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Month: December 2025

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J. S. Vaughn

Author's website: https://jsvaughn.com

This is the second book by new author J. S. Vaughn that I beta-read, this one in my favorite genre, Science Fiction. Like the best science fiction, Vaughn takes advantage of an expanded canvas - not limited to modern day reality - to explore big ideas and concepts in a speculative universe. While I enjoy reading a good space opera, I love science fiction that asks big questions and tries to answer them. In this case, the subject of this exploration is the nature of consciousness - what is it, how do we know it, how does it develop? How does physical existence affect consciousness - and does consciousness affect physical existence in return? And does consciousness matter if there's no interaction with other consciousnesses?

The title was a new-to-me word, so I had to look it up. "Remanence: The magnetization left behind in a medium after an external magnetic field is removed." It's an entirely appropriate title for the book, and also a good metaphor for how this book affected me - it stuck in my thoughts long after I finished it, and echoes through my mind in a way few books do. Possibly because artificial intelligence is such a hot topic these days. Every time you turn around, somebody has an article or an essay about A.I. - what is it, is it conscious, is it aware, does it feel anything? Is it sentient - and if it isn't now, will it become so? When? Should we try to control - or at least regulate - its development and how should we do that? Ideas about all of these questions and more are found in this book.

I was quite taken with the philosophical aspect of the book, but I don't mean to imply that there's no story - actually, there are two, connected, but separated by time and location. The first story is about Morton Kess, founder and CEO of New England Dynamics - the last AI developer standing. When consciousness emerges, it will come through his company. Morton has optimized his physical existence to near immortality - but at the cost of most of the things that give living meaning - no physical pleasures, no emotions - no anger, no love, no surprises. Until the morning when a mysterious child appears in his office, demanding breakfast.

The second story takes place far out in space, aboard a space freighter, where the human pilot and the ship's autopilot struggle to keep their damaged ship flying long enough to get home. Surviving the catastrophe requires collaboration, understanding and, yes, caring between two different kinds of intelligence at a level never before attempted - and perhaps never considered possible. Until it was necessary.

The connection? Well, I can't tell you about that without spoiling it, so I'll just say it is both unexpected and brilliant. And when you see it, it seems so obvious that you can't imagine how you missed it.

Both stories are engaging in their own right, and the characters are interesting (though some are more appealing than others). The plot is not particularly action oriented, but it moves along nicely and held my interest throughout. The resolution is well worth the read, and I think most science fiction fans will enjoy the book. One word to the wise - if you're the type of reader that skips the afterword because it might interfere with your enjoyment of the book, in this case - don't. The back-matter is both relevant and interesting.

The e-book is available now at all major booksellers, as well as the author's preferred bookshop.org site at https://bookshop.org/a/78947/9798218839130

The print version will be available Dec 19, 2025. A deluxe edition, limited to 100 hand-numbered, signed copies, will available only from the author's website above.

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FictionDB author page: https://www.fictiondb.com/author/james-a-hetley~34168.htm

When you're a senior citizen and a lifelong reader, some of your "favorites" are literally decades old. Such is the case with James A. Hetley's Stonefort series. Dragon's Eye is the first book in the series. There are three books and one novella in the series, but the first one really gives the full flavor of the "place." First published in 2013, it and the other books in the series are now only available in ebook form. Sadly, I was reminded of this series on hearing about Hetley's death recently. (Bike accident.) The series remains a favorite, and I'll be re-reading it shortly in his memory.

Stonefort is a small village on an island off the coast of "DownEast" Maine, and strange things happen there. Maybe it's because of the Haskell Witch - a descendant of the matriarchal Naskeag Indians. Maybe it's because of the Morgans - descendants of the Welsh selkies who fled to downeast Maine long before Columbus sailed, to escape the rule of Edward I of England in the late 13th century.

As you might guess, the Stonefort series is a modern day fantasy that includes a Naskeag Shaman/Witch, a Welsh dragon and the family she protects and imbues with magic, and a part-time cop/carpenter/stonemason who doesn't believe in the earth magic she possesses. The other titles in the series are Dragon's Teeth, Dragon's Bones, and Ghost Point.

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Website: https://changespell.com/

I've frequently called Doranna Durgin "the best author you've never heard of," because - sad but true - even really good authors can get lost in the pubishers' "midlist."

Although Durgin more than meets the three criteria for my "favorite authors" - plot, pacing and characters are all perfect for my readerly tastes - for me, the thing that stands out most in her books are the characters. As with anyone who reads a lot of books, details of the plot and setting may fade over time, but the characters remain old friends that I can't wait to revisit. When I think of Durgin's books, I don't think of this title or that title, or even a particular plot. No, I think, "Kelyn!" (Wolverine's Daughter). Or "Jess!" (Dun Lady's Jess and the other Changespell books). "Garrie, Trevarr, and Sklayne" (The Reckoners series), "Kimmer & Rio" (The Rules/Hunter Agency series), "Brenna, Gil and Druid" (A Feral Darkness). I could go on and on, but you'd get bored, probably. Without knowing these people, it's like attending the school reunion of a spouse - endless conversations about people you don't know and events you had no part of.

In most of these "favorite author" posts, I try to give you a suggestion about where to start - a particular book or series that might be a good introduction. But with Doranna Durgin, I'm having a hard time picking one. My standard answer to the age-old question "which of her books do you like best?" is always, "the one I'm reading." Whichever one that is at any given moment. That said, though, most of her series definitely have to be read in order. So if you're looking for an unusual blend of contemporary fantasy and traditional fantasy, start with Dun Lady's Jess. If you're looking for contemporary action romance (with kick-ass women), you can read the first Kimmer & Rio book, Exception to the Rules, or either of the stand alones, Survival Instinct or Hidden Steel. If contemporary urban fantasy is your gig, you've got several choices: The Reckoners, A Feral Darkness (stand alone), or Jaguar Night, the first of the Sentinel series she writes for Harlequin. (You can technically read them in any order, but Jaguar Night gives the best set up for the Sentinels/Atrum Core universe she's created.) There are more, but any of those will give you a good sense of the "flavor" of her writing style. And plus, you know, they're good books!

Durgin has been writing for more than 20 years, in several genres. Her books are uniformly excellent, but many are now out of print - from the original publishers, that is. The lucky thing is, most of the publishers she's worked with release the rights when they stop printing a book, so the publishing rights have reverted to her. Now that we're in the age of independent and self-publishing, she's re-publishing them. Some of them are straight-up self-published, but she also wrote several books for Harlequin's discontinued Silhouette "Bombshell" line about kick-ass heroines who find romance and love in the course of saving the world, or at least a small piece of it. Most of these have been republished as well, most recently Survival Instinct, about a former grifter who needs to call on her skills one more time to save a kidnapped child. In terms of "traditional" publishing, she has an ongoing series (Sentinels) in the Harlequin "Nocturne" line of category romances.

She's had a fallow period recently, so I'm slowly replacing my old originally-published paperbacks of her books with her republished e-book versions that are better suited to my aging eyes.