Book reviews are a great way for self-publishing authors to gain exposure. After all, how can someone buy your book if he or she doesn’t know it exists? Paired with other elements of your book promotion strategy, requesting reviews is a great way to get people talking about what you’ve written.
When we read good reviews, we definitely like to share them. It gives the author a few (permanent) moments of fame and allows us to let the community know about a great book. Here’s this week’s book review, courtesy of the Genre Go Round Reviews blog:
Escape from Eternity
Nate Scholze
Publisher: Outskirts Press
ISBN: 9781432789060
Synopsis:
Set in the modern era, a humanoid alien entity, Adrian Antagon, arrives on Earth with a specific mission in mind. He must locate his long lost brother and cohort Menonan Antagon, who disappeared 60,000 years ago on Earth after trying to put down a rebellion of creative aliens who were supposed to be the stewards of the world, of which he was Supreme Commander at the time. Adrian assimilates the body of the first person who comes upon his tiny cylinder-shaped spacecraft and journeys from London, England to the beautiful water-front resort area of Door County, Wisconsin.
In Ephraim he meets up with an old man who recognizes but is not happy to see him. Emil Bitterman says that Adrian has never brought anything but heartache to him and he should leave immediately, but Adrian tells Bitterman he has other plans and requests that he assist him because of a former commitment. The old man refuses, but refers him to a young woman with a messed up life. Laura Whitmore is dealing with an overbearing father, a restaurant employer who’s paying too much attention to her, and the recent death of her cherished boyfriend.
She is not happy when Adrian asks for her help. Tired and depressed, Laura just wants to be left alone, but Adrian is determined to win her over and relays information about strange creative endeavors that changed our world. He explains that all humans are eternal and Earth is simply a place to escape the boredom of eternity and to forget about the problems associated with living forever for a while. Laura is rattled by his bizarre commentary and decides to try to avoid him, so she seeks out her sister Michelle, and her best friend, Colin Benton, a burned-out druggy.
Meantime, the family of the man whose body Adrian had assimilated has discovered he is missing, and to their horror determines their beloved family member now resides in Wisconsin, U.S.A. Bewildered and hurt, Katherine Nolan and friend, John Barrington, make the trip from the U.K. to recover him, but realize when they arrive that the man they think they know is now very different. Adrian kills Laura’s boss for assaulting her, and he is arrested and jailed, but then discloses what he has really come for: To reveal a mysterious truth that will change Laura’s life forever, and send her scurrying for safety. But Adrian needs her, and discloses that she has been chosen to play the central role in his plan whether she wants it or not, and as far as he is concerned, her involvement is not optional.
Laura’s father vows to see Adrian dead and in a bizarre turn of events Adrian is fatally shot by the sister of the now deceased Emil Bitterman. As Adrian is dying at Laura’s feet she discovers, to her horror, the strange and unnatural connection she has to the lost Menonan Antagon, and realizes that the information she receives could cost her more than her sanity, it could cost her her life.
Critique:
University of London math Professor William Nolan investigates an object that fell from the sky near his home. He returns to the house ordering his wife Katherine to give him his passport before leaving. Shocked by his out of character behavior she calls family friend John Barrington.
Calling himself Adrian, William flies to Chicago and from there goes to Ephraim, Wisconsin to see Teddy Bitterman. Adrian tells Teddy that Caleb lives in the Cycle and demands he help him rescue him. Teddy refuses as he lost his beloved wife Audrey and his sibling Caleb when he tried to assist Adrian years ago rescue the alien’s missing brother Menonan. Pleading for his sister and him to be left alone, Teddy tells his visitor to look for the oldest Whitmore sister. Adrian locates depressed Laura Whitmore and asks for her assistance, but she refuses as her dreams died in a car accident. He explains why he needs her to find Menonan who vanished after putting down a coup attempt by creative aliens on planet earth many millennia ago. While she turns to her younger sister Michelle and her BFF Colin Benton, her father Howard vows to kill the alien and Katherine and John follow William’s trail to Door County only to learn he killed Laura’s abusive Adam Blake.
Escape from Eternity is a gripping science fiction thriller starring a strong cast with diverse tsuris in a Close Encounters of the Third Kind scenario adding to their woes. The complex twisting storyline built on an eternal cosmological premise is character driven starting with Adrian’s possession of William’s body and never slows down as the audience anticipates a confrontations in Wisconsin and beyond.
[ reviewed by Harriet Klausner ]
Here’s what some other reviewers are saying:
I believe this will become a cult classic because this book brings a new scape to answer the “why am I here?” question that everyone has.
This book has a plot line that leaves you guessing and the way he has written his characters makes you understand the choices they have made without the normal “I know where this is going” being correct.
Every time I guessed wrong it pulled me further into the story, or is it a story? it makes you wonder,”did this guy figure it out?”
I think it should be read even by people who aren’t the normal sci-fi readers,it has a story that can make anyone ask questions they haven’t asked before. I can’t wait until its picked up by someone for a movie.
The way he paints the landscapes and surroundings of his characters makes you use your imagination knowing that he was trying to portray exactly what you are thinking.I am a person who keeps books on a shelf that I love so I can read them again, this is a definite re-read. Pick it up with an open mind and you wont be disappointed!
In this read we meet Laura Whitmore, her sister and parents. They appear to be a normal family yet a secret circles their lives, one that only the father fully knows, but never told his family. In a strange visit from a space craft a man runs to see what it is only to be taken over by something or is that someone, with a mission. This now possessed man, who calls himself, Adrian, seeks out Laura who holds the key to the future. Who really is this creature and what secrets does he hold for mankind, and why is Laura so important to him?
I have to say this was a different read with twists and turns I did not expect. The author kept you running forward with the desire to know who Adrian really was and why was he so intent on finding Laura. The characters in this story were interesting and well developed and tied together nicely as the read progressed. I think a little more information should have been given on who this character, Adrain, was a little sooner in the story. Perhaps a few more hints dropped here and there. As I said this was a different twist on ‘earth visiting’ characters and I feel our author plans to take this into another book, or so I assume from the ending of this one. The ending was a surprise in so many ways, I really did not see this ending coming, and it appears Laura is in for other visitations. If you enjoy a read that is a little different than the norm, this one is for you. The foundation is laid and ready to be built upon. I will be watching to see how our author continues this story.
– Amazon Reviewer Shirley Priscilla Johnson
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