Review and Giveaway: Warpworld - Kristene Perron and Joshua Simpson

Book Summary:

How far would you go…

On his first crossing through the warps, Seg discovers a world rich in vita – fuel to save his dying world. Cold, brilliant and desperate to prove himself as a Cultural Theorist, Seg breaks away from the recon squad sent to protect him, to scout out prime vita sources. But to find his prize he must face his biggest fear: water.

Fiery and headstrong, Ama receives an ultimatum from her people’s tyrannical overlords: betray her own kind or give up the boat she calls home, forever. When a wealthy traveler hires her as a guide, Ama thinks her prayers are answered – until a violent murder reveals Seg’s true identity.

On the run, over land and water, hunted by a ruthless and relentless tracker, and caught in the schemes of a political powerhouse, Seg and Ama will have to strike an uneasy truce to survive.

The fate of two worlds is in their hands.

My Thoughts:

I was not really sure if this would be to my liking.  Don't get me wrong, I love science fiction and the premise sounded great.  You just never know until you get into the book and begin reading. This book is told from two different perspectives.   We have Ama who lives in a society that reminds me almost of a medieval caste society. Ama is part of the Kenda society.  This is just one step above the Welfs (slaves to the others)  I like Ama and her spunk.  She lives in a society where she is given freedom to own and captain her boat for a short time.  The reason?  She is female.  They have a certain place in society and it is not owning and operating a business.  She has a family full of brothers who believe she should marry and accept her place in society.  It doesn't help that she has a brother who is soon to become a part of the highest place in society.

The second main character is Seg.  He is from a world where the technology is more advanced.  His people prey on societies like Ama's.  They take what they need to survive and use the people they take back to their world as slaves.  Seg is an up and coming Theorist.  He is very gifted and so he does the unthinkable.  He decides to change the way things are usually done.  He goes undercover to get what they need to take back and meets Ama.  It is only a matter of time before the situation becomes more complex as Ama and Seg start to have feelings for each other.  I loved the world building in this book. It took me a while to get into this world.  But, once there it was a world I didn't want to leave.  I absolutely loved this book and I look forward to reading more in the books that will follow. I definitely recommend this book to all science fiction/fantasy lovers.

Kristene Perron's Bio:

Kristene is a former professional stunt performer for film and television (as Kristene Kenward) and self-described 'fishing goddess'. Pathologically nomadic, she has lived in Japan, Cost Rica, the cook Islands, and a very tiny key in the Bahamas, just to name a few. Her stories have appeared in Denizens of Darkness, Canadian Storyteller Magazine, The Barbaric Yawp and Hemispheres Magazine. In 2010 she won the Surrey International Writers' conference Storyteller Award.

Kristene is a member of SF Canada. Her novel, Warpworld, is the first in a five book adventure science fiction series, penned with her Texan co-writer, Joshua Simpson.
She currently resides in Nelson, BC, Canada but her suitcase is always packed.

Joshua Simpson's Bio:A career nomad, Josh Simpson has driven trucks through the lower forty-eight states, treated and and disposed of hazardous waste, mixed mud as a stone masonry laborer, failed abysmally in marketing, gotten on people's nerves as a safety man, and presently gets on their nerves even more using nerve release techniques in musculo-skeletal pain relief.

He lives amidst the scrub and mesquite of West Texas, cohabiting with the requisite writer's minimum of two cats. Warpworld is his first published novel.

Find out More Here:

Warpworld blog tour site:  http://warpworldblogtour.blogspot.com/

Warpworld Web Site: http://www.warpworld.ca/index.html

Warpworld Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/warpworld


Warpworld Blog:  http://www.warpworld.ca/comm/


Warpworld Goodreads:  http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16107908-warpworld


Kristene Perron Twitter:  https://twitter.com/KristenePerron


Kristene Perron Blog:  http://the-coconut-chronicles.com/


Kristene Perron Goodreads:  http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6558050.Kristene_Perron


Joshua Simpson Goodreads  http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6564014.Joshua_Simpson

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Student Saturday - Prince Caspian - C.S. Lewis

Student Saturday is a day I post reviews written by other students.  The review that follows is written by Nathan.

I really enjoyed this book. It had a lot of action in it! I highly recommend this book to fantasy readers because if you like a book that just grabs your attention and has a magical world, read this book! This book is about the Pevensie family returning to the magical and majestic world of Narnia. But in this case Narnia’s changed since the last time they were there. There was a war going on between Narnian’s and UnNarnian’s. The Pevensie family wanted to join the fight and fight for what’s right. Along the way they met a handsome, strong, and kind hearted person named Caspian, or Prince Caspian. The leader of the evil side was prince Caspian’s evil Uncle who killed Caspian’s father. So Caspian and all of the Narnian’s joined forces to defeat evil. But everyone’s wondering, where is Aslan? If you want to experience the excitement, read this book!

Student Saturday - Theodore Boone: The Abduction - John Grisham

Student Saturday is a day I post reviews written by other students.  The review that follows is written by Brady.

Theodore Boone is an 8^th grader who wants to be a judge when he gets older. He has brown hair and is tall, and he also finds a quick way out of every situation. This is the second book in the series and is written by John Grisham and there are currently two books in the series. This book is based on Theodore’s best friend April who has gone missing. And at the same time, an escaped convict, also April’s cousin, is spotted in the town in which they live.

The book is very thrilling and exciting. I would recommend it if you like a story where there is a lot of excitement. You would like this very much. Also, if you like myster novels with many things that would make you change your mind about a subject or make you think the opposite of what’s the right answer.

Throughout the book I found compelling twists and turns that kept me on the edge of my seat and guessing what was going to happen next. The book is set in a small town outside of Chicago. It is almost like the Percy Jackson books, but no violence and Gods and Goddesses.

The main idea in this story is that Theodore’s friend April is alone in her mom’s house, where the next morning, she finds that April has vanished and her favorite clothes are gone, with no alarms triggered, but no sign of April’s father. The police are stumped, and cannot find anything involved in the abduction.

Theodore immediately starts searching from his hometown, to all over the country to find April, and with the help of his uncle Ike, Theo finds a legal way through every situation. Overall, I loved this book series because it is Mysterious and exciting.

Student Saturday - Phule Me Twice - Robert Asprin

Student Saturday is a day I post reviews written by other students.  The review that follows is written by Talon.

I thought that the book “Phule Me Twice” was funny. This book makes me remember about going into middle school for the first time because Phule goes to a new planet. The book was great. Phule is the captain that controls the group of Leiginaires. He has a butler named Beeker. The new planet was named Zebobia. This book reminds me of a forest with new things to explore. I recommend this book to my classmates because I think they would enjoy it. Phule had to help out this planet. He did his duty. Does this new planet have to doe with the mystery thing in the previous books? Read it to find out.

Four Picture Books By Zoey Parker

Princess Katy and Drake the Dragon Take a Plunge
Princess Katy has very few friends.  Drake the dragon is her best friend.  Drake looks large and fierce.  He is actually just large and kind.  For being a dragon Drake has a lot of fears. He's afraid of birds and other things.  The one thing he fears most is swimming.  Katy decides to try to help Drake overcome his fear of swimming.  She has a party and invites some of the birds and bees that she knows won't make fun of him.  He flies away instead.  When he see show sad he's made Katy he decides to give it a try.  Once again the author has chose to teach a simple lesson.  In this case she is trying to teach children to face their fears and not let them stop them from trying something new.

Katy and Evan Learn the Golden Rule
Katy and Evan are brother and sister.  They both start out playing in their sandbox.  Each builds their own castle. Problems arise when Katy wants to borrow a shovel from her brother.  After all he isn't using it.  Her brother doesn't want to share it.  He decides he needs it.  As they fight over it they begin to stomp on each other's castle destroying them both.  Mother hears the commotion and comes outside.  She teaches them the all important lesson of the golden rule.  This is a rule that all children need to learn.

Princess Katy Meets the Tooth Fairy
This is a book every parent should read to their children.  Katy hates fruit.  Everyone in Citrus City eats their fruit and vegetables.  Katy refuses to and eats candy instead.  When her parents decide to make it a rule she can't eat candy any more she runs to her room and gobbles down all of the candy she has had stashed away for a long time.  That night the tooth fairy visits her.  She takes all of Katy's rotten teeth.  Katy runs to her parents and her dad tells her that she is lucky because she will have new teeth that are stronger grow back in.  However, he tells her she has to take care of them by eating healthy foods or they will rot again.  Katy learns her lesson.

Princess Katy Loses her K
Princess Katy is with her teacher, Merlin the Grey when he decides it is time that Katy learns her alphabet.  They go through all of the letters and they sing a song about them.  When it is Katy's turn to sing the song by herself she discovers the "k" is missing.  She searches all over the kingdom and discovers the cook can't cook because without the "k" he can only coo. The horse in his stall can't kick without the "k's".  When her mom kisses her goodnight she finds the missing "k" in the word kiss. and is able to recite her alphabet.

All four of these wonderful rhyming books are created for very young children and teach them valuable lessons.  These make not only great bed-time stories, but great read any-time stories.

Stopper - Mark W. Jarrell

Pages: approx.. 163

Source:  I purchased

Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction

Excerpt from Amazon:

"As the boy with the purple ball cap walked towards the tennis court, he could see that it had been an energetic point that was going on. ...that had been going on. He stopped for a moment to assess the situation, shrugged his slim shoulders and continued walking. He opened up the door to the fence that surrounded the courts and stepped out onto the green concrete. The ball was now sitting perfectly still just a foot or so off the ground near the tall lanky boy with the not-completely-grown-in mustache. No one on the court was moving. Everyone was perfectly still--frozen in mid-motion on the court. [...] It was really eerie. It was almost as if someone had hit the pause button on the remote control. Except, this was real life on pause, not a movie."

Seventeen-year-old Johnny (otherwise known as Stopper) has the unusual ability to stop time for the rest of the world. And it's a power that he himself can't control. He can't interact with people in a normal way because of his power and has multiple character flaws that have developed as a result. A group of friends at the local school start to notice the strange things happening whenever this particular boy is around and they try their best to make contact with him. They eventually end up adopting him as one of their own, all the while trying to protect him from a looming threat.

Imagine being able to stop time.  That is exactly what Stopper can do.  As cool as I thought this would be, I soon realized as I read the book that there was an awful lot of responsibility to go along with that ability, as well as a lot of problems.  Stopper is a runaway who has the ability to stop time.  After being on his on for about four years he finally makes friends.  He will need these friends.  Stopper has an enemy.  He is not sure why someone wants him dead but now he's sure someone does.  There is a lot of mystery surrounding this kid.  I liked that.  I also liked thinking I was going to figure something out only to have the author throw a curve ball.  Suddenly there was another issue that had to be dealt with.  It wasn't out of place or an in your face type of curve ball. Suddenly the tension increased with that little bit of knowledge that was thrown in that made you sit up and go, "oh, how will that affect this... and what about that...?"  This author definitely  has it together.  I read the book from beginning to end.  I could not stop reading from the minute I picked it up until I finished the book.  It has a satisfying ending yet is ended in such a way that maybe we will see a sequel.  I definitely recommend this as really good science fiction book.

The Prey – Andrew Fukuda

Pages: 304

Source: Purchased

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy

Spoiler Alert:  If you have not read the first book The Hunt then don’t read any further.

Gene and the other hepers have escaped from the Dome leaving behind Ashley June.  They travel down the river.  Epap is not happy that Gene is with them.  He is obviously jealous of him and the way Sissy keeps coming to his aid. As they travel down the river they discover a tablet hidden in a secret compartment under the boat.  It tells them to stay on the river.  The flip side tells them not to let Gene die.  That is all it takes for Sissy to make it her mission.  After several days on the river, and after plummeting over a waterfall they are discovered by a young girl and they are taken to a village called “The Mission”.  There is excitement at discovering more of their kind.  But all is not what it seems.  Is this a blessing or a curse and what is the “origin” they are supposed to have brought with them?

The world building in this second book was just as interesting and descriptive as that in the first book.  You see a dystopian society that has gone back to where women are nothing more than slaves.  Sissy definitely doesn’t agree with this.  The micro-tension within this book is so strong I read it from beginning to end in one sitting.  I honestly felt like I was at "The Mission" with all of them. I could feel the fear they felt.  I kept sitting on the edge of my seat whenever the tension would increase.  This author definitely knows how to write a book that keeps you on the edge of your seat. Unfortunately, the third book, The Trap, won’t be out until September.  The book was left in a way that the reader celebrates with the news learned, yet is left wondering if anyone will be alive to celebrate that knowledge.  I absolutely loved this book.  The first book was given to me  to review.  I bought the second book as an e-book.  I can guarantee you that the second and third book will be purchased in paperback for my classroom shelves.  It is an absolutely wonderful dystopian book.

Student Saturday - A Child Called It - Dave Pelzer

Student Saturday is a day I post reviews written by other students.  The review that follows is written by Riffatul

The main characters of this story are David Pelzer, Catherine Roerva Pelzer, Stephen Pelzer,  and many others.

I really recommend this book to ages eleven and up because of hit’s harsh language and alcoholic uses. In my opinion this book is very good and emotional. I almost cried because of what harsh, cruel, and violent things the mother did to her son..

“A Child Called It”, is a story about young David Pelzer who once lived a great life, now a living slave to his own family.  David lives with his four brothers, his mom and dad. David’s mom, the worst keeps neglecting him over and over again for no apparent reason.  His four brothers just watch David being neglected and his dad trying to protect David.  Can you imagine a mom feeding her son ammonia and Clorox? Just the help from his school and dad, David is alive. Read “A Child Called It” and see what harsh obstacles and games David’ mom has put up for him