Peter Darrach

Tavern on the Edge of Time by Peter Darrach is the third book of the Second Skin Sequence, which I must admit was a nice sci-fi novel. Considering that I have not reviewed (or read) the previous two books, I decided to review this particular book as a stand-alone, rather than discussing the previous books. That being said, it’s not too difficult to get lost in the imaginative world that Darrach has created, but I would be lying if I said it was easy to pick up where I suppose the first and second books left off. However, all those things aside, the reader is met with the author’s blatant ability to keep them intrigued throughout the novel as well as his prominent writing skills that are often much to be desired for when it comes to independent publishing. In other words, Peter Darrach may very well be one of the best indie sci-fi authors I’ve come across. Sure, there were some editing problems that I picked up on as I read, but not to such an extent as to hinder the reading of Tavern on the Edge of Time. That in itself is quite an achievement. Nevertheless, as far as the plot is concerned, we have a very intricate world that’s been created with all kinds of interesting sub-plots and even a few twists and turns. Basically, it’s one helluva read and the reader will definitely relate to some of the characters on some level…

I did find some faults, but not enough to truly deem this book unreadable. Frankly, I found Tavern on the Edge of Time fun and different to what I usually have to read and I’d be more than happy to read the other two books as well. On the other hand though, I do have a bit of a problem with the cover. Now, yes I am well aware of the saying: “don’t judge a book by its cover”, but I do feel that the cover does not represent the book particularly well and to be perfectly blunt about it, I don’t think it’ll do much for sales either. This could be an unforgivable overlooking from the author’s part in the future. However, I’m not here to judge the cover, I’m here to critique the contents.

Tavern on the Edge of Time is a book for the seasoned sci-fi enthusiast and although I do think that it will also appeal to some entry-level sci-fi readers, it might not be for everyone. Sometimes imagination is limited in some folks and that could be problematic to them – merely because it takes a lot of work to imagine certain things – but Tavern on the Edge of Time will give your brain quite a work-out in that regard, which is why I enjoyed it. It’s not perfect, but like beauty – perfection is in the eye of the beholder.

(For the full review, please visit http://www.tentaclebooks.com/?p=343 )… (mere)

More reviews at: http://www.onstarshipsanddragonwings.com/2012/11/08/second-skin-too/

The classic science-fiction space adventure continues in Second Skin, Too, with interplanetary war, alien visitations and a couple of people just trying to keep a lid on everything!
I was freaking thrilled when Peter Darrach contacted me to review Second Skin, Too, the sequel to Second Skin. Despite my initial hesitations with the first book, I ended up loving the characters and story, and while Second Skin, Too slipped up a bit at the end, it was still a very enjoyable sequel. I’m very hopeful about the next book, though. I want more of the aliens! Why weren’t there more aliens?! Also, a warning, there may be some spoilers for the first book, so just go read the first review if you haven’t read the book ;-).

Title: Second Skin, Too
Author: Peter Darrach
Pages: 316 (paperback)
Genre-ish: Classic Space Sci-fi
Rating: ★★★★☆ - Great characters, lagged a little
Setting: Second Skin, Too is set in the future when Mars and the Moon have been colonized and asteroid mining has become a major industry. In the previous book, we had our first encounter with an alien species, showing that we aren’t alone in the universe, though most of the human population doesn’t know that. Tensions have steadily risen between Mars and Earth as Mars pushes for more and more independence from Earth, leading, some think, to an inevitable war.
Premise: Tensions with Earth have reached the point that Mars needs to send a peacekeeping mission for talks to Earth, and Max Cody and his fiance Elaine are headed to Earth. Previously Max was damaged and repaired by an alien creature, and now has super-human capabilities, which will come in use when he and Elaine go up against a warmongering company bent on war between Earth and Mars, including a CEO who will go to literally any extremes to get what he wants.
Strengths:
Once again, Darrach is very good at making a realistic sci-fi setting. I believe his details about the ships and mining operations, and even about Max’s super powers. Everything in Second Skin, Too is backed up with thoughtful and plausible semi-science ;-).
Max and Elaine (and Marion and Daniel, other secondary characters) are freaking awesome. I’m not usually a romance person, but Darrach does a wonderful job with happy and healthy adult romances where both parties are able to lead successful lives in addition to their personal involvements. It’s awesome and a model for romances everywhere.
More aliens! Towards the end of Second Skin, Too we get a few more hints and then some big reveals about the aliens involved in Max’s accident earlier. Learning more about Max’s second skin was definitely my favorite part!
Weaknesses:
I’m really not sure what is going on with these covers…. This one and the first one, they just turn me off majorly. How do you feel about Second Skin, Too’s cover? Also the title is just awkward to type…. I am just always disappointed to see awesome stories wrapped in less than awesome packaging, since it keeps people from discovering their amazingness!
Politics do not interest me…. It’s a problem. The main plot of Second Skin, Too is the war and trying to prevent the war and the peace talks and blah blah blah. I didn’t honestly care that much, which made it hard for me to pick up the book sometimes. For a book with such an awesome setting and freaking fantastic characters, there really should have been some adventure!
Summary:
Let me just say, I’m really hopeful about the third book, Tavern at the End of the Universe. First of all, that’s a great name. Second, it alludes to a lot more adventuring going on. These books have so much potential, but so far the plots just don’t seem to have taken advantage of it! In any case, if you like character driven books, Second Skin and Second Skin, Too are right up your alley. Max and Elaine are characters that I honestly feel like I’m friends with. Elaine feels like a big sister to me. I really enjoyed Second Skin, Too both for the interesting setting, technology and the comfort of characters that felt like friends. It’s just nice to read books like that ya know? Now if we could work on these covers…. I’m feeling something with a spaceship…. Thoughts?… (mere)

More reviews at: http://www.onstarshipsanddragonwings.com/2012/07/24/secondskin/

Second Skin is a futuristic, spaceship-filled sci-fi story of Max Cody, a asteroid miner who has a close encounter just before the Mars space station comes under attack from nefarious politicians and Max and his shipmate Elaine must save the day!
Second Skin was the first physical book I received for review, but because of it’s slightly strange cover, I didn’t pick it up right away! I’m glad that I have an obsessive need to read all review copies before any library books, though, because once I got into the main story of Second Skin, I was hooked.

Title: Second Skin
Author: Peter Darrach
Pages: 327 pages
Genre-ish: Spaceship Sci-fi
Rating: ★★★★☆ - solid story, just missed “wow” factor
Setting: Mars has been colonized and asteroids are being mined, which is risky business when there are people stealing ships and illegally retrieving ice from the asteroid belt.
Premise: Max Cody is a worker on a legal asteroid mining ship, but on his latest mission a strange event occurs. It seems to change him physically and just in time, because the illegal ice miner “Suicide” Sam is about to make life difficult….
Strengths:

A very realistic and scientifically grounded system (Darrach obviously did a fair amount of research!)
Max and Elaine have a wonderful dynamic, made me all squee-y
An enjoyable take on alien first encounters. It makes me hope there is going to be a second book that gets more into these new beings!
Weaknesses:

For some reason, there just wasn’t that compelling “wow” factor for me. I enjoyed Second Skin, but wasn’t completely hooked.
The cover art on the copy I got (and is picture above) kinda creeped me out. I understand what it’s about now, but it delayed me picking up Second Skin for a bit….
I was more interested in the aliens than the central plot, which was probably the “hooking” factor that was missing.
Summary:

I really enjoyed Second Skin, and really look forward to reading more in this world, but it just didn’t quite reach it’s full potential for me. If you want to read some classic spaceship sci-fi, definitely pick up Second Skin, but it probably won’t be a complete speed read for most of you :).… (mere)