M. Pax's Blog, page 2
September 4, 2025
A Tale of Two Colonies by Aurora Springer
Sci-Fi Worth Reading!
A Tale of Two Colonies by Aurora Springer delivers a richly imagined world and an exciting adventure that’s perfect for sci-fi lovers who enjoy immersive settings and survival stories. Aurora Springer is a gifted author well worth finding. Her words flow like silk and weave a delicious, creative world I enjoyed getting lost in.
What I loved
The worldbuilding in this book is top-notch. The story starts on an overcrowded Earth, where people are desperate to escape. Lily, the main character, trains hard to secure a spot on a spaceship to a distant colony planet. The journey isn’t easy, and there’s no guarantee that the team will survive the mission—or that the original colonists will still be alive.
The alien planet they travel to is fascinating. I especially loved the discovery of the lost colony’s descendants, who have completely forgotten their Earth origins. The planet is teeming with strange creatures (including ant people!) and unexpected dangers. The exploration aspect was a highlight, and I really enjoyed how the world and its mysteries unfolded.
Themes to enjoy
If you’re into:
…then A Tale of Two Colonies is definitely worth checking out.
A Tale of Two Colonies is available now. Here’s the official blurb:
Fight for freedom. Fight to survive. For refugees from an overcrowded Earth, dreams of a better life on an alien planet transform into a terrifying battle for survival.
Nothing will stand in the way of Tiger Lily’s dream of escaping the subterranean slums of Terra and visiting the stars. She enters the fierce competition for a place in the scout team on the next spaceship to the remote planet of Delta, where an earlier colony disappeared. Before the ship departs, a mysterious message from Delta suggests the descendants of the first colonists may be alive.
A risky mission to seek the lost colony exposes the team to unexpected dangers, and they encounter a grim warrior in the isolated valley. Has Tiger Lily met her match in the tortured man? Where is he leading them? And who are the real rulers of this strange world?
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August 31, 2025
Project on the Launch Pad! Space Squad 51 is Ready to Fly!
Here’s the latest from the M. Pax Dimension!
Current missions, new launches, and cosmic adventures!
Project One: Completing the Space Squad 51 Series / Launches on KS 9/30/2025Spaceberg: Complete.Space Trash: Complete.Space Hitched: Complete.Space Weed: Complete.Space Worms: Writing in progress!Space Rock: Writing in progress!
This series launches September 30, 2025! Sign up for the prelaunch on the Kickstarter so you don’t miss a minute of this fun launch party! PRELAUNCH
Launch to all retailers begins January 2026.
Project Two: ShroomtopiaStatus: Steady as she goes!
Writing the rough draft live in Discord and Substack. Come join me at Paxport! Or 🚀 Salutations, interstellar voyagers! 🌟
Incoming transmission: here's the May report on current missions, new launches, and cosmic adventures! 
🚀 Project One: Completing the Space Squad 51 Series Status: in the solar system! Spaceberg: Currently in edits with more spit and polish, and the addition of bonus extras to make the story more immersive. In final edits for re-release. Will be out in the wilds again by the end of the first week in June. Space Trash: Edits complete. Space Hitched: Edits complete. Space Weed: Final Edits in progess. Space Worms: Another new addition with a rough outline. This new story will be a stretch goal for Kickstarter backers. Don't miss out! Space Rock: Another new addition with a rough outline. This new story will be another stretch goal for Kickstarter backers. Exciting News: I'll be creating bonus content to make my stories more immersive from here on out. Bonus extras complete for Space Hitched and Space Weed. Some are done for Space Trash. Will add them in for Spaceberg when the first draft of Space Weed is complete. ✨ Launch date set for September 30, 2025! Sign up for the prelaunch of the Kickstarter Launch Party so you don't miss out on anything! PRELAUNCH 🌟 Project Two: Shroomtopia Status: Steady as she goes! Writing the rough draft live in Discord and Substack. Come join me at Paxport!
Status: In the line up after the Rifters series is complete
I'll be giving The Renaissance of Hetty Locklear a new title and a new cover, but it will be the same content. I have titles for the other three novels that will round out this series and some rough notes for the books.
Keep your comm channels open for more updates. One of these stories will be a freebie for my mailing list. If you haven't joined the M. Pax Dimension yet, well, get over there! MPAX DIMENSION Until then, happy reading and dreaming! Stay tuned and peace out, M. Pax 🚀✨ ">Substack!
Project Three: Completing the Rifters SeriesStatus: Charting new dimensions!
The Generals (Rifters Book 5): Coming onto the assembly line!The Warder (Rifters Book 6): The final installment is 5% plotted, but hey, the adventure is just beginning. My aim? Another 70-80,000 words of world-saving, dimension-bending awesomeness. Already planning all of the awesome goodies for the Kickstarter campaign!
Project Four: Hetty Locklear SeriesStatus: In the line up after the Rifters series is complete
I’ll be giving The Renaissance of Hetty Locklear a new title and a new cover, but it will be the same content. I have titles for the other three novels that will round out this series and some rough notes for the books.
Keep your comm channels open for more updates. One of these stories will be a freebie for my mailing list. If you haven’t joined the M. Pax Dimension yet, well, get over there! MPAX DIMENSION
Until then, happy reading and dreaming!
Stay tuned and peace out,
M. Pax
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August 28, 2025
The Spell Shop by Sarah Beth Durst
Fantasy worth reading!
Cozy fantasy is my favorite fantasy genre (along with weird stuff), and this book did not disappoint. The main character, Kiela, is rather grumpy, but I could relate to her introverted tendencies. Lots. She also loves books. Her BFF, Cal, a betwitched spider plant, balances her out.
There is romance, but the story is so much more. I wouldn’t have liked it so much without the more, and this is one of my favorite reads of the year so far. Every day, I enjoyed returning to these pages and getting lost in this charming world populated by mostly charming characters.
Found family, a little bit of magic, true friendship, a quaint island with quaint people, and a lot of heart, this novel has a lot going for it. This quiet book with a happy ending is a great balm for these trying times. The character arcs are satisfying, and the plot is entertaining. I was never bored (and I am easily bored).
This was a library borrow. I love my library.
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August 25, 2025
A Peek at the Ridiculous Side of Squad 51
Some of what Makes Squad 51 Ridiculous Space Fun…
If you’re into cosmic chaos, ridiculous disasters, and aliens who can’t quite get their time travel right, Squad 51 might just be your new favorite series. Here are a few reasons why I can’t stop laughing (and writing):
1️⃣ Disasters so ridiculous, they’re almost believable.
2️⃣ Organic plastic—because why should space junk be boring?
3️⃣ Singing plastic daisies that really steal the show.
4️⃣ Time-farting aliens (yes, you read that right).
5️⃣ Jumping the shark in the best possible way.
6️⃣ Wedding chaos that could outdo any Earth ceremony.
7️⃣ Space Charades—where even the stakes are high and the guesses are wild.
Want more space silliness? The Space Weed Kickstarter launches September 30. Buckle up, and get ready for a wild ride!
Sign up for prelaunch to be notified the second the campaign goes live!
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August 21, 2025
Numbercaste by Yudhanjaya Wijeratne
Numbercaste by Yudhanjaya Wijeratne.
While I loved The Salvage Crew and admire Wijeratne’s writing skills (he’s an excellent and skilled writer), Numbercaste didn’t quite work for me. The novel flows like a dream and is expertly plotted. I appreciate the author’s smooth, immersive style and how he never jerks me out of the story.
Set in a near-future world where social media and data analytics determine a person’s worth, Numbercaste explores what happens when a tech company gains unchecked power. It’s a fascinating and all-too-plausible premise, but it was too realistic for me. I should have known from the blurb this wasn’t my kind of story, but my appreciation for The Salvage Crew convinced me to give it a shot. That book, set in space with a strong mystery element, was much more my speed.
That said, if you enjoy dystopian sci-fi with sharp social commentary, you’ll likely find Numbercaste an engaging and thought-provoking read. My review is purely based on personal preference rather than any flaw in the book itself, and I’ll be reading more books by this author.
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August 18, 2025
The Sky is Not Empty
A story from the Squad 51 Universe…
free space opera storyThijin Ocklan pressed herself into the seam between the colony’s inner and outer dome, heart pounding like she had snuck off to murder someone instead of simply skipping work.
The gap was just wide enough to wedge her not-quite-50-year-old frame into, and she didn’t have to crouch her seven-foot frame, for which she thanked the Sol. Her back ached too much for bending, squatting, and hunching.
Condensation dripped from the curved panels above, cold as the voids. A faint hiss of oxygen purred through the rigged feed line she had patched together herself, because she knew damn well that Heliox Core Industries would cut her air the second her absence flagged the shift board.
She didn’t even have a good excuse. Her back hurt, sure. It always did. But today felt like too much. Like another hour bent over pipe valves and corrosion monitors might crush her permanently on the inside.
IOP, the Internal Oversight Patrol, boots passed by a few minutes ago. Not running, not suspicious, just a patrol. But they were never just a patrol.
Thijin waited until the footfalls faded, then slipped through the loose panel she had found once while inspecting a pipeline. The corporation warned lingering near the outer dome increased your exposure to radiation leaks. At her age, she figured a little radiation couldn’t do worse than another year of this drudgery.
For once, she felt alive. Alive and slightly terrified, her heart racing with each crouched step along the outer skin of the dome, as if one of the IOP’s drones might whiz by and detect her movement. But nothing stirred. She kept to the shadows, oxygen rig strapped tight, and crept toward nothing in particular. She knew the old corporate offices were out this way, abandoned for newer, swankier, and more air-tight offices.
Past the skeleton of an old water tank, a silhouette came into view, a silhouette with a dome. “What is that”” she breathed. The sun caught the dome’s curve, which was a hunk of angular metal half-that appeared to bulge beyond the dome. It had the sad, noble look of something forgotten, and there was a door.
Thijin clambered over some barrels and slipped out in the open to reach the door. No sensors pinged her. No voice from Heliox warned her she was off limits. The door hung askew and slightly ajar.
A plaque it read: IO DEEP SKY OBSERVATORY – Established 2123 by Helio Duponne
The edges were crusted in grime. She wiped at them anyway.
The door groaned but gave way easily. Inside was dry and dark, the air meter on the wall showed the air was better in here than inside the colony. She removed her air hose and breathed free for the first time ever, inhaling deep. The air was sharp with ozone and long-dead dreams.
Thijin took careful steps past empty console stations and dead monitor banks, her tank’s controls softly humming behind her. She switched it off, conserving her rations. Dust curled in the light from her wrist lamp.
She walked up to a console, and it clicked. Her heat hammered like a bomb went off, and a glow flared out from the monitor, exposing her, sensing her. She panicked, searching for a place to hide. There was just the databank, a comfortable chair on wheels, and a large telescope.
She stepped up to the telescope, resting one hand on the barrel, afraid it might vanish. The telescope aimed through the transparent panel, old, but clean enough to reveal a view so vast it punched the breath from her lungs.
The sky was black, but not empty. Stars crowded it like shattered diamonds scattered across a black that had more substance than darkness. A smear of cream and red marked Jupiter, massive and glowing, a planetary god watching from the horizon.
Below the never-ending sky, the tortured landscape of Io stretched out in bruised shades of ochre, sulfur, and rust. Volcanoes scarred the surface like old wounds, frozen mid-eruption, the ground fissured and uneven as if the moon strained to escape gravity. Faint plumes curled upward in the distance; geysers, maybe, or new eruptions unfolding in silence.
It was raw. Violent. Real.
She had never seen anything like it. The colony dome showed her the prefab walls and gray corridors, the same flickering signs and ration queues. Out here, the universe roared in silence, vast, enormous. And no one was in charge of it.
Her pulse picked up. Not with fear but with awe. For the first time in her life, her world felt bigger than her shift report.
She could have stood there for hours, just breathing in the wonder. But instead, she sat, gently and reverently, into the worn chair at the data console, wondering what this place was about. Touching the screen flickered the terminal to life. No startup chime, no fanfare. Just a plain cursor blinking like a heartbeat.
She moved closer, squinting. Awaiting uplink to Heliox Core. Enter password. Interesting. The system wasn’t malfunction. It was off grid, waiting for connection to the corporate servers.
She tapped a few keys on an old fashioned keyboard in front of the screen. If she didn’t connect to Heliox, was something else out there. She hit enter and a menu came up.
Archived Survey Data
Colony Map Index
Sol Comms System
Her finger hovered over the last one.
Sol Comms System. She had been told there was nothing else to the solar system but Io, that no one else had survived.
She clicked it.
A new menu unfolded, simple and quiet. Names of other colonies on Callisto, on Ganymede, in the Belt, around Saturn. No corporate emblems. Just location codes, basic identifiers, and one blinking status beside each: IDLE. IDLE. IDLE.
Her hands moved before her fear could catch up. She typed a simple message. “Do you want to live like this?”
That was it. She didn’t sign it. Didn’t say where she was. The console encrypted automatically, some old, protocol by paranoid Heliox corporate goons.
She hit SEND.
Nothing happened. “Of course not,” she muttered. Exhaling, she leaned back in the dusty chair. A layer of ancient padding gave way beneath her. She laughed, a short, surprised sound that echoed loudly in the quiet. When had she last sat in a real chair?
The room creaked in silence, the shifts of Io settling into its bones. She got up and wandered into a storage alcove. Empty shelves. Spare filters. Tangled wiring. Some crates. Inside the crates she found blue fabric. Dusty. Stiff with time. A stack of old Heliox-issued thermal jackets, from the early days when the company still pretended to be human.
Thijin tugged one free, held it up to the light. It had the old logo. A faded slogan stitched beneath it: She pulled the multitool from her belt, which was old and scratched but still loyal. Flipping out the blade, she sliced through the thick blue coat, cutting a long strip free. The fabric curled as she tugged it loose, decades of dust rising into the air. The fabric now as free as she was, dhe tied the strip around her neck like a scarf. Not regulation. Not anymore.
She returned to the telescope to see if she could get it to work, glancing at the console.
One message had arrived. Then two. Then six.
Simple things, blinking on screen:
“You’re not alone.”
“Please talk to me.”
“We thought we were the only ones.”
“Finally.”
Thijin settled back into the chair, scarf loose around her throat, breath fogging faintly in the cold.
Out the observation dome, Jupiter loomed like a storm god on fire. She stared at its stripes and marbled rage and smiled. She was still staring out when a thousand more replies came through.
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August 14, 2025
Science Fiction Movie Review: Bionic Showdown
If you were a fan of the original Six Million Dollar Man or The Bionic Woman TV shows from the 1970s, this movie is a delightful trip down memory lane. Somehow, I completely missed Bionic Showdown when it aired back in the late ’80s—but better late than never.
Our favorite bionic heroes return, still doing what they do best: running in slow motion with those iconic sound effects. (Honestly, I didn’t realize how much I missed that “ch-ch-ch-ch” sound until I heard it again.) It brought a nostalgic grin to my face.
The plot? Predictable and comfortably familiar. Nothing groundbreaking, but that’s not really the point. It’s all about the vibe. Oscar Goldman is back too, but wow—is he always this dramatic? I might have to rewatch the series to double-check whether he’s always been this intense or if the the plot of the movie just turned him up a notch.
One fun surprise was spotting a very young Sandra Bullock in the cast, already showing signs of the charisma that would launch her career.
In short, this movie is a warm, campy hug for fans of the original series. It’s not high art, but it doesn’t need to be. Nostalgic and fun, Bionic Showdown clocks in at a solid 1.5 beers—just enough to kick back and enjoy without questioning the logic of bionic espionage.
Here’s the trailer:
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August 11, 2025
Why Kickstarter? A New Way to Launch Into Space
Thanks to your amazing support, I get to offer a unique kind of adventure through Kickstarter. I love how this platform turns a book launch into something interactive and memorable. From voting on campaign extras to receiving exclusive rewards, it’s an experience for both longtime fans and brand-new readers.
The Squad 51 Special Editions are packed with extras you won’t find anywhere else: maps, character cards, playlists, snack pairings, and all sorts of space shenanigans. This kind of reader experience wouldn’t be possible without you.
Whether you’ve been reading my books since The Backworlds or you just discovered the crew of Spaceberg, thank you for coming along for the ride. I can’t wait to share this delightfully ridiculous series with you!
Your support through this campaign will help me:
Keep my indie author business running (covers, tools, promo, and production) Fund the upcoming Rifters books! Continue creating quirky, heartfelt stories that embraces the strangeThe Kickstarter launches September 30! Mark your calendar! If you’re as excited about Squad 51 as I am, please help spread the word. Share the campaign with your fellow sci-fi lovers and let’s make this launch one to remember.
Sign up for prelaunch to be notified the moment the campaign goes live!
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August 7, 2025
Sci-Fi Worth Reading: Pride and Prejudice in Space Book Review
Book Review: Pride and Prejudice in Space by Alexis Lampley
If you’ve ever wondered what Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice would look like set in space, Alexis Lampley’s Pride and Prejudice in Space answers that question with a delightful and fun retelling. The novel gives us all the characters we know and love—and love to hate—while placing them in an entirely new, futuristic setting. Lampley successfully takes the classic story and makes it feel fresh while staying true to the essence of Austen’s original work.
What I Loved:
One of the things I truly enjoyed about this retelling was the fleshing out of the characters, particularly the Bennett sisters. Lampley brings them to life in a way that adds new depth and complexity, especially in the context of a sci-fi universe. The chemistry between Elizabeth and Darcy remains the heart of the story, but there’s a certain freedom in exploring these characters in an entirely new setting.
The extras in the book are a wonderful touch. From drawings to posters, diary entries, and extra communications, these added elements make the story feel immersive and interactive, allowing readers to dive deeper into the world Lampley has created. It’s clear that a lot of care went into these details, and they add a fun layer to the reading experience.
What I Didn’t Love:
Despite my enjoyment, there were a few things that didn’t sit perfectly with me. As much as I adore Jane Austen’s prose, having read Pride and Prejudice countless times, I found myself wishing for more of Lampley’s own voice and less of the original text. I’m a huge Austen fan, but after so many retellings, I longed for something a bit more unique to the author’s perspective. It’s a small gripe, but I felt the author could have deviated more from the source material, especially since she did so beautifully in other aspects of the story.
Towards the end, the frequency of the extras started to feel a bit overwhelming. With something new every few pages, I began to feel like they interrupted the flow of the story. While I appreciated the creativity, it felt like overkill.
Final Thoughts:
Overall, Pride and Prejudice in Space is a clever and fun retelling of a classic. The creative twists, fleshed-out characters, and sci-fi setting offer something new for fans of Austen and sci-fi alike. Despite a few minor pacing issues, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. After borrowing it from the library, I loved it enough to purchase my own copy—a true sign of how much I enjoyed it. If you’re a fan of Pride and Prejudice and sci-fi, this book is definitely worth checking out.
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August 4, 2025
Worldbuilding Spotlight: The Newshang in the Squad 51 Universe
Every world needs a place to hang. In the Squad 51 series, that place is the newshang.
What’s a newshang? Think a cozy blend of public library, neighborhood café, and community watering hole, plus better drinks and weird snacks. It’s the one place you’ll find pilots, data analysts, retired asteroid wranglers, and sleep-deprived botanists all in one room, sipping frothy drinks and arguing about what the great cosmic fart was really about.
The VibeNo one rushes you out of a newshang. These are unhurried spaces where conversation flows, gossip simmers, and news (official and otherwise) filters through in waves. You’re welcome to sit for hours, scrolling galactic updates, people-watching, or recharging after a rough mission.
Some are built into old shuttles. Others sprawl across the lower levels of residential towers. The seating is comfy, the lighting soft, and if you’re lucky, someone’s installed a patio with a view.
Where News Meets SnacksNewshangs act as community info centers, with walls of curated newsfeeds, public data terminals, and voice-prompt research booths. Need to check the latest shipping lane closures or fact-check a rumor about squid mold in Sector 9? You’ll do it here with a cup of Plasma Roast or a fizzy bubble to gnaw on in hand.
Vendors rent booths inside the hang, dishing out everything from spice crumbs to orbit noodles. There’s no standard menu. Every hang has its own flavor, and part of the fun is discovering what weird local brew or bite they’re serving today.
More Than a CaféThe newshang isn’t just a place to refuel, it’s a cultural hub. Depending on where you go, you might stumble into:
Open mic nights full of off-key jokes, gooey love songs, and awkward poetry
Karaoke battles featuring planetary pop hits and ancient Earth ballads
Game nights with logic dice tournaments and holo-chess duels
Story time with an elder recounting tales of pre-warp planets
Public knowledge nights, where locals debate news reports over mugs of starfoam wine
In the Squad 51 UniverseSquad 51 members often drop by the newshang across the avenue from DAT during downtime between calls. It’s where they grab a drink, catch a headline, or quietly eavesdrop on the buzz around town.
The newshang shows up in Space Trash, Space Hitched, and Space Weed for good reason. It’s not just part of the backdrop, it’s part of what makes the Space Squad 51 world feel familiar. Lived in. Like you could step right into the scene, grab a glowfruit slice, and strike up a conversation with anybody there.
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