{"id":8040,"date":"2026-07-14T07:23:45","date_gmt":"2026-07-14T11:23:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/?p=8040"},"modified":"2026-07-14T07:23:45","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T11:23:45","slug":"of-friction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/14\/of-friction\/","title":{"rendered":"Of Friction"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"CoverAltered Earth Trilogy Book 1
\nBy S.J. Lee
\n\u00a9 February 20, 2024
\nFile Size 3.4 MB
\n388 pages
\nISBN-13: 979-8989296514<\/p>\n

I’m not usually a big fan of military sci-fi. But this one pulled me in. The storyline starts slow, building the setup of the main character, Sam (a.k.a. Valkyrie), and her brother Scott (a.k.a. Mute), a special ops team in the Marines, who are sent to join another team, Echo, on a special mission in dangerous territory. Neither Sam nor Scott have met these other characters before, and neither of them trust easily, so I could see why it would take a little buildup to get them to where they needed to be when the action did kick in. And believe me, it DOES kick in.<\/p>\n

This is book one in the Altered Earth<\/em> series, so named because after generations of attempts to make humans better, more capable of surviving in a world where climate change is inescapable, the “alties”\u2013altered humans\u2013begin to think unaltered humans are no longer necessary. Both sides\u2013humans and alties\u2013have agendas. Splitter factions from both camps are making things…interesting. (No spoilers.) The moment team Echo sets out, there are dangers on all sides, sometimes from unexpected quarters. Once the action begins, it seldom lets up. And even when it does, don’t be fooled. More is right around the corner, hiding in the shadows.<\/p>\n

The story is excellent. But it was Sam that hooked me. She’s been in the marines since her youth and is quite good at it. She knows her way around a rifle, a handgun, and other weapons besides. She can smell an ambush or a trap a mile away. She knows exactly what she’s doing. And yet she has trouble making and holding eye contact with people; she doesn’t like crowds or stressful situations; she functions best when she has a mission–something on which she can hyperfixate; and she has a physical stimming practice of scratching her thumb with her finger when she’s anxious, sometimes to the point of making it bleed. Her older brother Scott earned his call sign (Mute) because he rarely speaks aloud. He and Sam communicate through sign language. He, too, has been in the marines for many years. He was the reason she joined. He’s Sam’s anchor, the only constant in her life since they were kids. So, when Scott tells her he’s leaving and their current mission is his last, she is devastated.<\/p>\n

This seeming dichotomy of Sam’s personality\u2013so strong, so courageous, so damn good at what she does, and yet being so vulnerable\u2013made her real, relatable, and empathetic, especially when she begins to question things she’s taken for granted her entire life. She kept me reading even when I wasn’t sure what exactly the military terminology meant, and even when I couldn’t always follow the marine-ish camaraderie between them and the other members of her new team, Echo. Well done!<\/p>\n

The trouble Sam, Scott, and Echo get into, as well as the romantic tension between Sam and Miriam, the medic, only added to the hook for me. And near the end, when the POV shifts to Miriam, it piqued my interest even more. I thought I knew where it was going. I was wrong. Now I *have* to read the next book.<\/p>\n

Of Friction<\/em> is an excellent book, with deep and meaningful characters and conundrums that will keep you thinking. Most highly recommended.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Altered Earth Trilogy Book 1 By S.J. Lee \u00a9 February 20, 2024 File Size 3.4 MB 388 pages ISBN-13: 979-8989296514 I’m not usually a big fan of military sci-fi. But this one pulled me in. The storyline starts slow, building the setup of the main character, Sam (a.k.a. Valkyrie), and her brother Scott (a.k.a. Mute),…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8040","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8n0kX-25G","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":5960,"url":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/2025\/05\/19\/bobiverse-series\/","url_meta":{"origin":8040,"position":0},"title":"Bobiverse Series","author":"DremaDeoraich","date":"May 19, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"By Dennis E. 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