Symbiote Free on Amazon until the 23rd!

Get your copy of my latest Science Fiction Novel "Symbiote" Free until November 23rd on Amazon.  All I ask is that you leave an honest review! Here's a synopsis to whet your appetite:

"When a normally meek Bay Area insurance agent suddenly turns into a voracious, homicidal maniac with an uncontrollable appetite, doctors quickly determine that the cause must be a brain parasite that can only be extra-terrestrial. Now, San Francisco Police Detectives Karen Hall and Yuri Markov are on a mission to end this wave of violence before more citizens become infected. But at every turn their investigation seems to be hindered by shadowy federal agents with a hidden agenda. Can they stop this reign of terror before one of them becomes the next Symbiote?"

Remember, my next novel, the first in an all new Science Fiction Series debuts this December!

Replica: Free Short Story!

For a limited time, get Replica, a science fiction short story, for FREE on Amazon!  The promotion runs from 9/7/2014-9/11/2014, so pick up a copy, tell your friends, and if you enjoy my writing, please pick up a copy of my newest novel Symbiote.

Here's a blurb about Replica: A Short Story.

"In the year 2054, Army Sergeant Logan Martel hunts for an insurgent plotting a horrific attack on the West. It is in this world of high-tech equipment and prolific robotics that Logan finds himself set adrift, searching for what's left of his own humanity. Will he find what he's looking for? Or will he become merely a replica of his former self?"

Again, get this story for FREE!

Symbiote Is Out Now!

I'm excited to announce that my newest Science Fiction Novel, Symbiote, is out now on Kindle!  Trade paper version is coming soon.  Please check it out and give it an honest review!

Here's a synopsis: "When a normally meek Bay Area insurance agent suddenly turns into a voracious, homicidal maniac with an uncontrollable appetite, doctors quickly determine that the cause must be a brain parasite that can only be extra-terrestrial. Now, San Francisco Police Detectives Karen Hall and Yuri Markov are on a mission to end this wave of violence before more citizens become infected. But at every turn their investigation seems to be hindered by shadowy federal agents with a hidden agenda. Can they stop this reign of terror before one of them becomes the next Symbiote?"

If you have any questions about my newest novel, please leave a comment in the space below or tweet me @TrevorSSchmidt.

Book Review: The Evolution of Physics

The Evolution of Physics (Originally published 1938), by Albert Einstein and Leopold Infeld, is a great introduction to physics for those who are not as mathematically inclined, such as yours truly.  I found this book in the bottom of a pile at a used book store, which made it that much more exciting when I began reading.  Einstein was truly a genius in more ways than that which he is commonly known.  He was one of the first to really give the masses a crash course in what physics is really about.

After reading this book I feel I've grasped the basic concepts (Read: everything but the mathematics) of many principles of physics to include the theory of relativity.  As a science fiction author, it gives me great pleasure to be able to talk more intelligently about the subject so I can be better prepared to write harder Sci Fi rather than the mostly soft Sci Fi I've been into thus far in my career.

The beginning of the novel starts with Newton and continues on from there.  Einstein goes through each principle as though he was looking at it through the lens of the time, then continues to show how those theories were modified or disproved and how they were replaced.  Ultimately, he ends with the best understanding of physics at the time, with the understanding that his work would be expanded upon and would grow with time.

I would recommend this novel not just for the layman, but also for any freshman going into a physics program at university to refresh their memory and gain a better understanding of how the master viewed these principles.  It's fascinating to me to be given a window into his thought processes that I can actually understand (without delving into his dense papers on relativity, etc.)

Bookophile Rating of The Evolution of Physics: Excellent (For a novel that helps the lay reader gain a better understanding of physics.  The only thing that put me off was the old spellings of words that were a distraction, such as the continued usage of 'clew.'  I realize this is asinine of me.  I accept that.)

Looking for Authors to Interview/Guest Bloggers!

Hey everyone!  

Authors: I'm looking to add some new features to Bookophile Reviews. The first such feature is Author Interviews! I'm looking for up and coming or already established authors to do a feature on. If you'd like to be featured on Bookophile Reviews, leave a comment below before Friday, August 22nd for consideration.  

Bloggers: If you'd like to post a guest review of a book, leave a comment or contact me by email (instructions on the contact tab at the top of the page). I'm not too worried about keeping genre-specific, I know I have eclectic tastes.

Readers: Let me know what books you want reviewed in the comments!

Book Review: The Twenty Guiding Principles of Karate

This book, written by Gichin Funakoshi (1868-1957) and John Teramoto is not just a guide to the main principles of Shotokan Karate, but a guide to many aspects of life.  Each of the twenty principles is made into a chapter, which begins with commentary by Gichin Funakoshi, the founder of Shotokan Karate.  After that, John Teramoto gives a fresh perspective that relates the principle to the present, giving readers unfamiliar with karate a great reason to read this book.  The twenty principles could easier be applied to business or other disciplines.

Throughout the novel there are anecdotes that explain why the specific principle is important from the perspective of karate and life.  I would recommend this short book (128 pages) to anyone looking for a quick read that will make you think.  Even a couple weeks after I read it I find myself thinking about a few of the principles that resonated particularly well with my life.

Bookophile Rating: Good (For a book you can read in an afternoon that will leave you taking a closer look at your own life).

Book Review: Fool Moon

The second book in the Dresden Files series, Fool Moon brings back Harry Dresden as the only professional wizard in the telephone book who also happens to doubles as a consultant to the Chicago Police Department.  The second installment in the series finds Harry Dresden lending a hand in solving a series of murders involving the full moon.  One real interesting takeaway from this book is that Jim Butcher didn't just stick with plain old werewolves.  No, he broke them down into multiple types and styles of wolves.  This brings an added dimension as Harry has to find out who the murderer/s is/are and sort out who's good, who's bad, and who's neither.

Fool Moon also shows the reader more of Dresden's power than Storm Front.  In the first novel, I kept waiting for Dresden to do something spectacular, and was often left wondering if he was really so great after all.  Fool Moon definitely upped the ante in that respect, and I expect future installments will have Dresden growing even further in power and presence.  As far as writing style, it is on par with the first novel.

I read elsewhere that Jim Butcher wrote the first three novels in the series back to back and then approached a publisher, who picked up all three.  Friends have told me that in future installments Butcher's writing gets even better as he better learns his craft and really comes to know the characters.  This is good news, because as it stands the first two novels, Storm Front and Fool Moon, are good novels in and of themselves.

However, besides Dresden's power growing and a new set of baddies, Fool Moon wasn't as intriguing as Storm Front simply because the first time I was introduced to Harry Dresden, I was really interested in the character, the world, and the relationships.  In Fool Moon, I don't feel like a lot of new ground was broken with the relationships and Dresden's character from an interpersonal standpoint.  Sure he is more powerful (or shows more of his power), but we don't learn too much more about the magical world than
we learned from Storm Front.  I would, however, still recommend this as a solid fantasy read that gives hope that future installments will be even better.  If you liked Storm Front, you should read Fool Moon if nothing more than as a bridge to the supposed better installments to come.

Bookophile Rating: Good (For a solid read that shows promise for future installments)