Dangerous Territory: A Keltin Moore Adventure, by Lindsay Schopfer

Review of

Dangerous Territory: A Keltin Moore Adventure (The Adventures of Keltin Moore Book 3)

By Lindsay Schopfer

But First, The Blurb:

The beast hunter is on a mission of mercy to save the love of his life.

Life is good for professional monster hunter Keltin Moore. His new beast hunting company is finding great success as he returns to distant Krendaria to protect its citizens from creatures of nightmare.

But when he receives word that the woman he loves is in trouble, he will leave the world that he knows behind and plunge headlong into dangers he has never faced before.

Somehow, he’ll have to sneak across a closed border, find his beloved and her family, and escort them all safely back out of the country. From dodging sadistic government agents to racing through beast-infested forests, will Keltin and his new friends survive their escape through Dangerous Territory?

My Review:

The Alt-Western setting of the Keltin Moore novels is both familiar and alien. It is familiar the way the American Old West is, and alien as in – alien. Gruesome beasts, some familiar and some new abound, as do the opportunities for disaster.

Harper, the reporter from the Collinsworth Gazette, is an interesting character. Kuff, a giant tamarin hound, Wendi the kitchen girl, and an old friend, Ross, Kuff’s trainer are also good additions to the cast.

My favorite characters from previous books are all in place, Jaylocke, Bor’ve’tai and many more. We meet Angela, a woman from Keltin’s past, one with a complicated history. We also get to see more a more rounded view of Elaine, the woman who has a hold on Keltin’s affections.

I like the way Schopfer begins this novel, forcing Keltin out of his comfort zone and ratcheting up the tension all the way through to well plotted ending.

As in the previous Keltin Moore books, death and danger lurk around every corner. All in all, this is a grand adventure, one I can recommend to all lovers of sci fi westerns.

Dangerous Territory: A Keltin Moore Adventure (The Adventures of Keltin Moore Book 3) is available at Amazon.

Toy Wars, Thomas Gondolfi

Toy Wars, by Thomas Gondolfi was a bit of a departure for me. It is hard sci-fi, so despite the name, it is not a warm and fuzzy sort of book.

But first, THE BLURB:

Don wakes from a normal manufacturing process as a two-meter, sentient teddy bear sporting purple fur. He learns he is the result of a desperate gamble by an autonomous factory with hashed programming. To protect his home, his way of life, and his creator, Don must lead other killer toys across a harsh alien landscape to battle the native fauna of Rigel-3 and even his own kind.

His discoveries change not only his view of the wars, but his own Human gods. In spite of these trials, Don’s harshest test may be getting his own brethren to believe his adventures and the soul-churning changes needed to survive.

MY REVIEW:

This is an intriguing book, with an unusual storyline. The idea of sentient toys battling for supremacy seems at first glance, cartoonish. But it is not, and there is a deep story here.

First, I caution you that there is a large info dump at the beginning. Don't put the book down--stick with it, and you'll find that the story that follows is immersive and well written.

Teddy-1499's journey to self-awareness as 'Don Quixote' is the core of this tale. He is born pre-programmed for certain tasks in the ongoing galactic war, but somewhere along the line, Teddy develops a desire to live, affection, guilt, compassion, and a need to understand the meaning of his life.

Teddy-1499 reads widely, and in Cervantes' 'Don Quixote,' he finds a kindred spirit. He begins finding many parallels in his own situation to that of the mad knight, and when he finds himself in opposition to his creator factories, he takes that as his name.

This novel is techno-based, with a lot of military jargon, which I found daunting but which will appeal to adults who read hard sci-fi with a military-centric plot.

Land of Nod, The Child by Gary Hoover

I've been a fan of Gary Hoover's  LAND OF NOD, a YA Scifi action adventure since the first book in the series, The Artifact. The series deals with Jeff Browning's search for his physicist father, and is as enjoyable from an adult perspective as any series of books I've read. The first two books in the series cover the disappearance of Jeffery Browning Sr. and his son Jeff's discovery of an artifact in his father's locked office that is really a portal to another dimension. Realizing his father has gone through the portal, Jeff follows him, armed only with his baseball bat. 

He finds himself in a world that is full of dangerous, prehistoric creatures, and is glad he has his trusty bat as he must make good use of it. Eventually he meets a family who give him hope that he will find his father. The world is strange and has many amazing technologies, and yet they are awaiting the advent of one special person, the Prophet--and they believe Jeff is that person. It's a lot for a teenager to take in, but he embarks on helping them with the war they are fighting against the Pheerions. The Child is the third and final book in the series.

But first, THE BLURB:

In this action-filled conclusion to the Land of Nod Trilogy, Jeff Browning needs every one of his newfound powers to face increasingly difficult challenges as he travels across an ocean for an inevitable showdown with a ruthless warlord.

Jeff believes the fate of the world that has adopted him depends on his success, and he is determined to find his father and go home – or die trying.

My REVIEW:

The book kicks off with Jeff being thrust into a battle. He is desperate to get a locket that may have fallen into enemy hands. He is still armed with his trusty bat, and as with the lockets, it's so much more than a simply bat in this strange world.  He is unsure if the side who he is traveling with are the good guys or the bad guys, and the officer in charge of him, Major Abel, seems like a cold, unfriendly woman. He also fears his father may be working with the Pheerions, 

Jeff is a great character. He's a bit cocky like any fifteen-year-old, and and also humble. He is loyal to his friends and thinks about the wider view of things, and his actions reflect that. The worry that his father may be on the side of the Pheerions, combined with the fact that he has a friend who is a Pheerion makes him wonder what is really right and wrong. He has an ally who is an assassin, and who may have killed two people Jeff cared about. His growing realization that things are not as cut and dried as Major Abel would wish colors his viewpoint.

More than anything, Jeff fears what he will become in his efforts to find his father and get home to his mother.

All in all this is a great finish to an excellent series. If you have a young science-fiction fan in your family this is a perfect series. Written for a wide range of readers, this series is not 'dumbed-down' in any way.  Hoover writes with respect for his readers, and this final book in the series reflects that commitment to excellence. It is a tale full of the core truths of hard-scifi: plausible science, a moral dilemma, and a cast of fabulous characters. It is well plotted and has a terrific and satisfying conclusion. I am giving this book 5 full stars.