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...
Qapla!
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