Invasion by Sean Platt and Johnny B. Truant
One morning while having coffee
and scrolling through my Facebook feed, I found an advertisement from a website
called Sci-Fi Bridge. The ad promised that if I sign-up with them, I would
have a chance at receiving some outrageous number of free sci-fi/fantasy books
at no charge. Further, I would get four novels at no charge just for signing
up. What the heck, why not? If I were lucky enough to be selected, I would have enough
reading material to keep me busy for quite some time. If nothing else, I would
get four stories for nothing. Since I had just finished another story for a
podcast, I selected a novel and dove in.
I chose Invasion by Sean
Platt and Johnny B. Truant which promised to be an engaging story about an
alien invasion from outer space. Well, it turns out that Invasion is the
first in a series of books that are about an alien invasion. At least that is
what I am hoping, because this first book in the series is not about an
invasion at all.
The story opens in the not too
distant future, with news reports explaining there are numerous objects headed
for Earth from the vicinity of the planet Jupiter. The story has been confirmed
by numerous sources including NASA. That's the what, but there is no idea about
the why. As one might suspect, panic ensues and is soon followed by much
mayhem.
The Main character, Meyer
Dempsey, is preoccupied with three things according to the book; those being
drugs, sex, and business. His business is most on his mind as he plans a trip
to Los Angeles. Meyer is in the movie business and makes regular trips to L.A.
for business, and to have an illicit rendezvous with his ex-wife, Heather. When
the news reports the approach of the alien objects, Meyer is setting up a
meeting with Heather and a shaman who will administer them something called
Ayahuasca, a powerful drug that Meyer uses to be focused for important
meetings. In the middle of his phone call with Heather, Meyer learns of the
objects on an approach vector with Earth and that they happen to be
decelerating as they approach. Meyer believes, as often happens in film, when
there is an alien invasion, the first places that are in danger are the world's
big cities, and there aren't many bigger than New York.
Meyer has also believed that one
day there would be some kind of disaster threatening the population of the
planet and he was determined to be prepared. He believes he is well prepared
because he has had a mansion under construction in Colorado. It is complete
with an underground bunker that would allow him and his family to survive for a
long period of time. While the above ground structure is not quite complete,
the underground facility is ready to be used at a moments notice. It is well
stocked with food, water purification equipment, entertainment and communications
facilities, and enough weaponry to sustain a small war if necessary.
All Meyer has to do is gather his
family and fly to Colorado in his private jet to ensure his survival. Oh, he
also advises Heather to begin making her way to the mansion. His family
consists of his second wife, Piper, his daughter Delilah, and his son, Trevor.
Unknown to everyone, Delilah is pregnant with her boyfriend's, offspring. The
boyfriend, Raj, also becomes part of the family by choice, and under the orders
of Delilah. With his family gathered, they start their trip to the airport, but
there will be no flight to the Colorado bunker, the FAA has grounded all air
traffic so it looks like a cross country trip in an advanced minivan.
As the family cross the country,
they run into numerous obstacles that change their situation, oftentimes
looking quite hopeless of ever reaching their destination.
What we get in Invasion is
more of an adventure story with a few elements of Sci-Fi, but we never really
get an invasion. This is not the story of aliens invading the Earth and laying
waste to the landscape. Rather it is the story of what Meyer and his family
encounter along their way to their secure facility in Colorado, as well as a
little of what Heather goes through in her attempt to reach Meyer's bunker. But
that is not to say that it isn't a good solid story, it just seems to me that
it might have been mis-titled.
In fact Invasion, in
itself is a great story, fun to read, and immensely engaging. I didn't want to
stop reading at any point because once the action gets started, it proceeds at
a blinding pace right up to the end. We get the final payoff as the objects
finally reach the planet. The book ends on a real cliffhanger that made me want
to go right to the next installment, a book titled Contact.
Invasion is not a
story that stands on its own. Readers will find it necessary to move on to the
next book to find out what happens.
The characters in Invasion are
an interesting lot. Meyer, Piper, and his children (Meyer's children with
Heather) are a somewhat dysfunctional family until they are forced together by
the crisis. Meyer himself is all business and mostly all about himself for the
most part. He starts out in the story as not being very likable. He will always
default to what is best for himself when things get tough. But one thing I can
say about Meyer is that he understands survival and it is his selfishness that
pulls him and his family through some very tough situations. I kind of warmed
up to Meyer as time went on because he began to widen his focus and show a
genuine concern for his immediate family, and especially caring deeply for
Heather and her safety while she was out of touch. But he never dropped his
tough-guy persona except to Piper.
Piper is Meyer's sort of trophy
wife. She is young and very attractive and seems to have a great relationship
with Meyer's children. She has apparently lived a sheltered life and is quite
naive when it comes to the more brutal side of life. She has a tough time
adapting when people start behaving outside of her experience. Piper is not
dumb, by any means. As time goes on, she quickly learns that she has to do
things that are well outside her comfort zone to survive. She experiences a lot
of growth as the story unfolds. Piper is completely devoted to Meyer and does
her best to be a good companion.
Trevor, Meyer's son, is
completely obsessed with his step-mother and often fantasizes about her. He is
often embarrassed by this and comes across as a little shy. He does have a lot
of his father in him and will arise to the occasion when needed.
Delilah and Raj have a secret,
and they want to keep it a secret. The only problem is, Delilah is not getting
the prenatal care that she needs to have, and the trip across the country,
along with keeping her secret is causing her a lot of stress. She even gets
involved in a few conflicts that are not healthy for her. Raj just seems to be
there, somewhat oblivious to the demands of fatherhood. He tends to take risks
and it seems unusual that he has little or no concern for the fate of his
family back in New York.
My favorite major character in
this story is Heather. She is an actress and comedienne and is famous in her
own right. She is always ready with some off-handed remark and is hilarious,
even in grim situations. The best thing about Heather is she is not afraid of
Meyer and all of his power and has no problem putting him in his place when
needed, which is probably why her and Meyer are not still married. She adds a
interesting and funny dynamic to the story even though her role in the story
thus far, is rather limited.
 |
| Truant and Platt |
I will say that when I finished
the Kindle edition of Invasion, there was an offer to get the next book,
Contact at no charge. So, I urge you to watch for my review of the
second book in the Alien Invasion series.
Well, there it is...
Qapla'!
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