Crossline by Russ Colchamiro - Book Tour Review

First Published: March 2013

Genre: Science Fiction/ Fantasy

Welcome to another wonderful blog tour! This time I’m doing a review of the book Crossline by Russ Colchamiro. I’m excited to get into all the reasons I enjoyed this book and hope that you all enjoy it too!

Included is a giveaway that all of you can be a part of for a free copy of this book and a $15 Amazon Gift Card so don’t forget to enter!

“A high-flying adventure of a novel, filled with ambitious ideas and a breathtaking conclusion.” — The Leighgendarium

In the SciFi/Fantasy spirit of Firefly, Buck Rogers, Flash Gordon, Stargate, and Escape from New York…

Hotdog pilot Marcus Powell has been selected to test Taurus Enterprises’ Crossline prototype craft and its newly developed warp thrusters, which, if successful, will revolutionize space travel as we know it.

But during his jaunt across the stars, Powell is forced into a parallel universe — including a parallel Earth — where he finds himself at the center of an epic battle he may have been destined for all along.

Meanwhile, back home, reclusive oil tycoon and Taurus CEO Buddy Rheams Jr. — who sent Powell on that very mission — has a mysterious past and a secret agenda, one that could prevent Powell from ever making it back to his wife and little girl.

From author Russ Colchamiro, Crossline is a psychedelic, action-packed romp across time, space, and dimension that asks the question: once you cross the line, can you ever really go back?

Find the book on Goodreads

Purchase the book here: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Review:

I wasn’t sure how I was going to feel about this book. I don’t generally like Sci-Fi books on a whole, space and aliens oddly enough isn’t something I enjoy. The plot however seemed to be different and I was willing to give it a try, reading something you normally wouldn’t is always a good way to test what you like and don’t like.

The book is pretty hefty with 61 chapters, 338 pages, that are split up into three parts. Thankfully it doesn’t feel like it’s too long or not long enough. So let’s get into this spoiler free review!

“They say you should shoot for the Moon, my boy, and if you miss, you’ll still be among the stars.” Buddy nodded to the twinkling sky. His enthusiasm belied his advanced years. “If I was a younger man, such as yourself, out there on my own, in the far reaches of the cosmos–face to face with the gods–I might just have to accidently on purpose chase those stars as far as they go. If I was that kind of man. Which, let’s face it,” —the Old Man offered a sly grin—“I am. But that’s just me. Right, Powell?”
Russ Colchamiro – Crossline

What a wild ride this was! I didn’t know what to expect but I knew after the first chapter that this was going to be such a fun book to read. I wasn’t disappointed. The character development is insane in this book for me, there are so many characters that are introduced throughout that you would think that it would be a difficult thing to do but I swear they all grew into their own in varying ways.

This was such a fast paced book, I remember being at about 80% of the way through wondering how this was going to be wrapped up because so much had happened and yet there was still so much yet to happen. It just flew by and it didn’t feel rushed or crammed either. I

“He helped me realize that if you let other people decide your worth, you’ll trap yourself inside the cage they’re trying to lock you in. And you’ll hate yourself –and them– while it happens.”
Russ Colchamiro – Crossline

I think one of the most interesting parts though was the world development. I don’t go for books that are complex in those ways, maybe it’s because I’m just too simply, but this didn’t feel like it was too much to handle. Yet the world that you are reading about is expansive! It isn’t like the world as we know it, so it makes it more interesting to see what the author did here.

The twists in this book were so good too! You didn’t know who to really root for, you didn’t know exactly who was good and who wasn’t and I enjoyed that so much. I yelled at this book so many times! Out loud. Yes, I know I’m crazy but it was that good.

He steadied himself, because like his father told him: Nerves only mean you ain’t completely stupid. Get over it, boy. There’s work to be done.
Russ Colchamiro – Crossline

I would totally recommend this book to anyone! While it’s a sci-fi genre, the sci-fi doesn’t overtake the overall story so it’s easy to enjoy it for the story without feeling overwhelmed by it.

Excerpt:

The warp engines were ready for the first of six return blasts it would take to get him back to Earth, when a blip came across the screen. Powell shifted toward the incoming message, but his short-range sensor interrupted him. Something in the Saturn rings. Video amplification revealed that among a cluster of particles was an odd-shaped fragment, with sharper, more reflective edges than he would expect. But he supposed that after debris crashed around over millions if not billions of years, who knew what was really out there? He looked again. Probably nothing of consequence. Just some lagging hallucination from the multiple warps.

As suspected. Just ice particles swirling around the planet. Billions of frozen blue ice particles floating in space that—

Powell focused his monitor on the third ring layer. Studying it more carefully, his sensors revealed that the particle cluster wasn’t in the Saturn ring, but among it. The fragment wasn’t ran- dom, a collection of dust, or some anomalous asteroid fragment.

It was another ship. Looking just like Crossline. And headed his way.

About the Author:

Russ Colchamiro is the author of the rollicking space adventure, Crossline, the zany SF/F backpacking comedy series Finders Keepers: The Definitive Edition, Genius de Milo, and Astropalooza, and is editor of the SF anthology Love, Murder & Mayhem, all with Crazy 8 Press.

Russ lives in New Jersey with his wife, two ninjas, and crazy dog Simon, who may in fact be an alien himself. Russ has also contributed to several other anthologies, including Tales of the Crimson Keep, Pangaea, Altered States of the Union, Camelot 13, TV Gods 2, They Keep Killing Glenn, Thrilling Adventure Yarns, Camelot 13, and Brave New Girls.

He is now working on the first novel in a new series featuring his hardboiled private eye Angela Hardwicke, and the first of three collaborative novella projects.

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