C Gockel Writes

Featured Science Fiction: Adventures in Intergalactic Backpacking

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Featured Science Fiction: Adventures in Intergalactic Backpacking

New Release
Click for current price: Amazon US, United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, Australia

***Editor’s note: Bought this. Loved it. It doesn’t take itself too seriously, but isn’t vapid either. If you need a fun, out-of-this-world adventure, this book is it.***

You know what’s worse than being abducted by aliens, poked and prodded, then dumped on a weird planet with nothing but a bag of food pellets and my backpack?

Having to go through all this with Ethan.

He’s the walking stereotype of a rich, privileged dude-bro, and it was the worst day of my life when the aliens grabbed him along with me.

I need to learn how to survive, to find food and shelter and not get eaten by the monsters that roam this place. I need to figure out where I am, and why these aliens keep showing up to gawk and throw canned tuna at me. And I need a cup of coffee. I seriously need a cup of coffee.

Most of all, I need to not kill Ethan, because although he’s a jerk, at least he’s a human jerk. Besides, I might need to trade him for a spaceship ride home.

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Book Review: Lilith’s Brood by Octavia Butler

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As of December 4, 2022 $2.99 … check for current price: Amazon US, Amazon UK, Amazon CA, Amazon Au, Amazon DE, Nook, Apple, Kobo, and GooglePlay

Ah, the classic alien abduction for purposes of breeding trope…innocent human women abducted by hot, blue, warlike aliens whom the human women inevitably tame with the power of sexy times.

If you’re looking for that story, Lilith’s Brood by Octavia Butler is not it. Her aliens are not sexy–think giant sea anemone–but they do want to breed. They’re not particular when it comes to male or female.

I recently reviewed Sue Burke’s Semiosis and Interference, and praised those for having genuinely alien voices. Sue’s aliens are very alien, but Butler surpasses even her. This is one of the most disturbing series I have ever read, and I highly recommend it. 

It asks a lot of the biggest questions that sci-fi is so good at addressing. What does it mean to be human? If you sacrifice your humanity in order to survive, have humans survived at all? A great, weird, and wonderful read. I highly recommend it.

Lilith’s Brood is available at Amazon US, Amazon UK, Amazon CA, Amazon Au, Amazon DE, Barnes&Noble, iBooks, Kobo, and GooglePlay

Book Review: The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie

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The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie

I had planned only to review Free Speech from Socrates to Social Media this week. I hadn’t planned on writing a review of The Satanic Verses. It’s a book I haven’t read in a very long-time, but the lesson of the first book and the horrible assassination attempt on Mr. Rushdie’s life do go hand in hand.

I read The Satanic Verses when it first came out, when I was in high school. I was on a Magical Realism kick and had just finished reading House of the Spirits and One Hundred Years of Solitude (both of which I highly recommend.)

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Book Review: The Wizard’s Butler by Nathan Lowell

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The Wizard’s Butler was loads of fun! Is it a rip-roaring action packed urban fantasy? No. It’s just about a guy dealing with his demons who takes a job with a wizard. Does he believe in Wizards? No, this isn’t a world where magic is known, but it does exist. So do curses. So do pixies. There is a conspiracy by the Wizard’s relatives to get his property.

Can a non-Magical Butler help a Wizard against greedy, conniving, overly wealthy relatives, and magical enemies? Why yes! But how? (Non-magical) Butler powers activate!

Available at Amazon only at the moment. Amazon US, United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, Australia

Book Review: The Remnant Population by Elizabeth Moon

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Book Review: The Remnant Population by Elizabeth Moon

What a lovely story of first contact! The Remnant Population is the tale of a crotchety elderly woman’s whose colony world is disbanded. The colonists are moved to a new world. She resists, remaining on her colony world preferring to die alone in her home. It turns out she is not alone. I’m not going to give too much away. It is not an action adventure story, but there is suspense, and wonderful characters.

Available on Amazon US, UK, Canada, and Australia. Also available on Kobo and GooglePlay.

Book Review: Winter Pilgrims (Kingmaker Book 1) by Toby Clements

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Well, this was a lot of bloody, gory, emotional fun. Maybe I don’t mean fun. But despite this not being what I normally read, I really enjoyed Winter Pilgrims, a historical adventure about two ordinary people surviving in England during the War of the Roses, a civil war that raged from 1455 – 1487.

The book starts in 1460 when our main characters, a nun and a monk, are run out of their respective cloisters for angering a blood thirsty lord. This two pair have to make their way in a violent world filled with death, disease, and destruction. The book doesn’t skimp on the dirt and grime in this time period, or the lack of sanitation. Urine is used to clean wounds, and despite urine not actually being sterile, was probably better than most wanter at the time.

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