Space Travel – Elisha's Book Reviews

REVIEW: Guardian of the Galaxy: Rocket Raccoon and Groot Steal the Galaxy! by Dan Abnett

Posted on January 15, 2021January 9, 2022 by elishasbookreview

*No Spoilers*

These are not the Avengers or the Fantastic Four – in fact, they’re barely even famous – but Rocket Raccoon and the faithful Groot are the baddest heroes in the cosmos, and they’re on the run across the Marvel Universe! During a spaceport brawl, the infamous pair rescues an android Recorder from a pack of alien Badoons. Everyone in the galaxy, however, including the ruthless Kree Empire and the stalwart Nova Corps, seems to want that Recorder, who’s about as sane as a sandwich with no mustard. Join Rocket and Groot on a free-for-all across the stars while they try to save all of existence-again!

Ever since the MCU introduced The Guardians of the Galaxy to old and new fans alike, I have been reading their comics every chance I can get. Like most fans, I fell in love with Groot and his best friend Rocket. Seeing how this story features the dynamic duo, I was excited to listen to this audio adventure.

The Recorder that is rescued by Rocket and Groot is the main narrator of the story. He is a likable character overall, except when he feels the need to stop the story to explain why he used an “Human-like expression” or when “additional exposition” is needed. It becomes a bit jarring at times.

Over the course of the story, the Recorder keeps commenting on Rocket’s “disconcerting human-like hands” and if I never hear that phrase again, it’ll be too soon. There are other ways to describe Rocket’s hands/paws without repeating yourself.

The overall plot is convoluted and gets a little complicated at points, but Rocket Raccoon and Groot Steal the Universe is an enjoyable ride full of action, adventure, and space battles. If you are looking for a fun sci-fi adventure then I would recommend this story.

Book Reviews, Novels

REVIEW: Columbus Day (Expeditionary Force #1) by Craig Alanson

Posted on July 6, 2020January 17, 2022 by elishasbookreview

*No Major Spoilers*

We were fighting on the wrong side of the war; we couldn’t win. And that was the good news.
The Ruhar hit us on Columbus Day. There we were, innocently drifting along the cosmos on our little blue marble, like the Native Americans in 1492. Over the horizon come ships of a technologically advanced, aggressive culture, and BAM! There go the good old days, when humans only got killed by each other. So, Columbus Day. It fits.
When the morning sky twinkled again, this time with Kristang starships jumping in to hammer the Ruhar, we thought we were saved. The UN Expeditionary Force hitched a ride on Kristang ships to fight the Ruhar, wherever our new allies thought we could be useful. So, I went from fighting with the US Army in Nigeria, to fighting in space. It was lies, all of it. We shouldn’t even be fighting the Ruhar; they aren’t our enemy, our allies are.
I’d better start at the beginning…

I have been looking for a sci-fi novel that involved first alien contact that didn’t leave the reader with their nose stuck in a military dictionary trying to figure out what was going on. I don’t usually read military fiction because the author can forget that not everyone reading their books may not know all of the military terminologies. Luckily Columbus Day explains all of the jargon and military slang. I like how the main character is telling his story like he’s talking to ordinary people, all of the lingoes is explained, and he explains various types of strategies and the pros and cons of each.

Another thing I enjoyed about Columbus Day is how the main character relates to the enemy as well as their allies. When the Ruhar first attack, Bishop and a ragtag team of military friends abduct one of the enemy soldiers to get intel on the enemy, and one of the other enemy soldiers got hurt by debris. Later, we learn Bishop felt guilty for not being able to check for injuries on the enemy.

“Soldiers are soldiers, whether they have fur, skin or scales. So, logically, the Ruhar lobbed a missile at the most imposing structure in the area, the potato warehouse, and took it out in impressive fashion. I mean, they blew the hell out of it, those soldiers must have had something against potatoes.” – Craig Allison, Columbus Day

However, my opinion of the story took a dip when the author introduced Skippy, an all-powerful AI built by ancient beings many millennia ago. I feel like the author hit a roadblock in the story and created Skippy as a way to get the story going again. The author then forces us to read a game of “Pete and Repeat” about everything we had learned up to this point. I felt this dialogue was unnecessary to the overall plot.

I have since gotten used to Skippy helping Bishop and other human soldiers. Once you get over that significant speedbump, the story smooths back out into military space action. Even with Skippy doing a lot of the critical technical aspects of the operation, this doesn’t slow the momentum down.

Overall, if you are looking for a sci-fi space adventure, then I would recommend Columbus Day. I would also recommend this novel if you are a fan of military fiction, space adventures, and just looking for an overall good story. Columbus Day will leave you binging the whole series before the day is over.

Book Reviews, Novels

REVIEW: Doctor Who: The Monsters Inside by Stephen Cole

Posted on March 26, 2018March 1, 2019 by elishasbookreview

FirstThree_9th

*Many Spoilers Ahead*

The Doctor and his companion, Rose Tyler, land on an alien planet where the ancient pyramids are being built. Before they can even leave the TARDIS, they are captured and arrested for trespassing. However, things as always are suspicious, and it’s up to Rose and the Doctor to fix things and save the universe.

***SPOILERS START***

I am a fan of Doctor Who, I’ve watched the rebooted version up to season 7, and I’ve watched the Classic episodes. I have read several of the novelizations and audiobooks. I’m not sure if I was expecting too much from this, or if it was just executed poorly. The villains, the Blathereen, even though they are the rival family of the Slitheen, still was predictable. Any Doctor Who fan would know where this story was going and fast.

Their plot was to take over the Justice planet system, and build a transportable wormhole so they can destroy other planets and sell the scraps for profit. A similar plot was used in season 1 of the Doctor Who 2005 reboot.

I enjoyed this novel, I love the 9th Doctor. Christopher Eccleston did a “fantastic” job as a reintroduction to the Doctor character. He is grizzled and battered after the Time War, so he is darker and edgier than his earlier previous incarnations.

The novelizations are usually a way to tell a Doctor Who story that might be difficult to tell on TV. Some call it glorified fanfiction. So to see this predictable of a plot disappointed me.

I would recommend this if you’re starting with the Doctor Who novels. It has familiar characters and villains that have appeared on Doctor Who before. The Slitheen and the Blathereen are very similar in goals and motives. So the slight name-change doesn’t make much of a difference.

Learn more about the Slitheen here

The Author’s Twitter

Buy it here on Amazon (not sponsored)

Read My Other Doctor Who Reviews Here!