Skybound By Lou Iovino - What Would Happen If The Earth Stopped Spinning? Here's One Possibility

 Skybound by Lou Iovino

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Skybound is an apocalyptic Sci-FI novel exploring the events following the appearance of a mysterious object appearing above the Earth and apparently causing a complete breakdown of the laws of physics. This event, as one might expect, throws the entire planet into chaos as people speculate the nature of the object.

Overall, I found Skybound an entertaining story with a lot of strengths and a few weaknesses. I liked the characters and their development; they are people I grew to care about and what happened to them. I liked the story for the most part.

What I call weaknesses are just some personal, nit-picky stuff that I will not dwell on because the story is worth a read.

Life in Franklin, Colorado, goes along as usual. Two lifelong friends, Father Michael Williams and Deputy Jimmy Bell, have coffee and pie at the Crispy Biscuit Diner when Father Williams finishes confession.

At nearby Peterson Air Force Base, a class of students from the high school is taking a tour guided by Noel Williams. Her job is to track and adjust the orbits of communication satellites in geosynchronous orbit.

In low earth orbit, the International Space Station under the command of Yanez Prescott continues research in its labs.

Life goes on normally until a peculiar, giant object suddenly appears above the Earth and the planet stops spinning on its access. Chaos breaks forth as Father Mike's church collapses, the diner burns catches fire, Noel sees the satellites she is in charge of drifting out their orbits, and so does the ISS.

The result is a fight for survival and to understand what has happened.

The major strength of Skybound is its characters. There are no superhumans among them. They are all people who are believable and can care about. Most of them do their best to cope with the situation, while some have a few problems. Of all the principal characters, my favorite was more in a supporting role as opposed to being a major character.

Aster Meekins (aster is the Greek word for star) is one of the students on the tour of Noel's lab at Peterson AFB. At first, she is quiet and unassuming. She is a science nerd and not one of the popular kids in school. Mostly self-taught, she becomes important in the story as an assistant to Noel as events unfold. She is smart and knows her stuff, but Aster also offers a lighter side to the story because of her teenage wisdom. I felt bad for her because she would have had a brilliant future as a scientist.

Another favorite character was Astronaut Yanez Prescott. She is not only the commander of the ISS, but she is also a military pilot, and a tough character when she needs to be. Her survival story is both heart wrenching and heroic at the same time. Following her from the station carrying what she thinks will be vital information on the object to the conclusion of her segment is compelling. 

My favorite point of plot in Skybound revolves around the relationship between Aster and Noel. They have to work together to keep the flow of information going in an old radio station. During that time, they develop a close friendship. There isn't a lot of humor in the story, but what there is happens mostly between those two.

I enjoyed this mostly character driven story. There was some questionable science in a few places, but then again, it seemed the object that appeared in the sky may have messed with physics and changed things significantly. My major reservation with Skybound was with the ending of the story. I will not spoil it, but I have to say it left me a bit unsatisfied and bewildered.

Other than that, I recommend it for the reasons I mentioned before. Fine, well-developed characters, good dialog, and interesting situations and puzzles to solve.

As I read, I couldn’t stop thinking about how it felt a lot like another book I’d read by Niven & Pournelle a while back.

It is a very good first novel.

Lou Iovino is a ten-year veteran of the comics industry. He is the co-creator of THE LAST WEST, a two-volume graphic novel available exclusively on Comixology. He has also written for Zenescope Entertainment on several of their flagship titles including ROBYN HOOD, VAN HELSING, GRIMM TALES OF TERROR and RED AGENT.

His debut novel SKYBOUND is available now at Amazon and on Kindle and Kindle Unlimited.

In days gone by, Lou taught basic, advanced, and technical writing and world classics at Rutgers University. He is currently teaching advertising at Villanova University.

He lives in New Jersey with his wife and two sons.

Well, there it is...

Qapla!

Atropos By John Japuntich - A Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Thriller/Adventure Story Worth Looking Into

Atropos by John Japuntich

I learned about Atropos through an email from Kindle Unlimited. First, I was impressed with the cover and then was convinced to add it to my reading list because of a captivating description of the book.

Atropos is a tremendous story that never failed to entertain me as I read. It follows the lives of several alluring characters as they deal with a pandemic. Now I know, thanks to COVID-19, there has been an explosion of books about pandemics wreaking havoc written in the past year. This story is unique and takes a fresh approach. I found the story absorbing, and the characters captivating.

Retired FBI profiler, John Fitzpatrick, learns from a funeral home owner that business is down. John is not one to just let information like that slide by without looking deeper into the situation. He contacts someone who tells him that numbers of deaths are falling everywhere. Alzheimer patients are suddenly becoming lucid, cancer patients are miraculously going into remission, and people in nursing homes are walking out ready to reclaim their normal lives again. Hospitals are laying off workers because there is no business.

In the meantime, John also learns that birthrates are falling at an alarming rate.

All of this is attributed to a virus that spreads through the entire population of the Earth through all means possible. No one knows if it is a manufactured illness or a natural occurrence, but every human on the planet is infected.

John makes it is mission to find the answers as the years tick by.

After the Event took hold on Earth, two astronauts in orbit in a space station learn of what has happened. They are the only two humans in existence who are not infected. Mary Ann Jones and Vasily Ustinov decide they will return to the planet and live their lives as everyone else does. Mary learns she is pregnant upon returning to the surface and her son, Zacharia, shows exceptional brilliance at a very young age. Little does he know what influence he will have on humanity as he grows.

By far, my favorite character in the story is John Fitzpatrick. He is a very dynamic character who is like a snapping turtle. Once he gets his mind on something, he doesn't let go until he has the answers. Throughout the book, John comes and goes at regular intervals, solving mysteries and gaining fame for his doggedness. He has a sense of humor and is a good man.

Warning: Spoilers Ahead!

My favorite plot point is when John solves the case of a serial killer he has been chasing for years, but always seems to be several steps ahead of him. The killer himself is an Alzheimer's patient who becomes lucid once again because of the virus. When he finally can leave the hospital, the killer, once again, begins his reign of terror and takes a hostage. There wasn't any activity from the killer for quite some time, but thanks to an abandoned car, John is, once again on the hunt and finally solves the case.

At the beginning of the book, the author gave me the overarching theme I took away; One should never put all one’s eggs in a single basket. In the beginning of the story, decades before The Event, two friends discuss their visions of the future over beers in a club. One's vision is to see humans move out into the solar system and beyond establishing colonies. The other sees a future where we no longer carry devices to access the internet for information; it would happen inside our brains. It's a long road to the dreams of those two, but that doesn't stop them from their work of seeing those dreams come to fruition. Thanks to the virus, they will live long enough to see what happens to these magnificent dreams.

Aside from the few spoilers I revealed earlier, and the few characters, there are numerous other subplots and characters that drive the story forward at a comfortable pace. There are some parts that some may find disturbing while there is some good humor, some sadness, and times when characters are happy. The story has a wide range of emotional content. What I didn’t see coming was the plot twist at the end of the book, it is worth the read and you'll find yourself shaking your head. I recommend this as a great Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Thriller/Adventure story.

John Japuntich is a registered nurse and project manager for the information systems department in a community hospital. He also has a degree in Anthropology from the University of Georgia, and as such has a profound interest in how people and culture have changed from the past to the present, which heavily influences his writing. He often combines his medical knowledge with his anthropology background when creating new versions of the future.

Well, there it is...

Qapla!

 

De-Evolution by John Lars Shoberg - Entertaining Sci-Fi And Adventure

De-Evolution by John Lars Shoberg

Imagine yourself being part of a colony populating a new planet. What sort of creatures might you find? Are they sentient? Do they have a culture? Are they friendly or hostile toward you?

These are some questions John Lars Shoberg explores in his 2020 novel. De-Evolution.

I enjoyed this novel and was impressed by the craft John displayed with his writing. There are plot twists I found entertaining and was especially pleased with the twist at the end. Overall, this is a fine sci-fi story anyone can enjoy whether or not one is a fan of the genre.

On the planet Belenius 3, humans have arrived from earth onboard a generational ship to set up a colony. They are well on their way to getting dwellings erected to live in and are becoming familiar with their surroundings. Sightings of indigenous beings are reported, but no one really knows their nature or what to expect from the few chance encounters with them. The reports are of creatures the colonists are calling Jabberwockys, so named because of their disjointed appearance. So far, there have been no problems between the colonists and the creatures.

The colony's governor, Howard McCurtel, had his dwelling built on top of a hill, believing it would be safer than having it built near the rest of the colony. Unfortunately, a torrential rainstorm caused a mudslide. He and his family narrowly escape losing their lives when another member of the colony arrived to rescue them. During their attempt to make it to safety, an accident caused the family to be split up and the Howard's two younger children turn up missing.

When the weather clears, the colonists search for the children. They find their tracks but also find the tracks of a Jabberwocky accompanying the children. As Howard and company continue to follow the tracks, it appears the children are cooperating with the Jabberwocky and are in no danger. Eventually they find the children safe and sound in the camp of beings who are friendly and have kept the children safe.

Upon further investigation of the planet’s native occupants, there is evidence of a civilisation de-evolving from a more advanced state. There has to be a reason for this, but no one seems to understand why this evolutionary retardation is happening.

What follows is a story of discovery, danger, and creative problem solving I found engaging.

There are several characters in De-Evolution that have a level of expertise in their fields including builders, scientists, medical personnel, and so on. By far, I found Howard McCurtel the most interesting and developed character in the story. When first introduced, he seemed like he would be a dictator, issuing orders and imposing his way on everyone. An avowed capitalist, he gave all the geophysical features in and around the colony names of his heroes, such as "Buffet Bay" for a nearby body of water. He had his home built on top of a tall hill where he could look down on the colony and survey the fruits of his labor. In the beginning, he didn't seem to understand the nature of being the leader of a colony. In his opening statement, he declares, "there'll be no Communists in my colony!" Obviously, he was mistaking communal living with Communist philosophy. Fortunately, he figured out his role fairly early in the book.

Soon after Howard's family was rescued from the mudslide, he learned to be a leader meant bringing people together to accomplish tasks for the good of the entire colony. He learned there are no expendable people in the group; everyone had a part to play, and all were important for the colony to survive. Several other characters noted this change in him in the text. Howard learned how to lead and went from a character I thought I would not like to a person I could care about.

I also found Howard's two younger children, Tommy and Sarah, fascinating characters. After they go missing, they are found by a member of an indigenous race who leads them to safety. The Raffians, as the natives call themselves, take the kids in and make them feel at home until the rescue party can arrive. Both Tommy and Sarah are well-educated members of the colony. They learn the Raffian language quickly and act as interpreters for the older members who are not so quick to learn languages.

The children and their attitude toward the Raffians leads me to my favorite point of the story's plot.

Leave it to the children to be open-minded enough to make a relationship with an alien race possible. Tommy and Sarah learned to communicate with the Raffians and it opened up a beneficial partnership with the human colony. Had it not been for that relationship, the colony would have ended in disaster. The same thing that caused the Raffians to de-evolve would have claimed all the human colonists in a few months. The kids were the gateway to the colony's survival.

My takeaway for this story is the importance of cooperation in a system where people live in a community. Everyone has their own specialty, and some think their role is more important than others. Depending on the situation, this may be the case, but cooperation is the cornerstone to a community’s survival. Howard was ready to set himself up as the colony's ruler, but he learned he didn't know how to direct his people effectively because he didn't have their knowledge. What he learned was to bring people together and let them use their abilities and training to help him make decisions snd complete tasks. He not only got more done, but he earned the respect of his fellow colonists.

Conquering the fear of the unknown was another theme that stood out in De-Evolution. Fear would only be a natural reaction to entering colonizing a new planet full of unknowns. In the beginning of the story, there were several sightings of the indigenous beings on Belenius 3; they were dubbed "Jabberwokys." An unknown is only so until it is known and the colonists dealt with the situation through empirical and scientific research. 

I dove into this book and literally hated putting it down. It moved at a good pace and the writing was clear and concise. The science was easy to understand, and it wasn't overloaded with a lot of jargon that would have otherwise bogged down the story. Outside of the characters mentioned earlier, the others seemed to have enough development to make them individuals. Overall, I thought this was another fun and engaging story by John Shoberg and well worth the time to read. I recommend De-Evolution for readers that enjoy a solid story of discovery and adventure.

John Lars Shoberg always wanted to be a scientist, and had two Masters of Science degrees, but he also has a creative side. He attended a class for creative writing while in college as well. For several decades he worked in chemical labs while practicing his writing skills in the evenings. All of his works are available from www.MoonPhaze.com, where one can also sign up for his newsletter.

Well, there it is...

Qapla!

Children Of Time By Adrian Tchaikovski - One Species Evolves While Another Takes The Opposite Direction

Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovski

It is a real treat when I can choose and read a book that is not involved with a podcast. So, being all caught up on "required" reading, I searched Amazon for something I might enjoy and found Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovski. I must admit that I was intrigued by the author's name since it is the same as one of my favorite composers, and couldn't help but wonder if there is any relationship between the two. Alas, I have since learned that the author's name is actually spelled Czajkowski, a Polish name, and there is no mention of any relation to the famous Russian composer. Never the less, I downloaded the book and began reading.  All I can say is WOW!

Children of Time takes place in a post-apocalyptic future in which the Earth has become uninhabitable. A very large colony ship is wandering through the stars looking for a place to settle and rebuild humanity on a new planet. Meanwhile, another ship arrives at a terraformed planet, only this ship is the vehicle for an experiment being performd by a scientist that has no interest in helping the human race survive, as a matter of fact, the scientist would just as soon see humanity disappear altogether. This second ship is occupied by monkeys and is supposed to set down on a new planet that has been seeded with a nanovirus that would allow for some rapid evolution by the occupants. Unfortunately, the monkey ship experiences a malfunction and crashes on the planet with all occupants killed. The scientist survives as she escapes in a pod that is designed to keep her in suspended animation until such time she is needed.

Meanwhile, the colony ship approaches the planet and is warned off by an automated message stating the planet has not been terraformed for colonization, but for long term scientific research. With a few punctuating shots across the bow of the colony ship, the humans decide to cut their losses and leave to look for another place to settle. as time passes, the humans, being what we are, set up numerous styles of leadership and find themselves immersed in ambitious conflict. The people on the ship as well as the ship itself deteriorates with age and the humans try desperately search for a place to settle. Meanwhile on the experimental planet, spiders, ants, and other insect life flourishes and begins building a world that they can live on. When the humans run out of options, they decide that they are going to take over the spider world no matter what it takes. The spiders make ready to do battle to protect what they have created.

What happens when two philosophies of life clash? This story brilliantly spells it out.

This story follows the exploits of a ship from Earth whose occupants are seeking a place to settle and found a new civilization on the one hand, and on the other, a world that had been terraformed as an experiment by a scientist. On the planet, the intended occupants were to be monkeys that would be infected by a nanovirus designed to induce accelerated mutations and evolution. So the monkeys would rather quickly evolve to sentience (by quickly I took it that it would be hundreds of years as opposed to thousands or millions of years) and bring forth a new civilization, not human.

The intended occupants of the planet never got the chance to make their mark, however other species that were already on the planet did get a chance at taking advantage of the nanovirus and were very successful. Insects became the target of those that would inherit the new Earth, and at the top of the list for those that would lead were spiders. For me, the spiders development was the best part of the story. It was fascinating how they started out with just their basic instincts and moved on from generation to generation developing intelligence and technology that would eventually even allow them to travel in space. Every chapter revealed new abilities and ways of thinking that eventually became a highly evolved, well organized, and intelligent society. It was not without its problems along the way to be certain, but the outcome was likewise fascinating.

Then there were the humans. The occupants of the colony ship were all in suspended animation to be awakened if the ship's sensors detected a likely candidate world on which to settle. Unfortunately for them, they stumbled upon the world that was made for the monkeys. In orbit around this world, in a very sophisticated lifepod was the scientist who claimed the spider world for her experiment. When the colony ship arrived there, they were turned away by the scientist, who saw no value in human life and, under no circumstances would allow her experiment to be contaminated by a human presence. Sent away, to another possible candidate world, the humans did what humans normally do.

As David Gerrold wrote in his novel, Blood and Fire, when humans move out among the stars, we will take our memes with us. Those memes include some good behaviors as well as many ugly behaviors. Tchaikovski does a great job of illustrating some of the ugliness that might be taken away from our planet; struggles for power, idolatry, and a tendency to make war with one another for numerous reasons. Feeling that it is too far to travel to the other world, they eventually decide that they are going to take the spider world for themselves, no matter the cost.

My favorite character is a spider named Portia, well actually there are a lot of characters named Portia. Most of the spider evolution is expressed through this character, passing down her DNA from one generation to the next over thousands of years. Portia starts out as a common spider, working and surviving on instinct. As time moves on, the instincts stay intact, but there is reasoning added making Portia continuously more interesting. Portia and her spider companions develop a social structure allowing each to develop as their individual spices talents allow. Each has their own talents while Portia maintains a benevolent rulership over them all. Portia leads the spiders through an evolutionary process that begins with basic instinct, emotional awareness, the uprising of superstition and development of religion, scientific enlightenment, and finally a spacefaring civilization. It is, in any case, a fine example of world building This was the most compelling part of the book and is what kept me reading.

Every other chapter of the book dealt with the human perspective. I found these parts of the book interesting, but not as much as the spider story. It seemed that the humans were never able to get it together because all they wanted to do was take the spider planet over as conquerors. Most of the scenes dealing with the humans were through the eyes of a character who seemed a little cowardly and uninspiring. Unfortunately, as far as I was concerned, the only reason for the human story line was to be bad guys for the spiders to fight off when they arrived to take over the planet. There was a lot of filler in the human story that was unfortunately predictable and uninteresting. But, as I said earlier, the spider story more than made up for the shortcomings in the human chapters. As far as the plot was concerned though, the human story was not a total loss when one considers that while the spiders on the planet evolved, the humans went in the complete opposite direction de-evolving to the point of becoming tribal and falling into idol worship.

Finally, there was the scientist that started the whole thing. Dr. Kern was a megalomaniac who saw herself as a god-like individual. Nothing was more important to her than her experiment and there she would allow nothing to get in her way to see it come to fruition. Aboard a ship she was leading to her terraformed planet, she had a large population of monkeys that were to receive the benefit of her creation, the nanovirus. What she didn't count on was a faction of eco-terrorists that were bent on not allowing her to waste a perfectly good planet for the evolution of monkeys. The terrorists destroyed the ship while she escaped in a life-support pod to spend the rest of eternity in orbit around what she dubbed Kern's World. Kern's character soon became uninteresting as she more or less merged with her pod and became confused.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and give it high recommendations in spite of it's few shortcomings. There is a good reason that Children of Time won an Arthur C. Clark award. It is well paced and continually compelled me to read on. Most of the ratings for this were in the 4.3+ approval rating and I would agree, calling it a solid 4 on a scale of 1-5.

Well, there it is...

Qapla!

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.

Well, there it is...

Qapla'!

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...

Qapla!