Notice...

The purpose of this blog is to have a little fun. It is NOT to start arguments. I don't profess to be an expert on Sci-fi, nor do I aspire to become an expert. You are welcome to comment on any and all content you find here. If my opinion differs from yours, as far as I am concerned, it's all okay. I will never say that you are wrong because you disagree with me, and I expect the same from those that comment here. Also, my audience on the blog will include some young people. Please govern your language when posting comments.

Posts will hopefully be regular based on the movies I see, the television shows I watch, and the books I read as well as what ever strikes me as noteworthy.


***SPOILER ALERT***
Spoilers will appear here and are welcome.

Autograph Collecting

Wednesday, November 28, 2018

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!