Multitude: Dimension Space Book Two by Dean M. Cole - More Post-Apocalyptic Intrigue In This Sequel To Solitude

Multitude: Dimension Space Book Two by Dean M. Cole

Back in March of 2017, I posted about a book that grabbed my attention. It was called Solitude, and turned out to be the story of the last man and the last woman left alive on the Earth. Apparently, there was an accident at the CERN collider that caused everyone to disappear. Vaughn managed to rescue Angela from the International Space Station and they began their adventure together on a luxury yacht plying the waters of the Mediterranean Sea. Multitude picks up where the first book in the series leaves off.

The book opens with a bit of a disagreement between Vaughn and Angela, the only two humans apparently left alive on Earth. In the previous novel, we left them plying the Mediterranean Sea in a 'borrowed' luxury yacht. Much to their astonishment, objects made of steel are slowly, steadily, and silently flying overhead in a straight line toward the CERN site near Geneva, Switzerland. Vaughn would be very content with just turning the boat around and heading for someplace in the tropics to live out his life with Angela in blissful ignorance. Angela, on the other hand, is determined to learn what has happened and perhaps reverse what has wiped out humanity. After some discussion, they ‘compromise’ and begin making their way to the CERN facility.

What they find upon arrival is a completely reworked landscape that baffles them both. Angela's attempt to correct what has happened launches the pair on a journey that is full of danger and disappointment.

One of the most amusing aspects of Multitude is the interaction between Vaughn and Angela. These two would seem to be complete opposites. Vaughn is a pilot who comes across to me as a pragmatist who also has a sarcastic streak. He always has some sort of backhanded remark ready for every situation. Angela, on the other hand, is a scientist who tends to get a bit fed up with Vaughn's cynical viewpoint while she is trying to think of ways to fix what has gone wrong. But even thought these two are opposites in their ways of thinking, they do manage to get along. They take turns being in the lead as they encounter the various situations they find themselves in. They have learned they can count on each other when it looks like they are in for certain doom. I like these characters and the author does a good job in developing them to that point that a reader will find that they care about what happens to them.

As much as I enjoyed Vaughn and Angela, I enjoyed the story even more. Multitude is an exciting, suspenseful, and often dark story to read. The characters are thrown into numerous situations, and while all of them are pretty grim, a few are downright depressing. One in particular is what the characters have named "Hell." This one in particular is indeed quite hellish in nature where it is even hard for one to breathe. The description of that place is absolutely someplace no one would want to be for any length of time and the pictures I got in my head as I read the passages were breathtaking, but not in a good way.

The story unfolds at an amazing speed, but the pacing is appropriate and given enough attention that I had no trouble visualizing what was on the page. I found myself on the edge of my seat the entire time I was reading and when I had to put the book down, I was very eager to get back to it.

The theory behind the science in the novel is interesting, but the descriptions of what is happening is just technical enough to be scientific without a lot of overwhelming jargon to bog the story down. I enjoyed Angela's ideas about what has happened to bring the story about and as a layman, found that it not only entertained me, but gave me a few things to think about.

As the story came to an end, I was hoping for an idea of why what had transpired in the previous book had happened and who was responsible, but that was not to be. At least not yet! I have also learned that there is a third novel in this series planned and in the works entitled Amplitude. I am looking forward to the continuation of the story!

I would recommend Multitude to science fiction fans who enjoy post-apocalyptic and speculative fiction having a dark side involved. But it is not a stand-alone work, I recommend also being sure to read Solitude, the first book in the series. It is also a great story with the origin of how Angela and Vaughn met, it is a most entertaining and unlikely story, but is so plausible that it is a bit scary.

To learn more about Dean M. Cole, click here to follow the link to his website and consider signing up for his newsletter.

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Alien Blood by Stan Schatt - More Fast Paced Aliens Among Us Speculative Fiction

Alien Blood by Stan Schatt

Over the years, I have read numerous stories about aliens among us, watched numerous television shows, and listened to Coast to Coast AM hosted by Art Bell and, more recently, George Noory. I guess what I am trying to say is there is no shortage of speculation on alien life on Earth and conspiracies surrounding it. For me, it is all in good fun and is amusing to think about. Usually, I find movies and television shows on this subject somewhat hokey and quite unbelievable. If I am to be entertained by alien conspiracy stories, I am more likely to enjoy a good book that allows me to create my own visualizations as I read.

Not long ago, I received an email from author Stan Schatt in which he let me know that he had released a new book, Alien Blood. I have enjoyed Stan's work in the past and knew that I would most likely enjoy this latest release from one of my favorite indie authors.

The story opens with a scene in the White House with a new president being briefed on alien activity in the US. This is the first time the freshly elected leader of the free world has heard anything about such matters. He speculates on how it is no wonder that presidents leave office looking much older than they entered it. It seems that a treaty between two species of aliens, the Greys and the Draconians, and the US is about to expire and negotiations for a new treaty are not looking promising. Along with that, the new president is told many horrible things that took place during the past decades since the presidency of Harry Truman, and in order to save the country, not to mention the world, a new treaty with the aliens must be hammered out.

The story then switches over to former Navy SEAL Ben Swift. When his sister, Heather is kidnapped by some government thugs, he gathers a team of his former SEAL brothers to rescue her from what he learns is actually an alien group that wants to use her DNA for experimentation. Along with the other former seals. he is accompanied by a woman who is apparently a former foreign special ops agent named Sherry. Ben will stop at nothing to get his sister back. Along the way, he learns about several conspiracies leading him in a chase across the country, not to mention a trip to a secret base on Mars via a reverse engineered flying saucer!

As mentioned, Former Navy SEAL Ben Swift is retired and working for a tabloid paper one might would find in the grocery store near the checkout stands. He takes calls from the public and follows up on anything that might seem plausible, but usually finds most of the calls are from crackpots and lonely people who dream up scenarios from bits of information they obtain from others. But when Heather disappears, he goes into full SEAL mode and it doesn't matter if it is his own government he has sworn to protect and defend, he is going to get Heather back.

While Ben goes about the business of the rescue and its aftermath, the author craftily moves among numerous alien related conspiracy theories including a secret military base on Mars, a crashed alien ship on the moon complete with alien bodies recovered by secret Apollo moon missions, various types of aliens performing various types of experimentation with the blessing of the US government, and more. Schaat speculates (at least I am hoping it is only speculation) on numerous theories in his story that moves at a very fast pace.

This is the second book set in this universe Stan has created in which he explores conspiracies and lore surrounding alien life. Most assuredly, it is some fun speculative science fiction that, at the same time could give one a few things to think about. The pacing of the story is extremely fast, never letting up for a second. I was engaged from the opening line to the very end of the book which I read very quickly because I just had to see what happened on the next page.

The language is plain talk with very little jargon to wade through making it easy to understand and follow. I especially enjoyed how the author went about showing the story instead of simply telling it. His descriptions of people, places, and things got to the point rapidly, but in such a way that it helped the flow of the book.

While I in no way think that the Earth has been visited by aliens (and I do not intend to present my reasons here), The story is written well enough to make it seem quite plausible. I think that is one of the main reasons I enjoyed this story so much. With any certainty we humans have, there is always a shadow of a doubt that perhaps the other side of the story may have a ring of truth to it. Stan's characters could be people that we know, the places may exist as he describes them, and the situations may also be things that could happen in the real world. This is where Stan Schaat shows himself to be a master at inserting his ideas into that door where the shadow of a doubt exists and little by little, pushing the gap in the door just a little wider.

Alien Blood is the second installment in a set of two stories in which Stan presents his speculations. The first, Alien Love, has many parallel themes and elements, but is not part of what I would consider a series. Both of these stories are stand alone with a definite ending, but they both make me want to read more. I have to say that I was very surprised by the plot twist at the end of Alien Blood. I certainly didn't see it coming, but found it to be another interesting and satisfying aspect to these books.

As always, with Stan's stories, there are many references to popular culture that many of us commonly know, but especially numerous references to Star Trek, which only serves to add to the fun.

I contacted Stan via the internet to ask a question and he intimated to me to watch for another Alien book that he recently finished. Yes indeed, I am looking forward to that!

I recommend Alien Blood as a fun story that will take a reader on a fast paced ride through a world filled with intrigue, conspiracy, and aliens who all seem to have an agenda for the people of the planet Earth, but at this point is only really known to them.

From Stan's website, here is how he describes himself...

"Futurist, technologist, novelist, and a person curious about many things. The roll call of jobs I’ve held over the years includes but is not limited to autopsy assistant, police department administrator, salesman, sales manager, literature professor, telecommunications professor, and technology analyst, and research director. I’m a full-time writer now and live in Carlsbad, California with my wife, Jane. My plate’s pretty full right now with writing projects. I’m writing primarily mysteries at the moment when it comes to fiction and non-fiction books on careers and retirement. I have always loved technology and politics almost as much as writing."

You can find a more complete list of both his fiction and non-fiction work on his website, and there is a short list of his works at Amazon.com.

Well, there it is...

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Alien Love by Stan Schatt - Fast Paced Aliens Among Us Fiction

Alien Love by Stan Schatt

Not long ago, I received an email from author Stan Schatt about the release of a new novel entitled Alien Blood. I have enjoyed Stan's work in the past and eagerly headed to the Amazon website and downloaded a copy to read over the long Thanksgiving holiday weekend. At the same time, I found that I had missed one of the author's earlier releases entitled Alien Love. That one appeared to be a prequel to the novel Stan was alerting me to, so I also got that one. Here are my thoughts on Alien Love by Stan Schatt.

It would appear that our planet is crawling with Aliens that most of us know nothing about. They all seem to have their agendas and even use our planet as a battleground to try to solve their problems. When a dying astronaut brings this information to light, it promises to create quite a stir on the planet and something must be done before there is massive trouble for the indigenous inhabitants of Earth.

Enter former Navy SEAL, Jack Starling who is having a rough time after mustering out of the Navy. He lives alone and is having trouble finding a job not to mention suffering from a mild form of PTSD. When he witnesses a beautiful woman being abducted on a San Diego street, his training kicks in and he intervenes, saving the woman. Later, she appears at his apartment and wishes to show Jack her gratitude by taking him to bed. Jack is a little surprised at first, but goes along with the scenario. He falls hard for the woman, but there is something not quite right about her. At first he thinks she is crazy, but later learns that there is more to her than meets the eye.

Jack finds himself caught up in a roller coaster ride of twists and turns that move at breakneck speed leading to the revealing of a treaty signed with an alien race by a former president of the U.S.

The story follows the exploits of Former SEAL Jack Starling who seems to be a pretty likable guy who is down on his luck. He a big man, but while he is described as a good looking man, he is also a bit scary. He really wants to just find a job and go on with his life. He is in therapy to help him cope with his PTSD and takes medicine. He wants to keep in contact with his former SEAL brothers but is forbidden to do so by his therapist. So, as he is somewhat estranged from his family, he is pretty much alone.. When Jack finally finds his chance for some companionship, it takes some strange turns. He learns things about what is happening in his world, and about himself that brings him into contact with many other characters that are as colorful and interesting as he is. There was just enough character development in the story to make Jack seem like a real person to me, and to care about what happened to him.

While Jack was the main character, I found that I wanted to know more about the aliens. The reader is introduced to the aliens in the story with the introduction of Jack's love interest, Cassandra. When she is introduced, there is something that seems off about her. After making love with Jack for the first time, she starts talking about pregnancy and basically freaks Jack out. He is not sure he wants to pursue a relationship with her, but after a time, he finds her irresistible and goes along with it, eventually falling in love. After a time, Cassandra is revealed to be a member of an alien race that is in danger of becoming extinct. Cassandra seems to be seeking help from Jack for some unknown reason, that is until we learn an interesting fact about Jack.

I would call Alien Love a low-tech, conspiratorial, aliens among us, sci-fi novel that is very much in the vein of an X-Files type story. It was quite entertaining and a lot of fun to read. It is fast paced and well written and I read it quickly. While the story follows logically, there are numerous plot twists that provided surprise and intrigue. Even though it was not a huge part of the story, I enjoyed the conspiratorial aspects of the plot that involved the government knowing and being okay with some of the aliens begin on the planet. The astronaut in the beginning of the story had me curious and I was hoping for more on that, which did come as the story developed.

I feel like somewhat of a kindred spirit to the author because he is a fan of Star Trek, to which he makes numerous references. I was also amused that some of the aliens in the story were also mild Trekkies. They appear to be so because they wanted to know more about human culture.

While the story is quite serious, there were places where one could see aspects of Stan's sense of humor rise to the surface. There are a few moments that I had to laugh as those undertones revealed themselves.

I recommend Alien Love as a fun read, full of twists and turns, and a lot of action as well as interaction between characters. I found myself eager to read on when I had to put it down and while reading, I was engaged and entertained. I am looking forward to reading Aline Blood right after I finish writing this to learn more about the aliens and their various agendas during their interactions with humanity, both noble and nefarious.

From Stan's website, here is how he describes himself...

"Futurist, technologist, novelist, and a person curious about many things. The roll call of jobs I’ve held over the years includes but is not limited to autopsy assistant, police department administrator, salesman, sales manager, literature professor, telecommunications professor, and technology analyst, and research director. I’m a full-time writer now and live in Carlsbad, California with my wife, Jane. My plate’s pretty full right now with writing projects. I’m writing primarily mysteries at the moment when it comes to fiction and non-fiction books on careers and retirement. I have always loved technology and politics almost as much as writing."

You can find a more complete list of both his fiction and non-fiction work on his website, and there is a short list of his works at Amazon.com.

Well, there it is...

Qapla!

Home Run: Smuggler's Tales From The Golden Age Of The Solar Clipper By Nathan Lowell - Just Plain Good Storytelling

Home Run: Smuggler’s Tales From The Golden Age Of The Solar Clipper Book #3 by Nathan Lowell

Author Nathan Lowell continues to amaze and entertain me with his Golden Age of the Solar Clipper books. In this latest release, Nathan takes us on an adventure that features the two stars of the Smuggler’s Tales, Natalya Regyri and Zoya Usoko. In this story, Natalya and Zoya, having basically gotten rich from their dealings in the second book of the series, Suicide Run, decide that it is a good time to take a little rest and relaxation. They arrive at the home of Zoya’s grandparents, which happens to be in an asteroid and also serves as the corporate headquarters for Usoko Mining, one of the largest and oldest mining operations in the Western Annex.

Upon arrival, the two women, who have spent the last five years moving around Toe Hold Space doing odd jobs, are warmly welcomed by Zoya’s grandparents, Konstantin and Madoka. They are the owner/operators of the massive mining and metal refining operation that is Usoko Mining. Before Natalya and Zoya can really get settled and enjoy a little time off, a report comes in that one of the remote smelting stations of the company has stopped transmitting information. Natalya and Zoya take the Peregrine, Natalya’s small shuttle, out to investigate. What they find is that the operation has been obliterated in an expanding cloud of debris. As the women approach where the operation was stationed, they find partially destroyed ships and disoriented people, and no trace of about 200 Usoko Mining employees. It isn’t long before the women find that there has been a small group of extortionists that have been traveling around Toe Hold Space with a nuclear bomb and threatening to destroy numerous operations if their demands are not met.

Unfortunately for the criminals, their bomb detonated before they could make their demands and took out the smelter. Natalya and Zoya solve the crime, but that leaves a multi-billion credit hole in space where the smelter was. Zoya decides that they must rebuild the smelter as it is a key operation of her family’s company. The smelter was in a prime place in that sector of space and is important to everyone there, not to menton to Usoko Mining.

Zoya contacts her grandparents at Big Rock, the name of the asteroid where the company is headquartered and receives the reply, “Do whatever is necessary.” With that phrase in mind, Zoya, with Natalya’s help, begin rebuilding the smelter.

Much of the science fiction I read involves some large scale conflict, such as a war between civilizations, or a large population of people fighting some natural or manmade catastrophe that threatens to wipe out the population. These stories usually involve the use of very advanced technology and weaponry that can destroy entire planets. I am not saying that there aren’t some great stories with those parameters, but every now and then, I like to take a break from such intense tales. Nathan’s Golden Age of the Solar Clipper universe allows me to step back and just enjoy good storytelling. But that is also not to say that there isn’t plenty of intensity, especially in this book.

There are plenty of tense moments, they are just not high-tech, but rather they are between the characters in the book. The way that Nathan writes his characters is what I find most appealing about his stories. The major characters always seem to me like real people. They are not superhuman, but rather more like all of us, in all shapes and types. Natalia and Zoya are friends (not a couple, as they both point out to nearly everyone) that have graduated from the Port Newmar Academy. They originally intended to work their way up through the ranks as Spacers, perhaps eventually becoming Captains of their own ships. Both are very intelligent and are not afraid to work. They are also quite able to take care of themselves and are very strong female characters, and in Home Run, the reader has an opportunity to see just how strong.

In the first two books in the Smuggler’s Tales, I felt that Natalia was the stronger of the two characters. Probably because she is the one that owns the ship that her and Zoya travel in, but in Home Run, Zoya becomes the star when she is handed a huge responsibility that is very important to the family business. She really steps up and shines in this story and shows that she is up to the task. She seeks and listens to advice from others, but when it comes down to making the hard decisions, she makes them and moves forward without second-guessing herself. Along with the two main characters, there are several other supporting and peripheral characters that, while not as well fleshed out, they still come alive through Nathan’s excellent writing.

For me, the main theme throughout the whole book seemed to be making the hard decisions. Zoya is faced with numerous decisions to make, and to a lesser degree, Natalia also has some. It all comes to a head when both of the women are placed in a position to make major life decisions, and while it didn’t surprise me which directions they chose to go, I would have been happy either way because it seemed to be a win-win situation.

In any case, I highly recommend Home Run as a great Sci-Fi tale while at the same time recommending that one reads the series in order beginning with Milk Run, then Suicide Run. For that matter, I recommend anything that Nathan Lowell has written in his Golden Age of the Solar Clipper universe, but be sure to read them in order. I am pretty sure that once you get into these stories, you’ll be hooked and want to read all of them.

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Star Trek: Discovery: Fear Itself By James Swallow - A Great Story Featuring Saru Learning To Deal With Fear

Star Trek: Discovery: Fear Itself by James Swallow

With a new Star Trek series will also come new books set in and around the new series. Several Trek regular authors are up to the task of telling some fascinating stories, mostly surrounding the characters we (at least those of us who watch) see on the show. So far, Fear Itself is the third installment of the new Discovery novels, and it focuses on a character that, up until now, I have not really cared for, namely the Kelpien officer, Saru. So before I get any feathers ruffled and generate a bunch of hate mail, or whatever kind of trolling anyone has in mind, just let me say that I personally did not like the character. That is not to say that Saru is not well written, or that the actor, Doug Jones, doesn’t do a great job portraying him, but Saru just makes me nervous.

The events of Fear Itself take place about four years before the premier of Discovery. Philippa Georgiou is the captain of the U.S.S. Shenzhou, and Saru is a lieutenant aboard that ship, along with Michael Burnham, also a lieutenant.

When the Shenzhou detects a damaged ship in a sector that is between space claimed by the Tholians and the Peliar, they send hails to see if the damaged vessel is in need of assistance. When there is no response, Captain Georgiou takes it upon herself to lead the Shenzhou on a mission to offer aid, if needed. An away team is formed that includes Saru. After the Peliar ship is stabilized, Saru discovers that the cargo hold of the ship contains many Gorlans that are living in primitive conditions. When Saru makes contact with the Gorlans, they tell him that they are living as they choose and the Peliar also try to convince him that they are only refugees and are being relocated to another planet. Saru senses that what he is hearing from both parties may not be completely true and begins to investigate. What Saru finds is that things are not all what they seem, nor what he has been told. When the commander of his away mission is incapacitated, he is forced to take command of the away team aboard the Peliar ship and he finds himself forced into making several very difficult decisions. Will he be up to the task or will his natural tendency toward caution get in the way?

As mentioned before, Saru is a Kelpien, a race of humanoids from a planet that has a binary food-chain system, in other words, the inhabitants are predators or prey. Kelpiens are the latter, they are the prey on their planet, and nearly every other species are predators. Saru tells about his race even being hunted, bred, and farmed as livestock. According to Saru, Kelpiens live in a constant state of danger beginning at birth. It is their nature to avoid situations that are risky or dangerous which has earned them the reputation of being cowardly. Kelipens have threat-ganglia that present themselves when danger is perceived. When a Kelpien is faced with a new situation, they automatically assume it is dangerous and that they are under attack until they are not. They would seem not to have the fight-or-flight response to dangerous situations, rather, it is their nature to take flight in any case.

In this story, it would seem that Saru is very concerned with trying to learn how to conquer his fear, but not having a great deal of success. He has a holographic device in his quarters that projects threats to him in different forms and he tries to cope with them. Like many of us who are fearful of things, Saru works to conquer that fears. A person who is afraid of flying might go to therapy, take some sort of medication, or perhaps just force themselves to get on a plane and deal with it. Or one might just take the bus or drive instead and not ever get near a plane. Saru has many fears to deal with in Fear Itself. There is the fear of going into an unknown situation full of unknown people. He also fears that everything he is trying to do might go wrong and someone he cares about, or a crewmate might be hurt or killed. Keep in mind that fear is part of the character’s nature.

It is difficult for one to go against one’s nature. We all have certain propensities that, no matter how hard we try, we just cannot seem to change. In the case of Saru, he temporarily loses the confidence of the away team when the leader is incapacitated and Saru, being the most senior officer, finds himself in command. While there are several themes running through the book, Saru’s fear and how he deals with it is the strongest theme. Most of the way through the book he is constantly trying to conquer his fear and behave as a Starfleet officer should, or at least how he sees most of them behave as they perform their duties. Just when it looks like everything is going to go to pieces, a young female Gorlan tells Saru that instead of trying to deny fear, that he should embrace it and use it to help him solve the problems. This is a huge turning point in the story for the main Character. By taking that advice and using his fear as an advantage, he is able to get things under control and carry forward to the eventual resolution of numerous problems. Bravo to the author for this plot point instead of taking the easy way out and making Saru temporarily fearless.

It is pretty plain to me that James Swallow had to give a lot of thought to this story and it’s telling. Thanks to him, I have a better understanding of the character from the television series and a better appreciation of the behaviors and attitudes that Saru displays on the television show.

Now the question is whether I like Saru any better than I did before I read the book? Well, I am sorry to disappoint you, but I am not going to answer that. However I will say that I liked the growth of the character in this book which made it a fun read. I recommend this book along with the other character studies that have been penned in this new Discovery line of novels.

Well, there it is…

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