C Gockel Writes

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

Featured Science Fiction: Savage Stars – 7 Novels of Space Opera, Aliens, and Adventure by Multiple Authors

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FREE as of August 4, 2022
Click for current price:  Amazon US, United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, Australia

Nook , iBooks , Kobo , GooglePlay

The universe can be savage, but these heroes won’t go down without a fight.

Seven full-length novels by bestselling authors that explore the far reaches of the universe, the limits of the human mind, and the divide between man and machine. Aliens, AI, and post-apocalyptic adventure–you’ll find them all among the Savage Stars.

Download this collection of series starters today!

About the Books:

Starship Waking by C. Gockel
On an icy, barren world, a starship dreams of doom…Her nightmares will force an alien race to make contact with the most unlikely of heroes–6T9, a pleasure ‘bot struggling to find purpose, and Volka, a lonely mutant on a repressive homeworld. The galaxy will be shaken to its core. The starship is waking.

Exin Ex Machina by G. S. Jennsen
When man and machine are one and the same, death is no longer an inevitability. Though Nika Tescarav has lived many lives, she no longer remembers them. But if whoever erased her past did so to silence her, they’ve failed. Enter a world of technological wonders, exotic alien life, captivating worlds–and a dark secret that will shatter it all.

Crystalline Space by A. K. DuBoff
Elle and a team of companions with magically enhanced abilities embark on an interstellar quest to stop an alien invasion. If Elle and her friends can’t stop the Darkness corrupting the crystalline network connecting the planets, their worlds and loved ones will be lost in shadow forever.

Star Nomad by Lindsay Buroker
The Alliance has toppled the tyrannical empire. It should be a time for celebration, but not for fighter pilot Captain Alisa Marchenko. After barely surviving a crash in the final battle for freedom, she’s stranded on a dustball of a planet, billions of miles from her young daughter. She has no money or resources, and there are no transports heading to Perun, her former home and the last imperial stronghold.

The Legacy Human by Susan Kaye Quinn
What would you give to live forever? Elijah wants to become an ascender, a human/machine hybrid, but it’s forbidden for legacy humans like him. When he’s sponsored for the creative Olympics, he could win everything, including ascendance… or lose it all playing the ascenders’ Games.

Bypass Gemini by Joseph Lallo
Lex was the next great hoversled pilot until a fixed race got him banned. Now a freelance delivery boy, life couldn’t get any worse. Then a mysterious suitcase got him mixed up with mobsters, a megacorp, and a mad scientist. Now he must solve the mystery or die trying.

The Concordia Deception by J. J. Green
After spending 184 years in suspended animation, scientist Cariad begins a new life in a remote space colony. On a planet rife with intrigue, betrayal, and alien threats, can she fight to preserve humanity’s future in the stars?

See all the Box Set List Featured Fantasy | See All Featured Sci-Fi

Featured Fantasy: Urban Mythic by C. Gockel & Multiple Authors

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Urban Mythic 12 novels of Adventure and Romance

FREE July 30, 2022
Amazon US, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Germany

Nook, Apple, Kobo, GooglePlay, Smashwords

A box set of MYTHIC proportions …

Want a little magic in your life? Ever wished faeries were real or for your own personal djinn?

Then these ELEVEN worlds of action, adventure, humor, and romance are for you. Join the freshest voices in urban fantasy and paranormal romance as they bring magic into your life in the form of gods, demons, djinn, faeries, werewolves, and more.

This enchanting collection is FREE for a limited time. Download it today!

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UPDATE: Please don’t buy this box set! (But I’d love some reviews)

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Worlds of Wonder a Sci-fi Fantasy Collection by C. Gockel

Available at:
Amazon US, Amazon UK, Amazon CA, Amazon DE, and Amazon AU

Nook, Kobo, Google Play, iBooks

Hey Everyone,

I’ve put together a box set with selections from I Bring the Fire and Archangel Project with the express intention of making it free. 

I also included Let There Be Light because I think John must find Hana, and I will probably tie that into the Archangel Universe at a later date. 

Please don’t buy it–I mean, you can if you want, and I would gladly take it as a tip–but I will be setting it to free hopefully by August. 

More than anything though, I’d really like reviews on this one. If it goes free with some nice reviews it will get more downloads. More downloads hopefully will mean I’m reached by new readers. New readers will hopefully buy more books.

If you do want to purchase or, (please with sugar on top) leave a review, just click the button below for links to all vendors:

Amazon US, Amazon UK, Amazon CA, Amazon DE, and Amazon AU

Nook, Kobo, Google Play, iBooks

Box Set Featured Science Fiction

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99¢ as of May 18, 2020
Click for current price: Amazon US, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Germany

Kobo, iBooks, Smashwords, Nook

Welcome to Space Lore, where Arthurian legend meets Star Wars. For the first time, all three Space Lore books are included in one volume.

Near the border between two kingdoms, a vessel full of innocent passengers is destroyed. While the extent of the impending retaliation is unknown, its inevitability is not. Galactic war is approaching…

In a seedy bar in a distant corner of the solar system, a knight clad entirely in green armor puts forth a grisly challenge. The only person to accept the knight’s game is a woman who spends her time drinking and thieving.

These two acts, occurring in different parts of the galaxy, both lead to the same spot: the planet that will soon fall under attack.

“Dietzel proves a master at swashbuckling space opera.” 
– Kirkus

“Nothing in this tale was disappointing, from the great world building, to the vivid battle scenes, to the depth and heart of the central characters.” 
– Amazon Top 100 Reviewer

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Box Set List Featured Sci-Fi

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Rhett Bruno Children of Titan Books 1- 4

99¢ as of May 11, 2020
Click for current price: Amazon US, United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, Australia

FROM USA TODAY BESTSELLING & NEBULA AWARD NOMINATED AUTHOR RHETT C. BRUNO.

The Children of Titan Series Quadrilogy is four complete books and 1200+ pages of gritty, space-opera action, perfect for fans of The Expanse and The Mandalorian

There are two sides to every rebellion…

Earther corporations have extended their reach through our solar system: greenhouses on Mars, gas mining on Saturn, casinos in the Asteroid Belt—they control everything. Using bounty hunters known as Collectors, they erase offworld problems before they escalate. 

But Saturn’s moon, Titan, is done fighting for scraps.

Malcolm Graves, a corporate collector from Earth, is sent to investigate a bombing carried out by a rebel cell known as the Children of Titan. At the same time, a lowly offworlder with a dark past is hand-selected to serve as the face of Titan’s uprising. 

When these two opposites collide, war is not just inevitable, it’s catastrophic. Titan must fight to earn its freedom. But when the dust from their bloody revolution settles, will they even want it?

Buy this Special Edition Box Set to experience a fast-paced, space opera thrill ride, telling the complete story of the Titan Conflict. Betrayal, intrigue, and high-octane action make this a perfect choice for fans of everything from Star Wars to Blade Runner.

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