Publisher: Wild Rose Press

Written By: Mark Rosendorf

RRP: £12.99 / $10.21 (Paperback) | £3.59 / $4.99 (Kindle)

Reviewed by: Sebastian J. Brook

Following on from our review earlier this year for Mark Rosendorf's The Witches Of Vegas, we were incredibly excited to get stuck into its new sequel; Journey To New Salem.

Set a year after the events of the first book, the Vegas show is bigger than ever, and things are equally going just as strong for teen witch Isis and her magician boyfriend Zack. That is until Isis begins suffering from seizures that have destructive effects...

In order to save Isis, they must travel across the globe to the titular New Salem, where they hope to find another coven of witches, and with it an unlikely figure as a potential remedy for her seizures.

We can't hide the fact that the evil Valeria is back and we simply love the polarity between her and Isis. It's such a typical good vs evil, principal vs absolute, driving force that elevates the story.

There's a perfect peppering of suspense and some surprising plot twists which build strongly on the precedent that Rosendorf set in The Witches Of Vegas. In fact, worthy of note is how many other breadcrumbs the author has been scattering, that come into play here in book 2. Kudos for his masterplan for world-building, and subsequently, its masterful execution.

Although the actual journey to New Salem is a relatively short one (thanks to some handy witchcraft), the true journey is the one that the characters go on both individually and in wholly in aid of Isis.

Speaking of characters, the ones you loved from the first book are built upon even more here; some even have new-found abilities, and you love them even more. There's also a new set of characters to love (and hate). Zack has a more central role in this book, and we're all for it, as Rosendorf has written an incredibly lovable hero in Zack, who really comes into his own here.

It's very rare that a sequel is considered even better than the first in the series, but that's exactly what Rosendorf has done with Journey To New Salem. It's a tighter, more suspenseful, more impactful book, that is pushing towards a greater arc. The stakes are higher and by the closing chapter, you are dropped in the middle of a bittersweet predicament that will have you clawing for book three.

+  Journey To New Salem is Out Now!
+  Buy this book from Amazon.co.uk!
+  Buy this book from Amazon.com!
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Publisher: Self Published

Written By: Edward M. Hochsmann

RRP: £8.30 / $10.99 (Paperback) | £2.56 / $3.49 (Kindle)

Reviewed by: Sebastian J. Brook

For our latest review, we have Edward M. Hochsmann's 'C6S: Tales Of The Patrol Force' - an epic military Science Fiction collection, comprising of four novella-sized stories.

We begin with a great piece of expositionery prologue that gives us a potted history of the two main species; The Urtimalians and the Listrians, and how their xenophobic dislike of each other has led to present events. If this was a movie, it would make a cracking pre-credits sequence!

The First Step (the first story in the series), focuses on a Listrian ship, which picks up a distress call, and the truly difficult choice that its Captain (Therlos) has to make in order to save lives. This acts as a great study on the complexities of war and how even the slightest movements and decisions can have massive outcomes. There's a particularly moving, and ultimately pivotal scene involving a ceremony that the author has placed and paced perfectly - we won't spoil it, but it's a great piece of writing.

False Flag - the second in the series, is set a year after the events of the previous story. We also get properly introduced (after a fleeting mention, previously) to a new alien species; The Baltans. The ever present threat of the dissolution of peace is palpable, and the reader cannot help but see parallels to conflict in our own world. So much can be at stake, yet balanced on a knife-edge. Hochsmann masterfully plays with this theme, and the constant threat keeps you invested throughout.

The third story, Force Majeure, acts as a great change of pace as we somewhat put aside politics for a mission based plot. Planetary Observation Station 331-3 has been severely damaged by a solar flare, and the crew must land on a developing planet, fix the ship and leave without breaking Patrol Fleet regulations. We really loved Force Majeure as it almost felt like a textbook Star Trek story.

The final story, Pirate Crisis, mixes things up once more as we deal with the theme of space pirates. We're thrown straight into the action as merchant ship Patrakee is under attack from said pirates. Class-A frigate patrol ship, PF-238 is on the trail and together with it's crew, must uncover the identity of the pirates and bring them to justice.

This was another solid story, full of action and intensity, and the reveal of how and why PF-238 kept getting out-manoueivered is once more a masterstroke from Hochsmann's pen.

Overall, a great collection of stories that have the concurrent theme of meeting challenges and resolving them through ones own skill and integrity.

Grab a nice cup of Girondon Tea, find a comfortable chair and settle into the holiday season with this fantastic story. Recommended! 

+  C6S: Tales Of The Patrol Force is Out Now!
+  Buy this book from Amazon.co.uk!
+  Buy this book from Amazon.com!
+  Follow @EdwardHochman on Twitter.
+  Follow @SebastianJBrook (Sebastian J. Brook) on Twitter.
+  Follow @DrWhoOnline (Doctor Who Online) on Twitter.