Diagnostic Examination: Colony One Mars (Colony Mars #1) by Gerald M. Kilby

Colony One Mars (Colony Mars #1) by Gerald M Kilby
Publisher: Outer Planet Media
Publication Date: March 16, 2016
Format: Paperback, 240 pages
Genre: Science Fiction
POV Style: Single
Map Included: No – Not Needed

🚑 Triage Score
Score: 3 — 🩹 Outpatient Care

Completely surpassed my expectation.

🧾 Patient Intake Summary (Spoiler-Free)

All contact is lost with the first human colony on Mars during a long and destructive sandstorm. Satellite imagery of the aftermath shows extensive damage to the facility. The fifty-four colonists who called it home are presumed dead.

Three years later, a new mission sets down on the planet surface to investigate what remains of the derelict site. But, it’s not long before they realise the colony is not as lifeless as everyone thought. Someone is still alive — hiding out somewhere.

Yet, before they can find the elusive colonist a strange illness starts to affect the crew. Pressure now mounts on Biologist, Dr. Jann Malbec, to locate the source and find a way to fight it. However, as she investigates she begins to suspect a dark and deadly secret lurking within the colony. A secret that threatens not just the crew but the entire population of Earth.

With limited resources and time running out, she must find some answers and find them fast. Because if she doesn’t, none of them will be going home.

💊 Prescription Tropes

Recommended For:

Quick, fun read, you can finish in one sitting
Weekend read!
Mars sci-fi settings
Genetic and biology tech

⚠️ Known Side Effects:

Deep exploration of technology
Space opera fans who are used to complex characters and plots

📝 Long-Term Prognosis

Closing thoughts:
Talk about an incredibly fun read. This was gift to me from my father. Major sci-fan, but reads 1 book every decade. He picked it up for me because “it seemed like a cool premise, and it had good reviews on Amazon.” As many readers know, sometimes, a self/independent/indie published novel, can really be a hit or miss. Well, this one, completely surpassed my expectation. I was not expecting to enjoy this much.

The only reason I gave it a 3-star, is because, for my personal taste, it was simple story telling. My genres are the epic fantasy, space operas, that really did into the technology and it’s intricacies, deep character building, and complex plot. By no means do these make a story better by default, its just a personal preference. While this did not have those aspects that I look in a story to give it a 5, this is undoubtable on the best 3 stars review books I have ever read, and for people while different rating systems from myself, I would be surprised if it was given anything less a 4.5/5.

What sold me on the story, and why I am so invested is because of the illness and technology behind. I really really really wanted to know the genetics and biology behind it. And just because it not explored now, does not mean that author is not waiting to explain this as time goes on.

I am a notoriously slow reader, and I was able to this in a couple hours over the weekend. Straight-up devoured this. People with even an average reading speed can probably finish this in a couple hours. They only reason I haven’t picked up the next book, is because I think my dad is going to gift me the rest of the series.

📊 Fantasy / Science Fiction Lab Results

System	Diagnosis
🦴 Worldbuilding Skeleton	3 – Stable Framework
🫀 Character Pulse	3 – Stable Rhythm
⚡ Mission Adrenaline	3- Moderate Challenges
🩸 Political Blood Pressure	3- Elevated Pressures
🧬 Technology DNA	3 – Functional
🔥 Climactic Trauma	3 – Severe Impact

Reading Difficulty Diagnosis: 1 — Light Reading
Map Dependence: Not Needed
Commitment Level: 🧠 Moderate Series (6 books)
Treatment Plan: Weekend visit

Final Diagnosis: 3 – Healthy

– DJ, Bookworm MD

Diagnostic Examination: Promise of Blood (Powder Mage #1) by Brian McClellan

Promise of Blood (Powder Mage #1) by Brian McClellan
Publisher: Orbit
Publication Date: Apri 8, 2014 (first published: April 16, 2013)
Format: Paperback, 608 pages
Genre: Fantasy – Epic/Flintlock
POV Style: Multi – 3rd Person
Map Included: Yes – Essential

🚑 Fantasy Triage Score
Score: 4.5 — 🚑 Immediate Admission

People snorting gunpowder, who can then shoot a musket over a mile and hit them right between the eyes? C’mon. Nothing short of badass.

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Diagnostic Examination: War Song (A Dream of Dust and Steel Saga I) by Michael Michel

War Song (A Dream of Dust and Steel Saga I) by Michael Michel
Publisher: Chainbreaker Books
Publication Date: August 8, 2025
Format: Paperback, 74 pages
Genre: Fantasy – Grimdark
POV Style: Single
Map Included: No – Not Needed

🚑 Fantasy Triage Score
Score: 4 — 🏥 Priority Treatment

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Author Interview: J. Ashley-Smith

Today I am interviewing J. Ashley-Smith, author of the new horror short story collection, The Measure of Sorrow!

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DJ: Hi J. Ashley-Smith! Thanks for stopping by to do this interview!

Please tell us a little about yourself for readers unfamiliar with you.

JAS: Hi, DJ. Thanks for having me.

I’m a British–Australian author of dark speculative fiction. Even though I’ve lived in Australia for coming up on 20 years, I still feel out of place, as though I stepped through a portal into some weird parallel universe. Now, even my old home, when viewed through this lens, seems unrecognisable and unfamiliar—perhaps even more so, now there’s a king on the throne! This kind of wrongness and disorientation, the sense of everyday things just out of true, is something that obsesses me. Another obsession is that inner dark from which the fantastic, the terrifying, and the impossible are born. The collision between the complexities of the modern day-to-day and the invisible or imagined world is another fixation, which I continually explore in my stories.

DJ: What is The Measure of Sorrow about?

JAS: The stories in The Measure of Sorrow are united more by a feeling than a theme: I felt my way into each of them, and I felt my way through their compilation. If a theme emerges it’s as a result of instinct rather than intellect. Children feature strongly. As do parents. There’s thwarted or misguided love. There’s separation, grief and longing. People, all-too human, search for or build islands of meaning, all-too aware they are surrounded by vast oceans of coldness, indifference, or cruelty. At the cusp between these islands and the hard reality outside, there is wonder, horror, awe. People fall victim to their blind spots and weaknesses. Their search for meaning is always rewarded, but never in the way they hoped. The Measure of Sorrow centres on those perimeter moments, the border between one state or condition and another, from which something enters, something small, something strange, something unbidden and unexpected.

DJ: What were some of the inspirations behind The Measure of Sorrow?

JAS: The Australian landscape. The weirdness of dreams. Everyday lives warped by madness. Families tormented by loss. A suburb shrouded in melancholy. Fragmented glimpses of what lies beyond the veil. And, of course, sadness itself. It’s not something that’s really approved of in our culture but there’s a beauty in sadness. To live with your sorrow is to live with sensitivity, receptive to what’s really there. Sadness is an entirely appropriate response to the horrors and wonders of the human condition.

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Author Interview: C.J. Ledee

Today I am interviewing C.J. Leede, author of the new horror novel, Maeve Fly.

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DJ: Hi C.J.! Thanks for agreeing to do this interview!

For readers who aren’t familiar with you, could you tell us a little about yourself?

C.J. Leede: Hey there! I’m a horror writer living out in California with my boyfriend and our rescue dog pack! I grew up in Austin, TX and New York, NY, and I’m a big hiker, road tripper, and forever Trekkie. Maeve Fly is my first novel, coming out this summer with Nightfire, and I’ve got two more following!

**DJ: What is Maeve Fly about?**

C.J.: An LA theme park princess by day, Sunset Strip barfly by night whose world is upended when a new hockey player moves to town. It’s about loneliness, Halloween, the things we cling to, and overall is a sordid debaucherous love story.

**DJ: What were some of your influences for Maeve Fly?**

C.J.: American Psycho, Story of the Eye, and Notes from Underground all factor in heavily! But also My Heart is a Chainsaw, The Final Girl Support Group, Rocky Horror Picture Show, Faust, Fight Club, and I’m always reading Stephen King, so I feel like that’s got to have worked its way in too. Also just Los Angeles and its history! All the gritty and shiny dive bars, the Sunset Strip, the *large theme park in Anaheim*. This story never could have come to be if I hadn’t moved here from New York! I tried to include everything that I felt was vital to this town.

DJ: Could you briefly tell us a little about your main characters? Do they have any cool quirks or habits, or any reason why readers will sympathize with them?

C.J.: Maeve enjoys misanthropic literature at dive tiki bars, internet trolling, strange and unsettling youtube videos on repeat, obscure music and trivia, all things Halloween, the grit beneath any shiny surface, masturbation (the weirder the better), theme park visitors, authenticity, audacity, anomalous princesses, non-conformity, pina coladas, and routine. She would do anything for the few people she loves, even if it ends in a bloodbath. She’s a lot of things that maybe aren’t the healthiest, but she is at her core endlessly loyal… in her own wolfish way.

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Author Interview: Sunyi Dean

Photo Credit: Richard Wilson of Richard Wilson Photography

Today I am interviewing Sunyi Dean, debut author of the new fantasy novel, The Book Eaters!

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DJ: Hi Sunyi! Thanks for agreeing to do this interview!

For readers who aren’t familiar with you, could you tell us a little about yourself?

Sunyi Dean: I’m a biracial autistic author and separated mother of two kids. I was born in the States and grew up in Hong Kong, but I now live in the north of England, specifically inner-city Leeds. When not reading or writing, I like running, hiking, swimming, boardgames, video games, and table-top RPGs.

**DJ: What is The Book Eaters about?**

Sunyi: TBE has a kind of dual-story happening. On one hand, it’s about a secret society of people who eat books and how they survive in the world. On the other hand, it’s not about those people at all, but one specific woman who is trying to escape that society. The stakes are small and personal, and I chose to focus on the arc of an individual rather than a broad-scale conflict.

DJ: What were some of your influences for The Book Eaters?

Sunyi: The Victorian fairytales of George MacDonald, the Brontë sisters, ‘classic’ English literature, 90s culture, and various landscapes in England and Scotland (both urban and rural).

DJ: Could you briefly tell us a little about your main characters? Do they have any cool quirks or habits, or any reason why readers with sympathize with them?

Sunyi: Devon’s one goal is to protect her son, who is a little (lot) different from the other ‘eaters in their society. She’s not a good person, and does increasingly bad things in pursuit of her goal, but her actual motivations are not evil, and come from a heartfelt place.

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Author Interview: Alex White

Today I am interviewing Alex White, author of the new science-fiction novel, August Kitko and the Mechas from Space!

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DJ: Hi Alex! Thanks for agreeing to do this interview!

For readers who aren’t familiar with you, could you tell us a little about yourself?

Alex White: I’m a science fiction author who loves music and tech. I wrote a big space fantasy trilogy for Orbit called The Salvagers, as well as two critically-acclaimed Alien books and a Star Trek novel. I’m known for engaging, deeply human characters and cinematic action.

**DJ: What is August Kitko and the Mechas from Space about?**

Alex: Jazz pianist Gus Kitko expected to spend his final moments on Earth playing piano at the greatest goodbye party of all time, and maybe kissing rockstar Ardent Violet, before the last of humanity is wiped out forever by the Vanguards–ultra-powerful robots from the dark heart of space, hell-bent on destroying humanity for reasons none can divine.

But when the Vanguards arrive, the unthinkable happens–the mecha that should be killing Gus instead saves him. Suddenly, Gus’s swan song becomes humanity’s encore, as he is chosen to join a small group of traitorous Vanguards and their pilots dedicated to saving humanity.

**DJ: What were some of your influences for August Kitko and the Mechas from Space?**

Alex: There’s plenty of anime–Evangelion, Macross Plus and Escaflowne. From America, there’s some Close Encounters of the Third Kind, a pinch of Pacific Rim. There are also quite a few musical influences: John Coltrane, David Bowie, Prince and Hiromi.

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Author Interview: Raymond E. Feist

Today I am interviewing Raymond E. Feist, author of the new epic fantasy novel, Master of Furies, final book in the Firemane saga!

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DJ: Hi Raymond! Thanks for agreeing to do this interview!

For readers who aren’t familiar with you, could you tell us a little about yourself?

Raymond E. Feist: My official bio has all the usual stuff, born in L.A., moved to San Diego fifty odd years ago, traveled a lot, got fired from many jobs before discovering writing. Educated at UC San Diego, and the rest of that sort of data. At my age, wanderlust, romance, and adventures are mostly fond memories and (slightly exaggerated) stories. Writing is the toughest and best job I’ve ever had. I write to entertain, nothing more, but occasionally good fiction touches on a truth or two that readers take seriously, My kids are grown and moved away. My current vices include sports (San Diego Padres and Los Angeles Rams), really good whisky, great films (and a few guilty pleasures), and reading history and biographies.

**DJ: What is Master of Furies and then the Firemane saga about?**

Raymond: There really is no twenty-five word or less answer to that one. The smart aleck answer is, “About four hundred and eighty pages, and three novels, respectively.” Summing up novels is tricky, because of spoilers, so let’s start with the Firemane Saga. My novels are all pretty much find a character and stick him or her into a world of hurt then see how they cope. The three novel chart the journey of three main characters, Hatushaly, the scion to a fallen kingdom, raised in secret by a hidden nation of criminals and assassins. He has known Hava, a young woman who was also raised by the same people. Third is Declan, a smith’s apprentice who becomes a master swordmaker. Destiny brings them together, with their stories intertwined by fate. Revenge becomes a factor in all their lives and drives them along paths none could anticipate.

Master of Furies is the third volume in that story, resolving horrific events and conflict detailed in the previous two books, bringing our main characters and others to life changing choices and irreversible consequences. Mysterious enemies are revealed and massive challenges manifest. Lives are forever changed and new confrontations arise that span worlds.

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Author Interview: Joseph Stone

Today I am interviewing Joseph Stone, author of the new horror and fantasy novel, A Perfect Night, first book in the Haunted Women series.

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DJ: Hi Joseph! Thanks for agreeing to do this interview!

For readers who aren’t familiar with you, could you tell us a little about yourself?

Joseph Stone: Hello, there! I am a historical and dark fantasy novelist. Aside from regular folks, my characters include ghosts, demons, werewolves, and now witches.

**DJ: What is A Perfect Night about?**

Joseph: This novel is about a girl named Fran who loses her mother at a young age, only to find the woman’s spirit remains by her side. The spirit comforts Fran when she’s sad or lonely, and disciplines her when she misbehaves. As Fran becomes a teenager, those disciplinary punishments become more severe and terrifying. One day, the estranged family of Fran’s father contacts her, and she learns what her abilities to sense spirits truly is.

**DJ: What were some of your influences for A Perfect Night and the series?**

Joseph: I’ve always wanted to write about witches since I read Anne Rice’s Lives of the Mayfair Witches as a boy. I loved the enormity of that story and the idea of a human bloodline having significance to the spirit world.

The idea for this story came from a dear friend of mine, also named Fran, who revealed to me how she and her family have been haunted by spirits all their lives. It’s not a matter they’re comfortable discussing, but each of them has had multiple, often unpleasant experiences with ghosts. Fran came to believe ghosts are attracted to her family because she and her siblings can sense the ghosts’ presence. To this day, Fran will not visit her aunt’s house because of the number of angry ghosts in the house who would taunt her as a girl.

The idea of a haunted house simmered with me for years before Fran also revealed that her mother’s spirit has visited her many times. They had a humorous relationship as adults in life, and to this day, her mother’s ghost plays pranks on Fran. A favorite keepsake will go missing for days or weeks, only to reappear on Fran’s pillow one night before going to bed. The idea of a parent remaining on earth to play with their child struck a chord with me, and a much larger story was born in my imagination.

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Author Interview: Edith Pawlicki

Today I am interviewing Edith Pawlicki, author of the new fantasy novel, Trials of Fire and Rebirth, latest installment in The Immortal Beings series.

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DJ: Hi Edith! Thanks for agreeing to do this interview!

For readers who aren’t familiar with you, could you tell us a little about yourself?

Edith Pawlicki: Thanks for having me! I always love talking about writing! Since 2016, I have been a full-time mother of twin boys. Honestly, that pretty much consumed my existence for two years, but I have always loved writing, and in 2018, I started again. My sons started school in 2020, and that’s given me a lot more time to write (Trials of Fire and Rebirth is my fourth book since I started writing again).Writing novels is wonderful for me because I am interested in everything! I double-majored in Japanese and Computer Science, and I minored in history; I taught English abroad and math and programming in the US before my sons were born. Throughout college, I was an assistant to the manuscript librarian at Rare Books and I spent my summers as a park ranger – so really, everything intrigues me, and books are a great way to use what I learn!

**DJ: What is Trials of Fire and Rebirth and then The Immortal Beings about?**

Edith: I created the Immortal Beings world for Vows of Gold and Laughter because I was fascinated by xuanhuan (western-influenced Chinese fantasy) and basically wanted to create an Asian-influenced western fantasy to explore. For Vows, I set myself the challenge of writing four very distinct characters with contrasting love stories but a shared quest. Their story was too complex for a single volume, so I split it into tales one and two of the Immortal Beings. For each story within the series, I choose an idea that I want to explore. For Trials of Fire and Rebirth, I was thinking about objective versus subjective reality. In the book, there’s a mortal cult that worships the God of Destruction. He thinks they’re crazy and does his best to ignore them, but as the atrocities that they commit in his name get worse, he realizes he has to face his past mistakes in order to understand and stop the cult. In the course of this, he meets a young god who is dealing with her own contradiction: she considers herself a woman, but she presents as male to the world. So the book explores both how truth can warp into delusion, and how belief can manifest a new reality, all while two gods fall in love and try to make the world a better place!

**DJ: What were some of your influences for The Immortal Beings series?**

Edith: I watched the Chinese epic Ashes of Love in 2019, and it blew my mind. The only Chinese fantasy I had encountered before that was the Monkey King as a child. I started researching the mythology in Ashes of Love only to realize it was based on a fantasy novel rather than mythology – Heavy Sweetness, Ash-Like Frost by Dian Xian. I started exploring xuanhuan, xianxia, and wuxia (subgenres of Chinese fantasy) and decided I really wanted to create my own Eastern-Western fantasy fusion. Most of the book is pure fantasy, but it draws on Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Hindu, and Thai influences. I think that Japan comes through the most strongly because I was exposed to Japanese culture since birth and lived there, but my grandfather grew up in India and my sister-in-law is Chinese, so a lot of stuff in my subconscious bubbles up and merges together.

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