Wesley Britton's Blog, page 39

Classic Book Review: Out of the Silent Planet by C.S. Lewis

Out of the Silent Planet
C.S. Lewis
This book can be downloaded for free from the Gutenberg Project:
http://central.gutenberg.org/articles...

Review by: Dr. Wesley Britton


Apparently inspired by David Lindsey’s 1920 Voyage to Arcturus with obvious nods to the stories of H.G. Wells, the first of C.S. Lewis’s “space trilogy” Came out in the U.K. in 1938, in the U.S. in 1943. Two sequels followed, Perelandra (1943) and That Hideous Strength (1945). In 1977, a related fragment, “The Dark Tower,” appeared in a collection of Lewis’s shorter works.

Out of the Silent Planet opens when philologist Elwin Ransom, on a walking tour of England, is kidnapped by two men, the greedy Devine and physicist Weston. They spirit him away in a metal, spherical spaceship headed for the planet Malacandra where Ransom is intended to be given as a sacrifice to the planet’s inhabitants, the Sorns. But Ransom quickly escapes, and the bulk of the story to follow chronicles Ransom’s travels across what he learns is Mars. We read his descriptions of the colorful world and his interactions with three species of intelligent life, the Hrossa, Ceroni, and Pfifltriggi.

In particular, Ransom meets the very civilized hross named Hyoi, a tall and thin creature resembling an otter or seal who hosts the human for several months in his village where Ransom learns the aliens’ “solar language” and much about their culture and their love for poetry with limited understanding of technology. The hrossa ask Ransom to join them in a hunt for a hnakra, a fierce water-creature which seems to be the only dangerous predator on the planet, resembling both a shark and a crocodile. On the hunt, Ransom is told by an eldil, a nearly invisible being that seems more spirit than anything else, that Ransom must go to meet Oyarsa, the eldilwho who is the ruler of the planet.

After Devin and Weston try to capture Ransom again, killing Hyoi,
Ransom meets Augray, a sorn who demonstrates his people, usually 15 feet tall with seven fingers and bodies covered with feathers, are actually peaceful and nothing like what Devin and Weston believe . Carrying the human on his shoulders, Augray takes Ransom to Oyarsa. On the journey, Ransom encounters The insect-like pfifltriggi and their frog-like bodies which helps them be the builders and technicians of Malacandra.

Ransom learns there are deathless Oyéresu rulers for each of the planets in our solar system. In the four inner planets, which have organic life (both sentient and non-intelligent), the local Oyarsa is responsible for that life. The ruler of Earth (Thulcandra, "the silent planet"), is evil (or "bent" in the local language) and has been restricted to Thulcandra, after a "great war," by the Oyéresu and the authority of Maleldil, the ruler of the universe. As a result, Earth is in a “fallen” state as opposed to the other, more utopian, inhabited worlds. Obviously, this situation parallels the Biblical story of Satan’s fall from heaven.

At the meeting with Oyarsa, Ransom learns he has been summoned to the planet as he is there to try to explain the ways and beliefs of humanity. Devin and Weston are escorted to the sacred site after murdering three more inhabitants. Weston launches into a long speech where he says humans must take over all inhabited planets to preserve humanity at the expense of all other life. This is very much in contrast to the “Martians” who live in harmony and believe all races are equal. After this, Oyarsa passes judgement, commanding Devin and Weston to return to their spaceship and leave the planet. He offers Ransom the choice of staying or returning, and Ransom opts to return home.

During a dangerous 90 day voyage with limited air and food, the trio of humans is watched over by the eldila who can travel in space and consider planets as mere fixed points in the cosmos. After a difficult if rushed journey, the space-ship barely makes it back to Earth.

In a somewhat confusing coda, we hear about how Ransom questions what happened to him and contacts C.S. Lewis who helps him put the true account into the form of a novel. Ransom, realizing few readers will believe him, still wants to do what he can to fulfill the mission that Oyarsa gave him before he left Malacandra, to thwart Weston’s evil. Ransom also wants to initiate a “baptism of imagination.” In Lewis’s words:

“What we need for the moment is not so much a body of belief as a body of people familiarized with certain ideas. If we could even effect in one per cent of our readers a change-over from the conception of Space to the conception of Heaven, we should have made a beginning.”

A brief synopsis like this, of course, cannot fairly give readers a real taste of the book, its descriptions of aliens and places and the metaphysical and philosophical discussions that take place throughout. Nor can a short review really summarize the critical responses that have been published over the decades. Past critics have noted elements of medieval mythology in the book, that the scientific explanations, especially regarding space travel, are rather absurd, and that the theological dimensions of the final chapters are what saves the book from being little more than a pulp-sci fi romance. Lewis himself said the story exemplifies his belief that while reason is the organ of truth, imagination is the organ of meaning.

I must admit, for much of the book, I thought it had much in common with the imaginative yarns of Edgar Rice Burroughs and H. Rider Haggard with less action and very little suspense. Those were the days, of course, where writers could create elaborate civilizations on Mars that no one could get away with now. Lewis, an accomplished philologist himself, did much with the linguistic possibilities and had much to say about cultural and social differences with an increasingly metaphysical and cosmological approach. This wasn’t surprising considering Lewis’s interest in both Christian theology and European mythology.

We also get generous samplings of his descriptive skills as in this passage from Ranson’s perspective inside the space-ship:

“The Earth's disk was nowhere to be seen, the stars, thick as daisies on an uncut lawn, reigned perpetually with no cloud, no moon, no sunrise to dispute their sway. There were planets of unbelievable majesty, and constellations undreamed of: there were celestial sapphires, rubies, emeralds and pin-pricks of burning gold; far out on the left of the picture hung a comet, tiny and remote: and between all and behind all, far more emphatic and palpable than it showed on Earth, the undimensioned, enigmatic blackness. The lights trembled: they seemed to grow brighter as he looked. Stretched naked on his bed, a second Dana, he found it night by night more difficult to disbelieve in old astrology: almost he felt, wholly he imagined, 'sweet influence' pouring or even stabbing into his surrendered body.”

Beyond Perelandra—, or Venus to earthlings as explored in the sequels, the creatures Lewis created influenced much sci fi literature to follow. For but a few examples, Larry Nivens’ 1999 Rainbow Mars used the three primary species. In the second volume of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, The Ceroni are mentioned as battling the more warlike Martians of The War of the Worlds. In Ian Edginton’s Dark Horse comic series, “Scarlet Traces: The Great Game,” it seems the Hrossa, Ceroni, and Pfifltriggi were the original races of Mars before being wiped out by The War of the Worlds “asteroid Martians.”

Clearly, Out of the Silent Planet has been earning a wide, international audience for over 70 years in a continual stream of new editions in a variety of languages. It seems a full understanding of Lewis’s vision means a reader should not see the book as a stand-alone adventure but should consider the book part one of the story. So, for this reviewer, Perelandra now joins my 2017 reading list.

For a very detailed analysis of Out of the Silent Planet exploring its Christian framework, check out “Chronicles of Heaven Unshackled -C.S. Lewis' 'Out of the Silent Planet'” by Pete Lowman at:
http://www.bethinking.org/your-studie...

Classic Book Review: Memoirs of an Invisible Man by H.F. Saint

When I offered four previous posts exploring three TV series called The Invisible Man over the past two months, I had no idea I’d stumble on to a 1987 novel, Memoirs of an Invisible Man, the only book ever written by H.F. Saint. I’d never heard of it but was delighted with my new discovery.

The book’s narrator is Nicholas Halloway, a 34 year old securities analyst who accompanies a love interest to an experimental lab called MicroMagnetics. There, a group of Marxist student demonstrators set off an explosion that results in the building and everything in it turning invisible, including Nick.

Immediately, Nick learns a government agency wants to take him into custody for medical experiments and possibly turn him into an intelligence agent. Preferring personal liberty, Nick escapes through the security perimeter around the now invisible laboratory and begins a yearlong run from the relentless Colonel David Jenkins and his team who turn over every stone to capture or kill Halloway. The cat-and-mouse manhunt began as Jenkins wanted to imprison a fugitive innocent of any crime, and what criminal acts that follow are only Halloway’s attempts to keep his freedom.

For much of the story, we hear Halloway’s account about his learning what invisibility means to him and how he first hides in New York private clubs and then unoccupied apartments as the Jenkins group comes closer and closer to capturing him. Ultimately, Halloway unexpectedly seduces artist Alice Barlow who thinks he’s a ghost lover. She hides him before unintentionally revealing Halloway is living with her. But once again, Halloway makes his escape even as he amasses a small fortune as an investor with a new identity.

In the beginning, the story is told with a light, wry tone with comic moments like a bungled seduction inside a railway car. Once Halloway turns invisible, the plot unfolds with suspenseful tension as Halloway, with both luck and cunning, evades the unending efforts of Jenkins and his subordinates. Saint gives Halloway many believable and sympathetic characteristics and provides page after page of details painting the settings and circumstances of Holloway’s lonely existence. We read very plausible descriptions of Holloway’s discoveries and just how he eludes the noose coming closer and closer to his neck.

I found the book impossible to put down. On the other hand, in 1992, John Carpenter’s lackluster film adaptation starred Chevy Chase, Daryl Hannah, and Sam Neill. Changing the locale to San Francisco and Mexico and emphasizing comic elements with numerous changes to the book’s plot, all reviews of the film have been universally negative. The less said about it, the better.

I don’t know if I’m disappointed or relieved Saint never wrote a sequel. Reportedly, the income from Memoirs was so good, Saint became something of a recluse and never wrote anything thereafter. I don’t know if the author ever thought about what might happen next. Considering all the resources invested in catching Halloway, the odds are more than good he would ultimately be caught and incarcerated. This would likely result in a depressing read with a very likeable character having lost everything with no positive future in the cards. Perhaps it’s best Nick Halloway is left alone with his final speculations, even if it means we’ll never know what the possibilities might be for Nick and Alice. As long as there’s a Col. Jenkins or someone like him, the Invisible Man must remain a fugitive on the run and we’ve read that story. If his chase ends, so too any hope or optimism for a man who was thrust into a life he never wanted who only wants to be left alone.

Come to Dawn Chapman's First Contact book launch on the 20th!

On Dec. 20, Wes Britton will be one of the participants in an FB event to celebrate the launch of Dawn Chapman’s new SF novel, First contact which Wes reviewed last week at BookPleasures.com and this blog.

Here is the link to the event.
https://www.facebook.com/events/11825...

It starts at 12.00 EST on December 20th. There will be special guest authors of science fiction and fantasy coming in to talk about the genre, their books and to have some fun.

Wes is providing 5 posts for one half-hour of the event that will plug his Beta-Earth Chronicles.

Everyone is invited, especially readers who love this genre. We hope to see you at the party.

RIP: Greg Lake

As the news is spreading that musician Greg Lake has left us, I thought I’d post links to audio interviews I did with the other two members of ELP—Keith Emerson and Carl Palmer for online radio’s “Dave White Presents.” I’ll always regret we didn’t line up Greg for a conversation.

Nov. 6, 2012: Keith Emerson, Marc Bonilla, and Terje Mikkelsen on THE THREE FATES PROJECT; also Author Rick Podolsky on Don Kirshner.
http://tinyurl.com/aw9bnrt


Sept. 11, 2012: Carl Palmer (ELP, Asia) and Trevor Rabin (Yes)
http://tinyurl.com/8rzew7f

You can download as a MP3, stream, or listen live.

Or go to

www.audioentertainment.org/dwp.html


and check out our seven years of conversations with a cornucopia of entertainment insiders from musicians to actors to authors to producers . . .


Happy listening!

Classic Book Review: When Worlds Collide and After When Worlds Collide by Philip Wylie & Edwin Balmer

For years, I’ve known of Philip Wylie and Edwin Balmer’s When Worlds Collide (1933) and After When Worlds Collide (1934). But, somehow, these novels just didn’t get on my reading list. Until now.

It’s perhaps redundant to talk about the influence of these books, especially as so many important sci fi tropes were introduced in these novels. (note 1) I was astonished to see just how modern the stories remain with a vitality that hasn’t dimmed in over 80 years. I admit I had expected books that would remind me of pulp magazine stories with Flash Gordon trappings and outlandish gimmickry that might serve well in a B-movie. How wrong I was.

When Worlds Collide did have magazine origins. It was first published as a six-part monthly serial from September 1932-February 1933 in Blue Book magazine, illustrated by Joseph Franké.

The story opens when Sven Bronson, a South African astronomer, discovers that a pair of rogue planets from another galaxy, Bronson Alpha and Bronson Beta, are coming closer and closer to earth. In eight months, they would pass close enough to cause the end of our world. On a second pass, Bronson Alpha would crash into our planet—hopefully, Bronson Beta would be habitable if any humans can get there as the planet begins its new orbit around our sun.

In very short order, scientist Cole Hendron leads the effort to create first one, then two atomic powered spaceships, essentially new “arcs”, to carry survivors to Beta. As both planetary bodies will make one pass before coming around a second time, the moon is destroyed as tidal waves sweep inland at a height of 750 feet along with volcanic eruptions and earthquakes that reduce earth’s population in giant numbers. Angry mobs begin to ravage the United States, many refusing to accept what the scientific community is telling everyone.

Hedron sets up a large camp where the spaceships are being built, a prospect that only works when a team finds material tough enough to make rocket tubes capable of withstanding the heat of the atomic exhaust. The camp loses roughly half of its 1,000 inhabitants when a mob army attacks, killing many before being defeated by a blast from the rocket engines.

The American ships carrying around 600 people make a successful landing on Bronson Beta after a 90 day journey, although they lose contact with each other. Happily, Beta is indeed habitable by humans.

The sequel, After Worlds Collide, was published quickly on the heels of its predecessor. It too first appeared as a six-part monthly serial from November 1933–April 1934 in Blue Book magazine. In it, the Americans learn about fantastic if empty domed cities full of very advanced technology and livable structures left behind by the people who had once lived on Bronson Beta before they disappeared when the planet was sent on its space voyage far from their home star. In addition, the survivors learn other ships made successful landings, but several of them from Japan, Germany, and Russia attack first the British and then the Americans in order to impose their rule over all humans. Hedron dubs them the Midianites before he dies, like Moses, in view of the domed city his people will live in.

Because of the planet’s elliptical orbit, Beta gets colder and colder and one night, the Midianites disconnect the power supply to the city of Hendron's people. In a very rushed conclusion, four Americans and one British female who escaped from the slavery of the Midianites infiltrate the dome of the “Dominion” colony and take out its leadership. The book ends on a very positive note, clearly leaving open possibilities for a third volume, but no sequel was ever published or apparently written.

There is much to praise for both these novels. A decade before actual atomic power was created and Three decades before Mercury space capsules were launched, the authors present seemingly plausible scientific discussions, at least for the general reader, of how the rocket ships were engineered, constructed and powered. (note 2) From beginning to end, the Worlds Collide books had considerable believability and continue to be just as realistic now as much as back in the early 1930s, despite obvious issues like Bronson Alpha being so large it would have done much more than allowed in the book.

The fantastic adventures were grounded by the well-drawn characters. There’s Tony Drake, who accepts the leadership mantle from Hedron even as he competes with Dave Ransdell for that position as well as the affections of Eve Hedron, the alluring daughter of the scientist. There’s also writer Eliot James who becomes the survivors’ historian.

All these characters deal with moral and philosophical issues in the wake of earth’s destruction, such as how marriage between one man and one woman will no longer be workable as females now outnumber men and everyone has a responsibility to rebuild humanity from the comparatively few survivors.

In 1951, Paramount Pictures released a film adaptation of When Worlds Collide produced by George Pal with a script written by Sydney Boehm. Not surprisingly, the book’s plot is streamlined with character names changed and some story points emphasized but not others. (note 3) While there was talk of filming After When Worlds Collide, box office returns for WWC didn’t suggest much success would result. Reportedly, a remake is being discussed now with possible involvement of Steven Spielberg. Stay tuned.


Notes

1. A list of tropes is available at:
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php...

2. According to Wikipedia, Philip Wylie was at one time an adviser to the chairman of the Joint Congressional Committee for Atomic Energy which led to the creation of the Atomic Energy Commission.
During World War II, writing The Paradise Crater (1945) resulted in Wylie’s house arrest by the federal government; in the novel, he described a post-WWII 1965 Nazi conspiracy to develop and use uranium-237 bombs, written months before the first successful atomic test at Alamagordo – the most highly classified secret of the war.
His 1954 novel Tomorrow! dealt graphically with the civilian impact of thermonuclear war to make a case for a strong Civil Defense network in the United States, as he told the story of two neighboring cities (one prepared, one unprepared) before and after an attack by missile-armed Soviet bombers. This was adapted in 1956 by ABC Radio, as a one-hour drama narrated by Orson Welles.

3. According to Wikipedia, Edwin Balmer helped create (with artist Marvin Bradley) the syndicated comic strip Speed Spaulding, partially based on the Worlds Collide series, which ran from 1938 through 1941.

For more on Speed Spaulding, check out:
http://strippersguide.blogspot.com/20...

and

http://strippersguide.blogspot.com.br...

Book Review: The Fellowship: The Literary Lives of the Inklings: J.R.R. Tolkien, C. S. Lewis, Owen Barfield, Charles Williams by Philip Zaleski, Carol Zaleski

The Fellowship: The Literary Lives of the Inklings: J.R.R. Tolkien, C. S. Lewis, Owen Barfield, Charles Williams
Philip Zaleski, Carol Zaleski
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux; Reprint edition (June 7, 2016)
ISBN-10: 0374536252a fondness for writing fantasy and science fiction as well as
ISBN-13: 978-0374536251
https://www.amazon.com/Fellowship-Lit...

Reviewed by Dr. Wesley Britton

During the 1930s and 40s, the Inklings were a small club of literary minds who met informally at Oxford to discuss topics of interest to the group and read aloud passages from their works in progress for criticism and inspiration. The name came from their literary desires as they spend considerable time using ink to craft fiction, non-fiction, poetry, lectures, philology, and literary criticism. The group had a decided Christian bent, a strong interest in old English and Norse verse and myths, and a desire to flex their debating skills among themselves.

The core of “The Inklings were J.R.R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis whose lives and works fill the bulk of the Zaleski’s multi-layered biographies of these high-minded, intellectual, and creative innovators. While a number of other participants were on-again, off again members of “The Inklings” circle, the Zaleski’s invest long passages and criticism to only two other men, authors Owen Barfield and Charles Williams who once earned critical respect for their literary criticism but are now largely forgotten.

While this description might suggest a rather dry exploration of an obviously scholarly group, I found myself absorbed at learning much more about two of these writers, Tolkien and Lewis, and meeting lesser-known writers I’d never heard of. Certainly, we spend most of our time dwelling in the reading, writing, and thinking of these men which involves classic world literature, religious jousts, and metaphysical philosophy. The presence of Owen Barfield was, for me at least, a welcome introduction to an imaginative author and intellect I had no idea had written rather early sci fi.

Most general readers will be quickly drawn to the processes that resulted in Tolkien and Lewis’s most celebrated works like The Screwtape Letters, The Chronicles of Narnia, and The Lord of the Rings. We get no shortage of insights into how this popular fiction came to be and what the authors hoped to accomplish. Better, we get in-depth analyses of the contexts of their works which showcases how the “Inklings” interfaced with each other which is where students of these writers will read the freshest perspectives into the writings of figures whose legacies have been excavated countless times over the decades.

The Fellowship is clearly targeted for a rather high-brow readership, considering the subject matter and emphasis on the mental and creative aspects of the “Inklings.” If you’ve read and wish analysis of works like Out of the Silent Planet, The Chronicles of Narnia, or Lord of the Rings, then this study might be for you.

As a side-note: To all those who think fantasy fiction is anti-Christian or ruinous to young minds, the “Inklings” puts the lie to such fears. It’s rather the other way around.


This review first appeared at BookPleasures.com on Dec. 5, 2016:
goo.gl/6wVDK8

Book Review: Third Party: Volume II: Strange Bedfellows by Steven Nemerovski

Book Review: Third Party: Volume II: Strange Bedfellows by Steven Nemerovski


Third Party: Volume II: Strange Bedfellows
Steven Nemerovski
Publisher: Wasteland Press (August 9, 2016)
Publication Date: August 9, 2016
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services LLC
ASIN: B01K58Q8CA
https://www.amazon.com/Third-Party-II...

Review by : Dr. Wesley Britton

Volume 2 of Steven Nemerovski’s Third Party series could have easily been titled “The Empires Strike Back.”

That’s because in the final sentences of Volume 1, Starting in the Middle, we learn E Party candidate Tom Robinson surprises everyone by unexpectedly winning the governor’s race in Illinois. In short order, both the Democrat and Republican parties launch campaigns to both challenge the win and resist the E Party’s legislative agenda. They begin legal challenges to force a recount of the votes in some 50 precincts and delight in the E Party’s early rookie mistakes, based on their collective political inexperience. While the election is being contested, the new governor has his hands tied in terms of offering high-level posts to skilled operators who wouldn’t know if Robinson will still be in power after the recount process goes through the courts.

At the same time, lobbyists, super-PACs, and unions are recruited to block Robinson’s education reform agenda claiming his program overreaches constitutional restrictions. Both major parties are more interested in redrawing voting districts based on new census numbers than proposing any useful legislation on any issue. The entrenched and ineffective bureaucracy is only interested in maintaining their positions and pensions. In short, business as usual as political self-interest trumps any progressive moves forward.

Like volume one, Strange Bedfellows presents us a large cast of power brokers in all three parties facing or creating the hurdles to block any accomplishments that could be credited to the E Party. But the story isn’t just a three party chess match, especially with the different agendas of Democrat State Speaker of the House David Kennedy and that of Eddie Cobb, the ruthless chair of the Democratic National Committee. Kennedy is willing to work with the Third Party, Cobb wants it discredited and wiped out before it spreads. To say much more would veer into the realm of spoilers, but I will note tainted ballots complicate the stew in a scandal called “Floodgate.”

This is a case where I urge potential readers to first experience Volume One to get an appreciation of the characters, motivations, and goals of all the participants. If you jump into round two without such preparation, understanding what the foundations of the E Party are will not be especially clear. Since the scope of the E Party in this volume is strictly on politics in Illinois, demonstrating how they could potentially play a significant role in national politics isn’t established in book two beyond showcasing the power plays of national parties fighting to retain the status quo at whatever cost. As with volume 1, the second book is another very believable and depressing reminder of what matters to our alleged leaders and that ain’t us.


This review first appeared at BookPleasures.com Sun. Dec. 4, 2016:
goo.gl/TM7sD2

Book Review: Third Party: Volume I: Starting in the Middle by Steven Nemerovski

Third Party: Volume I: Starting in the Middle
Steven Nemerovski
Publisher: Wasteland Press (August 15, 2016)
ISBN-10: 1681111349
ISBN-13: 978-1681111346
https://www.amazon.com/Third-Party-I-...


Reviewed by: Wesley Britton



Steven Nemerovski’s Third Party: Volume one: Starting in the Middle is obviously fiction, but it reads more like journalistic non-fiction. In part, that’s because the first quarter of the book is full of detailed back-stories of the major participants in the establishment of a Third Party in the U.S. Most of the book to follow is apparent news clippings from fictional Illinois newspaper, The Back Bench (with the tag line “If you let it slip, we’ll catch it”) and transcripts of e-mails and phone calls. Verisimilitude is established quickly and the story is both believable and convincing.

Things are set in motion when self-made billionaire Alex “Atlas” Stein invites a handful of movers and shakers to his Aspen estate to talk about creating a viable third party. In that initial conference, two key components of his plan are established: to set the party’s sights on winning local legislative races in the Illinois General Assembly and create the party’s issue-based agenda. The party is quickly dubbed the “E Party” because of their three main objectives, to emphasize education, economics, and ethical reform.

Because of Stein’s wealth, fund raising isn’t a problem but rather finding viable candidates to serve in the Illinois State Senate and House of Representatives. While we learn precious little about those candidates, we know most of them are teachers wanting to push the issue of educational reform. Winning enough seats to become an important presence in the Assembly, the E Party quickly pushed their platforms of supporting education and putting the state budget on solid footing.

In short order, the two major parties strike back, not because of ideology or issues but rather to maintain the political status quo. Despite its small size, the E Party is well organized and innovative as it battles entrenched power players like David Kennedy, the long-running Speaker of the House who is a mastermind at maneuvering and manipulation. So the book becomes a long lesson in the processes of state governments, sadly not just those of Illinois.

The book then traces what happens the first year of the E Party’s involvement in working to pass their chosen legislation and then describes the next election cycle when dirty tricks become part of the campaign mix. The E Party’s goals increase, including finding candidates to run for the highest state offices and expanding into other states, although nothing is explained about how or what is going on outside Illinois. At first blush, it might seem their victories are too localized to be all that dramatic, but mastering their baby steps is what volume one of the saga is all about. What happens next, including nationally, seems to be addressed in volume two, Strange Bedfellows, which was published on August 9 if you’re ready for round two.

Along the way, some ideas are glossed over, notably just what’s in those supposedly well-written and significant white papers. We get only occasional splashes of non-political personal relationships as in the story of besieged ex-baseball player turned youth advocate Tom Robinson and the surprising love story of Atlas Stein that seems to come out of nowhere.

In the main, readers drawn to The Third Party will most likely already be political junkies, especially those with some experience in ground-level politics or have tried to urge responses from their own elected representatives. Despite the optimistic conclusion, witnessing state politicians function the ways they do is rather depressing. After this year’s elections, this literary x-ray of how things work, or don’t, suggests solutions to our problems are not going to be an easy fix, if our two main parties have anything to say about it.


This review first appeared at BookPleasures.com, Dec. 1, 2016 at:
goo.gl/eqZDbp

Book Review: The Secret King: First Contact by Dawn Chapman

The Secret King: First Contact
Dawn Chapman
Jaime Bengzon (Illustrator)
Publisher: TSK Productions LTD; 1 edition (December 20, 2016)
Publication Date: December 20, 2016
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services LLC
ASIN: B01NBCKEWX
https://www.amazon.com/Secret-King-Fi...


“Kendro, king of the Aonise, watched as his nemesis, Dalamaar, and his second, Trax, stormed away down the ship's corridor. The encounter
left the breath thin in his lungs, and a sour taste rose in his mouth. This had been much more than a personal attack. If only he'd not been left
alone, but circumstances with Chace and Taliri had not allowed his usual guard to be there.

“Dalamaar's words echoed in his mind, I thought it was time you met the next King. And what really injured the most—if your wife weren't pregnant, I
would crush you now. But, Dalamaar needed Kendro to do all the negotiating work on Earth.”

The above first paragraphs from Dawn Chapman’s First Contact, volume two of her Secret King series, drops readers immediately into the action with no preliminaries and economically tells us about a central conflict to follow. From that point on, we’re on a roller-coaster ride that doesn’t let up until the appendices.

For roughly two-thirds of the book, we’re given two main parallel story lines. One deals with the Aonise, an alien race on a spaceship carrying 2 million survivors from their doomed home world. Kendro, King of the Aonise, hopes our earth will offer his people a peaceful place to settle. At the same time, earth’s leaders worry about what a race of aliens will bring us. So we witness a spaceship full of aliens divided over what to do on earth and humans divided over what sort of reception to give them.

The parallel plots are shown in character interactions mirrored in both settings. For example, we see aliens and humans in hospital rooms in dire circumstances both in the spaceship and in England, the main earth setting where the Prime Minister is eager to find a way for peaceful co-existence. In both settings, romances are sparked, blossom, and face bumpy roads. Aliens and humans clearly have much in common.

Chapman is especially good at crafting a large cast of sympathetic, three-dimensional characters resulting in a number of plots and subplots. It’s often pointless trying to determine just who is a main and who is a supporting player as so many storylines are woven together in an epic going back-and-forth between people and aliens. Chapman is vividly descriptive with her aliens who look very human except for their colorful “birthmarks” that illustrate their bodies. Each of them has a “Croex” with varying degrees of energy and power. These “croexes” bind the aliens together spiritually and provide metaphysical threads that can cure or protect.

First Contact can’t be considered “hard science fiction” as the emphasis is on the characters and situations, not plausible scientific explanations for anything. There’s considerable metaphysical use of the “Croexes” as well as prophetic dreams that can reach over time and space. These powers worry Kendro who wants these abilities used as little as possible so not to enflame the passions of earthers already fearful of sharing their land with all these strange new immigrants.

Chapman has been dwelling in the realm of The Secret King at least since 2005 when she wrote scripts for a proposed 13 episode series on British TV. In September 2015, volume one, The Secret King, Lethao, was published. In July 2016, two novellas appeared as audiobooks, The Truth Hurts and Bree’s Results. At the end of First Contact, Chapman makes it clear a sequel is in the pipeline as well as a Secret King anthology.

So if you’re captivated by the tapestry of Chapman’s characters, there are previous works to enjoy and delights to anticipate. I can’t remember aliens I’ve liked as much as the Aonise. I’d welcome many of them as neighbors.


This review first appeared at BookPleasures.com at:
goo.gl/j3pkDu

Guest Post: Dawn Chapman’s sneak peek into her upcoming First Contact: book 2 of The Secret King scifi series

Announcing:

First Contact book 2 of The Secret King scifi series - coming 20/12/2016
By Dawn Chapman

With their journey from planet Letháo fraught with peril, the Aonise finally arrive at what they hope will be a new home. Earth offers a new start for the displaced race, and Kendro, King of the Aonise, desperately seeks a peaceful end to their voyage. However, once they make first contact, not all is as expected. Some humans are not as welcoming to the alien species, and their resettlement onto Earth is faced with resistance from splinter groups determined to drive the Aonise away from their planet. Coupled with internal strife, can Kendro appease all, or will greater misfortunes come to pass?

Excerpt

A loud ringing echoed through the house. Prime Minister Robert Walker bolted upright. His wife, Christine, still slept, her chest rising and falling in even breaths. Is that… the...
His heart pounded in his chest, as the ringing stopped. Silence. No…
Glancing at Christine, he let out a breath seeing she hadn’t stirred. The chemo from yesterday had wiped her out. They were trying to rest, and now, he was terrified what little rest they’d had at their country holiday home would be ruined. As the phone rang again, Walker threw the covers off, and reached out for it. Damn, this will wake her.
Monday, 23rd Sept 2041 – 1:14 AM flashed on his clock.
Picking up his phone. Walker hit answer, and slid out of the warm bed into the cooler air of their hallway.
“Hello.”
Christine murmured, turning over, and searching blindly in the bed for him.
“Robert?” The Chief of Defence’s adrenaline-pumped voice almost screamed across the line. Walker listened to words he never thought he’d hear. “We’re at Threat Level Critical. A copter is on its way. Suffok will meet you at the nearest hotel conference room.”
What? Critical? The UK hadn’t issued critical status ever. What on Earth is going on?
“I’ll be right there.” Then, Walker thought of Christine. He couldn’t leave her alone. Not tonight. Phoning his sister-in-law, he asked her to come over and stay with Christine.
There were highly trained nurses stationed in the house, but they weren’t family. Guilt clutched at his conscience, as he headed back to the bedroom and dressed.
Christine had settled back, and he perched on the end of the bed, stroking the back of her head. “I’ve got to go out. Ani is on her way. She’ll stay with you tonight.”
His wife turned to face him. “At this hour, seriously?” The annoyance on her pale face and bloodshot eyes spooked him.
Walker sighed. Christine knew his job came before lots of things. “I’ll see you for dinner.” He kissed his wife gently on the forehead.
Christine didn’t respond. She turned her head away from him. Concern filled him, as he gave her one last look before hurrying to the door. He had no way of knowing if he would be home for dinner today, or next week.



About the Author

Dawn Chapman has been creating sci fi and fantasy stories for thirty years. Until 2005 when her life and attention turned to scripts, and she started work on The Secret King, a 13-episode Sci Fi TV series, with great passion for this medium.

In 2010, Dawn returned to her first love of prose. She’s been working with coach EJ Runyon who's encouraged her away from fast paced script writing, to revel in the world of TSK and Letháo as an epic prose space journey.
Dawn has also had success with a web series, co-written with 'Melvin Johnson', produced by Nandar Entertainment.
This year her experience of working with Producers/Directors from the US and AUS has expanded. From Drama, Sci Fi to Action, Dawn's built a portfolio of writing, consulting and publishing.

Books by Dawn Chapman

The Secret King, Lethao
The Secret King Lethao – audio book
The Truth Hurts – novella audio book
Bree’s results – novella audio book
https://www.amazon.com/Dawn-Chapman/e...


Coming soon

First Contact book 2 of The Secret King scifi series - Release 20/12/2016

The Secret King – anthology TBA

How to find Dawn Chapman

Face book fan page - https://www.facebook.com/TheSecretKing
Amazon - https://www.amazon.com/Dawn-Chapman/e...
Twitter TSK - https://twitter.com/
Twitter Dawn Chapman - https://twitter.com/kanundra
Website – https://www.thesecretking.com