Giancarlo Roversi

I just finished reading an incredible book that blends the sci-fi and murder mystery genres seamlessly. The story centers around a man reactivated as a detective to solve the murder of a vital CEO of a software company involved in the country's government. I was fully invested in the plot and constantly on edge as the twists kept coming.

The only downside to the book was the use of made-up words throughout it that replaced normal expletives. While I understand the author was trying to create show more a unique world, I found it sometimes distracting. However, this was a minor issue for me and did not detract from my overall enjoyment of the story. This issue might have resolved itself if I read the Pulstar book first and maybe garnered a five-star review after reading some of the book reviews. show less

Thrilling sci-fi mystery. The story of Nerve mostly follows Graham Squirrel, a disgraced federal agent whose life is falling apart until he gets the opportunity to resume his position with the Federal Police. All he has to do is investigate the mysterious death of one of Astralvia's wealthiest businessmen, Jon Creepel. Plus, he gets to work alongside the attractively enigmatic agent Zabrinah. Something is fishy about this case though, and everyone's motives are in question.

Though show more technically a prequel to Pulstar I, the events in Nerve take place at roughly the same point in time, just following different characters. Personally, I found this one way easier to get into and enjoy than I did the first Pulstar novel. There's less jumping around in time, for one thing. The murder mystery plot was engaging and I connected easily with Graham. The setting is immersive, and coming into this story having some experience with the world via reading Pulstar I, I found it much less confusing. This is largely a mystery novel with elements of sci-fi horror that ramp up as the story progresses. Would recommend. show less

"Earth is like a small room inside a gigantic building, which belongs to a common neighborhood in a city of any country on any continent, and so on. As long as we’re inside that small room and don’t go out, it’ll be impossible to comprehend reliably what’s out there. We’ll only have a vague idea, and it’ll be based on how little we can hear, smell, and see of what’s beyond the room"

The Swan Barely Remembers takes you through a journey across space and time. It is a story about show more darkness and humanity, adventure and The Swan. This book is very much a traditional SciFi in the way it is written and it's a beautifully written one. There are a lot of characters and it is a little confusing at first. The beautiful writing drags you in however and definitely makes you want to learn more about the characters and their universe. Although it is understandable when you learn just how long the author has spent on developing this masterpiece. He even has a (in-progress) sound track for the book - one I can definitely recommend if you like epic music/(SciFi) movie soundtracks. It is definitely worth a listen (and available on his website). And if you are reading the book, it definitely adds to the experience.

I am mad at my reading app because I highlighted so many beautiful quotes about space and darkness and grief, but unfortunately it deleted these twice(!) while I was reading. Never had a problem before but definitely switching after this since I wanted to look back at these. I might just need to go back and try find them again...

On the slightly less positive side of things, I do think this book could maybe have been a little shorter. Although this kind of witting is common in SciFi so not unexpected. There were a couple of parts that I felt weren't all that necessary to the plot or character development, although maybe we see their significance in the next book?

This book has so much potential to be popular and I hope that it picks up! The style and quality are definitely comparable to the current popular hard SciFI books and authors (I read Shards of Earth relatively recently and it definitely reminds me of it in some ways, even though the stories are completely different). I wish the author the best of luck in his writing journey and hope his audience finds him soon show less

Fasten your seatbelt as the author takes hold of the reader and plunges into a gripping story that intertwines mystery, romance, suspense, and thriller elements. The author knows how to build tension as you turn these pages. It is fast-paced, with well-developed characters and an intense storyline: highly evocative prose and clever imagination. I enjoyed the flawed but fabulous protagonist, Marlenh, because she was relatable, and you appreciate her more as her journey and story unfold.