M. Pax's Blog, page 32
March 22, 2022
The Colony: #SciFi #MovieReview
Colony on Netflix is a dystopian where those who left Earth to colonize another planet want to see if their survival has better odds if they return to Earth.
The colonists on Keplar can’t reproduce. The radiation off-world has killed any hope of humans thriving. Earth, however, is all water.
This movie has a lot of flaws, however, it is nicely filmed and the acting is very good. The main character, Louise Blake, had me rooting for her through the entire movie. She has a lot of obstacles to overcome, and she does so with confidence and grit. She will see her mission completed… for the many. However, she has other motives for returning to Earth.
If you think too much about the story, the logic will slip like sand through your hands. Same goes for the ending. It was rather vague and ambiguous. Two minutes could have been spent with something more solid and meaningful. At least, I would have appreciated that. Every story deserves a decent ending.
It’s worth a watch, though. I was entertained and would actually like to know more about this version of Earth. So for that and the acting, I give this movie a one beer rating. One is enough to have fun.
It’s streaming on Netflix. Here’s the trailer if you want a peek:
The post The Colony: #SciFi #MovieReview appeared first on M. Pax.
March 14, 2022
#Fantasy Worth Reading: A Shudder of Specters #BookReview
If you’re looking for a delicious escape, Shudder of Specters: A Fantasy LitRPG Adventure by Christine Rains is a novel you’ll want to add to your Kindle ASAP.
The story is fun and fast-paced, and it was easy to place myself in the setting. The characters and plot caught my attention from page one and didn’t let go. Eagerly, I returned to this book every night and turned the pages longer than I should have (on a work night).
The premise: A usual game night turns into most players’ fantasy-actually living in the game world.
A fan of the Elder Scrolls, it was easy for me to slip into the world and envision the monsters, the adventure, and the characters. I’ve not read a book in this genre before but now I will look for more.
And great news! I know Christine Rains is about to publish the second book in this series. Awesome for me and my Kindle.
So, yes, I would recommend this book. A lot. Well, if you want to actually enjoy what you’re reading. You can find it on AMAZON
In every one of their games, the bard dies first.
But this time, she may be the only one who can save them all.
Nora Quinn wants to play a bard like no other seen before, and the newest table-top role-playing game is the perfect chance to show off her skills. Yet when Nora and her friends find themselves in the dark fantasy world of Khthonia, she struggles to be any type of bard at all. There, things aren’t as straightforward as the games she’s used to playing.
If she and her friends want to get back to the real world, then Nora has to lift the curse plaguing Khthonia for over a century. The fate of the realm and their way home rest in Nora’s hands, but will she survive when the bard is always the first to die?
The post #Fantasy Worth Reading: A Shudder of Specters #BookReview appeared first on M. Pax.
March 11, 2022
One Week Only! Free Sci-Fi and Fantasy at all Ebook Retailers! #scifi #fantasy
Get your sci-fi and fantasy fix! Load up at all ebook retailers!
The post One Week Only! Free Sci-Fi and Fantasy at all Ebook Retailers! #scifi #fantasy appeared first on M. Pax.
March 9, 2022
So Many Free Books! It’s Madness! #Scifi and #Fantasy #Giveaways
First in series. Sci-Fi and Fantasy Mystery
The post So Many Free Books! It’s Madness! #Scifi and #Fantasy #Giveaways appeared first on M. Pax.
March 6, 2022
Half off All M. Pax Titles on #Smashwords for Read an Ebook Sale #SciFi
All my novels are half off this week at Smashwords. One week only! Hurry and snap them up! Oh, and there are a few freebies.
Backworlds series
Stopover at the Backworlds’ EdgeBoomtown CrazeBeyond the EdgeWorlds on EdgePrecipiceFreeFallEndpointBackworlds Box Collection: Books 1, 2, and 3Backworlds Box Collection: Books 4, 5, and 6Rifters Series:
The InitiateThe ReaderThe TracerThe Rifters Box Collection Books 1-3Other:
The Renaissance of Hetty LocklearSpaceberg
The post Half off All M. Pax Titles on #Smashwords for Read an Ebook Sale #SciFi appeared first on M. Pax.
March 2, 2022
Military Space Opera on Sale for Only 50c! Semper Audacia is the Last Soldier’s Last Stand. #scifibooks
The Not of this Earth Bookshop has a March special! Semper Audacia can be yours for the low price of 50c. You must use the coupon to get the sale price.
Semper Audacia was previously published in the anthology Space Jockey.
Leda is the last living member of the brigade, the sole defender of her world. War took everyone she knew, leaving her in the company of memories and ghosts. Or is it madness? The siren blares. The enemy is coming. Or is it? The approaching vessel isn’t a friendly design, but it answers with the correct code. Leda must figure out whether the arrival is reinforcements or the final assault. In an aging flyer, she ventures out to meet her world’s fate, the last stand.
The post Military Space Opera on Sale for Only 50c! Semper Audacia is the Last Soldier’s Last Stand. #scifibooks appeared first on M. Pax.
February 28, 2022
Claim Your Luck! The Backworlds and The Rifters are Free Everywhere #Giveaway
The Rifters: After losing her job and being robbed at gunpoint in NYC, Daelin Long moves to Settler, Oregon, to reconnect with her sister and start her life over. Only, her sister is missing, and there’s a phantom stealing heads. And those aren’t the only odd things about Settler, Oregon.
The Backworlds: Craze gets booted off the planet by his father. His pa tells him their moon isn’t big enough for them both and gives Craze a ticket for the next space transport. Cut off from everyone he knows with little money and no knowledge of the worlds beyond, Craze must forge a new life and make his father regret this day.
The post Claim Your Luck! The Backworlds and The Rifters are Free Everywhere #Giveaway appeared first on M. Pax.
February 26, 2022
#MPaxDimension Report: My Two Genres
When I started writing, I knew space opera was my thing. And I really liked weird. What I didn’t know is that a blending of sci-fi, fantasy, and steampunk is also my thing.
If you’re just beginning your writing journey, you may think you know your genre, and maybe you’re lucky enough that you do, but most of us write a lot of words until we figure out what color our genre is.
Sure I like other types of stories, but I seem to keep crafting stories in these two. Space opera is well established. The other, well, I think that is uniquely me.
Progress report:
The Afterworlds, Backworlds Book 9: 35,000+ words now written. I’m having fun with this one.
The Psychic Astronomy Shoppe: Complete at 20K. It now awaits the publishing process.
The post #MPaxDimension Report: My Two Genres appeared first on M. Pax.
February 25, 2022
Weird and Wild #Oregon : The Crooked River #NaturePhotography
There is a crooked river…
The Crooked River is a tributary off the Deschutes River in Central Oregon. It was once bountiful with chinook and beaver. The scenery remains spectacular.
And then there was a crooked tree…
The post Weird and Wild #Oregon : The Crooked River #NaturePhotography appeared first on M. Pax.
February 21, 2022
#SciFi Worth Reading: Cage of Souls #BookReview
Cage of Souls by Adrian Tchaikovsky is a richly woven tapestry on a future Earth that resembles an alien planet. Inhabited by monsters and mechs, the residents are surrounded by a planet bent on destroying them.
It starts with the main character on his way to prison. There are only two civilized places: the main city and the prison. The creatures attacking the boat on the way to the ‘Island’ were horrifying and fatal. They were as alien as if they came from another planet.
This story was thick with lots of atmosphere and character and layers and ideas. Through the terror of the prison, we learn that life outside the prison isn’t any easier. Once the darkness of the Island has steeped into the psyche, the city is made known. Its inhabitants and culture didn’t seem like freedom either. To me, it seemed like a different type of prison.
In this epic, we’re human to the end with all our flaws. I was constantly searching for what had made our world this way. The characters didn’t know so the reader is left to infer with hints and clues here and there. Which was rather fun.
It’s not a quick read, but it’s a story worth knowing from cover to cover. And if you care to delve into the mirror written in the pages, it’s easy to see our current culture and society. Makes me wonder about the bars of my cage…
The sun is bloated, diseased, dying perhaps. Beneath its baneful light, Shadrapar, last of all cities, harbours fewer than 100,000 human souls. Built on the ruins of countless civilisations, Shadrapar is a museum, a midden, an asylum, a prison on a world that is ever more alien to humanity.
Bearing witness to the desperate struggle for existence between life old and new is Stefan Advani: rebel, outlaw, prisoner, survivor. This is his testament, an account of the journey that took him into the blazing desolation of the western deserts; that transported him east down the river and imprisoned him in the verdant hell of the jungle’s darkest heart; that led him deep into the labyrinths and caverns of the underworld. He will meet with monsters, madman, mutants.
The question is, which one of them will inherit this Earth?
The post #SciFi Worth Reading: Cage of Souls #BookReview appeared first on M. Pax.
