Book Details:

Book Title: Prospector's Run by Kevin W. Bates
Category: Adult Fiction, 277 pages
Genre: Science Fiction
Publisher: Kevin W. Bates
Release date: April 2019
Tour dates: Nov 23 to Dec 11, 2020
Content Rating: PG for mild profanity and some depictions of violence

Book Description:

Five thousand years ago in a savage assault, someone tried to annihilate humanity. They almost succeeded. Now, millennia after the First Stellar Civilization’s cataclysmic destruction, humans have clawed their way back from the brink of extinction and returned to the stars. Massive riches in the form of forgotten tech lie hidden in the ruins of the First Civ’s dead, shattered worlds. For a prospector with luck and the right coordinates, they are ripe for the taking. Holtz Mitsumi has neither. Down and out from a failed expedition, Mitsumi allows an enigmatic stranger to talk him into one more prospecting run. After scraping together a crew, Mitsumi embarks with high hopes. But nothing is as it seems and this run may be his last.Very enjoyable read. The premise sucked me in – mankind’s first interstellar civilization was destroyed long ago but is now (maybe) making a comeback. For me, wondering what happened to the first civilization made for an intriguing backdrop. The characters, except for Captain Mitsumi, seemed a bit dull at first, but they definitely develop over time. I like how the author manages to incorporate some subtle humor into their various interactions. The advanced technology is quite good and well thought out. Lots of action coupled with mystery kept me turning the pages. Looking forward to the next book!

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Both Sandra and I read Halley's Casino and loved its fun adventure. See what we both thought of this first book in a trilogy and enter the giveaway to win your own copy!

Book Title: Halley's Casino by Mark JG Fahey
Category: Adult Fiction, pages
Genre: Science Fiction / Time Travel
Publisher: Mark JG Fahey
Release date: Jan 25, 2016
Tour dates: Jan 8 to 26, 2017
Content Rating: PG-13 + M (No profanity, readable for all ages 12 and up, pure fun and witty story)

Book Description:

Halley’s Casino is set in 1986. 26-year old Nebula Yorker (Neb to his friends), is patiently awaiting the return of Halley’s Comet. He is about to discover that the world is not what it seems.

Upon the arrival of Halley’s Comet, Neb is confronted by a mysterious stranger who literally swoops out of the night sky. What happens next will change the course of Neb’s life and that of all he befriends.

This stranger (Mr. Tict) reveals to Neb that Halley’s is not a comet at all, but an Intergalactic Casino that has been posing as a comet for countless years. Mr. Tict is the Concierge of the Casino and he has come back to Earth to recruit Neb as his assistant.

What happens next is an eye-opening experience for young Neb that no one on Earth can imagine. It can only be explained by watching old Star Trek reruns, while eating cheese sandwiches and drinking hot chocolate. From androids with attitude to a vast assortment of alien beings and historic individuals, with a touch of time travel from ancient Babylon to 1757 London and back to Rome of 12 BCE, Neb soon learns that his past, present and future have always lain in the stars above.

It’s a rock and roll ride chock full of chaos, a formidable nemesis, drama, satire, humour, death and new beginnings, with revelations that Neb never saw coming.

Even John Lennon is amused!

Starting out on a quiet evening of star gazing, Nebula Yorker finds himself caught up in the most extraordinary time travel and planet saving adventure of a lifetime.

And that’s only the beginning of what is to come.





As soon as I read the quote at the beginning of this book I was drawn in. While not a sci-fi fan I love time travel - this novel is a perfect balance of the two genres.

Nebula Yorker ("just call me Neb") is stargazing in 1986 California, waiting for Halley's Comet, and thinking about his parents, who mysteriously disappeared in the Amazon. What he experiences is Halley's Casino – an intergalactic casino disguised as a comet! Upon boarding it Neb's life changes forever. Eventually his nagging, lingering questions about his father and mother are resolved, too.

This is a highly entertaining, funny read, with a creative plot, filled with a few earthlings, many androids (some with attitude) - "ladies and gentlemen and bisected species." John Lennon and the Stones, make "appearances" in this cleverly-crafted, somehow familiar atmosphere for Star Trek fans. It’s the same but different!

I appreciate the author's attention to detail as shown in the description of Archibald Tict (from the Casino who becomes Neb's friend and mentor) a five-foot man hailing from 1707 England with pure white hair, a black tuxedo and bowtie, intense red shoes equipped with anti-gravity hopper inserts that cushion his feet. I could visualize him!

The author reminds us that the ever-present problem with time travel is being tempted to change history and/or in the words of a time traveller in the novel, "you can keep going back, though not at the same instant or you might bump into yourself." Wow!

I highly recommend this exciting, fast-moving, excellent blend of time travel and science fiction!



Halley's Casino is a fun adventure that is a good mix of sci-fi, time-travel and comedy. From the first page down to the last, I was entertained and never bored. It was unpredictable, funny and filled with memorable eccentric characters.

The story opens up with a scene of a young man named Nebula Yorker (I just loved that name) who was out in a field in the middle of the night looking out through his telescope for Halley's Comet. An event that happens only every 75 years. But Nebula was in for a surprise when, instead this comet turns out to be an intergalactic spaceship casino that picks him up and takes him on an adventure that changes his life.

Author Mark JG Fahey has a vivid imagination as he puts together a plot full of surprises that will delight fans of Star Trek, Rock 'n Roll and time-travel. The book has a smooth flow, is filled with tongue-in-cheek humor, and is just plain fun to read. A feel-good book that is perfect after having read a heavier dramatic book or if you need a light read that will make you smile throughout. I think Halley's Casino would make a great movie that would garner fans rather quickly.

It's also a clean read with only one crude word (sh*t) on the first page and then that's it. I really enjoyed this book that won 3rd place in World's Best Story contest. It's the first book in a trilogy and I look forward to reading the second book Marine, which sounds like another super fun adventure. Even though it's part of a trilogy, the ending is satisfactory with no cliffhangers. It stands well on its own.

Oh, and Fahey is a Canadian author who lives but two hours from me. I hope to meet him someday!

Meet the Author:

Mark JG Fahey is not an alien, contrary to what you may have heard, though he swears he has been to space. Mark has dabbled in various undertakings throughout his illustrious career, from on-air hosting/reporter/stand-up comic to messenger for the Prime Minister of Canada. Mark also holds a degree in Restaurant Services. His family and friends can attest to his excellent cooking skills. Born in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, Mark was raised and still resides in Aylmer, Quebec, Canada. Halley's Casino is the first book in the Halley's Casino trilogy.

Connect with the Author: Website ~ Twitter ~ Facebook ~ Instagram

Once again, I am featuring one of Lance Erlick's novels on my site. This time I'm kicking off the tour with my review of his recently released Xenogeneic, a science fiction thriller about first contact with an alien race that lost their civil war and wants to take over Earth.

My Review:

Reviewed by Laura Fabiani

To read more reviews, please visit Lance Erlick's page on iRead Book Tours.

Disclosure: Thanks to the author for sending me this book for review. I was not told how to rate or review this product.

Lance Erlick writes science fiction thrillers for young adult and adult readers. He is the author of The Rebel Within, The Rebel Trap, and Rebels Divided, three books in the Rebel series. In those stories, he explores the consequences of Annabelle Scott following her conscience. He authored the Regina Shen series--Resilience, Vigilance, Defiance, and Endurance. This series takes place after abrupt climate change leads to the Great Collapse and a new society under the World Federation. His latest novel is Xenogeneic: First Contactabout encounters with an alien race aiming to take over Earth.

Connect with the Author: Website ~ Twitter ~ Facebook ~ Pinterest

Win a copy of Xenogeneic: First Contact. One person will also receive a $25 Amazon gift card (print open to USA and ebook for int’l) 2 winners total

Ends April 15

Part Star Trek and part The Matrix in its pan-dimension concepts, the reader is once again immersed in Simon Banks's life.

In a massive spaceship destined for Alpha Centauri B, with a genesis crew including Zip the telepathic dog, his old friendly nemesis Cramer, and a computer being named Ra (now inhabiting a human form and calling herself Aten), Simon Bank emerges from a hundred-year coma and is hailed as an awakened hero. Stuck with unwanted responsibility, he is forced to try to solve the entire enigma of the universe—a small undertaking—before the spaceship, his friends, and all life on Earth are swatted out of existence by super beings he has accidentally awakened.

Simon’s only hope is to plunge into other dimensions with his mind—into the secrets of the universe’s pan-dimensions—as only he knows how. The fate of all life hangs in the balance as he struggles to prove himself worthy of the Path and the absolute trust his friends place in him. Simon knows all too well that if he fails there is no hope—none at all—for anyone, and that includes his best friend, an artificial intelligence computer called Apollo, which he sadly left behind. Besides, Zip would not be pleased, either.

For fans of cyberpunk and classic science fiction, Reaching Angelica (Yucca Publishing; February 2, 2016; 978-1-63158-069-7) is the second book in Peter Riva’s Tag trilogy, the comic, thrilling, and continuing saga of Simon Bank—ex–master system computer wrangler and very unlikely galactic hero.

Praise for Reaching Angelica

“Thrilling moments keep the suspense high in space. . . . The way Riva describes the mysteries of the universe is intriguing. . . . This cyberpunk world has its own laws of stretching brains wide with its mind-bending concepts.” 

—Jake Vyper, Fantascize.com

My Review:

Reviewed by Laura Fabiani

Last year I read The Path, the first book in the Tag series and I enjoyed it. You can read my review here. Reaching Angelica is the second book and once again I was pulled into some mind-bending concepts. This time though, the story doesn't take place at all on Earth but rather in a massive spaceship. A spaceship that includes a genesis crew heading on a 100-year journey to reach Angelica, a planet where they can start over. 

Part Star Trek and part The Matrix in its pan-dimension concepts, the reader is once again immersed in Simon Banks's life. As in The Path, Simon is a brilliant man who narrates his story beginning with a summary of the events that ended in The Path and the preparation for his body's death and the re-awakening in a new body.  When he does reawaken, 100 years have passed and he soon discovers there are super beings out there who want to annihilate life on Earth.

Once again, a lot of the book included heavy tech jargon that mostly went over my head. Although I was still able to follow the story and appreciate the concepts the author was exploring, I did find that the story lagged in the middle and I was itching for more action. The whole philosophical introspection and questioning of why are we here, the purpose of life and God comes into play and is examined with the conclusion that, of course, there is no God. While I took all this with a grain of salt in The Path, I didn't care for it in this book.

​

However, as in The Path, the author intersperses these serious themes with a good dose of dry humour and self-deprecating narrative so that once again, I really liked Simon. He is truly a nice guy. I also liked Zip, the telepathic dog and the way the crew worked together, although some conflict among the crew would have enhanced the plot. The author’s imagination is, as I've stated before, overwhelmingly brilliant and I’m sure classic sci-fi fans would appreciate this story. Furthermore, it's a really clean read. No profanity, sex or violence.

The story ended on a positive note and the series could easily stop here or be continued. We'll just have to see where the author's imagination will take us next.

Disclosure: Thanks to the publisher for sending me this book for review. I was not compensated in any other way, nor told how to rate or review this product.

To read more reviews, please visit Peter Riva's page on iRead Book Tours.

Buy the book: 

  Amazon 

  Barnes & Noble 

  Book Depository

Chapters/Indigo

ISBN: 978-1629944586

Published April 2014

Trade Paperback, 319 pages

My Review:

Reviewed by Fil Piccolo

Price of Vengeance is a futuristic sci-fi novel about Liam, a soldier who defends the last remaining city from an infestation of chitin, huge insects that kill humans.

Although the story seems to be mainly about a sci-fi military action tale about killer insects (and it is for those who enjoy this kind of novel) the real story is how a person's values can help them through the most bitter experiences.

Three months ago, I reviewed the first book in the Epic series by Lee Stephen called Dawn of Destiny, a military sci-fi action adventure story about alien invasion and a crew of men and women commissioned to protect the Earth. It was a good beginning to this series, but it was the full cast audiobook version of Dawn of Destiny with soundtrack that really impressed me and brought out Stephen's novel. You can read my review of it here. If you like listening to audiobooks of the sci-fi genre, you need to try this one.