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Black Star Renegades by Michael Moreci

Cade Sura holds the future of the galaxy in his hands: the ultimate weapon that will bring total peace. He didn’t ask for it, he doesn’t want it, and there’s no worse choice to wield it in all of space, but if he doesn’t, everyone’s totally screwed. The evil Praxis kingdom is on the cusp of having every star system under its control, and if that happens, there’ll be no contesting their cruel reign. Especially if its fanatical overlord, Ga Halle, manages to capture Cade and snag the all-powerful weapon for herself.

Cade can’t hide from Praxis, and he can’t run from the destiny that’s been shoved into his hands. So he only has one option:

He has to fight.

Cade’s not going to let destiny send him on a suicide run, though. With some help from his friends—rebels and scoundrels alike—Cade’s going to use this weapon to chart a new destiny for the galaxy, and for himself. He just has to do so before everyone around him discovers that he’s a complete and total fraud.

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Author’s Bio

Hi, I’m Michael Moreci. Thanks for stopping by. I’m the author of a number of comics, some you might even recognize. I’ve written Roche Limit and Hoax Hunters for Image, Curse and Burning Fields for Boom! and a few other original titles. I’ve also written stories for characters like Superman, The Flash, Wonder Woman, and Conan the Barbarian.

My debut novel, Black Star Renegades, will be released in January of 2018. It’s been likened to Star Wars and Guardians of the Galaxy, but I like to think of it simply as a fun space adventure story about a group of outcasts learning to believe in themselves–and trust each other–so they can find the power to defeat the galaxy’s evil.

So, that’s the book. As for me, I’m a writer, reader, and dad (in no particular order). Stories are at the center of my universe; they’ve taken me to more places than I can even imagine. But that’s what stories are to me–journeys. To other places, to new ideas, to seeing the world anew through a fresh set of eyes.

Now, I get to tell stories of my own, and I love every second of it. Let’s have some fun and go on some of these journeys together.

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My Review

4 stars

Cade Sura and his brother Tristan are orphans that have picked up for training to be a peacekeeper, Rai. Tristan is assumed to be the Paragon, someone that can handle a powerful weapon to save the universe. But when he is killed after capturing the weapon everyone starts thinking it is Cade that is the Paragon. But Cade wants nothing to do with this responsibility. Thankfully he has a couple friends that he can gather to help him stop Praxis and their War Hammer.

Cade has some serious self-esteem issues and is a general pain in the butt. I admit that there were times that he irritated me. But overall I think he was a good lead character that had one heck of a surprise dumped in his lap. Thankfully he can fake well enough that everyone doesn’t see how off balance and unsure of himself that he is. Of course you are going to have an evil queen, good and evil, and the battle for freedom.

You can tell that Michael Moreci loves Star Wars. A lot of this book is a slight adjustment on this series. I can see where this would bother people, but for me I really enjoyed the story. For me it didn’t affect me at all. I really enjoyed this story and would be interested in reading the next book in the series.

I received Black Star Renegards from Kaye Publicity for free. This has in no way influenced my opinion of this book.

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Waco: A Survivor’s Story by David Thibodeau

As a tie-in to the upcoming Paramount Network miniseries starring Michael Shannon, Taylor Kitsch, and Melissa Benoist and commemorating the 25th anniversary of the siege at Waco, comes an updated reissue of the critically acclaimed A PLACE CALLED WACO by Branch Davidian survivor, David Thibodeau.

For the first time ever, a survivor of the Waco massacre tells the inside story of Branch Davidians, David Koresh, and what really happened at the religious compound in Texas.

When he first met the man who called himself David Koresh, David Thibodeau was drumming for a rock band that was going nowhere fast. Intrigued and frustrated with a stalled music career, Thibodeau gradually became a follower and moved to the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas. He remained there until April 19, 1993, when the compound was stormed and burnt to the ground after a 51-day standoff.

In this book, Thibodeau explores why so many people came to believe that Koresh was divinely inspired. We meet the men, women, and children of Mt. Carmel. We get inside the day-to-day life of the community. Thibodeau is brutally honest about himself, Koresh, and the other members, and the result is a revelatory look at life inside a cult.

But Waco is just as brutally honest when it comes to dissecting the actions of the United States government. Thibodeau marshals an array of evidence, some of it never previously revealed, and proves conclusively that it was our own government that caused the Waco tragedy, including the fires. The result is a memoir that reads like a thriller, with each page taking us closer to the eventual inferno.

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My Review

5 stars

When I hear the word Waco, I think of a cult compound that was taken by siege from our government and that the leader, David Koresh, was a crazy, power hungry leader. But then I think back and realize that when Waco happened I was fourteen and my parents didn’t really care about it so I have never really spent any time looking into the real story. So, when I was asked to review this book I decided that I was going to take a look at what really happened.

When I think of cults, I think of the crazy Heaven’s Gate people or Jim Jones’ and the kool-aid. But there is so much more to these groups than the ends. David Thidobeau tells his story from the beginning and tells you what kind of person he was, where he was in the world, and what drew him to David Koresh. To understand Waco, you need to understand that people that were there, what drew them to Koresh, and why they stayed.

But there is so much more to this story than the group. What the government did at Waco was to create a nightmare situation. There we so many things that went wrong and many people died that should not have. But the thing that I agree with Thidobeau with is the media. They took what little information they had and twisted it around. That caused so much damage to the true story. Even today when you say the work Waco you think of crazy cult members blindly following a rabid leader.

This book is written by one of the few Davidians that survived the Waco siege. It is well written and very informative. It really opened my eyes to the true, horrible events that happened before, during, and after the siege. I’m glad to see that Paramount is going to create a six part miniseries on this. If you want to learn about real events on the Waco siege, I say look no further.

I received Waco: A Survivor’s Story from Little Bird Publicity for free. This has in no way influenced my opinion of this book.

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