Guest Review: Ark Royal By Christopher G. Nuttall

If you wish for peace, prepare for war.

-Royal Navy Motto

Seventy years ago, the interstellar supercarrier Ark Royal was the pride of the Royal Navy. But now, her weapons are outdated and her solid-state armour nothing more than a burden on her colossal hull. She floats in permanent orbit near Earth, a dumping ground for the officers and crew the Royal Navy wishes to keep out of the public eye.

But when a deadly alien threat appears, the modern starships built by humanity are no match for the powerful alien weapons. Ark Royal and her mismatched crew must go on the offensive, buying time with their lives And yet, with a drunkard for a Captain, an over-ambitious first officer and a crew composed of reservists and the dregs of the service, do they have even the faintest hope of surviving ...

... And returning to an Earth which may no longer be there?

Review: Those expecting this book to be about one of the five different ships that served with the Royal Navy under the name “Ark Royal” will be disappointed. Instead, it is a science fiction book about a space carrier with this name. However, there are parallels; Ark Royal serves with the Royal Navy which now operates in space, and carries several squadrons of starfighters which can be deployed during combat through its launch tubes. There are other similarities in the book in that other space vessels of the Royal Navy are also named after former warships.

At the beginning of the book, Ark Royal is an obsolete museum piece, with heavy armour plating and outdated systems, held in orbit around Earth. Its skeleton crew consists mainly of personnel who have been assigned because the Navy couldn’t think of anywhere else to post them. This includes the ship’s captain Ted Smith who has a drink problem. Humankind has expanded into other star systems and set up colonies on their planets and asteroids. However, some of the systems at the further reaches of humans’ exploration have been attacked by aliens, who appear to have superior weapons that can destroy modern spaceships. It is decided to bring Ark Royal out of mothballs and send it to combat the aliens in the hope that its heavier armour will afford it protection against the aliens’ weaponry. The book describes how reservists are called up to bring the crew to full complement and to ready the ship and its squadrons for combat. There follows tense battle scenes as the Ark Royal confronts alien spacecraft.

This is the first in a series of books by the author, and introduces readers to the space vessel and the various members of its crew. I listened to the audiobook version and enjoyed the narrator’s voice characterisations. I thought the story bore some resemblances to other science fiction dramas, such as Star Trek and Star Wars. Overall, I found this to be a thrilling science fiction adventure, although the ending did leave some loose ends to be picked up in subsequent books in the series.

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Review: Resistance is Futile by Jenny T Colgan

Connie thinks she's never met anyone quite like Luke Beith before.

She has no idea how right she is.

As a high-ranking mathematician in a male-dominated field - with bright red hair - Connie's used to being considered a little unusual.

But she's nowhere near as peculiar as Luke, who is recruited to work alongside her on a top-secret code breaking project.

Just what is this bizarre sequence they're studying? It isn't a solution to the global energy crisis. It isn't a new wavelength to sell microwave ovens. The numbers are trying to tell them something . . . and it seems only Luke knows what.

The truth is out there. Will Connie dare to find it?

Review: This book was completely different from everything I expected. I am a massive Jenny Colgan fan and so of course I was going to pick this book up. I knew it would be a kind of crossover between her rom com stuff and her sci fi stuff but I wasn't expecting the combination to be quite this stark. If you like Jenny Colgan's rom com stuff, this has it in, if you like a bit of sci fi, this is also included in this book. Rather than being a mixture of both, this book just has both aspects to it!

This book was interesting but wasn't really my cup of tea because it was just too much sci fi for my liking so if you're not ready to suspend your disbelief, then you won't enjoy this book, but if you fancy something that covers both aspects, I am sure you will have a great time with this novel! I really liked the characters in this novel, there were a lot of them but they were all so well-developed, it was easy to tell one scientist from another. I listened to the audiobook version of this and so it should've been easier to determine by their accents but unfortunately the accents were pretty bad so it was a little trickier, thankfully I has this novel on kindle too!

I liked both Connie and Luke as characters and as the book went on, I found myself warming to Luke more and more, his history and his back-story make him very endearing and I was willing this tale to be a happy ending for him. I enjoyed reading about Connie as well but I did find as the book went on, I found myself liking her less, which was interesting, I just felt that she lost herself a bit  as her storyline progressed because of her involvement with the storyline itself (sorry no spoilers!)

As I say, this book wasn't really for me but I did like the characters, the settings and I thought the idea behind it was a good one, just a little too far fetched for me to suspend my knowledge of real life! I really liked the fact that this book deals with scientists and features a girl who is good at maths, not something that is usually covered-great stuff. I you're a Jenny Cold fan and like a little sci fi with your romance then you will love this book.

Review: The Humans by Matt Haig

It's hardest to belong when you're closest to home...One wet Friday evening, Professor Andrew Martin of Cambridge University solves the world's greatest mathematical riddle. Then he disappears. When he is found walking naked along the motorway, Professor Martin seems different. Besides the lack of clothes, he now finds normal life pointless. His loving wife and teenage son seem repulsive to him. In fact, he hates everyone on the planet. Everyone, that is, except Newton. And he's a dog. Can a bit of Debussy and Emily Dickinson keep him from murder? Can the species which invented cheap white wine and peanut butter sandwiches be all that bad? And what is the warm feeling he gets when he looks into his wife's eyes?

Review: what a funny yet thought provoking novel! I'd had this novel sat on my kindle for some time, but then I was lucky enough to meet this author in person and he was so funny and genuinely nice to talk to that I had to bump it up my TBR pile. I actually ended up getting this on audiobook and listening to it on my commute, it added a lot of colour and laughter to my trip on the m4 that's for sure! This novel is pretty hard to summarise so whoever wrote that blurb did a good job. How do you explain to someone that this novel is about being human, is about square numbers and is about some sort of alien who wants to destroy only those who know a certain mathematical formula, but at the same time is hilarious and funny and fast paced and definitely not a sic if novel? Blows my mind! 

I loved the idea behind the storyline, someone coming and discovering the human race, knowing practically nothing about it, is spitting a greeting on this planet? Why is it we have to cover our bodies with clothes? I also loved the development of this story, the more this creature learns about the human race, the more he enjoys being a part of it and the more easily he understands the decisions made by those around him. There are definitely some life lessons in this book as to how to tackle those big decisions and how not to sweat the small stuff, and yet there are some hilarious hilarious moments too! 

The characters in this novel weren't as much the stars as the actual act of discovering the human race and how to fit into it when you're brand new to it is. The professors and their wives are interesting but we don't know much about them as characters just as how they relate to the theory about prime numbers. Those that live on the other planet aren't really characters either, but none of this matters because the storyline is what hooks you in and makes you want to keep reading (or listening). I think this book would appeal to many different audiences because of its interesting subject matter and it's humour and is the perfect read for any time of year!