Tabitha Lord

Horizon by Tabitha Lord is the first in a series, of at least one more book, and ends with a cliffhanger. While it is a sci-fi story, it is also heavy on the romance but nothing sappy (thankfully). Actually, the romantic scenes were well done and therefore nothing for me to quibble about.

The story opens from Caeli Crys’s point of view as a ship crashes on her planet. She is empathetic and she feels the terror of the crew in the moments before the actual crash. When she goes to investigate show more she finds that, of the two people on board, only one has survived, Commander Derek Markham. As empathetic, Caeli possesses the skill to heal with her mind and she quickly sets about saving Derek’s life.

When Derek awakens he finds he is now stranded on this alien world and that Caeli, his savior, is running for her life. As he heals, with the help of Caeli’s abilities, he learns of the tragedy that has befallen her people. Derek hopes that the command ship Horizon will get the distress call he sent just before the crash and that Caeli will come with him. When the ship finally arrives to rescue him he has already fallen for Caeli and convinces her to leave with him.

Of course, the world Derek lives in is totally foreign to Caeli and just as dangerous, if not more, than the one she left behind. She will be called upon to do things that go against her basic beliefs in order to prevent a tragedy like the one that befell her own people. She will have to decide if the end justifies the means.

The world building, at least as far as Caeli is concerned, was excellent. There is plenty of backstory so I was able to have that deep connection with Caeli. I can’t say the same for Derek. Hopefully the next book will flesh out his character and world. The plot moved along at a nice pace and there where not any big surprises other than the cliffhanger I have already mentioned.

The story is not hard core Sci-Fi; therefore, it may be a disappointment to those fans. However, as an eclectic reader, I liked it. I believe, since it is not hard core Sci-Fi it will appeal to a larger reading audience. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys romance with a twist and light sci-fi.

I received a free copy in exchange for my honest review.

For more reviews, and author interviews, see my blog at www.thespineview.com. show less

Caeli Crys is one of the few survivors of the Novali people. The Novali have special gifts; Caeli happens to be an empath as well as having the ability to heal people. Because of their gifts, many of the Novali were killed by the other people on her planet, the Amathi. Caeli escaped the Amathi and has been living on her own in the woods. That is-until she connects with the mind of Derek. Derek's spacecraft has been hit and is crashing near Caeli's camp. Caeli arrives at the crash site in show more time to help heal Derek, but not his partner, Tommy. After several days of helping Derek heal, Caeli and Derek connect on a deeper level. Caeli shares her history and her people's trouble with the Amathi. When Derek's command ship, the Horizon, sends a rescue team, she is granted asylum aboard the ship. However, the Horizon soon learns of another planet under attack and Derek's team is sent on a mission there. Derek knows that Caeli's gifts would be helpful on the mission, but fears putting her in danger again.

This is a fast-paced science-fiction romance that had me hooked from the moment Caeli connected with Derek's mind. I was very interested in Caeli's people and their powers. The story of Caeil's planet, Almagest, that she shared with Derek really drew me in. Through this backstory, I really got to know Caeli's character; I knew how deeply she cared for people and her true strength, with or without her gifts. I really think this could have almost been a story by itself. I am also really interested in how the planet fared after Caeli left, especially with the resistance that was rising. I do appreciate the parallels on Caeli's planet to what is happening in some parts of the world right now. Caeli sums it up best in the quote: "No, but I can't ignore the situation in front of me. My people did that. They chose not to see, not to act, and it cost us everything." Hopefully, this will be explored in the next book! While it was no surprise to me that Derek and Caeli formed a romantic relationship after being connected through their minds; however, for me this happened a little too quickly. Once on Horizon, the pace quickened. I was glad Caeli found her place so quickly as a physician and was valued among the crew. When Derek learns of the threat on the planet Tharsis, I knew Caeli would be involved. The situation was very similar to what happened on her home planet. This section of the book moved quickly and was filled with suspense. At the end of the book I am still left with some questions about Caeli's planet and how humans came to populate all of these other planets. Maybe book two, Infinity will answer these!

This book was provided for free in return for an honest review. show less

The first book I thought was a nice read. I was on the edge of finding the book to be a great read but never fully got there. Yet, something changed in this second book and I fond that spark I was looking for. Because there was no formalities with getting to know the characters I was able to just jump right into this book. Additionally, it did not hurt that the crew was so closely bonded and their voices stronger that I paid attention to them more. In fact, I thought this book had a bit of show more the feel of the movie, Serenity based on the short lived television series, Firefly by Joss Whedon.

As I have stated many times that the world, characters, and action are all important factors in these types of books to me. Well this book had all of that. I do have to mention Dr. Caeli and Derek's relationship. It has grown stronger from the first book. They are good together. I look forward to reading more books from this author. show less

Infinity by Tabitha Lord is the second book in the Horizon Sci-Fi series. It can be read as a stand-alone, though the reader would benefit from having read the first book prior to tackling this one. The second book is the continuation of Caeli and Derek’s story as they return to Almagest in a covert attempt to overthrow the ruthless dictator Marcus.

The Alliance has discovered that Marcus is involved in human trafficking of the Novali people, who are empathic, as a means to purchase show more advanced technology. The planet is vulnerable to falling into the hands of the Alliance’s enemies who would love to use the Novali as a weapon in the war against the Alliance. Since Almagest is not a member planet, the Alliance is almost powerless to prevent this from happening hence the mission. Once a democratic government is installed, Almagest can then apply for membership in the Alliance.

Once Caeli and Derek, along with a small elite team from the Horizon, arrive on the planet they find a small pocket of resistance fighters hiding in the wild evading Marcus’s attempts to capture them and quell the resistance once and for all. They start working with the resistance fighters to free Novali prisoners with the ultimate goal of overthrowing Marcus. A plan is devised that requires Derek to go undercover as a mercenary and setup a trade of technology for the prisoners. It is not long before things go awry and the resistance must depend on the ordinary citizens to assist in over throwing the dictatorship.

The plot is not new by any means, but it is timeless. Humanity will always struggle against individuals who try to use fear and violence to force their idea of a perfect world onto others. It seems like we as a human race are destined to always struggle with the Machiavellian idea of, “Does might make right?”

I really liked the first book, but I loved this one, mainly because the book spent almost the entire time on the world of Almagest. There is plenty of action to move the plot along nicely. Since I already knew so much about the main characters I was invested in the story from the beginning. I also liked that we find out how the Novali people came to be. In a nut shell, Infinity ticks all the boxes for me. It is a skilled and, thoughtfully done Sci-Fi story. I look forward to the next book in this series, especially since we get a hint at the very end of what is to come.

I received a free copy from the author in exchange for my honest review.

You can read more of my reviews, and author interviews, on my blog at www.thespineview.com. show less