This is definitely a book for fans of Science or Fantasy Fiction and not someone looking for a Cozy Mystery or a Gentle Read.

I received a complimentary copy of this book with no expectations but that I offer my honest opinion. All thoughts expressed are my own.

Book Details:

Book Title:  The Cairns of Sainctuarie: The Missing Planet (Volume II) by Hawk MacKinney
Category:  Adult Fiction (18 +),  258 pages
Genre:  Science Fiction
Publisher:  Sage Words Publishing
Release date:  April 2015
Tour dates: Jan 27, 2020 to Feb 14, 2020
Content Rating:  PG-13: Some of the war scenes are graphic.

Book Description:
Generations after the great Murian upheaval of the Malfesian War against the Bleikovats, the Accords between planets Terato and Myr are signed. Provisional Outpost Terato is under construction near a farm where Teratoan orphan Eklam a’Qoc lives with his uncle and cousin.

Inquisitive strong-minded Eklam, Ek to everyone in the village, is captivated by the off-worlders technology and becomes an apprentice to the Outpost Terato’s Murian commander, Grand Duke Korvo. Uncle a’Qoc disapproves; wants nothing to do with these outlanders, wants their shimmering doorway portals-of-travel banned from Terato. As Outpost Terato becomes operational it seems to become a harbinger stirring ageless secrets of The Old Ones and their frightful weapons, of ancient Teratoan ruins, mysterious glowing lights, unexplained killings, a sacred book in a language no Teratoan can read, a moon that doesn’t behave like a moon in its wobbly orbit.

From cosmic reaches beyond space and time, the ominous secrets of Terato’s ancient ruins become more threatening. Ek and Korvo realize both their worlds face extinction with any hope buried somewhere in unknown galaxies far beyond a pastoral Terato or the sophisticated star-empire of the Murians; of missing planets in a star system with its single star in a galaxy far-removed unknown to Terato or Myr. They travel across the universe to a place long forgotten to fight this unknown foe with weapons only dreamed of. Together they face the beast that wishes to consume the entire universe.

Buy the Book:
Amazon.com ~ Barnes and Noble

 

Meet the Author:

Hawk has authored several works of fiction including a historical romance Moccasin Trace which was nominated for both the prestigious Michael Shaara Award for Excellence in Civil War Fiction and the Writers Notes Book Award. His Cairns of Sainctuarie Science Fiction Series and his Moccasin Hollow Mystery Series have received national and international attention.

With postgraduate degrees and faculty positions in several medical universities, Hawk MacKinney has taught graduate courses in both the United States and Jerusalem. His professional writing includes articles on chordate neuroembryology, and aerospace research on muscle metabolic behavior in multi-orbital environments.

Connect with the Author:     

website  

---

Tour Schedule:

Jan 27 – Rockin’ Book Reviews – series spotlight / guest post / giveaway
Jan 28 – Delilah Bluette - book review of The Bleikovat Event - Volume I
Jan 29 – Book Corner News and Reviews - book review of The Bleikovat Event - Volume I / giveaway
Jan 30 – Book Corner News and Reviews - book review of The Missing Planets – Volume II / giveaway
Jan 31 – Nighttime Reading Center – book review of The Bleikovat Event - Volume I / giveaway
Feb 3 – Book Corner News and Reviews - book review of Inanna Phantom – Volume III / giveaway
Feb 4 – Delilah Bluette - book review of The Missing Planets – Volume II
Feb 5 – Locks, Hook, and Books – book review of The Bleikovat Event - Volume I / guest post / giveaway
Feb 6 - Turning the Pages - book review of The Bleikovat Event - Volume I / author interview / giveaway
Feb 6 – Locks, Hook, and Books – book review of The The Missing Planets - Volume II / giveaway
Feb 7 – Nighttime Reading Center – book review of The Missing Planets / giveaway
Feb 7 - Delilah Bluette - book review of Inanna Phantom / guest post
Feb 11 – Turning the Pages - book review of The The Missing Planets - Volume II / giveaway
Feb 12 – Turning the Pages - book review of Inanna Phantom – Volume III / giveaway
Feb 13 – Locks, Hook, and Books – book review of Inanna Phantom - Volume III / giveaway
Feb 14 -  Nighttime Reading Center – book review of Inanna Phantom – Volume III / giveaway

Enter the Giveaway:

Win 1 of 5 print book of Hawk MacKinney's INANNA PHANTOM, 

1 of 5 ebook of Hawk MacKinney's INANNA PHANTOM, 

or a $20 Amazon Gift Card 

(open USA and Canada) 

(11 winners) 

(ends 2/21/2020)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

 

The Bleikovat Event: Cairns of Sainctuarie 1 ~ Review with Giveaway

Join Us For This Book Tour from Jan 27, 2020 to Feb 14, 2020!

The Bleikovat Event
The Cairns of Sainctuarie #1
By Hawk MacKinney

The Bleikovat Event is about to forever alter the Murian world as they know it. Senseless war has come and none who oppose subjugation are going to be allowed to live. The Feldovats are slowly dying beneath the cruel forward advance of the Green Dragon forces of Bleikovia. With few options, Etkaa consort of Celo Klarvkon makes a decision as he lays dying from a deadly poison. Going against tradition she determines that those few remaining must turn into the treacherous wintery mountains - their only hope to survive the Dragon forces. But before leaving anything and everything of value is turned to ash thwarting the objective of this invasion.

As the dangers and losses continue to mount Etkaa stands strong becoming more than any woman among her people has ever dreamed of. Named Regentkaa she is the new face of hope for her people as they continue on into an unknown future. A future that will involve more sacrifice, more duty, and more heart than she has ever before been called upon giving.

The Bkeikovat Event is the first volume in The Cairns of Sanctuarie series and it is set in a world that visually is different from ours in coloring and has two suns instead of one. But in other ways it is similar - it is a world at war and it is subject to the whims of nature. And when I say it is a world at war this is the main focal point of the whole book. Defeating the Feldovats becomes an obsession for the Dragons and their Overseers an obsession that could well destroy them too. And one woman's strength of will may be the only thing capable of saving them.

As a whole, this was a fairly interesting book. At times the battles seemed to drag and the endless arguing over what to do next reminded me of political wrangling over some word or phrasing in a bill being presented in Congress. Some of the words used are not ones that this reader is used to but there is a glossary of terms located at the end of the book to help out. This is most definitely a book for fans of Science or Fantasy Fiction and not someone looking for a Cozy Mystery or a Gentle Read.

I received a complimentary copy of this book with no expectations but that I offer my honest opinion. All thoughts expressed are my own.

Book Details:

Book Title:  The Cairns of Sainctuarie: The Bleikovat Event (Volume 1) by Hawk MacKinney
Category:  Adult Fiction (18 +),  228 pages
Genre:  Science Fiction
Publisher:  Sage Words Publishing
Release date:  Oct 2012
Tour dates: Jan 27, 2020 to Feb 14, 2020
Content Rating:  PG-13: Some of the war scenes are graphic. 

Book Description:

From a rocky outcrop a battle-widowed Etkaa, gazed down at the death and upheaval. Rancid green Murian blood stenched the dusklit breezes from the haze-dimmed river marshlands. Nothing has been spared by the Green Dragon forces of Bleikovia. In skirmishes along the Feldon River, Etkaa’s mate is fatally wounded with deadly selvon poison. Through a gruesome mountain trek of icy blizzards, they elude the Green Dragon. The battered starving Feldovats reach the coast at Eedov City only to be confronted by their implacable enemy determined to destroy the remaining Klarvkon rabble. Taking passage on crowded Maalon freighters, the refugees escape toward a new life among their Maalon hosts. Enraged Bleikovats move against the Klarvkons, bringing indiscriminate bloodshed. War once again surfaces, as it did in the muddy filth along the Feldon River of Malfesov, and becomes a different kind of war.

Buy the Book:
Amazon.com ~ Barnes and Noble

 

Meet the Author:

Hawk has authored several works of fiction including a historical romance Moccasin Trace which was nominated for both the prestigious Michael Shaara Award for Excellence in Civil War Fiction and the Writers Notes Book Award. His Cairns of Sainctuarie Science Fiction Series and his Moccasin Hollow Mystery Series have received national and international attention.

With postgraduate degrees and faculty positions in several medical universities, Hawk MacKinney has taught graduate courses in both the United States and Jerusalem. His professional writing includes articles on chordate neuroembryology, and aerospace research on muscle metabolic behavior in multi-orbital environments.

Connect with the Author:     

website  

---

Tour Schedule:

Jan 27 – Rockin’ Book Reviews – series spotlight / guest post / giveaway
Jan 28 – Delilah Bluette - book review of The Bleikovat Event - Volume I
Jan 29 – Book Corner News and Reviews - book review of The Bleikovat Event - Volume I / giveaway
Jan 30 – Book Corner News and Reviews - book review of The Missing Planets – Volume II / giveaway
Jan 31 – Nighttime Reading Center – book review of The Bleikovat Event - Volume I / giveaway
Feb 3 – Book Corner News and Reviews - book review of Inanna Phantom – Volume III / giveaway
Feb 4 – Delilah Bluette - book review of The Missing Planets – Volume II
Feb 5 – Locks, Hook, and Books – book review of The Bleikovat Event - Volume I / guest post / giveaway
Feb 6 - Turning the Pages - book review of The Bleikovat Event - Volume I / author interview / giveaway
Feb 6 – Locks, Hook, and Books – book review of The The Missing Planets - Volume II / giveaway
Feb 7 – Nighttime Reading Center – book review of The Missing Planets / giveaway
Feb 7 - Delilah Bluette - book review of Inanna Phantom / guest post
Feb 11 – Turning the Pages - book review of The The Missing Planets - Volume II / giveaway
Feb 12 – Turning the Pages - book review of Inanna Phantom – Volume III / giveaway
Feb 13 – Locks, Hook, and Books – book review of Inanna Phantom - Volume III / giveaway
Feb 14 -  Nighttime Reading Center – book review of Inanna Phantom – Volume III / giveaway

Enter the Giveaway:

Win 1 of 5 print book of Hawk MacKinney's INANNA PHANTOM, 

1 of 5 ebook of Hawk MacKinney's INANNA PHANTOM, 

or a $20 Amazon Gift Card 

(open USA and Canada) 

(11 winners) 

(ends 2/21/2020)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

 

Brand of Light - Spotlight with Giveaway

Welcome to the Brand of Light Takeover Tour hosted by 

Just Read Publicity Tours

Book Name Brand of Light    

Author Ronie Kendig

Publisher Enclave Publishing

Purchase Link https://amzn.to/2EftV1U

About the Book: 

There’s a price on her head, and it has everything to do with the brand on her arm.

Tertian Space Coalition has blessed every planet in the quadrants with high technology, save one: Drosero. But in spite of their tenuous treaty with the ruling clans, TSC has plans for the backward planet. And they’re not alone.

After a catastrophic explosion, Kersei Dragoumis awakens in a derelict shuttle, alone, injured, and ignorant of the forbidden technology that has swept her into a nightmare. The brand she’s borne since childhood burns mysteriously, but the pain is nothing to that when she learns her family is dead and she is accused of their murders.

Across the quadrants, Marco Dusan responds to the call of a holy order—not to join them, but to seek a bounty. Gifted—or cursed—with abilities that mark him a Kynigos, a tracker sworn to bring interplanetary fugitives to justice, Marco discovers this particular bounty has nothing to do with justice and everything to do with prophecy. One that involves the hunter as much as the hunted.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Giveaway (1) winner will receive an Exclusive Signed Hardcover of BRAND OF LIGHT, Custom Dio “Kersei” Candle, Handmade Snowflake Galaxy Ornament, Handmade Galaxy Mug Rug, Character Cards of Marco, Kersei, and Tigo, and Maps of the Planets and of Drosero! 

(Giveaway not affiliated with Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter. US only.)

Enter giveaway via @justreadtours profile link 

Nightfall ~ Review with Giveaway

Nightfall
Clemhorn Trilogy #1
By Andrew J. Harvey

This is a world that though very similar to the one that we know is different. This is a world that has a single leader who is near death and without an heir or named successor to rule in his stead upon his death. The Clemhorn family has long been the ruling family with control over much of the world. But the instability and general unrest is beginning to prove a challenge in these days of uncertainty. Nightfall takes us into the events and closely follows the lives of the youngest Clemhorn generation Conrad, Arnold, Donald, and Ivy as they find their place in the world.

Nightfall uses the first chapters to acquaint the reader with the Clemhorn family, their cousins, and friends who are about to face something they never expected the world divided by war amongst their own forces. This is set in an alternate timeline that is in our near past but technology is an interesting mix of futuristic and late 19th/early 20th Century. Events that shaped our world never happened in this one.

Now do be aware that as this is a world in the midst of unrest and uprising there are a few scenes that are a little disturbing, in my opinion, and not for sensitive readers. That being said it is overall an interesting read that I will admit has me wondering what comes next and believe me there is a next coming with how the book ends (plus it is book one in a trilogy). If you are a fan of alternate history and military science fiction you should give this book a try.

I was provided a complimentary copy of this book with no expectations but that I offer my honest opinion - all thoughts expressed are my own.

About the Book:After eighty years of war the remnants of humanity on the Nayarit Line struggled to survive in sealed domes, surrounded by radioactive wasteland and genetically engineered viruses. It was in the last, desperate years of the war that the first trans-temporal portal was developed at Chiqu, a small research facility on the west coast of North America. As the domes finally failed and civilization collapsed around them, Iapura led fifty-three survivors to found a new empire on a parallel Earth; an Earth where, in 1884, Russian and English armies faced each other across America’s Great Plains, totally unprepared for the technology of the invading Nayarit. The Cross-Temporal Empire now encompasses fifty-four parallel Earths. But with its ruling Council riven by dissent the death of First Leader Manet, sets the Council into a slow and irrevocable slide into civil war.

A war that threatens not only the lives of the Clemhorn siblings: Conrad, Arnold, Donald, and Ivy; but the very future of the Empire.

Book Title:  Nightfall (Book 1 in the Clemhorn Trilogy) By Andrew J Harvey
Category:  Adult Fiction, 250 pages
Genre:  Science Fiction Military, Alternate History
Publisher:  Zmok Books, an imprint of Pike and Powder Publishing Group LLC
Release date:  February 2019
Content Rating: PG-13 (Includes some violence, adult themes including a torture scene)

Buy the Book:
Amazon ~  iTunes ~ Google Play
Add to Goodreads

​Watch the Book Trailer:

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Meet the Author:  ​

Andrew spent his high-school years in the school's library lost in the worlds of Andre Norton, Robert Heinlein, and Isaac Asimov.

​His first novel to be accepted for publication was originally completed to be read to his two sons at night. Now that his children have left home he lives in Perth, Western Australia, with his wife, one dog, and sixty-four goldfish.

Connect with the author:  

Website  ~ Twitter ~ Facebook 

BOOK TOUR SCHEDULE:
​
June 3   - Locks, Hooks and Books
June 4   - The Autistic Gamer
June 5   - Library of Clean Reads
June 6   - Dab of Darkness Audiobook Reviews
June 7   - Kurt's Frontier
June 10 - The Irresponsible Reader
​June 11 - Books for Books
June 12 - Blooming with Books
June 13 - Lisa-Queen of Random
June 14 - #redhead.with.book
​

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ENTER THE GIVEAWAY!

Prizes: Win 1 of 3 copies of Nightfall,

another winner will receive a $25 Amazon gift card

(4 winners / open internationally)

Ends June 22, 2019

Doomsayer ~ Review and Author Interview with Giveaway

Doomsayer
Conquests of Brokk #3
By Thane Keller

This is the third book in the Conquests of Brokk series, that being said after the first few chapters one can easily get into the story even without reading the two previous books. But you'll be so intrigued by this book you'll want to go back a read them later (speaking from experience here).

But now to the story, the Galactic Order is teetering on the edge. War is on the horizon - the Jark Empire's rogue commander Brokk attacked the Tassi and now turns his sights on his own world. But his war on Tassi has earned he and his people the hate of Cale. Cale's revenge will leave Jark in shambles just as Tassi was.

But war isn't the only threat to the Galactic Order as a coming collision with a neighboring galaxy looms ever nearer. What lies beyond is a question no one can answer. Is someone waiting to claim their space as their own? Will the merging of the galaxies forever alter what they've known? Only time will tell that is assuming anyone will survive.

This is a most interesting book and well worth reading. It is a clean read as far as SciFi goes - there are deaths as there is a war taking place this should not come as a surprise but the language and morals get an A+ in my estimation. The characters are not flat they have a dimension with facets that depending on the angle you view them at gives one varying insight into them.

If you like Star Wars you should like this offering from Thane Keller - it has a similar feel in how it plays out. Perfect reading for teens and up! And the ending let's just say it will leave you wanting more.

I was provided a complimentary copy of this book with no expectations but that I offer my honest opinion ~ all thoughts expressed are my own.


About the Book:
Brokk, Commander of the mighty Rogue Fleet, desires more than just his exile come to an end. His heart is set on revenge and his aim is to be the ruler of the Jark Empire. With his Armada resupplied and a powerful priestess at his side, Brokk intends to stop at nothing until his goals are achieved. Despite Brokk's plans, Cale has his own intentions for the Galaxy and his own desire for revenge. As conflict descends on the Jark Empire, a fog of war masks the plans of the remaining species in the Galaxy and a battle for positioning begins


About the Author:

Thane Keller is a graduate of the Virginia Military Institute with a degree in psychology and a minor in English. Following college, Thane married his high school sweetheart, Sarah, and started his career as a cavalryman in the United States Army. Over the course of his career, he has deployed to both Iraq and Afghanistan where he was personally engaged in ground combat. He has earned two Bronze Stars and numerous other awards and decorations. Relying on his background in psychology, military experience, and Christian faith, Thane writes novels that seek to explore human nature under dire circumstances, the reality of pain and suffering, and the resilience of individuals to accomplish superhuman feats. He and his wife have four children. 

For more information, visit www.ThaneKeller.com. 


Author Interview:
1) What genre do you most like reading? 

~ I like reading science fiction the most, but as far as sub-genres I tend to read
space operas or technology-based thrillers. Anything that allows me to imagine
the fantastical with little care for present reality is fine by me! I also like a book
that keeps me moving. If the author lets me imagine the little details and keeps
the storyline pumping, I’m all in.

2) What one author past or present would you like to mentor you?

~ I would love to be mentored by Dean Koontz. There is a casualness in the way
that he writes and I appreciate the brief descriptions he gives in a setting that are
vivid and intense. Dean Koontz can tell a story with no more than three
characters and keep your interest throughout the novel. I love that about him.

3) How do develop your setting (a photo, a trip, a random comment)?

~ I’ve tried to give my reader a variety of unique settings that shaped the history
and evolution of the species they will encounter. In that sense, setting is almost
always developed by thinking through genetics first and struggle second. One
thing that I find fascinating about the science of our Earth is how fine-tuned it is to
life. But what if we find complex and sentient organisms on a planet that had
twice the gravity? What would they look like? How would their bodies form to
allow them to thrive on such a planet?

~ Another quality that captures my attention is how unbelievable space is and how
those qualities relate to space warfare. I try to build a space environment that is
harsh but still allows for a dynamic environment. In my Sci-Fi world, I want ships
hiding in nebulas and using stars and planets as terrain they can fight behind.

~ The final aspect of my settings are always emotional. Our emotions control how
we remember people and places far more than we ever realize. In Doomsayer
there is a scene where poor Sabik and his crew are being tortured and I describe
it as a fire that was always burning but never leaving him fully burned. It was all
consuming but never consumed him. It doesn’t end. Depression often feels that
way, doesn’t it? For me, these emotional settings are personal and I try to let
these emotions from periods in my past come out through my writing.

4) Do you have a favorite author that you would recommend?

~ Of course I love Dean Koontz but I already gushed on him enough. Recently, I’ve
really enjoyed reading James Maxwell and his book series “The Shifting Tides.”
The classics always capture my attention and books like “The Things They
Carried” and “Lord of the Flies” hold a special place in my heart because of the
psychological facet of the author’s writings.

5) What aspect did you most enjoy writing about in this series?

~ When I started this series, I wanted to write about space warfare, but the
character that stole my heart was Tamara and I loved writing about her from start
to finish. Tamara represents so many variables within the human experience: she
is a category, a stereotype, a victim, and a villain. She is desperate for
meaningful relationships but often develops a helpless love to those that abuse
her. She is idolized by followers and idolizes those in power. If Tamara was a
real person, the soldier in me would probably have fallen in love with her. Sadly,
the psychopath in her would likely find more joy in killing me than going to the
movies with me.

6) What one question do you wish you would be asked and how would you answer it?

~ Wow, what a hard question! If I have to choose just one, I wish someone would
ask me what relevancy this far out space conflict has on my job as a soldier. I
would tell them that the way we think about conflict, technology, and people must
continually be challenged. I would tell them that fiction can serve as an engine to
drive the way we think about the future and that the Army with the broadest
thinkers might be the Army that has the greatest ability to innovate and adapt.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Enter the Giveaway for a chance to win 

one (1) copy of Doomsayer

Open to US Residents with a US mailing address 

who are 18 years of age or older.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Bright Empires ~ Series Review

The Bright Empires series

By Stephen R. Lawhead

Read by Simon Bubb

In a change of pace, I'm doing a look back at one of my favorite series. This time instead of reading the books I went the audiobook route, which I borrowed from my local library. 

(And you have to read the books in order to fully enjoy and understand everything!) 

The Universe is vast- more vast than most people can possibly fathom.  There are billions of galaxies in our Universe alone.  In addition there an unknown number of dimensions as equally vast as our own Universe.  If you don't believe me just ask Kit Livingstone (if you can find him, that is!)



The Bright Empire series by Stephen R Lawhead opens with The Skin Map.  In this we are introduced to Cosimo "Kit" Christopher Livingstone who is about to begin the adventure of a lifetime.  Kit is about to follow his great-grandfather Cosimo Livingstone on a search for the Skin Map, a search that will span centuries and dimensions.  A search that could destroy everything in the omniverse if they accidentally change history in just one dimension.

But what is this Skin Map and why is it so sought after?  The skin map was created by Arthur Flinders-Petrie as a series of various symbols tattooed upon his body that were turned into parchment upon his death.  The greatest of his various mapped symbols leads to the greatest of treasures - the Well of Souls.

But nothing is ever easy and Kit, his great-grandfather and the Questors are not the only ones seeking the map.  Burley and his men are seeking it too and he plans to use the power he would gain in untold evil.

But due to his inexperience Kit, Cosimo and Sir Henry have a secondary quest, to rescue Kit's girlfriend Wilhelmina "Mina" from whatever time/dimension she was pulled into.  But nothing ever goes as planned and the three are separated.  The Skin Map is filled with unexpected twists and turns up until the very end so that you are left wondering what comes next in The Bone House book 2.

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The Bright Empire series by Stephen R Lawhead continues with The Bone House.  

With the unexpected deaths of Cosimo Livingstone and Sir Henry at the hands of Archelaeus Burleigh, Kit  must rely on the Ley traveling skills that Mina has developed since she was transported to 17th century Prague.

But with time/dimensional travel there are a variety of trips covered in The Bone House including Kit's visit to Egypt in 1822 where he meets up with Doctor Thomas Young who are both on a mission that was brought about by Mina. While Kit is in Egypt with Dr. Young, Mina and Giles are with Dr. Young in Edinburgh.

Arthur Flinders-Petrie's life is further revealed as are the exploits of his great-grandson Douglas Flinders-Petrie to obtain the Skin Map that Arthur created.

When Mina, Kit, and Giles finally arrive at Mina's new home in Prague, they are shocked to discover the one man that they are trying to avoid is there!  Burleigh is in Prague and all too soon discovers that Kit and Giles did not die in the Egyptian tomb they were imprisoned in.  In their attempt to escape Burleigh, Giles is injured and Kit manages to make it to the Ley line that Mina had directed them to.  But Kit finds himself in the Stone Age where he makes a discovery he was not expecting the Bone House.

 The Bone House is filled with trips that span the centuries and the globe will leave you anticipating what will come next in The Spirit Well book 3.

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The Bright Empire series by Stephen R Lawhead continues with The Spirit Well.  

The Bone House left us with Kit having discovered what he believes to be the Spirit Well, a conclusion he came to after observing Arthur Flinders-Petrie enter a deep water-filled environment with a dead woman who is restored to life.

Mina, after being warned by Haven of Burleigh's suspicions, has left Prague in the hopes of somehow locating Kit.  When she can find no sign of him, Mina goes to Spain in the hopes that Brother Lazarus can help her in her quest.

Meanwhile, we are introduced to Cassandra Clarke who, while on a dig in Arizona, discovers by accident the Ghost Walk.  But when she determines to study this phenomenon she jumps to other places and becomes lost to her time and place, ending up in 1950s Damascus.  There she finds the Zetetic Society who are seeking to achieve God's purpose for His creation - unity and harmony as the Creator intended and to be fully realized at "the end of time and the beginning of eternity.

In the Spirit Well we discover the circumstances that resulted in the creation of the Skin Map and its separation as well as Burleigh's discovery of the ley lines.

The Zetetic Society is searching for Sir Henry, Cosimo, and Kit who have disappeared along with Sir Henry's portion of the map.  The society feels that discovering them is of the highest priority and assign this task to Cassandra.

Treachery and betrayals abound as many search for the greatest discovery of Arthur Flinders-Petrie.  A discovery that Kit has discovered, but can he find his way back?

As is often mentioned by various characters throughout the series There are no coincidences.  There is a purpose behind everything that happens in our lives though we may not be able to ascertain it at the time.

The Spirit Well is filled with trips that span the centuries and the globe will leave you anticipating what will come next in book 4 The Shadow Lamp.

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The Bright Empire series by Stephen R Lawhead continues with The Shadow Lamp.

Ley travel is imprecise, but it can be done to within a few days of when one wants to arrive unless something goes wrong.  And as is often the case something does go wrong for several of our ley travelers.  But this is all part of the journey.  The journey to reach the Spirit Well that Kit discovered by accident when he was misdirected into the Stone Age.  But the Bone House is no longer accessible and a large tree is in its place.  And the gargantuan yew is channeling an enormous amount of energy from the ley in which it is growing.

Cassandra points out an amazing coincidence to Kit in that the yew tree is a symbol of immortality and eternity and in a sense that is what they are searching for in the Spirit Well. But little does Kit know that he may hold the answer to saving the Omniverse, the known and unknown, from complete and total annihilation!

Time from the first moments of Creation is at stake if the event that caused the imbalance is not found. The ever-expanding universe is beginning to retract upon itself and time is growing short.  An act of Arthur Flinders-Petrie may destroy everything, and we will be alive to witness our own obliteration!

The Shadow Lamp will span centuries and dimensions and if you are very observant you just may see the beginning of the end or the end of the beginning in book 5 The Fatal Tree.

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The Bright Empire series by Stephen R Lawhead concludes with The Fatal Tree.

It starts with odd little wrinkles in reality and when the anomalies accumulate to a level that a dimension can no longer sustain - that dimension along with all those living in it will be extinguished as if they had never existed... THE END OF EVERYTHING is here and we are about to slip over a cosmic cliff.

Our questors have been separated by both time and space.  The ley lines have become unreliable as the anomalies increase.  And the physical side effects are increasing with each jump making each trip increasingly dangerous.  But the Spirit Well must be reached and they have to discover a way around the Fatal Tree which now guards that which they seek.

One man may have the knowledge they seek, but can they trust the man who has sought to destroy them?  And what ulterior motives could Archelaeus Burleigh be hiding?  Kit knows that the man responsible for his great grandfather's death can't be trusted but Mina, Cass, and Gianni feel that the preservation of the Omniverse is worth the risk.

In this the final book we revisit scenes from the previous books but from the viewpoint of other characters who were part of the original scene.  A true merging of past, present, and future. 

Get ready to go on an adventure that will test your ability to adapt and prepare to grow your mind! Paradoxes, Time loops, and Quantum mechanics, oh my!  The unknown is greater than you ever imagined and one misstep or decision can destroy it all!