iPhone: Factory Reset

A couple of weeks ago my father asked me if he could use my iPhone 4 so he could give my sister his iPhone 5 until an iPhone 6 was available for purchase. I treat my phones pretty well so the iPhone 4 is in pretty good shape, it just had all my account information on it.

But as you can imagine, it has been a while since I've gone into it. And of course, for personal reasons, I changed the email address associated with my Apple ID. So it made it impossible to restore to factory settings! I couldn't agree to the "new" Terms & Conditions which meant I couldn't turn off "Find my iPhone" which apparently can't be on when restoring an iPhone. And when I went to iCloud and logged it, "Find my iPhone" only listed my current iPhone and not this old one.

Needless to say, I was annoyed. So I went to the Apple Store and the Genius there told me to do everything I had already done.. and redirected me to Apple Support which meant I got to schedule a phone call. And that was fun because I kept getting disconnected after 5 minutes.

However, in spite of all of that, I got the answer. If you have an iPhone that you are unable to restore to factory there is a solution! With the iPhone turned off, (1) hold the "Home" button and connect it to a computer (with iTunes). (2) Keep holding while waiting. (3) Once it tells you it has entered restore mode and starts to restore the iPhone to factory, release and wait for it to do it's thing. (4) Then you've got yourself a factory reset iPhone.

Lesson learned: when done with an iPhone you might use again, at least turn off "Find my iPhone" before abandoning it in a drawer.

SharePoint: PowerShell

This all started because someone wanted to rename their SharePoint 2010 site collection. And, of course, Microsoft doesn't provide an easy way to do that: it involves using SharePoint Management Shell to run Backup-SPSite, Remove-SPSite, and Restore-SPSite. But when I went into the virtual machine to run these commands, I found no SharePoint Management Shell!

I'm not an Administrator so I don't know any better: I thought you couldn't use Windows PowerShell in place of SharePoint Management Shell. I was wrong! I learned all that is needed is to enter this command before your SharePoint commands:

AddPsSnapin Microsoft.SharePoint.PowerShell

And voila! Now you can use your PowerShell commands without the SharePoint Management Shell.

Looking for Bill Watterson

Most people who read newspaper comics in the late 80s through early 90s enjoyed Bill Watterson's incomparable Calvin and Hobbes. Others grew up reading the strip in collective book form. Despite the lack of merchandising or continuous syndication, the blond 6-year-old and his pet tiger have remained just as beloved and timeless as contemporaries like Peanuts and Garfield .

A documentary called Dear Mr. Watterson that started streaming on Netflix this year examines the legacy and influence of Watterson and his creation. Several comic strip writers, artists, and syndicate representatives are interviewed, some who were colleagues and some who are fans. Bill Watterson remains somewhat of an enigma since he has remained reclusive and has consistently refused to be an interview subject, so of course the documentary can't provide a lot of insight into what makes him tick. Nonetheless, director Joel Allen Schroeder made a worthy tribute to the artist.

One of the people interviewed for the documentary was Nevin Martell, who is the author of a book called Looking for Calvin and Hobbes: The Unconventional Story of Bill Watterson and his Revolutionary Comic Strip. I found that a local library owned the book and I was pleased to discover that it made for an excellent complement to Dear Mr. Watterson.

Both the documentary and the book discuss how Watterson started as a political cartoonist and decided that wasn't for him. He always wanted to do something more imaginative and original. He based the town depicted in the comic strip somewhat on his hometown of Chagrin Falls, Ohio. He also wanted his art to speak for itself and always refused requests to merchandise the characters. He was especially incensed at the idea of making a plush Hobbes toy, because he wanted it to remain ambiguous whether Hobbes was purely the product of Calvin's imagination. To answer a common question, Watterson was nothing like the mischievous Calvin when he was growing up; he was a shy and obedient child. As an adult, even when his work was awarded, he shunned the spotlight and seldom showed up to accept those awards in person.

What I especially enjoyed about Martell's book was that he described his struggles to interview anyone close to Watterson and inevitable failure to sit down with the reclusive man himself. This provided kind of a look behind the curtain of the sometimes frustrating process of writing a biography. It was also neat to find out Watterson had spent some of his early years in my hometown of Alexandria, Virginia before his family moved to Pittsburgh and then Chagrin Falls.

It is difficult to objectively review these two projects, as I have always been a fan of Watterson's signature work, and they're preaching to the choir. Suffice it to say, I think every fan of Calvin and Hobbes would enjoy Dear Mr. Watterson, and for more detail about the creator, all should definitely read Looking for Calvin and Hobbes.

For more information about Dear Mr. Watterson or to purchase it, go to the official site, and if you subscribe to Netflix streaming, click here to watch it.

For more about Looking for Calvin and Hobbes or its author, go to his official site.

Ebates

Ebates is a company that gives you cash back if you click through the links of the affiliate online stores listed on their site. My older sister invited me with a glowing review (and admitting she'd get cash back for it) so I joined. I did not immediately start using the service because getting cash for clicking a link in that site seemed too good to be true, but I thought it was silly to not at least try. I made a small purchase and later I got $3 deposited into my PayPal account!

I saw later that Ebates has met accreditation standards with the Better Business Bureau (BBB) since 2000. And if you search the internet, there are plenty of reviews that validate it isn't a scam. In my opinion, it's worth the extra step!

Click the following image to join:

Interstellar

For those who have not seen the movie, this review contains spoilers so proceed with caution. My recommendation: go see it.

The Earth of Christopher Nolan's Interstellar looks like the dust bowl in the 1930s. The majority of the population has regressed to an agrarian society with no government or military. Everyone turning to farming is unsustainable because a blight is causing crop after crop to die out. At the opening of the movie, it seems only corn remains of all the crops we're used to consuming. The Earth is in the beginning stage of worldwide famine.

Our hero, Cooper (Matthew McConaughey), is a single dad and farmer trying to take care of his two children. His daughter, 10-year-old Murph, is troubled by a distortion in her bedroom where dust falls in a strange pattern. Cooper realizes they are coordinates and finds what remains of NASA. He is recruited to pilot a mission to find a new Earth. Years prior, scientists discovered a wormhole that allowed them to send probes to find a potential new Earth. Multiple scientists followed those probes, transmitted their findings back, leaving the team with three potential planets (referred to by the name of the scientist).

Cooper's father-in-law, Donald (John Lithgow), seems to represent people right now. For me, that connection made me able to relate to the film more than I would've otherwise. In the film, Donald talks about his youth and how there were innovations all the time (my mind went to the frequency of iPhone releases) and hot dogs at baseball games.

I liked the robots TARS and CASE. I thought it was clever that their personalities could be adjusted by percentage, such as 90% honesty and 75% humor. In the beginning, I admit I thought they would end up like the Alien androids and betray the humans. After seeing the whole movie, it is clear that would have generated excessive conflict.

The first planet the team visits has a time dilation which causes 7 years to pass on Earth for every hour they are on the planet ("Miller"). I immediately thought of the concepts introduced in the Ender Quartet prior to the discovery of instantaneous travel. Although in Orson Scott Card's world, the time dilation occurs during space travel as opposed to being on a planet influenced by a strong gravitational pull. It was a tragic moment for Cooper when he realizes that Murph has become his age in the time he was on that planet.

While visiting the next planet "Mann", the film provides an interesting case study of two characters who do "evil" for different reasons.

• Back on Earth, Professor Brand (Michael Caine) reveals that he never thought they could save the people of Earth by figuring out how to launch a space station into space from Earth with the entire population on board (Plan A). He thought the only viable option were the frozen fertilized embryos to grow and start a new colony on the new planet (Plan B). This dooms the people remaining on Earth, but allows for the the continuation of the species.
• On "Mann", Dr. Mann (Matt Damon) fabricated data to get them to rescue him because he did not want to die. All the other scientists that found planets that were not viable accepted their fate and went "quietly into the night" but Dr. Mann decided he did not want to die, and maybe wanted the glory of discovering humanity's salvation. This is just evil: selfish and unforgiving.

I liked this film. I did not like how it ended, but I understand why it did. Having Murph grow up to be the savior of the species because of the information Cooper was able to relay back to her was satisfying. The idea of Cooper seeing his daughter die of old age was a real bummer, especially since Murph wanted to be surrounded by her descendants and shooed him away (again, I understand why but I don't have to like it).

The part that I really didn't like was Cooper and TARS stealing a plane to get back to Brand (Anne Hathaway) and CASE on "Edmunds" where we see Brand burying Dr. Edmunds while setting up for the first colonists. Brand was in love with Edmunds so it's weird to me that he is dead and Cooper is expecting to arrive on "Edmunds" before Brand dies to confess his love. Or I could be wrong and he is going there to try to stop Brand from executing Plan B because she is unaware that Plan A is going to succeed. It is a very blah ending.

Kindle Unlimited

Have you heard about Amazon's new service: kindleunlimited? Of course you have. It currently offers access to 700,000 books (500 of which are public domain) and 2,000 audiobooks for $9.99/month. It also provides a complimentary 3-month Audible membership (existing members get 3 credits).

Reviews of this service generally don't talk about if it's a good idea and instead ask: is it worth the cost? Jeff Jones wrote this great review that, in my opinion, answers that question. He discusses the three factors to determine if "Netflix for books" is right for you. Per month, (1) how many books do you read? (2) how much do you spend on books? and (3) are books you want included?

All of the reviews I have posted to this blog, with the exception of Double Life, I read with the 30-day free trial Amazon is offering. That gives us 6 books (two 1-stars, three 3-stars, and one 4-star). For the moment, as I shift my reviewing focus, I am not going to continue my subscription. In the future if I continue to read 6 or more books a month, I think $9.99 will be money well-spent. But for the average consumer, as Jeff Jones indicates in his review, it is not yet worth it.

EMP by Orion Enzo Gaudio

This book was brought to my attention by Kindle Unlimited.

I have realized I need to make better choices other than it was released on Kindle less than 30 days ago as my filter for selecting books to review. I should have glanced at the reviews other Amazon customers had left, but I've found in the past when reviewers praise a new book it is often too kind and therefore unreliable. So I only looked at the plot and it looked like something I might enjoy. And while it is an interesting idea, it's also something that has already been done and not executed in a creative way. So it's a lesson learned for me and this is another 1 star.

This book does not have a traditional plot, it is more of an introduction to a world in the wake of a nuclear apocalypse (which is very similar to Jericho). There are four situations and none of them cross paths or have any impact on each other. The book meanders through different circumstances in order to establish a world instead of a plot:

• First there is General Sutherland and Special Agent Rodgers who are looking to establish a new world order in the United States with bunkers designated by district numbers. The districts are very The Hunger Games except they correlate to U.S. Government departments.
• Then you've got Nick who is taken in by survivalist Mike who has anticipated and been ready for this to happen. They head to his cabin, in a remote area, to wait for things to calm down. Mike teaches Nick to be a survivalist.
• Next there is Sandra and her farm (which remind me of Hershel's farm from The Walking Dead). She quickly decides that she will help refugees that find her farm, with the help of Nathan and Manuel, by growing as much food as she can and allowing folks to stay.
• Finally we have our chaotic evil (think Raiders in the Super-Duper Mart in Fallout 3) with leader, Anthony, and his crew Rick, Ned, and Fred. They immediately take possession of a super store and make it theirs, warning people away with their weapons. In this book they exhibit no redeemable qualities.

I did not like this book. It reads more like an encyclopedia of entries about the world than a story. It also seems to be Gaudio's second so maybe I'll give him another shot. But this book is not worth a read.

Visit Amazon's Orion Enzo Gaudio page for more information about the author and how to purchase his books.

A Shift in the Water by Patricia D. Eddy

This book was brought to my attention by Kindle Unlimited.

I don't look up authors before I start reading their book. I wait until I have read enough of the book to start the review. And I have to admit I was scandalized when I learned that Patricia Eddy writes paranormal romance and erotica. A quick glance at her books confirmed I was reading one of her paranormal romances (which which was my aim) and after learning that, it seemed like only then the more racy passages of the novel started to show themselves. Her style reminds me of Anne Bishop's Black Jewels series.

The story alternates between Cade Bowman, alpha werewolf, and Mara Taylor, unaware water elemental, until they meet and continues the third person limited with both of them. Cade and his pack are attacked by Katerina, fire elemental and sister of Mara. Cade is kidnapped and charmed so he is unable to shift. Katerina announces her motivation for wanting him dead: as a child, she witnessed Cade's father kill her mother. Being stuck as the wolf causes Cade to forget all aspects of his human life and become more wolf than human. This goes on for several months until he manages to escape and he meets up with Mara.

Concurrently, Mara is making peace with coming to the end of her life (she's dying because she's not exercising her element of which she is unaware of). She takes a final vacation at her favorite hotel on the island where Cade is being held captive. Cade finds her, in his wolf form, and hides in her car. Mara doesn't realize he is there until she gets home, far away from where Katerina can easily pick up his trail. Mara nurses the wolf back to health, unknowingly using her water element to slowly break the charm on Cade, which also makes her feel better because she is exercising her element.

Once the charm is broken, Mara and Cade start a romance which brings a familiar theme from other depictions of werewolves where Cade imprints Mara as his mate. But Mara is hesitant because she doesn't believe she is a water elemental and is still convinced she is going to die. The two lovers also have to deal with the fate of Cade's pack and the pressing danger of Katerina looking to kill Cade, and likely Mara for helping him.

I liked this book. I like the elemental mechanics. The werewolves were pretty standard in their behaviors and rituals and I'm partial to werewolves so I'll just say it went a long way with me. I think the author made the plot (Cade vs. Katerina) secondary to the developing relationship/romance between Cade and Mara, and after reading the sample of book 2 (A Shift in the Air) I see now these books are going to focus more on the story that comes of developing relationships. Which isn't bad but I enjoy books more with a primary focus on the action, and a secondary focus on the romance.

Visit Patricia D. Eddy's site for more information about the author and how to purchase her books.

Sunrise Destiny by Mark Terence Chapman

This book was brought to my attention by Kindle Unlimited.

I almost didn't bother writing this review because this novel is just terrible: a textbook 1 star. Is there a literary term to describe a plot that hill jumps? That is what this book does. Every mini-arc in this novel, which reads like a main arc, spans at least 2 but not more than 5 chapters. It is exhausting. The characters get in trouble, get out of it, and then they are right back in it. And with aliens, you expect weirdness but not this much new weirdness introduced during each arc! The plot is just unnecessarily overwhelming.

And in light of that, summarizing this story has been challenging. But I am going to try: Sunrise Destiny starts out starring dishonored cop, Donatello Sunrise, and a bit later introduces prostitute, Lola as our two heroes. Girls have been going missing all over town. One of those girls is the daughter of local mob boss, Antonio “Tony the Shark” Scarpacci, and Sunrise owes him. So in exchange for not ending his life, Sunrise agrees to help locate missing the Sarah.

When Sunrise finds Sarah (within two chapters), it is revealed that she was kidnapped by an alien race called the Azarti (think Elvis, from Perfect Dark, with telepathy) who need to extract hemoglobin to synthesize a cure for a disease they contracted by traveling to close to our Sun fleeing from pursuers. Sunrise agrees to help them if they will stop kidnapping girls to extract hemoglobin. So Sunrise starts returning the girls. But he didn't think that returning them would make it look like he was the kidnapper! So he has to explain himself to the authorities.

But before he can, Scarpacci and his goons kidnap him and beat the tar out of him because they think he kidnapped the girls. Looks like it's all over for Sunrise. But it isn't! Lola, local prostitute and friend of Sunrise's, shows up and saves the day with her friends (who might be a gang of pimps? It's not explained). He tells Lola about the Azarti and they work together to get them enough hemoglobin so they can make it off planet to get an actual cure instead of a bandaid. But at the precise moment they are getting ready to get off planet, the pursuers find them, and with Sunrise in tow, they are racing to get away from them. So what does Sunrise do? He figures out by being around these telepaths he's become telepathic and he saves the day!

They return to Earth and Lola helps orchestrate a blood drive and, now finally with enough, they can roll out. And because of both the local authorities and Scarpacci looking for the two of them, they retreat to have new identities and built a new life. That sounds like the end but Scarpacci finds them, the Azarti come back, and the cycle continues. Lola becomes telepathic, we visit the home Azarti world, get involved in the local conflict, it just goes on and on. We think our heroic duo is safe but they are never safe! They just keep getting kidnapped, beaten within an inch of their life, and dramatically saved and rehabilitated so they can do it all over again.

When the book isn't taking us through high action and terrible things being done to Sunrise and Lola, it is moving at a snail pace, meandering through day-to-day life (and, honestly, it is greatly preferred to the beatings). I'm almost ashamed to admit I read the whole thing. But at least no one can tell me "it gets better." I can definitively tell you: it does not. If you must, visit Mark Terence Chapman's site for more information about the author and how to purchase his books.

Outlaw by Edward W. Robertson

This book was brought to my attention by Kindle Unlimited.

After reading the description of this book, I thought it would be mostly about Mazzy Webber, newest member of the junky cargo ship Fourth Down that has turned pirate. But that's only half right. Webber shares the first half of the novel with Rada Pence, an employee of an eccentric billionaire, who is following the trail of recently murdered Jain Kayle. The two don't meet until about 65% into the book when they join forces and solve Kayle's murder.

At first, I did not like alternating between Webber and Rada. I didn't like reorienting to each character's very different story lines. And, for obvious reasons, their connection wasn't made clear until closer to their meeting. But, to my surprise, it did not take away from the story. Of the two, I found Rada's experience more interesting (as murder mysteries often are) rather than Webber's entry into piracy. I think more time could've been spent with Rada and Webber could've summarized his experience when they meet--but I think he will be a main character of the series over Rada so I think that is why the author did it that way. Overall, I thought the story was well written and had good flow. I'm looking forward to reading the second book.

I selected this book because I thought it was the first book in a series. And while I'm right that it is, I feel like I would've enjoyed the book more had I known it was a sequel series to a previous series written by the author (The Breakers). There are some things in the novel that are foreign concepts that I hope are clearer to familiar readers. Since I liked this novel, I am seriously considering reading those prequels. Whether or not I'll also review them, time will tell.

Visit Edward W. Robertson's site for more information about the author and how to purchase his books.

The Immortal Circus Trilogy by A. R. Kahler

This book was brought to my attention by Kindle Unlimited.

In Act One of The Immortal Circus, our narrator, Vivienne, has signed a contract that binds her to the titular circus. However, she doesn't remember the terms, why she did it, or anything about her past. It doesn't bother her so it is not the focus of the book. She quickly learns her friend (and love interest) Kingston is a real witch, the ringleader is Queen Mab, and the rest are shape-shifters and fairies, with a few humans thrown in. The novel opens to the discovery of a murdered performer and pulls Vivienne into figuring out whodunit. Through her informal investigation, she learns Mab is using the circus to feed her people (fairies, who live on dreams). But Mab isn't the only show in town and minions of Oberon roll up and an intense battle ensues over Mab's monopoly of the Dream Trade.

In Act Two of The Immortal Circus, we continue with Vivienne who has shifted from not caring about her lost memory to desperately wanting it back. The entire circus has been made to forget all the ruckus of the first act except for Vivienne, Mab, and Kingston with whom she is now in a relationship. But the peace doesn't last when Vivienne starts having intense headaches and dreams, and she decides she has to know what she's been made to forget. So, at Kingston's suggestion, they run off for a vacation from their contracts and end up in the court of Oberon. We find out practically everything you want to know about Vivienne: what she is, what that means, and how it impacts everyone around her.

The Final Act of The Immortal Circus opens with Vivienne assuming the role of leader and ringmaster of the circus while Mab goes off to prepare her subjects for war with Oberon. The show must go on or all of the troupe lives are forfeit. Vivienne finds herself at odds with the troupe, even though she is not the holder of their contracts: she wears the top hat, she bears the burden. But that problem doesn't last long as Mab appears to demand Vivienne help her deal with three demons that were created by Oberon.

There is a lack of descriptive fight scenes with the character where instead she blacks out and we are left assuming what took place which, at the end, leaves us with "wait, what?" It didn't seem lazy until the very end of the series when I really wanted to know how everything worked out. That being said, I still really liked this trilogy. I think what most impressed me is how well it is organized (and it has to be with the richness of the world). The first book offers an introduction to the world, offering minimal background on our heroine, and waits until the second book to provide discovery on who she is and why we care. I liked this style because I wasn't inundated with information: it came gradually and allowed me to want to know more. The third book brought it to a mildly satisfactory close.

Visit A. R. Kahler's site for more information about the author and how to purchase his books.

Horns by Joe Hill

As a writer, Joe Hill definitely takes after his father, Stephen King, although he goes by a different last name to deflect any claims of birthright. I became a fan of Hill long before I learned of the family connection, after reading his recently concluded comic book series Locke & Key, and horror novel NOS4A2. So when I found out one of his earlier books was being adapted into a movie for release this Halloween, it seemed like a perfect time to give it a look.

Horns starts with a brief chapter that serves to give the reader an uneasy feeling within minutes. Twenty-six-year-old protagonist Ignatius Perrish wakes up with horns sprouting from his forehead.  The titular horns make people tell Ig their most sinister opinions and desires when they look at his forehead. Then when Ig knows those desires, he has the power to prod the person to act on impulse, such as making someone eat the last donut when she's already full. He discovers other devilish abilities as the story progresses. Ig goes to his childhood home and hears straight from his family's mouths how much they hate him... for allegedly raping and murdering his girlfriend. The paranormal element of the story takes a backseat for roughly the middle third of the book, which flashes back to how Ig met and courted Merrin, his presently dead significant other, as well as insight on friend/romantic rival Lee Tourneau. These flashback chapters went a little long and left me impatient to see what would happen next in the present, as the heinous crime had new details come to light and I wanted to know how Ig would proactively handle that information. Lee and Ig have a lopsided friendship, that mostly involves Ig doing favors for Lee after he saved Ig's life. It surprised me when Hill explored Lee's point of view of certain pivotal events, after most of the novel had closely followed Ig as he learns to accept the literal devil inside him and investigate Merrin's murder.

Horns will shock you and keep you on your toes as a reader, though some of the violence may be a turn-off if you're not into the genre. There are also surprises to learn about Merrin, and Ig's celebrity brother Terry, showing that nobody is entirely infallible. The cat and mouse game and fight that Ig has at the end seemed cliched, but ultimately the conclusion was satisfying. If you like a horror story and don't mind sexual and violent content mixing with religious overtones, you'll probably find Horns an intriguing read, and I look forward to reading more by Joe Hill.

I am curious to see how Daniel Radcliffe handles the lead role in the movie, since he is clearly trying to grow as an actor rather than be known as Harry Potter his whole life. What might not have been the best idea was to hand directing duties over to the director of Mirrors and Piranha 3D, but maybe he found a worthy approach. It certainly can't be much worse than the majority of movies adapted from Stephen King stories.

The Paper Magician by Charlie N. Holmberg

This book was brought to my attention by Kindle Unlimited.

The Paper Magician by Charlie N. Holmberg is about a graduate of the Tagis Praff School for the Magically Inclined. She always wanted to be a Smelter (Metal Magician) but is assigned as a Folder (Paper Magician) because there aren't enough around. In Holmberg's well-thought out world, once a magician "bonds" with a material, they are limited to magic with only that material. And within the first chapter, our heroine is bonded to paper, effectively cutting herself off from metal forever.

Our student-now-apprentice, Ceony Twill, quickly grows to love and enjoy being a Folder while living and learning with her teacher, Magician Emery Thane (the titular Paper Magician). The first 30% of the book is following Ceony as she learns the magic of Folding which, to me, gets right to the edge of "alright, I get it, let's start the story." And Holmberg kicks it off by introducing the evil Excisioners (Human Flesh Magicians) who have bonded to blood and use it to rip magic through the body of their opponent. And so begins Ceony's real adventure.

The beginning had me a bit annoyed with Ceony but she grew on me as I kept reading. I found her infatuation with Thane predictable student/teacher, but Holmberg is creative in how it comes about. For the majority of the book, Ceony is put inside a human heart by the Excisioners and it took me a chapter or two to become desensitized to the gore and be able to focus on story over setting. Overall, I liked the book and I'm looking forward to the rest of the series. I recommend in future books that Holmberg devote more of the story to the conflict between the rest of the magical world and the Exisioners as it will make for a more compelling read.

Visit Charlie N. Holmberg's blog for more information about the author and how to purchase her book(s).

Double Life by S. Usher Evans

The novel Double Life by S. Usher Evans is a science fiction story that has deep space exploration, pirates, action, adventure, and potential. However, it lacks execution. The author spends too much time building the world and not enough time in the story. To me, it seems like she should've written a Silmarillion because it relies on the complexity of the world rather than compelling plot or characters.

So let’s talk about the novel: it is about a pretty, bratty girl who doesn't want help from anyone (with people inexplicably trying to help her anyway), and has a whole lot of luck on her side to balance out a lot of bad decisions. Those bad decisions are all allegedly justified due to a bad home life. Basically, our heroine is pretty unlikeable. She reminds me of Rachel Morgan from Kim Harrison's the Hollows series.

Let’s meet our 21-year-old heroine: first, she is Dr. Lyssandra Peate: a Deep Space Explorer (DSE) licensed to excavate and sell planets to the highest bidder. She is the daughter of renowned (but unpublished) scientist, Dr. Sostas Peate, who disappeared while studying Leveman’s Vortex when Lyssa was four years old. Secondly, she is Razia, the only female Bounty Hunter on the longest probation period. Her main motivation is to become Razia and delete Lyssa.

Helping out our girl is Lyssa/Razia’s personified inner monologue, Vel. Vel is her 16-year-old brother who she had not previously met until he is forced on her as a DSE intern. He is written like he should be an older mentor, not a younger mentee. The kid is always seeing right through her "tough” exterior and giving pretty good advice based on his observations. For example, it is Vel who notices Lyssa/Razia’s friend is in love with her. It’s not much of an observation, because it is straightforward that this person and Lyssa/Razia had some kind of romantic relationship previously, but it shows how even the obvious needs to be pointed out to Lyssa/Razia by Vel.

The novel is written in third person limited and vacillates between praising and berating Lyssa/Razia: complimenting her ability to find bounties, but saying she'd have an easier time if she wasn’t so unwilling to accept help. I haven’t read that many books written in third person limited that cut off the narrator, and when that happens it’s very jarring and disruptive.

The dialog and word choice of the book make me think that the author has a video in her head of what scenes look like, which she committed to paper. That would work well for a screenplay but in a novel it makes it challenging to get a full picture of what is happening and who is present. The author elects to WRITE IN ALL CAPS instead of describing the sound or tone of voice of the person speaking. It reminds me of sitting in a chat room back when AOL was a thing.

So what can S. Usher Evans do to improve on future books in the Lyssa/Razia series? I suggest introducing fewer concepts in each book. Piracy and Bounty Hunting would’ve been enough without mentioning Leveman’s Vortex and throwing all her family issues into the story. It’s a series, isn’t it? Pace yourself, Ms. Evans. This is salvageable.

Visit S. Usher Evans' blog for more information about the author and how to purchase her book(s).