This review was first published in and is reposted with permission from Shelf Awareness.
​In the thrilling space adventure The Oxygen Farmer by Colin Holmes (Thunder Road), a lunar-dwelling curmudgeon discovers a secret that may not only endanger those who learn it--but also the entire human race.  
Mil Harrison has lived and worked on the moon as an oxygen farmer for 35 years. He doesn't much like things or people that get in the way of his doing his job, so when his truck breaks down one day, he takes a shortcut through an Exclusion Zone on the way home for spare parts and stumbles across a mysterious facility--one that triggers a radiation warning when he approaches. His initial probing into what's hidden there results in the death of a young astronaut; his granddaughter's removal from a crew flying to Mars; and the possibility of a cover-up that may involve the person who is both chief administrator of the space agency and possible future vice president--who also happens to be Mil's daughter.
Holmes crafts a twisty thriller with conspiracies to spare, in which a small band of endearing characters will have to use all of their considerable skills to prevent the destruction of the moon and of life on Earth. There are some details of dialogue that make it hard to believe that Mil, so named because he was the first baby born in this millennium, is an aging member of Gen Z rather than a septuagenarian from today. Still, this is a rollicking science-fiction thriller that will please fans of Andy Weir. --Kristen Allen-Vogel, information services librarian at Dayton Metro Library

This review was first published in and is republished with permission from Shelf Awareness.
​A secret superweapon capable of wiping out entire populations tips a world into full warfare in the action-packed The Olympian Affair, second in the steampunk Cinder Spires series from Jim Butcher (The Aeronaut's Windlass).
Humanity has long lived in the Spires, high above the dangers of the planet's surface. Fleets of airships sail among them, powered by ether and carrying out trade--and, of course, war. The Spire of Aurora's armada has unleashed a new weapon that has completely destroyed some smaller outposts, and it won't be long before they take on more ambitious targets. Spire Albion will need all its diplomatic force at the upcoming trade summit at Spire Olympia in order to gather allies to stand against them, but there may be dissent growing in the Auroran ranks. Not everyone is comfortable with wielding Spire-destroying weapons.
The result is a thrilling tale of high-stakes duels, monstrous creatures, and diplomatic negotiations featuring a wide cast of appealing characters, including some talkative cats. Although this is the second in the series, new readers and those who haven't read The Aeronaut's Windlass since its release in 2015 will quickly be able to orient themselves. The multiple plot threads, including battles between airships and opponents facing each other down with crossed blades, sometimes move around so much that a chapter's cliffhanger may dangle for some time, but any frustration is purely due to the successful creation of suspense. Readers will be eager to see where the series goes next. --Kristen Allen-Vogel, information services librarian at Dayton Metro Library