Terminal Core

by Lynn Steigleder

Aon, a solid core planet made from the priceless and most dense element in the galaxy, caladium, is under silent attack. Plans are made by off-worlders to dissolve the unbreakable core using crude oil obtained from 19th century earth. Once the oil is refined, the byproduct, gasoline, will soften the caladium, allowing it to be collected. It is soon discovered the core is made from living beings created from caladium itself. The off-worlders employ a band of corrupt inhabitants to carry on this work. They find themselves in a constant struggle with a small coalition of Aonians bent on saving their home world. Both factions clash with the indestructible core creatures. With horrendous beasts one step behind and deadly pitfalls ahead, the coalition struggles to finish its journey, hoping to insure their races’ survival.

360 pages, Paperback

Published April 18, 2016

About the author

Lynn Steigleder was born in Richmond, Virginia. He spent most of his adult life as a supervisor in the field of construction and fabrication. In 2006, Lynn received a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis. Lynn realized the need to transition into a new career path due to his energy and mobility challenges.

His son suggested he consider writing as a career; having enjoyed his father’s short stories. Lynn agreed to the challenge and his first novel “Rising Tide” in the series, of the same name was released for publication in 2009. The second “Eden’s Wake” and the third “Deadly Reign” soon followed. “Terminal Core”, a standalone followed in 2016.

Lynn writes science fiction, fantasy and action adventure with a Christian flair.

Lynn’s ideas are often driven by daily events, things he sees in nature or any path his imagination decides to lead him down. He loves to write and enjoys the challenges of bringing a novel from conception, working with his publisher through the editing process, rewrites and reading the book many times before it goes to print.

www.lynnsteigleder1@gmail.com
www.lynnsteigleder.com
See website for social media and detailed information on my writing

Reviews

[Dianne · Rating 4 out of 5]

They were a small band of rebels, determined to save their planet from the greed and corruption of off-worlders bent on milking its very core dry. Aon isn’t a very large planet, but its core is very special, priceless, actually and there are those who will stop at nothing to have every last piece of it, destroying both the planet and its inhabitants. As good takes on evil in the battle to save Aon, the core itself comes alive with deadly creatures bent on self-preservation and no one is safe.
The Wild West meets Science Fiction in Lynn Steigleder’s TERMINAL CORE as an off-world mining company will try anything to own the priceless element, caladium, including killing a planet.

Characters with simple grit and pluck come to life as futuristic tools able to create everything from food to clothes with a thought let us know that we are NOT home on the range and those horses are not from Earth. Feel like you are in a creative warp between the nineteenth century west and a futuristic sci-fi adventure. This tale of survival will keep readers firmly planted on Aon soil, at least until the core creatures come out to play.

Clever writing, interesting characters and a unique spin on other world survival, this is one for the “must try this,” pile! Lynn Steigleder has his creative juices on a rolling boil!

I received this copy from Lynn Steigleder in exchange for my honest review.

Publisher: Soul Fire Press (April 4, 2016)
Publication Date: April 4, 2016
Genre: SciFi
Print Length: 358 pages
Available from: Amazon |  Barnes& Noble
For Reviews & More: http://tometender.blogspot.com

[Siobhan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Before I get into a full review of Terminal Core, I wish to write a quick preface. You see, I love science fiction books. I cannot get enough of them. Every so often I will go on a science fiction binge and such is pretty much all I will read for weeks. However, I am extremely picky when it comes to my science fiction reads. In all honesty, it’s probably the genre I rate the harshest. I’m not sure why this is, but such is the case. My love for the genre combined with my pickiness with such stories results in harsh reviews. I am trying to overcome this, though. With Terminal Core, I found the book didn’t quite reach the full four star rating. However, as I’m overly harsh with my science fiction ratings, I decided to round the rating up to four stars instead of rounding it down to three. To do such a thing would have been overly harsh of me, and I am trying to be nicer with my ratings.

For me, I found Terminal Core to be a really original read. The synopsis left me unsure of how the story would play out, leaving me fearful that it would read like a couple of other science fiction books I have read, yet once I started reading I realised this was a very unique book. The way in which the story develops, the scenes that play out, and the events that occur make for a very refreshing read. All in all, it was quite different from many of the science fiction books I usually find myself reading.

For starters, the world building was very interesting. In science fiction novels, one of two things can happen: we spend our time on planet earth with advances in technology, or we go off into space and rarely get a look at what earth is like. With this one, we come to understand both earth and a new planet. In fact, both are connected in ways many do not seem to know about. I’ll admit to being somewhat confused at first, unsure as to what was going on with the planets – but as the story progressed, the layers of mystery slowly unravelled to create a wonderful story.

In fact, the layers of mystery were my favourite thing. You were constantly left with questions regarding events and characters. You were never quite sure as to what piece of information would come about next. Ideas were constantly forming, possibilities continued to grow, but you were never quite sure as to what was to come next. It was a lot of fun watching everything come together, and I really enjoyed the way certain aspects were completely unpredictable. Throughout, I was desperate to understand all the different aspects of the storyline.

What prevented me from truly enjoying the book is a very personal view. You see, I enjoy nice long chapters. I want to jump into pages and pages of storyline that follow the same character. With this one, we have a lot of different characters with different storylines being told. This is a lot of fun, I cannot deny that, but the way in which the stories are told determines how enjoyable they are. For me, I found I was never really pulled into their stories the way I wanted to be. You knew all the characters would be coming together at some point, and it wasn’t until they started to come together that I found myself completely immersed in their storylines. Prior to the coming together of characters, the chapters were much too short for my liking. We’d have a handful of pages for a chapter before moving on to a new character, thus preventing me from falling as deep into the world as I would have liked to be. As I said, though, this is just a personal view. Some people really enjoy short chapters, but for me I like chapters to be much longer. The occasional short chapter is fine, but I find it hard to engage completely when chapters are all so short and jump between the characters.

Honestly, the storylines were all so enjoyable. I just wish we hadn’t jumped from one to the other so quickly and so often. They were all such interesting characters, and each had an air of mystique about them, that it was hard not to want to spend more time following their stories as we awaited answers to what they knew and what they were hiding.

I also felt like the ending was a little bit on the quick side. I really enjoyed the way everything came together, but in comparison to the rest of the book, the ending was all very sudden. It simply felt a bit too quick and easy, compared to the complexity of the book as a whole. It was enjoyable, yes, but I would have liked a wee bit more.

Overall, though, it was an enjoyable read. Very unique and interesting. It’s certainly worth a read if you’re looking for something different to the norm.

As a final note, I would like to thank the author for allowing me to read this in exchange for a review.

[Ramisa (sentrancedbookworm) Chowdhury · Rating 2 out of 5]

The author sent me a copy of his book in exchange for an honest review but in no way did it influence my opinions and all views are of my own.
When Lynn Steigleder asked me if I would like to review his new science fiction Terminal Core, I was more than happy to. I was looking for more diverse reads to add to my collection and the plot sounded perfect.
So it went like this:
Terminal Core could've been a great book but fell short due to many reasons.
To be honest, I have no idea what actually happened in the book. I was almost 30% in when I had to restart it all over again. And I swear to God, if you still ask me what happened to which character I would draw up a blank.
The first and foremost thing that put me off was the alternating chapters between the huge set of characters. It had me really confused on the numerous incidents and background stories and I never had any time to connect to any of them. What annoyed me more was that new characters were even introduced 83 chapters later. As if it wasn't hard to keep track of the so many alien forms!
The writing was my biggest irking. It wasn't well organized, it fell apart at times and to keep track of the descriptions were downright excruciating. There was no harmony among the writing style and I had a really hard time reading it until I finally DNFed at 95%. I was forcing myself to finish the book because it was a review copy but it was pushing me in a reading slump so I had to stop.

[Ellie · Rating 3 out of 5]

*I received this copy from the author but this has in no way influenced my opinion or review of the novel*

Sci-fi isn't a genre that I usually go for, but when I was contacted by Lynn to see if I wanted to review a copy of his book, I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to branch out and try something new. Other than a few inconsistencies in spelling, the overall writing of the novel was good. The quick dialogue and easy-to-read explanations of new concepts meant that the idea of a new world and terminology didn't hinder my usual reading pace, and the fight scenes were pretty enjoyable. The old 'Wild West' vibe throughout was cool too!

However, I wasn't a fan of the huge cast of characters that this novel attempted to keep up with. Considering sci-fi is something I often struggle with, switching between different pairs of characters every few pages overwhelmed me and meant that I never really grasped a cohesive sense of the intention of the novel as a whole. 

I definitely enjoyed Lynn's writing and would read his work again, but I think in the case of Terminal Core that the genre didn't end up matching with my personal reading tastes. 

[Jenny · Rating 3 out of 5]

Terminal Core is a unique sci-fi novel with an old western setting. Already, this distinguishes Terminal Core from other books, as I have never even heard of such an interesting combination of settings before. The story is promising, the writing is straightforward and to the point, which suits this novel.

However, there were two things that prevented me from enjoying this book all the way. First of all, the storyline followed the perspective of too many characters. Chapters on average were about two pages in length and each chapter focused on the chronicles of a different character. For me, it was very difficult to keep track of who was who and the main plot because of the multiple perspectives. I would find myself flipping back to previous chapters to confirm that yes this character did this and to make sure that I’m not confusing names.

Terminal Core immediately throws you into their world. On one hand, this was good because it got the plot rolling and got me intrigued about what would happen next. On the other, it was already hard for me to keep up with the changing perspectives and would have wanted it to be a little easier to take in, especially in the beginning. I felt that whenever I started getting very invested with a character, one page later the chapter ends and I now have to read about someone else. It was difficult to get attached to the characters because of that.

Overall, while the story itself was interesting, the way the book was structured with the alternating perspectives made it hard for me to fully enjoy. However, if that doesn’t bother you then you will definitely enjoy this unique read.

I would like to thank the author for providing me a copy of this book. This does not in any way influence my review.

This review was originally posted on my blog, Reading Recluses.

[Wesley Britton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reviewed by Dr. Wesley Britton

I’m far from the first reviewer to point out the obvious—that Terminal Core is certainly sci fi, but it’s also filled to the brim with the flavor of the old, wild American west. On the remote, small planet of Aon (which has a solid core made from Calladium, the most valuable element in the universe), cities no longer exist and the world is very much like an open frontier. Characters wear Stetson hats and cowboy boots and ride horse-like six-legged animals carrying saddle-bags. Some characters speak in dialects that would be equally appropriate for 19th century ranch hands, cattle drivers, or prospectors. On this world of mostly men, much time is spent engaged in drunken fist fights inside old-fashioned saloons where everyone wants their whiskey.

On this back-water world, earth’s president and some duplicitous humans plan to destroy Aon to harvest its valuable core. To accomplish this, crude oil from Earth is shipped to Aon, refined and used to dissolve Calladium. In response, an animated, telepathic being that lives in Calladium incongruously calling itself J. Smith takes two of his “bug thugs” and two human hostages to earth to destroy the extraction centers for the oil. Even more frightening are the lethal creatures on Aon that burrow through earth and flesh. It’s as if the planet is defending itself against the intrusive offworlders.

As the story progressed, told with various points of view recounting a batch of alternating storylines, I was reminded of the novels of L. Sprague de Camp, especially his books of light, entertaining adventure populated by humanoids living among strange aliens using weird, exotic technology. De Camp didn’t explore speculative themes but rather took readers to faraway worlds where nothing was intended to provoke deep thought. Seems to me, Lynn Steigleder is in that tradition.

While not publicized as a YA novel, I think that readership would be an ideal target audience for Terminal Core, especially when all the frightening “monsters” start popping up from the ground. Likewise, I’d think Baby Boomers who might be a bit nostalgic for the breed of sci fi adventure stories we got to read before “hard science fiction” came to dominate sci fi might enjoy a book that is simple entertainment. I’ve read reviews that suggest that fans of Western stories might like Terminal Core, but I’m rather doubtful about that. As it goes along, Terminal Core becomes less and less earth-like with the settings, characters, devices and animals more and more fantastic and unusual.

Yes, Terminal Core is often grisly but few modern readers are going to be put off by weird creatures eating or squashing people and other biped species. The violence kicks into serious high gear in the final chapters when a band of hearty humans battle a relentless tide of killer beasts trying to exterminate all the humans on Aon. I must admit, the final sentences of the book are the most out-of-left-field twists I’ve ever read. Seems to me, the conclusion is a bit gratuitous—to say more would be a major spoiler. And as Terminal Core is apparently planned to be a stand-alone saga, you might find yourself fantasizing your own sequel to Lynn Steigleder’s very imaginative grand finale.



This review first appeared at BookPleasures.com on July 31, 2017:
http://dpli.ir/PkNoxx

[Anthony · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

A surreal and thrilling blend of science fiction, horror and westerns comes to life in author Lynn Steigleder's novel Terminal Core. A group of ragtag fighters with haunted pasts must put aside their mistrust of one another to save the human race and their dying world. Here's the official synopsis:

Aon, a solid core planet made from the priceless and most dense element in the galaxy, caladium, is under silent attack. Plans are made by off-worlders to dissolve the unbreakable core using crude oil obtained from 19th century earth. Once the oil is refined, the byproduct, gasoline, will soften the caladium, allowing it to be collected. It is soon discovered the core is made from living beings created from caladium itself. The off-worlders employ a band of corrupt inhabitants to carry on this work. They find themselves in a constant struggle with a small coalition of Aonians bent on saving their home world. Both factions clash with the indestructible core creatures. With horrendous beasts one step behind and deadly pitfalls ahead, the coalition struggles to finish its journey, hoping to insure their races’ survival.

I absolutely loved this read. The blend of the science fiction setting with some pretty vicious and horrific creatures that made it feel like a creature feature horror story. The inclusion of the western style setting helped integrate the characters well, with each one harboring a dark secret that could easily turn friend into enemy or foe into ally. The complex western world was filled with backstabbing, lying, cheating and death, making this an intriguing read to say the least. The book itself flowed smoothly, keeping an even pace throughout. One of the biggest highlights however was the extensive world building, shifting the story from the planet Aon to the western age of 1800's Earth and beyond.

Overall this was a fantastic read. Full of life, death and adventure, this was a unique and creative read that cannot be missed. If you haven't yet be sure to pick up your copies of Terminal Core by Lynn Steigleder today!

[Gina Burgess · Rating 4 out of 5]

Terminal Core has been described in other reviews rather well, so I'll skip the story premise except to say that it is the most original I've read since "Stranger in a Strange Land" ages and eons ago. Unlike space westerns such as "Firefly" by Joss Whedon, this novel has beasties and alien species along with humans. This is a combo sci-fi, horror, and western. Intriguing combination, however the science is extremely light.

It is a very interesting read, but there are a few problems that I hope the author, Lynn Steigleder, takes to heart. The number of characters and their backstories are almost insurmountable to consume in one novel. This book would make a tremendous outline for a 3-book series where the characters are explored so the reader can learn to love (or hate) them. Character development is okay as it is, but trying to get to know them and care about what happens to them is almost impossible because there are so many of them. They are likable for the most part.

About the short chapters and jumping around in points of view (POV). The problem isn't necessarily head jumping for the POV, it is that there are zero transitions from one jump to the next. When an author tells a story from several POV, there should be a one-sentence to one paragraph transition that leads into (causes a question to rise in the reader's mind) the next character's POV. For a smooth story flow transitions are crucial unless the abrupt change is intentional to cause tension as part of the story flow. There is a lot of jumping around in this novel and it makes for a choppy sort of flow. Sometimes this works very well in this novel as the action starts to speed up. Other times it is frustrating.

However, if you don't really care about writing craft and just want to read an unusual sci-fi/horror/western, then this is good reading fare for you.

I received this novel from the author in exchange for my honest review. This review was published simultaneously here on Goodreads and on my review blog Upon Reflection: http//uponreflectionblog.blogspot.com

[Ashley Tomlinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was one of the most unique, out there books I've ever read. It was highly creative which made me want to keep reading. It's completely different from other sci-fi books that I read which I was worried about when I started it. I read a lot of science fiction books and because of that, I've read a lot of what feels like the same book written in a different way. Thankfully this book was on a level on its own and I loved it.

The chapters were really short which I liked at first but after a while it made the story feel jumpy. Like it would jump from scene to scene, character to character and it got frustrating the deeper into the story I got. That's probably just a personal preference, though. I tend to like stories with one POV so when I read a book with multiple POV's I favor one and it can make things difficult for me. The world building made up for any POV issues I may have had. It was amazing, I felt like I was in the story too.

I liked the wild wild west feeling I got while reading this, especially with the first few chapters. I also got a Men in Black vibe a time or two. All in all, this was a very interesting Science Fiction that really drew me into the story and didn't let me go. I highly recommend it.

[Luna Lovebooks · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received a free copy of this novel from the author in exchange for an honest review.


There were several elements that I liked and enjoyed about this novel. For starters, the world building was very interesting. In many science fiction novels, readers either spend time on Earth with advances in technology, or readers go into space and rarely get a look at what Earth is like. In Terminal Core, readers get both. I really enjoyed the mix of western meets sci-fi. The fact that it was unusual also appealed to me.

I had a hard time following the plot as the book is divided into short chapters and each chapter jumps from character to character. This would normally be fine, but a few times, I was thrown for a loop when it seemed like a character died and then a few chapters later would start talking again. I think if the chapters were a bit longer it would have worked out much better. Some of the book is very telling and not showing.

Many of the characters are well written. However, readers are given little time to explore and learn to love or hate them. There are just too many. Character development is okay, but trying to get to know them and care about what happens to them is difficult because there are so many of them. Many are likable for the most part, and a few you would grow to hate if given the chance.


Even though the plot can be hard to follow, everything does come together in the end. Characters meet up or die and the world is saved. For me, this book was just ok. It jumped around too much, and with so many characters, it was hard to keep track of who was who. For this reason, I give this novel three cores. But don’t let me pdissuade you. If you think the premise sounds good or like Space Westerns, then by all means, pick up this unusual book.

[Arnav Gupta · Rating 3 out of 5]

Firstly, I would like to thank the author, Mr Lynn, for sending me this book.
Terminal Core is a unique Sci-Fi novel. Its plot is based around a unique mix of the old west (cowboys and all) and supreme technology.
The novel had an awesome start, which kept me glued to the book for many hours, but the attraction seemed to fade out as I progressed through the book.
A minor drawback that I find with most of the novels is, too many characters to handle! The book was like a whirlpool, many side stories revolve at the same time and converge into one thick plot. The many diversions in the story make the reader repel a bit.
I so wish that the author would have given his thoughts more time to cook. I wasn’t expecting such an ending.
All in all, I learned quite some new slang phrases from the book.
I quite liked how the author incorporated accents in his sentences. I found something similar in the books of Mark Twain.
I would suggest this book to you, only if you are an imaginative reader. You need to grasp on to little clues sprinkled all over the book, to have a beautiful picture at the end!
Overall, the book had a unique concept, unlike other Sci-Fi books I have read, though there was scope for more creativity.
~ Arnav Gupta (bookandbrook.wordpress.com)

[Sarah Carter · Rating 2 out of 5]

“If you’re traveling toward Baine, it’s constantly changing, so you can never tell how far away you are.”

On the planet of Aon, there is a rare mineral in its core and many people want to get their hands on it. People from Earth want to mine it, not knowing that the core also contains alien life who will do anything to protect where they live. A host of characters, some knowingly and some unknowingly, get involved in the plot of ridding Aon of its caladium.
I was asked to review Terminal Core by its author. I was given a copy of the book in exchange for a fair review. While I normally don’t read much Sci-Fi as its not my favorite genre, the plot to this book sounded interesting.
The book starts out with a mix of Western meets Sci-Fi as one of the main characters is a bounty hunter, tracking down a criminal alien form. I had a hard time following the plot as the book is divided into 105 chapters and continually shifts from one character to another. Some of the book is very telling and not showing. I had trouble keeping track of the different alien life forms, too.
I think lovers of Sci-Fi will enjoy this book more than I did, but they should be prepared to have to play close attention to the many scene changes.

[Jana Henderson (Reviews from the Stacks) · Rating 1 out of 5]

The plot of Terminal Core sounds interesting initially; Steigleder utilizes many common sci-fi elements, but manages to make his work unique and unpredictable. However, it is so unpredictable that often the story fails to make sense. I’ll start with the organization and format: The chapters are incredibly short, none more than a few pages long. Additionally, in each chapter for approximately the first half of the book, a new character is introduced. Eventually I realized the pattern and connections between characters, but this was not apparent and never fully explained. Nothing is said when a character is first introduced about their background, personality, or even their race (meaning human/alien/etc). Granted, telling each character’s race up front would take away some of the surprise and suspense from later chapters. What’s even more confusing is that in nearly every chapter for the majority of the book someone suddenly dies. There is little lead-up to the deaths, just as there are often rough transitions between events. Things happen so suddenly that I tended to get mental whiplash jumping from one train of thought to another.

While I’m on the topic of the insane amount of murder herein, I must give a warning: this book is incredibly gruesome. Each death is described in detail, with stomach-turning precision. I often read over my lunch break, and it got to where I could not read this book while eating lunch because I was so disgusted by the distasteful explanations of how people (and aliens) were slaughtered. In fact, it took me notably longer than anticipated to get through this book, and largely for that reason. The short chapters make it easy to put down, the gore causes reading to be wearisome, and the constant parade of new characters and repeated deaths makes keeping up with it all an exercise in mental gymnastics.

Terminal Core was advertised to me as Christian science fiction, specifically aiming to appeal to young adults, and void of offensive language or sexual situations. While it is true there is no foul language and only minor hints at romance, I hesitate to label this YA. Beyond the confusing elements I have already discussed, there is a significant amount of dialect usage which could be confusing, and Terminal Core fails to ring with the sense of adventure, discovery, or growth which most YA novels contain. On top of that, the aspects of the final few chapters which give credence to the attempt to call this a “Christian” book are confusing to me, and if they’re confusing to someone who has studied literary criticism and is a Christian, I imagine they would be even more confusing to someone who is still trying to figure out how the real world works. There are (problematic) allusions to Jesus, God, and prophesy, but I fail to grasp any true themes of Christianity being worked out.

I am sure that there is someone out there who would enjoy this book. Unfortunately, I am even more certain that someone is not me. I struggled to get through this, and while I acknowledge that not everyone has the same preferences and turnoffs as I do, I simply cannot recommend this book. It is confusing, gruesome, and anticlimactic.

This review was originally posted on my book blog, Reviews From the Stacks.

[Bri · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was definitely one of those outside the box books. The plot was very creative, which is a nice change from the same old boring stuff a lot of authors recycle over and over again. If you are looking for something new I would highly recommend this book!