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The Unreturned
"I'm a sucker for conspiracies, science fiction, and ancient alien theories. But nothing makes this kind of reading more enjoyable when the story is well written, has good character development, and is exciting. Martin Patrick hit all of these points for me. Bravo!" - The Kindle Book Review
"[A]stounding science fiction steeped in creativity, shrouding deeper philosophies about truth and justice." - Zan McDowell, author of Eating Lizzy
ABOUT THE
For hundreds of years, unseen aliens have abducted humans from their homes, leaving no trace of their existence behind. When they abduct his sister, David Paxton joins the Space Fleet. Out on patrol, he becomes the first person to see an alien ship and while attempting to shoot it down, accidentally kills his wing man and best friend.
Then, the abductions stop. The aliens communicate their intentions to return all living persons and never abduct a human again. Thousands of people come home. But some, including Paxton's sister, never return. Fifteen years later, Paxton never gives up hope that his sister is alive and being held by the aliens.
When a deep space outpost detects evidence of the unseen aliens and finally pinpoints the location of the former prison planet--complete with signs of human life--the discovery sets off a chain of events that will ultimately unravel the narrative of the past two centuries as Paxton races to uncover the horrible truth behind what really happened to the Unreturned.
"This is a page turner... The pacing doesn't let up once the action starts." - Joseph P. Yager, author of This Road Darkens
"I couldn't stop reading, but I didn't want to get to the end." - A. Brown
"Good character development, an intriguing and plausible plot, futuristic with enough familiar elements to make it both entertaining and disturbing (in a good way!)" - Karen S.
If you're a Sci-fi fan, you can follow Martin on Twitter @mipatrick or at martinpatrick dot com
"[A]stounding science fiction steeped in creativity, shrouding deeper philosophies about truth and justice." - Zan McDowell, author of Eating Lizzy
ABOUT THE
For hundreds of years, unseen aliens have abducted humans from their homes, leaving no trace of their existence behind. When they abduct his sister, David Paxton joins the Space Fleet. Out on patrol, he becomes the first person to see an alien ship and while attempting to shoot it down, accidentally kills his wing man and best friend.
Then, the abductions stop. The aliens communicate their intentions to return all living persons and never abduct a human again. Thousands of people come home. But some, including Paxton's sister, never return. Fifteen years later, Paxton never gives up hope that his sister is alive and being held by the aliens.
When a deep space outpost detects evidence of the unseen aliens and finally pinpoints the location of the former prison planet--complete with signs of human life--the discovery sets off a chain of events that will ultimately unravel the narrative of the past two centuries as Paxton races to uncover the horrible truth behind what really happened to the Unreturned.
"This is a page turner... The pacing doesn't let up once the action starts." - Joseph P. Yager, author of This Road Darkens
"I couldn't stop reading, but I didn't want to get to the end." - A. Brown
"Good character development, an intriguing and plausible plot, futuristic with enough familiar elements to make it both entertaining and disturbing (in a good way!)" - Karen S.
If you're a Sci-fi fan, you can follow Martin on Twitter @mipatrick or at martinpatrick dot com
- GenresScience Fiction
186 pages, Paperback
First published November 30, 2011
7 people are currently reading
97 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
April 4, 2012
This review is based on a free copy of this book received from the author through the Goodreads First Read program.
What if your sister was abducted by aliens called the Reapers. What if hundreds of people were also abducted. What if after a period of time those abducted were returned except your sister and about a hundred other abductees. What would you do? That’s the premise of this first offering from Author Martin I. Patrick.
David Paxton is an ex astronaut that searched for his missing sister when he was in outer space. However a freak mishap that resulted in the death of his best friend and fellow astronaut has limited him to academia on Earth.
The abductions have ceased but humanity still waits in fear for the next wave.
One of Earth’s outposts reports signs of humans on a planet called Gliese 581 d also called the prison planet, shortly after which the outpost is destroyed. As the Subminister in the Ministry of Science Paxton is determined to get a ship to the prison planet and hopefully find his missing sister.
Succeeding in getting a ship sent to the prison planet, it arrives and promptly crashes. Paxton then steals another ship and he soon crashes as well. What follows is the search for his sister. Epic battles with life forces on the planet and a discovery that rocks everyone’s understanding of the Reapers.
Who are the Reapers really ? What are they doing with the remaining humans on the prison planet ? What does General Dynamics have to do with the situation ?
There is a significant twist at the end.
A highly enjoyable read and a GREAT first publishing effort from Martin I. Patrick
What if your sister was abducted by aliens called the Reapers. What if hundreds of people were also abducted. What if after a period of time those abducted were returned except your sister and about a hundred other abductees. What would you do? That’s the premise of this first offering from Author Martin I. Patrick.
David Paxton is an ex astronaut that searched for his missing sister when he was in outer space. However a freak mishap that resulted in the death of his best friend and fellow astronaut has limited him to academia on Earth.
The abductions have ceased but humanity still waits in fear for the next wave.
One of Earth’s outposts reports signs of humans on a planet called Gliese 581 d also called the prison planet, shortly after which the outpost is destroyed. As the Subminister in the Ministry of Science Paxton is determined to get a ship to the prison planet and hopefully find his missing sister.
Succeeding in getting a ship sent to the prison planet, it arrives and promptly crashes. Paxton then steals another ship and he soon crashes as well. What follows is the search for his sister. Epic battles with life forces on the planet and a discovery that rocks everyone’s understanding of the Reapers.
Who are the Reapers really ? What are they doing with the remaining humans on the prison planet ? What does General Dynamics have to do with the situation ?
There is a significant twist at the end.
A highly enjoyable read and a GREAT first publishing effort from Martin I. Patrick
January 8, 2012
An excellent first effort. The principal characters are well fleshed out, the plot is intriguing and the story contains a fair twist. The dialogue requires some polish, but improves considerably as the story moves along. The text is in need of a careful proofreading, but it does not distract overly much.
I give it three and a quarter stars. In the capable hands of a good publisher, "The Unreturned" will be a fine three and three quarter stars novel.
Mr. Patrick has a future in this business.
I give it three and a quarter stars. In the capable hands of a good publisher, "The Unreturned" will be a fine three and three quarter stars novel.
Mr. Patrick has a future in this business.
December 9, 2012
Overall, I thought it was great and a fun read. I can't decide whether I would have wanted a big publisher to get their hands on this or not. I also can't decide whether the dialogue was actually weak or just different, because once I became accustomed I lost myself in the story. It's definitely "noticeable" at first, which can rip a reader out of a story, but I can't put my finger on why. I'm excited to see future books, that's for sure.
December 8, 2011
I love a good science fiction novel and this certainly didn't disappoint! Just enough suspense to keep me eagerly turning the pages, but thankfully not so much I lost sleep over it. The characters were believable and I enjoyed Patrick's take on the alien takeover/government conspiracy theme as part of his plot. A fine first novel indeed!
December 10, 2011
Martin brings to life a believable cast of characters and weaves in a world of plausible explanations for the history of his world. The storyline is well paced and provides a natural flow. I am truly eager to read more from this author.
January 6, 2012
4 tortuous years in minnesota? Good story tho'
April 7, 2012
Started strong but trailed away quite early. An ok read though.
April 27, 2012
Book was enjoyable, but too fast paced for me. A little more length and imaginative wandering on my part would bump up the rating.
May 1, 2012
Little character development. Convoluted plot. The only reason it gets two stars instead of one is because I was interested enough to finish.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews