Marie Sinadjan
Bio
Filipino spec fic author and book reviewer based in the UK. https://linktr.ee/mariesinadjan • www.mariesinadjan.com
Stories (303)
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Book Spotlight: Hive by D.L. Orton
What if saving the future meant rewriting the past? In a dying world overrun by microdrones, humanity's last survivors cling to life inside the Eden-17 biodome. Isabelle Sanborn knows her time is running out, but one desperate plan might give humanity a second chance. With the help of Madders, an enigmatic AI built from the memories of a brilliant physicist, Isabelle sends Diego Nadales—the love of her life—35 years into the past. His mission? To change the course of history and prevent their world's collapse. When Diego arrives in the vibrant yet fragile Main Timeline, he's forced to confront ghosts of the past, including a younger, ambitious version of Isabelle. As he battles to shape a better future, Diego must navigate a delicate web of relationships and events without destroying the very fabric of time. Brimming with suspense, heart-pounding action, and a poignant love story that transcends time, Madders of Time - Book One is a breathtaking science fiction adventure. Award-winning author DL Orton weaves a tale that explores sacrifice, resilience, and the timeless power of love. Fans of The Time Traveler's Wife and Dark Matter will find themselves captivated by this unforgettable journey through parallel worlds and intertwining destinies. The clock is ticking. Can love survive the collapse of time itself? Prepare to lose yourself in the first installment of the Madders of Time series—a story that will keep you turning pages and leave you hungry for more.
By Marie Sinadjan8 months ago in BookClub
Book Review: The Hangman's Master by Elyse Hoffman
In a world torn by hatred, sixteen-year-old Stefan Harkel is cast out of his home and drawn to the Nazi Party's Brownshirt Unit. But when the Führer turns against his own during the Night of Long Knives, Stefan vows vengeance for those he lost. Stefan joins the anti-Nazi resistance, and his thirst for revenge takes him down an unexpected path: he is chosen as a warden in Hell, tasked with overseeing Zone N-1 and the soul of Reinhard Heydrich, a key architect of the Holocaust. However, he is not alone in this dark role; a ruthless Nazi seeks to seize control of the power within Hell for himself. As Europe’s fate teeters on the edge, Stefan must protect his charge from falling into the wrong hands, facing a battle that will determine the balance between good and evil.
By Marie Sinadjan12 months ago in BookClub
Audiobook Review — Bambi: The Story of Life in the Forest by Felix Salten
With a preface read by John Chancer. Most of us think we know the story of Bambi - but do we? The Original Bambi is an all-new translation of a literary classic that presents the story as it was meant to be told. For decades, audiences’ images of Bambi have been shaped by the 1942 Walt Disney film - an idealized look at a fawn who represents nature’s innocence - which was based on a 1928 English translation of a novel by the Austrian Jewish writer Felix Salten. This masterful new translation gives contemporary audiences a fresh perspective on this moving allegorical tale and provides important details about its creator. Originally published in 1923, Salten’s story is more somber than the adaptations that followed it. Life in the forest is dangerous and precarious, and Bambi learns important lessons about survival as he grows to become a strong, heroic stag. Jack Zipes’ introduction traces the history of the book’s reception and explores the tensions that Salten experienced in his own life - as a hunter who also loved animals, and as an Austrian Jew who sought acceptance in Viennese society even as he faced persecution. Published in German in 1923, this coming-of-age story of a roebuck deer would soon become known around the world. Bambi is often seen as the first work of environmental literature, written by an author with a deep love for animals. Yet Felix Salten was also an Austro-Hungarian Jewish man in Vienna, striving for acceptance by the cultural elite. Just as Bambi must learn to survive alone in the forest, men lurking in the shadows, Salten had to navigate and endure the very real threats of antisemitism and fascism. Salten’s bestseller was eclipsed by Disney’s 1942 animated classic, which warped the book’s thematic intentions and watered down its literary power. However, Jack Zipes’s new translation (Princeton University Press, 2023) – published one hundred years after Salten wrote the original – brings Bambi back to life. By leaning into the author’s anthropomorphism, Zipes helps makes it clear: this “animal story” is equally an allegory for the violence and suffering of humankind. And yet, as we also see here, it is possible for outsiders of all species to find transcendence in a cruel but beautiful world.
By Marie Sinadjan12 months ago in BookClub
Book Review: Through a Window Darkly by Helyna L. Clove
Noll and Jayce Morgan are lanehunters—that is to say they are used to perilous spaceship chases through the erratic, wormhole-like space-time tears that plague their cosmos. They are decidedly not used to one of those gateways suddenly changing up its game and separating the twins with only a slight hope of ever finding each other. Now Noll has to ally with a reclusive alien, a traumatized spy, and a bizarre agent duo in service of the crumbling galactic empire ruining everyone's day to save her brother's life. The clock is ticking, but when the universe turns out to be even stranger than Noll imagined, she's not sure her fear disguised as swaggering grit would pull her through once again.
By Marie Sinadjan12 months ago in BookClub
My 5⭐️ Reads of 2024
2024 was a great reading year, despite the slump that overtook me in the latter half. Getting the hang of audiobooks has been such a godsend! Anyway, I thought I'd do a roundup of my favorite reads last year, and I'm pretty surprised by the variety I ended up with. I even have a non-fiction book that I really enjoyed, how's that? 🥰
By Marie Sinadjan12 months ago in BookClub
Book Review: Skylark in the Fog by Helyna L. Clove
So when the universe falls to pieces, it doesn’t mean your life has to, right? That comes later. Jeane Blake, captain of the spaceship Skylark, makes her living by looting dead worlds, planets fallen prey to naturally occurring wormhole-like rifts plaguing the cosmos. She survives the only way she knows avoiding commitment and arguing with her dead foster father's ghost. But when her crew stumbles upon an alien device that could collapse the wormhole network and wipe out all sentient life, they catch the hungry eyes of the Union, a tyrannical empire hunting the sinister tech. As she flees the Union’s brainwashed agents, Jeane is forced to take on a shady mission and gets stuck assisting the runaway monarch of a technocrat planet. Queen Maura Tholis is seeking the aid of an interstellar resistance to reclaim her war-torn world, with another trouble-magnet device as her bargaining a glove that allows her to command AI systems. Jeane couldn’t care less about the whole deal, but things become personal when the Union annexes the place she calls home. And it might be her fault. Reluctant to become weapons in the hands of power-hungry militants and desperate rebels, smuggler and queen join forces. But to save their homes, they must redefine themselves, work with the enemy, and face personal traumas they’d buried long ago—and only stars know which challenge might break them in the end.
By Marie Sinadjan12 months ago in BookClub
Book Review: Glunda The Veg Witch by Keith W. Dickinson
“A witch’s boots told the story of her life. They showed you where she’d been, where she was going, and what kind of a witch she would be when she got there. And, most importantly, they were proof that said witch was not someone to be trifled with. She was to be listened to, and obeyed, and yes sometimes even feared, because her wisdom was hard earned and her wrath swift and mighty. They would have to be, for her to have lived in such boots for so many a year. No one trusted a witch in brand new boots, and rightly so as far as Glunda was concerned.” Glunda Ashwillow is on top of the world. About to become head witch, and the youngest ever Guardian of the Golden Key, the only thing standing in her way is her old enemy, the Drupe Mages. They have the key, and they're not willing to give it up without a fight. With a coven of quarrelsome witches to contend with, and a fief full of farmers on the verge of revolt, can Glunda beat the mages and get the key before she runs out of veg? Or is there a cold, hard, carrot-less winter ahead for all concerned? A tale of heroism and hotpots, Glunda The Veg Witch is a fun fantasy adventure everyone can enjoy.
By Marie Sinadjanabout a year ago in BookClub
Book Review: A Necromancer Called Gam Gam by Adam Holcombe
A grandmotherly necromancer seeking resolution for her past with the help of her loyal entourage: an undead cat and a spectral knight. A girl on the run from the Eternal Empire for the mysterious power she possesses. When a chance encounter pulls them together, Gam Gam will do what it takes to protect Mina from the rogue sergeant hounding her–including raising the dead. As long as they're dressed for the occasion.
By Marie Sinadjanabout a year ago in BookClub
Book Review: The Phoenix Keeper by S.A. MacLean
Set in a magical zoo teeming with mythical beasts from dragons and unicorns to kelpies and krakens, The Phoenix Keeper is a fierce joy of a cozy fantasy novel with a soul-restoring queer romance at its heart, for fans of The House in the Cerulean Sea and Legends and Lattes. As head phoenix keeper at a world-renowned zoo for magical creatures, Aila's childhood dream of conserving critically endangered firebirds seems closer than ever. There's just one glaring caveat: her zoo's breeding program hasn't functioned for a decade. When a tragic phoenix heist sabotages the flagship initiative at a neighboring zoo, Aila must prove her derelict facilities are fit to take the reins. But saving an entire species from extinction requires more than stellar animal handling skills. Carnivorous water horses, tempestuous thunderhawks, mischievous dragons... Aila has no problem wrangling beasts. But mustering the courage to ask for help from the hotshot griffin keeper at the zoo's most popular exhibit? Virtually impossible. Especially when that hotshot griffin keeper happens to be her arch-rival from college: Luciana, an annoyingly brooding and insufferable know-it-all with the face of a goddess who's convinced that Aila's beloved phoenix would serve their cause better as an active performer rather than as a passive conservation exhibit. With the world watching and the threat of poachers looming, Aila's success is no longer merely a matter of keeping her job... She is the keeper of the phoenix, and the future of a species – and her love life – now rests on her shoulders.
By Marie Sinadjanabout a year ago in BookClub
Audiobook Review: Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
The Emperor needs necromancers. The Ninth Necromancer needs a swordswoman. Gideon has a sword, some dirty magazines, and no more time for undead nonsense. Brought up by unfriendly, ossifying nuns, ancient retainers, and countless skeletons, Gideon is ready to abandon a life of servitude and an afterlife as a reanimated corpse. She packs up her sword, her shoes, and her dirty magazines, and prepares to launch her daring escape. But her childhood nemesis won’t set her free without a service. Harrowhark Nonagesimus, Reverend Daughter of the Ninth House and bone witch extraordinaire, has been summoned into action. The Emperor has invited the heirs to each of his loyal Houses to a deadly trial of wits and skill. If Harrowhark succeeds she will be become an immortal, all-powerful servant of the Resurrection, but no necromancer can ascend without their cavalier. Without Gideon’s sword, Harrow will fail, and the Ninth House will die. Of course, some things are better left dead. Narrated by Moira Quirk
By Marie Sinadjanabout a year ago in BookClub
Audiobook Review: Heir of Illusions and Others by Rachanee Lumayno
How do you step into your power when you have none? “Oh, Endri. Don’t say never. You’ll get it soon, I’m sure.” It’s a sentiment I’ve heard countless times. You would think living in the kingdom of Annlyn, land of shapeshifters, would make my own talent come easier. Except my shapeshifting ability has yet to appear—much to the embarrassment of my birth family, who abandoned me years ago. But even under the tutelage of my adopted father Pazho, I still haven’t unlocked my talents. And maybe I never will. So when we hear rumors of—and start finding—other shapeshifters who are forced into their animal forms, unable to turn back, I’m safe. For now. Because whatever is hunting the people of Annlyn has set its sights on my family, my new friends from Calia, Annlyn’s crown princess … And me. Journey to the Gifted Lands, a fantasy world of seven kingdoms, each known for their own unique power or ability. Heir of Illusions and Others is the sixth book in the Kingdom Legacy series set in this magical world. Each book features a new character from one of the kingdoms, with appearances from beloved characters from previous novels.
By Marie Sinadjanabout a year ago in BookClub
