Title & Author: Red Shift (Syzygy: Book 5), J. K. Ullrich
Genre & Publication Date: Sci-Fi/Cli-Fi, October 17, 2017
Book Description: WARNING: As this is book five, read the description with caution if you haven’t read the first four books. REMINDER: Book One is FREE
“In the fifth installment of the “Syzygy” hexalogy, the long-divided clans of lunar survivors reconnect at last, but a century of distrust isn’t easily overcome. Determined to forge an alliance between their fractious communities, Ash and Skye undertake a second Earth mission. Old enemies and new revelations await them. As dark truths about the past threaten humanity’s fragile chances for the future, only Ash and Skye’s evolving partnership can unite the survivors…if it can withstand their own shattered hopes and unthinkable loss.”
First Line: *CENSORED*SPOILER*
My Take: This book was provided to me by the author for review.
Again, I’m going to avoid any specific detail on the goings-on in this book since it’s the fifth book and I don’t want to spoil anything.
Lots of twists and turns, nothing uncommon with this series, but there was also more attention to the interpersonal on this one than in previous installments. This was nice to draw us in on the relationships and the real emotional toll that this entire saga is taking on our heroes. There are losses, unexpected allies, terrible betrayals, personal revelations–all that in a novella! I can feel us rounding the bend toward the conclusion of the series but the surprises keep on coming and I HAVE NO IDEA HOW IT’S GOING TO END. This right here is what I love best about Indie books. I read plenty of traditional published stuff too but self-published works are always full of plot surprises I haven’t seen before. This series is no exception.
The Magical: Awesome ending! Definitely unexpected. Dear God, what’s going to happen now????
The Mundane: In certain scenes there were a few too many characters on stage that I didn’t know well or had seen maybe a couple of times. This caused some confusion and slowed the pace for me, though it may be a me-problem thing since I have trouble remembering the names of real humans if I’ve only interacted once or twice.
Summary of Thoughts: Currently this book is $0.99 on Amazon like the others (Except book one is FREE). A great installment in the continuation of this series which–I’ll just keep on sayin’ it–I highly recommend if you love compelling Sci-Fi.
Many thanks to author J. K. Ullrich for providing a copy of the book to review!
Want to learn more about the author and her work? Explore her website here
Author of speculative fiction 