Author Requesting an Informal R-2-R Review

[Anna]

Greetings Space Opera Fans!

As I've mentioned before, it's my hope to get a formal R2R read-2-review program up and running in this community at some point in the near future (May/June). To do so, we need a certain critical mass of members, which we are slowly building to, but I am not quite ready to launch the program yet.

In the meantime, I shall open up THIS thread where Space Opera Fans author/members can post an informal request for other members of the group to obtain a FREE copy of a book in exchange for a fair review. Think of it as a dress rehearsal for the real program :-)

Okay ... here are the *RULES* which are subject to change as the need arises:

Authors: Please drop a comment in this thread listing the following:

1. Name of book.
2. Your (author) name.
3. Sub-sub-genre (i.e., classic space opera, military space opera, romantic space opera, etc.)
4. Your book blurb. Must be less than 300 words in length!
5. How to contact you (recommend via GR PM system for first contact, give personal email out after).
6. You can ask ONCE and then see if anybody is interested. Don't pester people to review your book.
7. Don't forget we also have a We Found Free Ebooks thread if you have a freebie.


Reviewers:

1. Be safe! Recommend you drop your response in the thread and then use the GR PM system to contact the author (not plaster your personal email here).
2. Be civil ... it's okay to not like a book and say so ... but deliberate nastiness, personal attacks, swears, or 'trolling' violates the Will Wheaton rule (see Rules for Space Opera Fans).
3. Be timely ... most authors can't run book ads or drive their books up in the Amazon algorithms until they have a certain number of reviews. If you promise to have a book back within two weeks, please do keep your promise or notify the author as soon as possible if you cannot keep your promise.
4. No book sharing without first getting permission from the author! It's illegal!
5. When you leave a review, at the very bottom of the review state something along the lines of:

"I received this book via Space Opera Fans in exchange for a fair review..."

[Stephen]

OK, I'll take a stab at this.

Book title: Tsar Wars: Agents of ISIS, Book 1
Author: Stephen Goldin
Sub-genre: Classic space opera
Blurb: With humanity scattered throughout the galaxy, the Empire is the only force for order across the stars. But the tsar's been in a coma for five years, and his grand-niece, the only apparent heir, is only 14 years old. The task of preserving the Empire now falls to two untrained--but far from unskilled--agents of the Imperial Special Investigation Service. Can they save the Empire from destruction?
Contact: Goodreads PM

This is the first volume of a 10-book series. A freebie copy is available through August at the We Found Free Ebooks thread here in Space Opera Fans. Reviews gladly welcomed. Thank you.

[Shannon]

Stephen, I've downloaded yours and plan on reading it sometime soonish. I've got myself stretched a little thin with obligations right now though so it might be July before I get to it.

And now, here's my newest book which I would very much like reviews of:

Book title: Jake's Last Mission

Author: Shannon Haddock

Sub-genre: Military space opera -- but it's about preventing a war instead of fighting one

Blurb: The entire future of Sweytzian/Mugdaran relations rests on one man's shoulders.

That one man, Jake Kavaliro, would really like nothing more than to retire. Unfortunately, while on his last patrol he encounters a Mugdaran determined to restart a war that ended decades before. Now Jake – who's never been known for his skill at diplomacy – has to go and explain what transpired to the Mugdaran Emperor in person, an emperor who's only had the position for a very short time and who is already being pressured by others to restart that long ago war.

Contact: Goodreads PM

This is only a novelette, so it shouldn't take too long to read, if that helps sway anyone's opinion.

[Jay]

Shannon wrote: "Stephen, I've downloaded yours and plan on reading it sometime soonish. I've got myself stretched a little thin with obligations right now though so it might be July before I get to it.

And now, ..."

I'll download both of yours, my kindle is without anything unread :)

I have two books out in this genre right now; the second is the sequel that I just published. Here's the information:

Jay Korza
Extinction: The Warriors Return
followed by:
Extinction: The Will of the Protectors

They are both military space operas

Blurb:
In a small portion of the galaxy, Earth is joined with many other worlds to form the Coalition. The Coalition and its member species work together in an attempt to mitigate the inevitable conflicts that arise as more and more of the galaxy is explored and its riches claimed.

Daria is a Marine Corps Corpsman assigned to one of the many Coalition’s combined species units. After her husband is killed in a training flight accident, Daria and her closest friend are deployed to a scientific research planet to guard the personnel at the base. Along with a team of Force Recon Marines, she will descend into the buried remains of a long-lost civilization and uncover startling information about a warrior species who are returning to their once claimed portion of the galaxy to take it back into their empire.

Meanwhile, a group of Coalition Special Forces is sent into the very heart of the warrior’s home system in an attempt to gain any information they can on their new enemy. Seth, a newly graduated officer, is thrust into a leading role on the mission after he shows exceptional promise as a team operator. Together with his mentor, they must rescue a group of prisoners on an enemy planet and return home to help prepare for the inevitable invasion.

The warriors are coming back with advanced technology, genetically-engineered superior soldiers, and a lust for blood and war that is unrivaled among the Coalition forces. Two teams race against time in an attempt to save everything the Coalition has worked for centuries to build…

Contact: Goodreads PM

[Paul]

Hello,

I thought I would go ahead and post this out there for consideration. A free copy of the book in exchange for a fair review sounds fair to me.

A word of caution, The Remnant is approximately 150,000 words in length. I know that asking for a review on such a tome is asking for a serious commitment of time.

Anyone who reviews this book between now and August, 2014 will receive the exclusive option to review the sequel (free eARC) prior to its release.

PM me with details of format if you wish to review this book.


Book title: The Remnant

Author: Paul B. Spence

Sub-genre: Space opera

Blurb: An archaeological expedition on the edge of human-settled space makes a startling discovery that could change the course of human history, but will anyone ever know?

Lt. Commander Hrothgar Tebrey was assigned to the archaeological expedition as a military attaché because of his knowledge of alien technology. The technology found in the ancient ruins isn't exactly alien, however, and the ruins look a little too familiar.

Now, someone - or something - is manipulating events to sabotage the expedition: something that doesn't want anyone to know about the discoveries, and will do anything to silence the scientists.

To save the expedition and the woman he loves, Tebrey must learn that while some things are worth dying for, but it's the things worth living for that matter.

Contact: Goodreads PM

[Robert]

Name of book: An Invisible Thread: The War in the Orion Arm
Author: Robert Lee Wolfe
Sub-sub-genre: Military Space Opera
Blurb: By the year 3335, Earth has expanded its sphere of influence out beyond the solar system. Interstellar trade with alien species is commonplace, as is competition with other advanced, sentient species for resources in deep space.

An Invisible Thread is a chronicle of a critical period in Earth's future history powered by Byzantine political machinations, visions of violent combat on exotic worlds, and contact with bizarre, alien lifeforms.

Erin Broctrup, a 19-year-old high school graduate, decides to sign up for a tour with the Earth Exploration and Expansion Fleet. The plan is to help catalogue planetary resources and map alien worlds in an adventurous move designed to net her some unique life experience and a free ride at a government school of higher learning, but she gets far more than she bargained for when all-out, interstellar war breaks out.

Contact: Goodreads PM

Note: It's not a short book, and I'm willing to be flexible with the 2-week response. Let me know what format you would prefer when you message me!

[Andrei]

Name of the book: Mindguard

Author: Andrei Cherascu

Sub-sub-genre: Military Space Opera

Book blurb: Called out of semi-retirement, the telepath and Mindguard Sheldon Ayers is tasked with protecting an information package located inside the mind of a young woman who claims the knowledge she holds is vital to the future of mankind. Sheldon and his team must help her cross the most dangerous territory in the man-inhabited universe - the Djago Desert.

Hunted by the Enforcement Unit - the all-powerful Military arm of the Interstellar Federation of Common Origin - Sheldon’s team must fight to keep the carrier alive and guard the integrity of her mind. But nobody suspects that Sheldon also has a dark secret, and it could end up changing the fate of the mission

How to contact: GR PM system.

Note: Mindguard is a 113.000 word novel. Ideally, I would love to get a review by October 25th, when I plan on running a Kindle Countdown for it. I know the time is tight so it's not absolutely necessary. A review within a month would be lovely :)

[J.G.]

Hi, Star Splinter is the first volume of the Fractured Space series. If it piques your interest please PM me. Many thanks


Name of book: Star Splinter

Author name: John Cressey

Sub-sub-genre: Classic space opera

Here's the blurb!

Lieutenant Callum Harper hadn’t intended on punching his commanding officer quite so hard. But maybe it wasn’t such a bad turn of events. Court-martialed and dumped on a reject raft bound for Earth, Cal feels optimistic about a life where getting blown up, shot, or even eaten is altogether less of a concern. And, more importantly, a life where the only person he’s responsible for is himself.

Unfortunately, fate doesn’t favour the mundane. Crash-landing on a lethal planet, and with technology failing all around him, Cal must take his fellow passengers under his wing in order to survive and unravel the reasons behind their situation.

But the cause is far worse than any of them could have imagined, for theirs is a small part of a much larger crisis. Colonized space is under attack. Humanity is on the verge of chaos. And those who enjoy such anarchy are already beginning to thrive.

Yet Cal and his new companions will discover that mankind isn’t the true threat…not by a long shot.

[SDZ]

2147

Hi everyone, here are the details. Would really like to get some reviews from fans of the genre.

1. Book: 2147 (Book One: Revelations)
2. Author: SDZ Whitaker
3. Sub-Genre: Classic and Romantic Space Opera.
4. Blurb: 200 years after aliens first made contact with the human race at Roswell, Benjamin Billington stares blankly at the giant lizard on the flickering screen. He was the official liaison between humanity and the Azranaal. Not that anyone knew it though sadly. He was part of the Company, the shadowy remnants of the CIA that had maintained this secret relationship for the last two centuries. His role consisted mostly of listening to this blow hard alien talk about his superior genetic structure and fantasising about his boss Elizabeth. Unbeknownst to him that was all going to change soon thanks to one man.

Dr. Edgar Drake was recognised as the foremost scientist in the world and had just made the breakthrough that humanity had been waiting for. An engine capable of light speed. Sadly for him though he work with the smallest and least well funded faction on the planet. Together with the Prime Minister he was going to have to beg, steal and borrow the equipment needed to piece together a ship that would finally take them to the edge of their solar system and beyond. Sitting waiting were the Azranaal who had been growing impatient after two centuries to enact the final stage of their plans for humans.
5. Please drop me a PM here and I am more than happy to send you a free copy over, let me know which format.

[R.]

I'd appreciate reviews of this book. There are four free copies available in almost any format to anyone who'd like to write a review.

1. Book: Run From The Stars (The Arcturian Confederation, Volume 1)
2. Author: R. Billing
3. Sub-genre: Crosses several boundaries, Military, Adventure, Espionage and a dash of Romance.
4: Blurb: An unstable utopia...
The nine-world Arcturian Confederation have imposed five centuries of peace across more than five hundred human colonies. If orthodynamics, the technology behind faster than light travel, fell into the wrong hands, this utopia could end in a catastrophic interstellar war.
The Arcturian Space Fleet grew old and inflexible waiting for the wars that never came. Now two unscrupulous adventurers believe it would be easy prey. They plan to take over a recently colonised planet, and they don't care how many colonists they kill.
One small and seemingly fragile woman stands between them and success. A woman with a core of pure steel.
Space Fleet's Jane Gould alone can save the colonists, but at what personal cost?


5. Drop me a PM here and I'll send a free copy.