Book Reviews by Ehlen Administration

The Dragon's Breath by Jamie Sedgwick My rating: 4 of 5 stars The Iron Horse is chugging along but are beginning to have a fuel problem. If they don’t find Starfall in the next town they may be stranded. There may be starfall in that town, but there is something else no one expected to find, a mysterious fog that causes terrible hallucinations that the residents deem “Dragon’s Breath.”. All the Iron Horse crew members experience the effect, save Socrates. Can they figure out where it comes from to prevent it among their crew? And what about the residents of Stormwall, how do they combat it? Most importantly, will they find fuel to continue on their quest or be stranded in a strange kingdom? Book three in the Aboard the Great Iron Horse series is jam packed with sword fights, relationship drama, dragon fighting, and intrigue, all in a post-apocalyptic setting with a steam punk twist. While it is book three of a series, I felt that the story stood well on its own, even if you ...

Cloud Red by Daisy White My rating: 4 of 5 stars Red was born after the floods, but can’t shake the feeling that her father was recently murdered because he knew something about them. She won’t rest until she finds out who killed her father and why, but she might uncover some rather damaging, even deadly, political information the process. Can she find out what she needs to know without risking her life or her friends? And why does the sky have those pink streaks running through it? Cloud Red is an engaging young adult novel about a rebellious teenager who is determined to track down her father’s killer. It is set in a post-apocalyptic portion of England, where there has been a Noahesque flood, and only a small portion of Great Britain had water that receded enough for survival, although now that too is threatened. The brave new world has to survive in not so pleasant conditions, but teenagers are still teenagers. The setting is interesting and the characters are written honestl...

The Sensitives by D.O. Thomson My rating: 3 of 5 stars The power is out all over the world, and no one knows why. People are dying by the thousands, and only a few select people are figuring out that the origins might be not human. Race is charged with protecting his little crew of Sensitives, but together they might just have evolved enough to take on the Zul, but only if the Zul don’t find them first. The story is interesting - evolved humans taking out the alien equivalent of a drug cartel. Unfortunately, the writing depth does not do the story justice. The characters are shallow and stereotypical, such as the Canadian “Eh.” after every phrase, and the writing is curt to the point of staccato. The story jumps around in time, refusing to follow a linear progression, and goes into excruciating detail about several back stories. I really wanted to like this book because the plot intrigued me; unfortunately the juvenile writing prevented me from ever really engaging. Contest! ...

Veil of Darkness by T.C. Metivier My rating: 5 of 5 stars There has been peace for 800 years, but the growing Coalition threatens the Federation’s tenuous peace. There are whispered rumors, and those paying attention to other dimensions are feeling the growing evil creep nearer. Admiral Ortega knows that he must stop it at all cost, because he knows the man behind it. Roger knows it’s coming, but is too busy on his own quest to recognize his role. Justin and Austin are only just recognizing that their role is not just those of diplomats, but of key players in the unfolding drama. Will they be able to defeat the encroaching evil or will the prophecies be misread? Author Metiver has introduced a new universe full of species, politics, and space travel. While there are obvious elements common to sci-fi series (it’s hard to get away from a federation of planets and some sort of rebel coalition), he does a great job spinning a new tale in a new world with characters that are well plo...