Royce Sears-Sci-Fi/Fantasy Author

Vicious by V.E. Schwab My rating: 4 of 5 stars Sometimes one simply must read something based on the recommendations of others. This novel is one of those gems that I found in an agent's biography. Vicious introduces a cast of characters with acquired super-human abilities and a propensity for vengeance. Schwab's clear-cut voice and stereotype twists escort the reader through a never-ending series of surprises via a cast of characters one cannot help but love and hate at the same time. Royce Sears View all my reviews

Conquerors' Pride by Timothy Zahn My rating: 4 of 5 stars I finally went back and read Conquerors' Pride after finding Conquerors' Heritage in a used book store years ago. Zahn's in-depth development of the Zhirrzh species and his ability to tell the story from such a unique perspective in a relatable way makes the Conquerors Saga a page-turning thrill-ride from start to finish. Royce Sears View all my reviews

Persepolis Rising by James S.A. Corey My rating: 5 of 5 stars This one has been on my unofficial want-to-read list for a while. It's been a busy year, both personally and professionally, but I finally got to it and now I wish it hadn't taken so long. The crew of the Roci face many changes in Persepolis Rising. Thirty years have passed since the previous book in this amazing series and the universe is a different place. The expansion to the colony worlds beyond the ring gates have changed the face of politics and technology--opening a whole new realm of possibilities and threats. It's impossible to go into more detail without spoilers, but suffice it to say that Persepolis Rising does not disappoint the reader. The changing landscape offers fresh new challenges for a crew who has already faced nearly everything we thought they could. View all my reviews

Planetside by Michael Mammay My rating: 5 of 5 stars Planetside by Michael Mammay is solid military science fiction that provides the reader with a likable soldier, in the form of Carl Butler, who simply has a job to do. His job seems simple enough in the beginning, just a cut a dry case of a missing soldier - but not just any missing soldier, a politician's son. Mystery in the guise of science fiction, much like Isaac Asimov's Elijah Bailey mysteries, unfolds through Butler's veteran military officer's perspective. The rabbit hole goes deeper than the reader expects as we follow Butler and his junior officers deeper into Mammay's rich world. Full of wit, appreciable cynicism, and snarky remarks, Butler's point-of-view experience makes for an easy and fun read that leaves the reader craving more. Highly recommended! View all my reviews

The World Awakening by Dan Koboldt My rating: 5 of 5 stars The World Awakening is the third (and hopefully not final novel) in the Gateways to Alissia by Dan Koboldt. Koboldt draws the reader into the world of Alissia though his likable characters and provides you with a healthy mix of modern tech alongside the ingenuity of a medieval society that's hell-bent on protecting its way of life from outside invaders. (Oh! and there's magic too!) Highly Recommended! Royce Sears View all my reviews

A Red Peace by Spencer Ellsworth My rating: 5 of 5 stars As I said on Twitter, A Red Peace is what Star Wars wishes it could grow up to become. A Red Peace  presents the reader with a well-developed cast of characters and draws you into their lives. Ellsworth creates a rich and dark universe for his characters to grow into and discover their potential. Highly recommended space opera! Royce Sears View all my reviews

Galápagos by Kurt Vonnegut My rating: 5 of 5 stars I read Galapagos as a recommendation by a close friend. I thoroughly enjoyed this Vonnegut novel. The perspective from which it is written is unique and fun...A ghost, telling a story over a million years? Fascinating read and highly recommended. Royce Sears View all my reviews

For anyone following my blog or requesting book reviews, I've been out of the loop recently due to life changes. Since early December I have changed jobs, bought a house, and moved into that new house. Since early January we have been trying to get internet access to the aforementioned new house. Thanks to a communications snafu between the power company and the cable company over the viability of a utility pole, red-tagged and slated for replacement on a normal, periodic schedule, the cable company would not climb the pole to activate our cable internet service. Last week, we finally got internet access to our new home... Some good news from all of this: it provided fewer interruptions to getting moved into the new house, performing maintenance, and outfitting my office/writing space. I'm back to writing... currently 53k words into this work in progress... and am slowly getting back to reading more as time permits. Royce.

Proxima by Stephen Baxter My rating: 3 of 5 stars I enjoyed Stephen Baxter's Proxima, although I found the pretzeled plot of interwoven timelines hard to follow. Baxter brings a healthy dose of realism to his work in the form of realistically designed spaceships and the real effects of relativity as we deal with interstellar distances in terms of human lives and its effects upon those travelers. Recommended for lovers of realistic, hard-edged science fiction! View all my reviews

Agent to the Stars by John Scalzi My rating: 5 of 5 stars There's no other way to put it... Scalzi is a brilliant science fiction author. Agent to the Stars takes the usually awkward first contact story and flips it on its head as Tom Stein, a junior entertainment industry agent, takes on a new client--A jello-mold from another planet. This jello-mold is a representative of a race who came to understand humanity via the television broadcasts we have beamed into space for years. They understand that image and appearance is everything on Earth and for them to be accepted, they need an agent who can shape their image into something people will come to accept rather than run screaming in horror from a creature that resembles the 1950's The Blob. Agent to the Stars is an imaginative and creative way to approach first contact, which I think only Scalzi could capture in his unique voice. Highly recommended for all lovers of science fiction. ...

The Island Deception by Dan Koboldt My rating: 5 of 5 stars In this action-packed sequel to The Rogue Retrieval Bradley Quinn travels deeper into the depths of Alissa, a strange and foreign world that's full of magic, danger, and adventure. Quinn adventures back into the world of Alissa in order to discover the secrets of real magic, though he must play along with the corporate plan in order to achieve his personal goals. Mystery, intrigue, and suspense are found between the pages of The Island Deception as author Dan Kobolt takes us back through the gateway with Quinn and his friends. Highly recommended reading! View all my reviews

The Rogue Retrieval by Dan Koboldt My rating: 5 of 5 stars The Rogue Retrieval by Dan Koboldt captures the reader's attention from the very beginning with Bradley Quinn's voice. Quinn is a small-time Vegas illusionist with dreams of making it big but a job offer that's too good to refuse becomes more than he bargained for. Quinn must use his wits and showmanship to survive when he learns this job is much more than just a stage-act. A fun and fast-paced novel, The Rogue Retrieval escorts the reader into a world of real magic, danger at every turn, and the stakes are life and death. Highly recommended! View all my reviews

We Are Legion (We Are Bob) by Dennis E. Taylor My rating: 4 of 5 stars We Are Legion (We are Bob) is a smart, funny, nerdy, and fun read! Robert Johannson, otherwise known as Bob, sells his software company. With his newfound riches Bob invests in cryofreezeing technology that will be implemented upon his death--much to his dismay is very shortly thereafter. Bob wakes up 117 years later in a computer as a digital version of himself. We are Legion (We are Bob) explores "AI" from the viewpoint of digital copies of human minds. Bob, in his newfound existence, has the ability to replicate copies of himself as he explores the galaxy as a living Von Neuman probe. Taylor explores nerd/geek culture as Bob explores the galaxy and creates ever-so-slightly different copies of himself--creating the Legion of Bob. A galactic adventure geeks and nerds will love, We are Legion (We are Bob) tilts the familiar concepts of AI and space exploration in new...

Babylon's Ashes by James S.A. Corey My rating: 5 of 5 stars Babylon's Ashes is Book 6 of The Expanse Trilogy by James S.A. Corey. I LOVE these books! (How many times can I say this?) The cast of characters, their trials and tribulations, and the deft story-telling of this author team are addictive. Book 6 takes us into the aftermath of the Free Navy's reign of terror over the inner planets. Earth is on its knees after multiple asteroids have impacted on its surface. Food, medicine, and energy are in scarce supply as people on Earth try to survive in the hellish nightmare that has become their existence. The Free Navy leads a devastating campaign against the combined fleets of Earth and Mars while the crew of the Roci and my favorite foul-mouthed politician, Crisjen Avasalara, struggle to outwit the leader of the Free Navy, Marco Inaros. Babylon's Ashes is yet another fast-paced tale of politics, intrigue, space battles, and high-fl...

For some strange reason, I've decided to join the #PitchWars festivities- complete with a #PimpMyBio. Why? It sounds like fun!  Born in the heart of West Virginia, Royce dreamed of becoming a writer throughout his younger years and was always an avid reader. Starting out with an old and often temperamental typewriter, he wrote poems and stories that helped develop his young imagination. A kind-hearted teacher in Junior High School took his first "manuscript" home for the summer and painstakingly read through pages and pages of violent, poorly written L. Sprague de Camp-esque combat scenes. She returned it the following school year with the classic red ink - a plethora of suggestions and encouragement that fueled his desire to write. A word processor, a gift from his grandparents, became the source of many tall tales which unfortunately never left the realm of the 3.5-inch floppy disks. Those tales, and the disks they were stored upon, faded into the digital oblivion ...

What about Teddy? By Royce Sears Billowing clouds. Blackened soot. Embers, ashes Rises to the dawn. Pictures and memories Writhe among flames. Tears falling. Silent sobs Among a fire engine’s roar. Splashes of water Dousing dreams. Hopes, carried on streams Toward the drain. Clutching her doll. Watching the flames. “What about Teddy?” Mom shakes her head. “We’ll get a new Teddy, baby.” 

I found myself standing at the rear of a small boat with the lights of my ship, the USS MISSISSIPPI, ahead of us on the dark harbor. Beside me stood my division officer—we’ll call him Ensign Longfellow. “Sears, aren’t you out past curfew?” Ensign Longfellow asked. I glanced at my watch and noted the time as 01:22 AM. He was right. The Captain’s rules for this port visit were for E3 and below to back aboard ship by midnight. I remember the panic settling on me at that moment, but we’ll get to that later. These are my first coherent memories of our first night of liberty in Naples, Italy. Now I’m guessing, you, my dear reader, are probably curious about the events leading up to just how I found myself out after curfew and standing beside my division officer at the rear of the liberty launch. I am too, but I will try to give an accurate accounting—to the best of my ability. The ‘Ole’ Miss ‘(CGN-40), having departed Norfolk in late February or early March, (I honestly ...

War Dogs by Greg Bear My rating: 4 of 5 stars War Dogs is sadly my first experience with Mr. Greg Bear. Through the pages of War Dogs I developed a great respect for Mr. Bear and his ability to reach through the pages of the book to tell the story of a Skyrine - a marine trained specifically for the rigors of space combat. Having worked with Marines as a Navy Corpsman, Marines have a mindset that is very specific and very singular to the Marine culture. They speak alike, they fight alike, they're honest, loyal, courageous- and most of all- Marines are BADASS! In my opinion, Greg Bear captures the essence of how a Marine thinks, acts, and fights in War Dogs and that alone is worth the price of admission. As much as I liked this book, I gave it four stars because there were several places within the novel where I had to back-pedal a few pages to try to understand what was going on with the story. Setting those little things aside, it's a gr...

The Player of Games by Iain M. Banks My rating: 5 of 5 stars I have to say that I found The Player of Games to be a much better experience with Iain M. Banks than Consider Phlebas. Banks introduces us to Gurgeh, a stylized game-player from the Culture. Ahh, the Culture, such an advanced and modern civilization that engulfs almost all of the known galaxy, or so it seems. Gurgeh is reluctantly drawn into the attempted coup of a game-obsessed empire; a coup to be affected by Gurgeh's mastery of the very game through which the empire defines itself. As an outsider of the Empire, Gurgeh must learn the game quickly and unknowingly confront the evils of this empire via the game. Can he learn the intricacies and subtleties of the game in time? Can he learn enough about himself and his opponents? Is it all just a game, or is it a none-too-subtle clash of cultures taking place on the game board before him? Highly Recommended SF reading! Royce www.royces...

Morning Star by Pierce Brown My rating: 5 of 5 stars Morning Star is a heartfelt and dizzying end to the Red Rising Trilogy. Although Morning Star is a great book, it IS the end of the trilogy--much to my dismay. The author's acknowledgments and comments make the last book even more loveable because we can see the struggle Mr. Brown had in bringing Darrow through the conflicts arising within Morning Star. Where Red Rising and Golden Son focused on Darrow himself, Darrow has to learn that he can't always do everything by himself. As much as I wanted to savor this last book, it was another Pierce Brown novel that I couldn't put down--and alas it is done. I'm looking forward to Iron Gold scheduled for release in 2018. Royce Sears www.roycesears.com View all my reviews