Review: A Slayer Comes to Town - Scott Westerfeld - October 2012 Before the world was saturated with vampire TV shows and movies like Twilight, The Vampire Diaries, and True Blood. There was one show that ruled the 90s and early 2000s for Vampires and it even inspired a spin-off called Angel. That TV show which was also made into a movie was Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Scott Westerfeld famous for his Uglies series and science fiction novels, brings a quick read essay from Smart Pop Kernels called A Slayer Comes to Town which is his impression and the impacts of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Scott Westerfeld talks about the differences between alternate worlds vs trespass worlds and how they relate to the hit TV show. An alternate reality is like this reality but things are different, it can be imaginative and fantasy-based. A trespass world though which I hadn't heard this specific term before but does make sense. A trespass world is when you have a world that is the present reality l...

The Doomsday Code Sara Yager Publication date: November 14th 2023 Genres: Adult, Thriller In an artificial intelligence lab in Shanghai, something has gone terribly wrong. Days after a major breakthrough in machine learning, CyberGen Industries’ lead AI scientist is dead—and their precious prototype has vanished into the ether. An investigation reveals that, against all odds, the lab’s “unhackable” system has been breached. The discovery, an algorithm mimicking human intelligence, is growing quickly—becoming more cunning and unpredictable with each passing hour. Soon its capabilities will eclipse its creators entirely. Who stole it? And more troubling, what do they plan to do with it? Ex-NSA hacker Adrian Pryor may be the only person on the planet capable of reining it in. He spent his career keeping the world safe, a vigilance for which he paid an enormous, personal price. Adrian knows there are people who will stop at nothing to control the powerful technology. He must fi...

The Doomsday Code Sara Yager Publication date: November 14th 2023 Genres: Thriller | Suspense | Sci Fi Thriller The greatest discovery in human history . . . OR OUR LAST? In an artificial intelligence lab in Shanghai, something has gone terribly wrong. Days after a major breakthrough in machine learning, CyberGen Industries’ lead AI scientist is dead—and their precious prototype has vanished into the ether. An investigation reveals that, against all odds, the lab’s “unhackable” system has been breached. The discovery, an algorithm mimicking human intelligence, is growing quickly—becoming more cunning and unpredictable with each passing hour. Soon its capabilities will eclipse its creators entirely. Who stole it? And more troubling, what do they plan to do with it? Ex-NSA hacker Adrian Pryor may be the only person on the planet capable of reining it in. He spent his career keeping the world safe, a vigilance for which he paid an enormous, personal price. Adrian knows there ...

Stars on Fire Sky Gold (The Sable Riders, #1) Publication date: February 26th 2023 Genres: Adult, Paranormal, Romance, Science Fiction The thing is, Selene, I don’t do forever. It’s not what this is.’ – Kainan Sable. He’s lethal, wraith-like, a warrior who lives in the twilight, the hidden inferno amongst the stars. She’s driven, ambitious, and unrelenting, with an allure that forces him from the shadows. He needs to control the intensity of his reaction to her. She fights the temptation glinting in his sapphire wildfire eyes. He wants revenge. She wants forever. But he can’t give her ‘forever’. Or can he? War is stirring in the skies and stars above Eden II. Between empires in ascension and realms in decline. Kainan and Selene find themselves caught up in the maelstrom. Together they’ll light the stars on fire, even as darkness beyond their control seeks to turn their destiny – and their forever – to ashes. __________________________ If you’re in the mood for: A ...

Anubis Adrienne Wilder (Wolves Incarnate, #2) Publication date: June 13th 2022 Genres: Adult, LGBTQ+, Paranormal, Romance, Science Fiction It was supposed to be over: The Utah Facility discovered, New World Genetics dismantled, and the people hunting Luca, dead. Finally, Nox and Luca could start their life together. Then strangers, who call themselves Varu, come to Luca for help. They call him Cana and claim he’s the only one who can bring back their wolves. The Varu tell Luca and Nox how a people called Mah are responsible for the atrocities of the Utah facility, unearthing the ichor and infecting Nox with the Anubis. How the creature will consume Nox’s mind. How he will become the monster. Then it will destroy Luca. But they can stop that from happening if Nox is willing to risk death by letting them purge him of the ichor. As far as Nox is concerned, it’s a small price to pay to keep Luca safe. Luca can’t convince Nox that the Anubis isn’t the mindless entity th...

The Trial Show: The Resistance Rises Konstantina P. Publication date: July 11th 2022 Genres: Science Fiction, Thriller Forced into the shadows while waging war on an oppressive regime intent on controlling those born with unnatural powers, the Resistance feels like a family. And although all families harbour secrets, theirs are world-shattering. When Ava Moore foresees the death of her sister Brooklyn and Resistance leader Parker Quinn is forced to appear in a televised trial accused of murder, the web of lies begins to unravel. For not only is Resistance’s second-in-command, Jay Frazer, fighting a guerrilla battle with deadly consequences, he’s also trying to bury his deep-seated love for Parker. With Parker and Jay temporarily out of the picture, double-agent Trent Reese is left responsible for leading the Resistance. Trent is willing to adapt his moral code to any situation, but what—or whom—does he believe in? As for innocent Ava, who’s plagued by unsettling visions, it’...

Smart Girls Don’t Kiss Aliens! Alina Jacobs Publication date: May 31st 2022 Genres: Adult, Comedy, Paranormal, Romance Crash-land on an alien barbarian planet and told there’s no way home? LMAO! I’m a rocket scientist. Miss me with that noise. Anyone else might have a nervous breakdown, but I was abducted with my besties. Among us, we have fifteen PhDs. We will be getting off this planet. Trust . No, I will not be finding an eternal bonded mate among the seven-foot-tall alien males. No, I will not be wearing a furkini and walking around barefoot. And no, I will not be moving into a cave with no internet or running water and accepting my fate like the rest of the freed human women on this craft-cocktail-forsaken planet. Two liquid hydrogen rockets and a smidge of deep-space travel later, and we’re back home on Earth. Except that our spaceship had stowaways. Now there’s a seven-foot-tall alien named Cassius in my Los Angeles condo. He’s explaining calmly that according ...

Beast Charming Grace Goodwin (Interstellar Brides Program: The Beasts, #5) Publication date: April 26th 2022 Genres: Adult, Paranormal, Romance, Science Fiction One dance with this ‘prince’ could cost her a job. Her freedom. Her life . Warlord Tane of Atlan is a warrior, not a prince. So why is he wearing these ridiculous white pants and gold-trimmed jacket? And gods help him, why are there hundreds of females in glittering gowns, circling like vultures, expecting him to dance? The human producers of the Bachelor Beast television show thought this would be a good idea; dress up an unmated Warlord like a fairytale prince, invite hundreds of eligible human women to a ‘ Cinderella Ball’, turn on their cameras, and record everything . And then he sees her. His mate . The only female who can tame his beast. But… This princess wasn’t supposed to be at the ball. A borrowed ballgown. A stolen invitation. A friend in trouble. Everything is going according to plan…until she ...