Tag: sci-fi

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BOOK REVIEW: Red Demon by Sill Bihagia

RED DEMON is a Sci-Fi Romantasy Blend debut author by Sill Bihagia. It is phenomnal!


Published: September 16th, 2025

Genre: Science Fantasy / LGBTQ+

Features
Spicy romantic subplot

Morally gray characters

Emotional depth

    SYNOPSIS

    A century ago, two human lines nearly wiped each other out rather than acknowledge their shared humanity. But when Jesse’s mining town is slaughtered under mysterious circumstances, it’s clear ancient bigotries are still alive, and rebels have access to some magic or tech capable of wide-scale genocide.

    The Red Demon bloodied her swords in that massacre   , a bioengineered immortal left over from that century old war. Jesse expected her to be upholding his empire’s fragile peace, not killing her own. But Jesse is too optimistic and stubborn to break. Better days are coming-and he’s willing to take on an immortal to protect the life he’s rebuilt among the ashes. 

    Faruhar, the so-called Red Demon, is not the mastermind Jesse expects. Her fragmented mind is ravaged by guilt over crimes she cannot remember committing, and a code impressed on her by a few kind people she cannot forget.

    REVIEW                                                                                                                                                     

    Debut author Sill Bihagia knows what she is doing in her powerful debut, RED DEMON. I don’t get moved by books at all, but this book tore at my soul. Red Demon is epic and viscerally written with deep, integrated world-building with fleshed-out, rounded characters. It gave me “Game of Thrones” with a dash of “Fifth Element” vibes. However, some have compared it to Red Rising, The Poppy War, or Gideon the Ninth .  We are introduced to Jesse, who was out with his brother hunting. Upon returning to their quaint mining town, he finds everyone is dead. Hope, though, shines when he sees that one of his older brothers is alive. The hope does not last for long as a figure appears with bright red hair. She murders his brothers right before him, leaving Jesse alive. Why?    

    Orphaned Jesses comes upon another town where he states his tragedy. Other towns have been wiped out, too. There is a rumor, talk of a disease used by rebels and a mysterious figure with red hair. “The Red Demon.”  A blacksmith and his family take Jesse in, adopting him, teaching Jesse the way of the sword as Jesse vows to find The Red Demon and kill her.  When the Red Demon strikes again in his new home with his new family and friends, Jesse is prepared, but only discovers that she actually saved his life. He learns that Red Demon is more than she seems.

    That is only the gist of it. Red Demon has so many delicious layers that do not disappoint you as a reader. As a writer, it brings joy that the craft of wordsmithing is not dead. There are writers and then there are storytellers. Bihagia is a storyteller, fitting in nicely with the other sci-fi fantasy writing greats. Bihagia says about her book:

    “It reads like fantasy, “but it’s grounded in science—CRISPR, neuroscience of memory, and mycological bionetworks. That’s there under the surface for the hard SFF readers, and those who are here for the emotional stakes find a villain who remembers who she loves… even if she forgets why she kills.”    

     Like I said, this book has layers. I also loved the action fight scenes. Best cleanly written fight scenes with sharp, precise cuts, making the words visualize and dance like a ballet in my head. I usually skim fight scenes in books. Bihagia kept me reading blow for blow. 

    While I like Sci-fi, I have quite lost interest in the genre and have been more into mystery thrillers. Red Demon brought me back, making me remember how good sci-fi fantasy can be when written well.

    RED DEMON gets 5⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of 5 stars.

    GET YOUR COPY TODAY AVAILABLE ON AMAZON AND ONLINE BOOK SELLERS EVERYWHERE.

    http://Sillauthor.com

    ABOUT THE AUTHOR

    Sill Bihagia is a data analyst, sword collector, and suburban chicken farmer with a background in evolutionary and behavioral neuroscience. They live in Severna Park, Maryland with their husband and two children. Sill writes speculative fiction with mature, approachable prose, emotional wreckage, and sharp wit. Red Demon is their debut novel and second published title. Their new imprint, Oria Press, champions inclusive, human-written speculative fiction with traditional-quality polish, seeking to lift up other indie writers with similar values.

    Follow Sill at @sillauthor on Instagram. Get signed, sprayed-edge editions available at Sillauthor.com

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    Book Spotlight Thursday DF: The Mark of Dreams and Darkness by Arabella K. Federico

    A double-feature spotlight! I could not let this one get away! The cover drew me in to want to pick it up. As a bonus, there is to be a special hardcover edition upon release, too, which is just as alluring!

    The Mark of Dreams and Darkness

    
Expected Publication Date: September 16, 2023

Genre: NA Fantasy w/ Sci-Fi Elements


“Am I a good person?”

After the devastating events of the Titan Games finale, Karalevine Ruzz and her Starseed family find themselves in a panicked frenzy to get their fellow Starseed teammate back from the clutches of the vicious Arianyte Empire. The prince, Malakyte Ardeen, hasn't stopped his relentless search for Kara, determined to make her his no matter the cost.

Haunted by the certain doom of her fellow Starseed, Kara makes a fateful decision –to enter the lethal Titan Games, a merciless competition where the stakes are life and death. The prize? A face-to-face reunion with her captured friend and the chance to confront the very enemy that threatens Earth’s very existence. With each step closer to her teammate's liberation and Earth’s freedom, the line between allies and enemies blurs with every heartbeat.

But the Titan Games are no ordinary contest, and its host is no mere prince. As Kara faces off against other deadly contenders, she simultaneously clashes with Malakyte in an entirely different arena–a battleground of the heart.

Amidst the heart-pounding action and pulse-racing intrigue, Kara finds herself at a crossroads. Good versus evil, nurture or nature, redemption and fate. Will she succumb to the darkness within her heart, or will she hold fast to the better nature she strives to embody?

    Special Edition Cover

    Along with the regular release, there will be a RARE AMAZON EXCLUSIVE Special Edition Naked Hardcover featuring special INKED edges printed directly onto the paper (these are not sprayed edges.). These will be LIMITED 1st edition, and only 1,000 copies will be available.

    “The Mark of Dreams and Darkness” is the spellbinding sequel to the award-winning and bestselling novel “The Mark of Chaos and Creation.” A tale of forbidden love, pulse-pounding action, and the indomitable spirit of a heroine torn between duty and the tumultuous darkness of her heart. Will Kara unravel the mysteries that entwine her fate and bring about freedom, or will she succumb to the allure of a love that should be her downfall?

    Prepare yourself for an enthralling journey where love and danger collide, and nothing is as it seems. Arabella K. Federico delivers a masterfully crafted tale that will leave you breathless, captivated until the final page, and yearning for more.

    Add to Goodreads

    AVAILABLE SEPTEMBER 16th

    AVAILABLE NOW

    The Avengers meets Sailor Moon meets Arcane League of Legends in this mind-bending mashup of fantasy and science fiction in which a young woman must fight and lie and do whatever it takes to secure the thing she wants most: revenge. If you’re in the market for something different on your bookshelf yet keep the familiar tropes you love in fantasy fiction, like enemies to lovers, forced proximity, fated mates, and found family, you’ll obsess over The Mark of Chaos and Creation until the very last page.

    Where do you draw the line between fighting for the greater good and vengeance?

    Available on Amazon

    ABOUT THE AUTHOR

    22370532

    My name is Arabella K. Federico, and I am a passionate debut author. My YA novels explore the Sci-Fi and fantasy genres with a mind-bending metaphysical twist you’ll never see coming. Let’s just say nobody writes like Arabella.

    If you want something different-yet with familiar tropes you crave-I’m your next favorite author. Don’t let the indie author thing fool you; my debut novel, “The Mark of Chaos and Creation,” was professionally edited by a talented industry pro who’s one of the developmental editors on Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn, as well as Tricia Levenseller’s Daughter of the Pirate King duology, and literally hundreds more traditional and indie books that are best-sellers.

    As an author, coach, and teacher of all things writing craft, I hope to take my amazing readers on a ride they won’t soon forget. Storytelling is my passion. It lights me up like Christmas day and makes me more giddy than it probably should. Writing stories is my destiny, and I hope every new reader whose adoration I gain joins Arabella’s Army and follows me down the path of taking over the world. Because women who follow the status quo typically never break it, and over here, we shatter expectations.

    Follow Arabella at Arabella K. Federico