Xenocide

by Larry Kollar

When a murdered alien is discovered near a creek, an exurban cop has to investigate the strangest case of his career — while dodging the Feds and pursuing an attractive EMT.

Includes an excerpt from the upcoming novel, "White Pickups."

ebook

First published November 27, 2011

About the author

Larry Kollar lives in north Georgia, surrounded by kudzu, trees, and in-laws. His day job involves writing user manuals — some of which may have been fiction, but not by intent. He has had short fictional works published in the Hogglepot Journal and the Were-Traveler. His first novel, White Pickups, is available, with more to come. For more of his strange fiction, and even stranger reality, visit his blog.

Reviews

[Kathy Barton · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am not much on Aliens and stuff like that, so this was not something I would normally read - but I have to say it was not as bad as I was expecting. I may even think to pick up another sci fi type read in the near future.

[Larry Kollar · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wrote it, and I hope others will enjoy it.

[Jaclyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I purchased this ebook to fulfill the X title for my ABC challenge and I was very pleased with the choice. It's a very short but engaging story. I liked how it took the perspective of a found alien body being subject to an investigation on who did it rather than just focusing on the alien itself. The least realistic aspect for me is that every single person who sees it or finds out about it just takes it in stride. Literally no one loses it over the fact that intelligent life exists outside of Earth and has made its way to our planet. Clearly this is a work of fiction and doesn't have to be believable. It was quite good.

[Gretchen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Felt like reading a dream

[Narune · Rating 3 out of 5]

A VERY short read to cross something off for a reading challenge.
This feels as if you’re being dropped somewhere mid-season in a tv series and have no idea what’s going on and who’s who.

[Patricia Lynne · Rating 4 out of 5]

An alien crime story? What a fun idea! And this was a good read.

We start off with our cop investigating a strange murder. The victim appears to not be of this world! Then the feds show up, but our cop isn't about to drop the case. There really isn't much about the alien or where it was from. The story focuses on staying ahead of the feds and solving who-dun-it. Since there are aliens and the government involved, you can expect a few twists that savvy crime fans might guess. Since I'm not a savvy crime fan, I didn't see it coming.

Still, I enjoyed the story all the same. The pacing was decent. A few spots felt like they dragged, but not enough to deter me from turning the page. I would have liked to get to know the characters more, have them fleshed out more fully, but they all had an authentic small town police force feel. I've read a few books by this author and he has a way with words that immerse me in the story and I recommend picking up any of his titles.

[Craig Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Larry has the rare ability to make his characters and situations feel lifelike, for instance even though the murder victim is an alien the characters aren't running around screaming thinking they had lost their minds, they approached the situation rationally and logically. Granted some people wouldn't be able to handle it, but being a cop and an EMT they've seen their fair share of odd things.

Overall I thought the story was nicely paced, the characters were interesting and the X-Files references made me smile.

[Kristie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was very short. It had a lot of promise, but needed more building. Overall, an ok read.