Looking for Books Similar to Vampire Books? Try Phantom Universe, A Great Sci-Fi Fantasy
Phantom Universe by Laura Kreitzer
Looking for a sci-fi fantasy adventure with all the thrill of a vampire book but none of the fangs? If you love intrigue and suspense and want a story filled with danger then Phantom Universe is going to be just the thing you have been looking for. This is one sci-fi fantasy that has plenty of action, a bit of romance and even time-travel, without a single fang in sight.
Summer is a child of four when this sci-fi fantasy tale begins. She is kidnapped and spends the next eleven years as a slave on a pirate ship. It’s a hard life being the slave of pirates, and the brutal punishment leaves her mute, unable or at least unwilling to make noise that might attract the attention of the dreaded whip. This is not your light fairy-filled sci-fi fantasy, but a dark tale of human trafficking.
We see Summer through flashbacks to her early slave life, including a truly horrific scene of brutality. Then into her life comes a small piece of light by the name of Landon. In true sci-fi fantasy tradition she finds a savior. A fellow slave, he rescues her from a vicious crew member and becomes her friend. Then one day the ship is boarded by a group looking for Summer, and an old cell mate from her past shows up to take her away from the ship and the horror of her life.
One of the things I love in this book is that somehow in this dark sci-fi fantasy the author manages to tell us everything that Summer experiences even without the main character saying a word. It is really a sign of the writer’s power that she does it in a way that does not feel uncomfortable or in the least contrived. You can hear the ropes creaking on the pirate ship and smell her ever present fear.
Time Travel and Sci-fi Fantasy Mystery
Then this dark and mysterious sci-fi fantasy tale takes an abrupt turn when 16 year old Summer is swept overboard and finds herself on an island separated from Landon and in the hands of Jaden, a girl she knew 11 years ago when they were cell mates right after Summer’s abduction. But as they are recovering from the shock of the island a change comes over Summer and she is flung into 200 years in the future. And this is where a new sci-fi fantasy adventure begins, and romance. For here she meets Gage, who seems to know more about her then her is telling. Because there is something different about Summer, something she is beginning to suspect had a lot to do with her kidnapping when she was four.
As we are introduced to a very different world, a future where danger lurks around every corner, Summer also begins to unravel her own history. There is plenty of adventure to come, and a slow but steady sci-fi fantasy staple of a romance building between Summer and Gage as she learns to trust him, perhaps even more than she did Landon. There is all the right elements for a great sci-fi fantasy tale here, from the time travel to the mystery of just who Summer is. There are hints at the beginning of the tale, but because there are just enough of the sci-fi fantasy elements to keep us guessing, you feel compelled to keep reading to find out the truth. You will be pulled into this Phantom Universe and just may find yourself wanting more. Lucky for us, the next book in the series is coming out soon.
