Melody of Mayhem by PC Nottingham

Eya believes that her mother is alive and a prisoner of Rondo, the leader of the Earthquake organization. Unfortunately, most everyone else believes that Olo is dead. Eya has taken over her mother’s cybersecurity job as it needed to be filled and she was the most qualified. And Although her true desire is to become the drummer for a band and pursue her passion for music, when an opportunity arises to not only prove that her mother still lives, and to hopefully to find a way to rescue her, Eya jumps at the chance, despite all the danger involved in the mission.

This is the first book in a new series, though it takes place after a previous series that I have not had the opportunity to read as of yet. But even without the knowledge of what happened in that series, it was not difficult to fill in the blanks as I read this book. Like other series from this author that I have read, I enjoyed this one as well. I could feel for Eya, working a job she hated but longing to be free to pursue her passion: a career as a professional drummer for a band.

I also appreciated the themes within this book dealing with racial intolerance and persecution. In this science fiction novel, it is the humans who have been somewhat discriminated against, though that has been improving, However a group known as Earthquake seeks to place humans as the dominant species in the galaxy, above all others, And while they had been thought wiped out after the death of their leader, an illegal AI facsimile seeks to change that belief. I do need to offer a trigger warning for readers that this book does contain descriptions of torture and physical abuse.

I found this to be a very interesting read. Not only because of the various perceptions of the different alien races and the way each was treated by the others, but in the view that all should be equal, even if they are not treated as such at the current time. Unfortunately, as usually happens in reality, the actions of a few drag down the impressions made by those who seek to lift others up. And dislike and fear of those who are different from each other always causes many more problems for everyone. For me, the message of this book seems to be that we are all equal, no matter where we came from or what we look like. Or at least we should be.

Amazon requires me to state that I have an Amazon Associates account that I use to generate the links to the books on their website. Purchasing something after following those links will earn a few pennies for me off the sale, though as of yet I have not earned anything from my Amazon Associate links.

Cthulu Dreamt: Entanglement by Chris Durston

On a scientific research trip in the Antarctic, Dr. Simon Greerson starts dreaming about another scientist, one that he has never met. After learning her phone number during one of his dreams, he calls her, learning that she is real. He then travels to her research vessel to help her with her experiment, not realizing what would happen when together they succeed. Now, he is trapped with several others and Eldrich horrors are hunting them down. While outside the zone in which they are trapped, their colleagues remaining in the real world are trying to discover what is happening and how to help save them. And during all of this, a corporate division is trying to use what they learn, control this experiment, and discover how they can use it to their advantage, no matter how dangerous what is inside this area actually is to all life.

Doctor Sheena Bowie and her team are trying to focus on rescuing her colleague and friend, Dr. Simon Greerson, as well as the others trapped inside the Site, all while not getting caught potentially working against their current employer’s wishes to exploit these dangerous discoveries. Can any of them succeed without causing humanity’s ultimate destruction by these Eldrich horrors found within what has come to be known as “the Site”? You’ll have to read the book to discover that for yourself.

I read a review copy of this RPG tie-in novel, and very much enjoyed this story. I will warn readers that this is a very long book, but it is well-written and very interesting to read. If you enjoy RPG games involving Cthulu and similar monsters, or simply tie-in novels of RPG games, then I expect that you will enjoy this one. It’s a very compelling story that drew me in and kept me interested in reading to find out what would happen next.

I think that if you give this book—and potentially the RPG game it is tied to—a chance, that you will enjoy both this book and the game. And as a side note, similar to the Black Ballad RPG, there are soundtracks/albums available for this game system and the novels associated with it. I hope you enjoy all of them.

Amazon requires me to state that I have an Amazon Associates account that I use to generate the links to the books on their website. Purchasing something after following those links will earn a few pennies for me off the sale, though as of yet I have not earned anything from my Amazon Associate links.