Book Review: Welcome to Outcast Station by Jeanne Adams, Nancy Northcott

I enjoyed the characters and stories in this mystery pair.
Welcome to Outcast Station
by Jeanne Adams,‎ Nancy Northcott

File Size: 1094 KB
Print Length: 312 pages
Publisher: Rickety Bookshelf Press (August 31, 2017)
ASIN: B072M8D373
Genre: Colonization, Mystery, Sci Fi, Space Opera
My Rating: 4.5 of 5.0

Welcome to Outcast Station
Even outcasts deserve a shot at redemption.
~
The Accidental Plague by Jeanne Adams
Outcast Station is a backwater, but for BVax Scientist Ravinisha Trentham, any posting is better than washing dishes. Ravi is top in her graduation class, but only Outcast would hire a McKeonite. Someone on the station wants her dead, but when a plague breaks out, Ravi may be their only hope. If the murderer gets to her first, everyone will die.
The New Badge by Nancy Northcott
Deputy Marshal Hank Tremaine crosses the wrong person and lands at Outcast Station, the armpit of Terran space. His hostile boss promptly assigns him to a backcountry murder. Solving it will help redeem his reputation and get him posted somewhere more civilized. But failing to find the killer will bury his career once and for all.

Review:
These are two distinct stories set in a edge of space station that is looked upon as an outpost for the castoffs of employees. If you aren’t considered good enough, come from the wrong class or wrong people, or maybe have messed up on a prior assignment then this is the place you are likely to be sent.

In The Accidental Plague, the protagonist, Ravinisha, is a top of her class scientist who can’t get hired due to prejudice against her planet race. Fortunately, there are several officers at Outcast Station who look beyond the past and see her strong potential. The scientist whom she will follow gives Ravinisha the first warm welcome she has had in her young life. He shows her the ropes and even takes her sightseeing a bit. Ravinisha is also welcomed and accepted by the Station enforcement officers and several others.

But there are those who want her gone enough to vandalize her room and threaten her. There is also a sly offer made to cut her in on a smuggling ring. Ravinisha is coping with these issues when a feverish and deadly epidemic strikes across the station. Can Ravinisha find a cure before the station becomes a floating tomb?

I really enjoyed these characters and became invested in their well-being. There are small clues to pick up on the mystery which was nicely plotted and presented. I would love to read more about Ravinisha and her friends on Outpost Station.

The New Badge brings a new enforcement officer into town as a punishment from a boss with whom he conflicted. Deputy Marshal Hank Tremaine is actually a properly detailed investigator, but his forthright approach isn’t appreciated by everyone. He is assigned to a murder case in an outlaying area and it seems clear his new boss is going to make Hank’s redemption difficult.

Hank is determined to perform his job with precision, but he encounters obstacles in the form of sloppy work from his co-workers with discrepancies and deficiencies in the evidence. Next thing Hank knows his shuttle vehicle is sabotaged and he and a local officer are lucky to survive the crash. When Hank recovers from his injuries the chief hands him a wrapped-up case with an arrest based on witness testimony.

Hank and the locals are sure that the arrested suspect is innocent, and it sure looks like someone wants to close the case before Hank can uncover anything more. He is caught in a hard place because he will have to disobey his chief (and risk getting a better job posting) if he continues to pursue the investigation. Too bad it just isn’t his nature to walk away when the facts don’t add up.

I liked Hank’s character and enjoyed this mystery investigation. He really had to work around ineffective staff and corruption to solve the case. I would like to read more by this author too.

I was a little disappointed that the characters of the stories didn’t overlap. Still I was engaged by both stories. I recommend this to mystery and sci fi fans.

I received this through NetGalley. It qualifies for my NetGalley Challenge and was part of my November Sci Fi Month.

Audible Review: Terms of Enlistment by Marko Kloos

This is a solid military sci fi title.
Terms of Enlistment
Frontlines, Book 1
By: Marko Kloos
Narrated by: Luke Daniels

Series: Frontlines, Book 1
Length: 9 hrs and 37 mins
Unabridged
Release date: 01-28-14
Publisher: Brilliance Audio
Genre: Military Space Opera, Sci Fi
My Rating: 3.75 of 5.0

Publisher's Summary
The year is 2108, and the North American Commonwealth is bursting at the seams. For welfare rats like Andrew Grayson, there are only two ways out of the crime-ridden and filthy welfare tenements, where you’re restricted to 2,000 calories of badly flavored soy every day. You can hope to win the lottery and draw a ticket on a colony ship settling off-world, or you can join the service. With the colony lottery a pipe dream, Andrew chooses to enlist in the armed forces for a shot at real food, a retirement bonus, and maybe a ticket off Earth. But as he starts a career of supposed privilege, he soon learns that the good food and decent health care come at a steep price…and that the settled galaxy holds far greater dangers than military bureaucrats or the gangs that rule the slums.
The debut novel from Marko Kloos, Terms of Enlistment is a new addition to the great military sci-fi tradition of Robert Heinlein, Joe Haldeman, and John Scalzi.
©2014 Mark Kloos (P)2014 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.

Review:

Andrew Grayson is a 17-year-old welfare rat in a dysotpian world where there is a far divide between the few rich, the few upper class and the multitude of depressed, going nowhere welfare class. Andrew decides the only way out is to enlist in the service and hope he can make his way to a future rather than death because even in the service the lower class are considered expendable.

Boot camp is the expected torture but Andrew is lucky to team up with a wealthy and intelligent girl, Halley. At the end of the training she gets a coveted Navy assignment while Andrew is sent to serve in the Terrain Army (TA) which gets earth-side duty so he won't even get to go to space.

Andrew actually does well as a military grunt and for the most part likes his platoon team. They are sent on mission to help quell a welfare uprising but get trapped. There is a major firefight and Andrew helps pull off a rescue, but the PR guy isn't happy with his efforts which caused civilian casualties. He is facing discharge or imprisonment until his sarge leans on the desk jockey PR officer and gets Andrew a shot at his dream.

Andrew and Halley are reunited on a Naval ship and things are looking up until the ship is attacked and a handful of crew manage to survive on a hostile world. Halley helps come keep them alive initially and in a last-ditch rescue after Andrew and the marines face a devastating battle with Gargantuan aliens.

The author handles boot camp and unexpected combat action well. I really did like the action sequences but didn't get strong feelings for the characters. The plot wasn't bad, but the characters didn't seem fully fleshed out. Perhaps because they were teens they just didn't create a connection for me. The ending left me sort of "meh". It is an engaging first story for sci fi buffs to check out to see if it might click for them.

Audio Notes: Luke Daniels is a good choice for this story. He does a good job with the feel of the settings and the nature of the characters such as they are. I enjoyed the listen.

This is another TBR sci fi title from my Audible Library. It qualifies for Mount TBR and Audiobook Challenge.

MBS November 2017 Reading List Wrap Up

MBS 2017 Reading List - NOVEMBER

Code for the list is:
A = Audible; ABJ = Audiobook Jukebox; ABB = Audiobook Boom
e = eBook; eA = eBook from Author; eT = eBook from Tour
NG = NetGalley
P = Print; PT = Print from Tour
LBC = Ladies Book Club
TBR = From the TBR shelves prior to 2017

Favorites (5 stars): Patched Together; Hope Under the Mistletoe and We Are Legion

1. A- Audible Book Review: Apocalypse: The Days of Elijah, Book 1, by Mark Goodwin; Apocalyptic, Religious, Sci Fi; my rating 4.5.
2. A- Goodreads/Audible Book Review: The Undead: Deleted Scene by R.R. Haywood; Sci Fi, Zombies; my rating 3.75.
3. PTour- Book Review and Tour Giveaway: King Harald's Snow Job by Richard Audry; Animals, Cozy Mystery; my rating 4.25.
4. A-Narrator- Audible Review: Fight like a Man: A Post Apocalyptic Thriller by L.L. Akers; Post Apocalyptic, Sci Fi; my rating 4.25.
5. LBCPrint- Book Review and Giveaway: Patched Together: A Story of My Story by Brennan Manning; Christian, Inspirational, Religion; my rating 5.0.
6. eNG Book Review: Always Gray in Winter by Mark J. Engles; Military, Sci Fi; my rating 4.0.
7. eTBR- Goodreads Book Review: The Snow Owl by Jon Hartling; Fantasy, Sci Fi; my rating 4.0.
8. A-Author- Audio Book Review: Virus: Earth's Last Battle by Ray Jay Perreault; Military, Post-Apocalyptic, Sci Fi; my rating 4.0.
9. ATBR- Goodreads Book Review: Christmas Present (The Chronicles of St Mary's #4.5) by Jodi Taylor; Fantasy, Sci Fi; my rating 4.0.
10. eTBR- Goodreads Book Review Hey, Santa: SciFi Alien Holiday Romance (An Alien for the Holidays) by Jessica E. Subject. Fantasy, Sci Fi; my rating 4.0
11. eTBR- Goodreads Book Review: A Ninja Dinosaur Christmas!!! by Sonya Saturday; Children, Sci Fi; my rating 3.0.
12. eTBR- Goodreads Book Review: Christmas, Corpses, and Clockwork Kittens by L. A. Nisula; Clockwork, Mystery, Sci Fi; my rating 4.0.
13. eTBR- Goodreads Book Review: Chasing Christmas Past: An Airship Racing Chronicles Short Story Prequel (The Airship Racing Chronicles) by Melanie Karsak; Sci Fi, Steampunk; my rating 4.0.
14. ATBR- Goodreads Book Review: A Literary Christmas Anthology; Classics, Holiday; my rating 4.0.
15. e-Author Book Review: Book Review: Mistletoe Kiss by Marie Landry; Christmas, Holiday, Romance; my rating 4.5.
16. eTBR- Goodreads Book Review: A Christmas Tale (Pepper and Longstreet) by J.T. Lewis; Ghost, Fantasy, Sci Fi; my rating 4.0.
17. eTBR- Book Review: Hope Under the Mistletoe by Jessica R. Patch; Christian, Inspirational, Romance; my rating 5.0.
18. e-Author- Book Review: The Letterbox by Layton Green; Mystery, Supernatural, Thriller; my rating 4.0.
19. ATBR- Audible Book Review: Tech World by B.V. Laron; Military Space, Sci Fi; my rating 4.5.
20. eNG- Book Review: Oberon's Meaty Mysteries: The Squirrel on the Train by Kevin Hearne; Animals, Mystery, Paranormal, Urban Fantasy; my rating 4.5.
21. eNG- Book Review: Welcome to Outcast Station by Jeanne Adams, Nancy Northcott; Colonization, Mystery, Sci Fi, Space Opera; my rating 4.5.
22. ATBR- Audible Book Review: We Are Legion (We Are Bob) Bobiverse by Dennis E. Taylor; Sci Fi; my rating 5.0.
23. ATBR- Audible Review: Terms of Enlistment by Marko Kloos; Military Space Opera, Sci Fi; my rating 3.75.
24. ATBR- Audible Book Review: Cloak of the Light by Chuck Black; Action and Adventure, Religious, Sci Fi; my rating 4.25.
25. eAuthor- Book Review: Kristian's War by Peter Wisan; Religious, Sci Fi; my rating 4.25.

Total read = 25; TBR = 12; New Authors = 18
Audio/Audible = 10 (5 TBRs)
eBook = 10: 3 Author
NetGalley = 3
Print = 2

Sunday Post December 3, 2017/It's Monday! What are You Reading? Plus Mailbox Monday December 4, 2017

I am linking with Sunday Post at Caffeinated Book Reviewer.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading now at The Book Date.
Thank you to Sheila for the years that she handled this meme.
Thank you to Kathryn for taking up the baton.

What Are You Reading, is where we gather to share what we have read this past week and what we plan to read this week. It is a great way to network with other bloggers, see some wonderful blogs, and put new titles on your reading list.

Hubby and I had a nice dinner out on Thursday to celebrate our 32nd. He bought me flowers and I bought dinner since he cooks most nights. LOL.
I did get a Kindle Fire but I haven't opened it yet. I'm still nursing my old Kindle a half hour at a time.

I enjoyed my reading/listening. I finished 4 books for the week: two audios and two ebooks. I posted three reviews plus I posted my usual memes.

I visited 30 blogs early in the week.
Shout out this week to Between My Lines who has a very nice "bookish" blog.
Thank you to all the nice people who visit me.

These were last week's posts:

• Sunday Post November 26, 2017/It's Monday! What are You Reading? Plus Mailbox Monday November 27, 2017.

• eTBR- Book Review: Hope Under the Mistletoe by Jessica R. Patch; Christian, Inspirational, Romance; my rating 5.0.

• ATBR- Audible Book Review: Tech World by B.V. Laron; Military Space, Sci Fi; my rating 4.5.

• Martha's Bookshelf***Friday Pick Giveaway December 1, 2017. Open Worldwide. Ending 12/7/2017.

• eNG- Book Review: Oberon's Meaty Mysteries: The Squirrel on the Train by Kevin Hearne; Animals, Mystery, Paranormal, Urban Fantasy; my rating 4.5.

• Sharing Beyond Books #331 Comment Giveaway December 2, 2017. Open Worldwide. Ending 12/9/2017.

• Sunday Words of Encouragement December 3, 2017.

I continued titles for #RRSciFiMonth.


Finished Reading:

1. eBook/Kindle (Author)

Kristian's War (The Searcher Series Book 1)  
by Peter Wisan
I liked this post-apocalyptic, Biblical allegory.
Received from the author.
Click on book title for full description.

2. Audible/MP3 (TBR)

Defining Diana
By: Hayden Trenholm
Narrated by: Art Carlson
Series: Steele Chronicles, Book 1
This is a good sci fi, gene-based, mystery.
This was from 9/2012.
Click on book title for full description.

3. Audible/MP3 (TBR)

Letters from Atlantis
By: Robert Silverberg
Narrated by: Tom Parker
Length: 3 hrs and 1 min
This was the last book I pulled out for #RRSciFiMonth.
It ended up I recognized the story so it was a re-read or re-listen.
Publisher's Summary
It was a legendary island, a fantastic island. Atlantis. Or as its prince called it, Athilan. Roy had traveled through time with his partner, Lora, to find it - and now he was tantalizingly close to its shore. Time travel allowed Roy's consciousness to enter the mind of the heir to Atlantis' throne, and what he found disturbed him. Strange dreams. Impossibly futuristic inventions and machines. How could such an advanced city exist at this time? The rest of the world was, as Lora witnessed in her travels, a dark, barbaric land still thawing from the ice age.
Roy had been preparing for the odd isolation of time travel, but nothing had prepared him for his final arrival on Atlantis - a shimmering city far beyond his imagination! Roy knew this island's fate. According to legend, it would vanish into the sea. Roy also knew he had a limited amount of time to decipher the strange message in the Prince's mind - visions of cataclysmic events, mysterious rites to a faraway star. If Roy was in an Atlantis unlike anything the researchers had predicted, then what were its secrets? And when would it be destroyed?
©1990 by Agberg, Ltd.; (P)1998 by Blackstone Audiobooks

4. eBook/Kindle (NG)

Gift From The Stars
by James Gunn
This is interesting hard sci fi from my NetGalley stack.
Click on book title for full description.

Currently Reading:

1. Print/Ladies Book Club

The Vision and Beyond
by David Wilkerson
This is my Ladies Book Club read 
to be discussed next Saturday, 12/9.
This book has the same content as the Original 1974 version, but is has 2 additional chapters added that Update the book and includes important segments from "Racing Toward Judgment.

2. Audible/MP3 (TBR)

A State of Treason
By: David Thomas Roberts
Narrated by: Charles Craig
Length: 12 hrs and 13 mins
This is good listening!
I am interested in how it ends.
Publisher's Summary
A US president with outward contempt for the Founding Fathers and the limits of the US Constitution, who's administration is rocked by scandals....
The Governor of Texas, the self-described mortal enemy of the president, directs a legendary Texas Ranger to rescue a Tea Party organizer from the clutches of federal agents. The resulting struggle sets the stage for a cataclysmic power struggle between officials in Austin and Washington, DC, further polarizing the nation and resulting in arrest warrants for duly elected state officials.
The rest of the country and, the world, watches in awe and despair as the "Texas Crisis" unfolds, affecting world financial markets amid skyrocketing fuel prices. The Texas legislature sends the vote to the people of Texas and the president orders the vote stopped as he suspends the Second Amendment and declares martial law. Texas is now in A State of Treason.
©2014 David Thomas Roberts (P)2015 David Thomas Roberts

3. eBook/Kindle (NG)

Sugar Pine Trail: A Small-Town Christmas Romance (Haven Point)
by RaeAnne Thayne
I'm ready to start my holiday reading.
Received through NetGalley.
An unlikely attraction brings comfort, joy and unforgettable romance this holiday season!
Librarian Julia Winston is ready to ditch the quiet existence she's been living. She's made a list of new things to experience, but falling for Jamie Caine, her sexy military pilot neighbor, isn't one of them. Julia's looking to conquer life, not become the heartbreaker's latest conquest. But when two young brothers wind up in Julia's care for the holidays, she'll take any help she can get—even Jamie's.
Happy to step in, Jamie reveals a side of himself that's much harder to resist. Not only is he fantastic with kids, he provides the strength Julia needs to tackle her list. She knows their temporary family can't last beyond the holidays, but the closer she gets to Jamie, the more she wonders if things could be this merry and bright forever…

4. Audio/CD

About a Dog
By: Jenn McKinlay
Narrated by: Allyson Ryan
Series: Bluff Point Romances, Book 1
Length: 9 hrs and 33 mins
I received this CD audiobook from the publisher through Audiobook Jukebox.
Publisher's Summary
Mackenzie "Mac" Harris fled her hometown of Bluff Point, Maine after being left at the altar and seeking solace in the arms of her best friend's off-limits brother, Gavin. Seven years later, she's back to attend her best friend's wedding, and she figures she's safe now from the mistakes of her youth.
But Gavin, the town's veterinarian, has never forgotten the woman who has always held his heart. And when Mac rescues a stray puppy named Tulip, only Gavin can help. With a little assistance from Tulip, Gavin vows to make Mac realize that their feelings are more than just puppy love....
©2017 Jenn McKinlay (P)2017 Dreamscape Media, LLC

5. eBook/Kindle (NG)

The Rancher's Christmas Song 
(The Cowboys of Cold Creek)
by RaeAnne Thayne
This is another Christmas read from NetGalley.
Keep a song in your heart this holiday season…
Music teacher Ella Baker’s plate is already full. But when single dad Beckett McKinley’s wild twin boys need help preparing a Christmas song for their father, Ella agrees on one condition: they teach her to ride a horse. She’s hoping that’ll help mend her strained relationship with her rancher father; it certainly has nothing to do with the crush that’s lingered since her one and only date with Beck.
It isn’t disinterest spurring Beck to keep his distance—if anything, the spark is too strong, with Ella reminding him of his ex-wife. Soon what started as an innocent arrangement is beginning to feel a lot like family. But with the holidays approaching, Beck and Ella will have to overcome past hurts if they want to keep each other warm this Christmas…

6. Print/Ladies Book Club

The Christmas Code Booklet
by O. S. Hawkin
I picked this up on sale for my book club as Advent reading for December.
The holidays can be a busy time! Keep your heart and mind focused on Jesus with this Advent devotional. Hawkins offers 25 seasonal entries tracing the story of Jesus from its earliest roots in the Old Testament to God's gift of salvation. Each entry features a Scripture passage, inspirational thought, "code word," and prayer of reflection. 64 pages, softcover from Nelson.

December 3, 2017 - I am 1/2 day ahead in the One Year Bible reading. I have been reading along with my husband and others from our church. I hope to take more time this year, staying on the day and listening to the companion commentary online.

I completed 4 books and posted 3 reviews. I am behind with 7 reviews pending. 
I am a week behind linking my reviews at Goodreads, Amazon and Audible.
My NetGalley shelf is now at 7; 5 more for this year and 2 for 2018. I still have one committed author title in queue and many through InstaFreebie.

We're working on two more fiction books soon to add to eTreasure's NetGalley page.

Welcome to Mailbox Monday.

Mailbox Monday is a gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house last week and explore great book blogs. This Meme started with Marcia at A Girl and Her Books (fka The Printed Page) and after a tour of hosts has returned to its permanent home at Mailbox Monday. Thanks to the ladies sharing hosting duties: Leslie of Under My Apple Tree, Serena of Savvy Verse & Wit and (yours truly). Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists.
I have two Ladies Book Club books to list and I received one audiobook and two hardback review titles last week.
I bought one Audible daily deal.
I bought one Kindle titles at $.99 and a special book at $9.99.
As usual, I picked up more free kindle titles as usual. (Note these are in my Amazon library, NOT on my Kindle until I download and transfer them.)
Are your mailbox and TBR piles blooming?

Review Titles

The Vision and Beyond,
by David Wilkerson.
See above under Currently Reading for full description.

The Christmas Code Booklet
by O. S. Hawkin
See above under Currently Reading for full description.

About a Dog
By: Jenn McKinlay
Narrated by: Allyson Ryan
See above under Currently Reading for full description.



I have book three, Battle Hymn (releasing 2/2018), from NetGalley and the publisher publicity assistant was kind to send me books one and two to read.
Into the Guns (America Rising)
by William C. Dietz
and
Seek and Destroy (America Rising)
by William C. Dietz

Won

NONE

Purchased

Audible Daily Deal title Purchased 12/2/17 $3.95
Fata Morgana
By: Steven R. Boyett, Ken Mitchroney
Narrated by: Macleod Andrews
Length: 12 hrs and 9 mins
Release date: 06-13-17
I like alternate history plots.

I picked up two Kindle titles:
One for $.99:
Tech Mage: The Magitech Chronicles Book 1
by Chris Fox

And this Special purchase for $9.99:
25 For One: A Charity Bundle
For Hurricane Relief in TX, FL, PR, and USVI
by Tom Abrahams (Author, Editor),‎ Bobby Adair (Author),‎ Jay Allan (Author),‎ & 22 more

Free

Because it is late I am not linking any of the free titles this week.

I added 59 free Kindle titles to my library this week. Titles found linked through Bookbub, Bookfun, Ereader News Today, Free Par-tay, Ignite Your Book, Inspired Reads, Pixel of Ink or Kindle ebooks.

Sunday Words of Encouragement December 3, 2017

We had a good Sunday School lesson continuing a study on death. Pastor continued the sermon series “Illuminate” with the second half of Galatians 5. Pastor reminded that all of Paul’s letter to the Galatians compares living under the law with living under grace.

Everyone must cope with the tug of war that comes with the expectations of life. We are bound in earthly forms with fleshly desires and can only find our freedom in Christ and by walking in the Spirit. Galatians 5:13-26.

Point: Living the Spirit-led life, means living a LIFE-giving life. 

How do we judge morality in the ever-changing standards of the world? We are to search God’s word and trust God's grace. We cannot succeed through human effort to keep the law, so we need to live each day by the spirit.

We should be loving our neighbor as ourself. Even within the church we should be Life-giving, encouraging each other, not tearing each other down.If we are criticizing and sniping at each other then we are destroying ourselves from within; doing Satan's job.

We must consider the Sin-led life vs. the Spirit-led life, noting the difference as set out as immorality in Galatians 5:19-21 and the fruits of the spirit in verses 22-26. Living in the Spirit means living for a higher standard. The higher standard produces. It doesn't just refrain from doing.

How do we live the Spirit-led life? Ask the Spirit to convict us and conform our lives. Nail the sin-led desires of life to the cross and leave them there where they are covered by Christ’s blood. Bury the sinful impulses or nail them each day.

I wanted to start Christmas songs today so this one fits a bit with the message.

Verses for Today:
Galatians 5: 24-25 NIV
24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.

Lord I pray that you help me each day to live by Your Spirit!