Alien Busters

Alien Busters #1

by Safa Shaqsy

Nathalie is an Alien Buster, a member of a team that kills aliens in the Adkad City on Planet Zelea- home for humans after Earth's destruction. Haunted by her parents' death in the field, she joined the Alien Busters Institute in order to carry on their legacy. While on a mission, she discovers an alien baby. How can she kill this enemy when she's formed a strong attachment, even if it's forbidden?

Genres: Science Fiction

158 pages, Paperback

First published June 28, 2016

Reviews

[Alycia Bouëdron · Rating 5 out of 5]

First of all, thank you to Safa Shaqsy who sent me an e-copy of her novelette in exchange of an honest review. It was a great pleasure to read you!

As some of you may know by now, I don't usually read sci-fi and short stories, but when I discovered that Safa Shaqsy wanted some reviews for her novelette, I could not resist to contact her for doing so. I didn't know if I would like it or not, but I was to curious not to give it a try. These last few weeks, I had the opportunity to discover three sci-fi fictions thanks to their authors and I loved them all. This shows me that I can appreciate something which is different from what I know and love and I am really happy about this.

But now, let's talk about the novelette itself. I literally loved it from beginning to end. I could identify myself to Nat, the main character, because she has the same feelings as mine when it comes to babies and cuties. I don't have an alien as a pet (I swear!), but I know that I would have acted the same way as she did. I also liked the other characters, especially Kraig and Andie, who seem to be really good friends for Nat. The plot is pretty original and I really enjoyed the name given to the planet on which the characters live. I also appreciated the strong link between Nat and her parents. I think family is really important, even in a sci-fi fiction, and Safa Shaqsy did a really good job in including these habits about always rewatching the same speech of Nat's father and the way of keeping old clothes. Thanks to this, we can say that even if it is a novelette, the author has given a lot of details and we can know the character that we follow and I think it is really important.

To finish, I have to say that I can't wait for the second part of the novelette, hoping that we will learn more about Nat and Star!
If I had to rate this book, I would give a 5/5 stars and I highly recommend you to read it!

[Maria · Rating 3 out of 5]

Let me start by saying that I'm not giving it three stars on giving it 3.5 Stars. I wish that we were able to just give a half star rating on goodreads. The author gave me a copy of this for review and since it was only 25 pages I read in one sitting. Even though I got this for free I am not going to sugarcoat anything I'm not like that.

I really like the concept of what she is trying to interpret. This little novelette kind of reminded me of Ghostbusters and Men In Black had a baby it would kind of be this.

The concept is very good in terms of setting, but I would love to see a little bit more development within the story itself. Since this is a short story I kind of understand why she could not put a lot of detail but it would have helped. I got confused about what was happening at the beginning. Where was the main character? I don't really know. At first also I thought the main character was a guy (based of the name Nat, but maybe that's just short for Natalie or maybe it's a unisex name) but if one reads the next chapter find out she's a girl. Her friends are kind of quirky I kind of like that they're both guys. I wish that she would have put some comic relief with the aliens especially.

I like that she took an alien as her pet, cool concept. A lot of my issues with the story itself is that it does a really flow nicely- it goes from one event to the next and it kind of confuses me on where it was leading. One second she might be in her home with the little alien pet the next she was running from a bunch of aliens not really knowing why.

I like that this was set in a futuristic setting I think it really needed it, well that was the vibe I got. I really can't say a lot more about this part of the book because it's only 25 pages, and since there wasn't really any world development there's not a lot else to say about it other than it didn't really flow in a cohesive story.

This excerpt was only four chapters and they were relatively pretty short. The last thing I'm just going to add because it was kind of throwing me off a little bit is that I wish they weren't called Alien Busters. If she made up some unique way of calling what they were it might have caught my attention a bit. for example, in The Bone Season, the way Samantha Shannon called her Alien race a different name completely makes me wanna find out about the mystery behind them. They could have just been Alien Busters with a really different name, and then she could have explained what they were with a basic.

I really do like the idea, and maybe we will find out more in the next part of Alien Busters. Safa was kind enough to send this part to me and I very much appreciate it. :) That's my little mini review.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book suprised me a bit, in a very good way! It was very interesting.

It's about this girl nat ( aka nathalie ) and her job is to kill aliens. Her parents did the same as her but they died on the battlefield. her parents also believed there could be some good in the aliens. she also kind of believes this. When she finds and orphan alien baby she can't kill it. So she takes it in as her "pet". Which end up being super funny! ( I mean who doesn't want a alien pet? ) but the alien being her pet does bring some difficulties...

So Overall I really enjoyed this book, the writing style is different and a bit getting used to but it wasn't bad or anything. And even though it was short. It was great. I haven't read many alien type of books but this makes me want to read more of those! And I can't wait for the part 2.

[Lauren (Northern Plunder)]

My review was first posted on Northern Plunder, you can read more of my reviews there too.

I was lucky enough that I saw Safa tweet about there being the opportunity to grab an ecopy for review of Alien Busters part one off her website so with it being a v quick read I hopped right in.

Alien Busters' jobs are to kills aliens. This novella follows one called Nat.

Nat is a very likeable main character, she's an Alien Buster who actually questions why she's doing her job. It happens when she stumbles across a baby alien and makes the decision - that could put her in a lot of trouble - to protect it and keep it as a pet.

I love her scenes with the alien, trying to figure out how to keep it and do so secretively and well.

Her relationship with her friends is really important too, given her parents have passed away, and I love that she has a support system still.

Given that this novella is only 100 pages I find it difficult to talk about the main story too much without giving a lot away but the jist of things is that Nat finds out that there was more to her parents than she knew and she may be following closely in their footsteps. But she has to be careful.

So overall the characters, the world, and the introduction to the plot (don't forget this is just "part one" that I am reviewing) were really good and I look forward to reading more of Safa's work.

However, when I read this part one (back in October 2016) I did feel like it could really do with some extra editing. I felt like some sentences weren't needed as the previous already provided the information given.

But overall that wasn't such a bad thing that it really did any damage. I do fully intend to read the full book at some point too. So yes, a nice short read and introduction to a new alien filled sci-fi world.


------------------
cause people are liking my review and I'm slow the tldr is I liked the story, I wanna see where it goes but i think the book needs editing better. this is why I didn't rate it at first. I then gave it a 2 stars but then I was like that's not fair bc I actually wanna keep reading it so I upped it to a 3. but ye

[Salla (Booksonal) · Rating 2 out of 5]

*Book kindly provided by the author in exchange for an honest review!*

This is a novelette, part 1 (10 chapters) of the Alien Busters series by Safa Shaqsy,
and there won't be any spoilers!

The premise is quite self explanatory from the title; the main character is an alien buster with a mission to kill all alienss, but on a mission she finds an alien baby and everything changes.

><><><
>I gave this book 2.5 stars
So as usual, I'll tell 2.5 things I liked about the book and 2.5 thing I didn't like.

So what did I think?

+1 | The idea and premise is clever and intriguing.

+0.5 | Entertainment value. It had some good points in there.

+/-0.5 | Characters. I liked the main character and Star was so adorable! This was a short novelette so the character development was yet to be seen.
A problem I had with the main character was that she didn't really think of her actions

+/-0.5 | World and building. Overall I really liked the world, but the building of it had holes in it.

-0.5 | Explanations. There were so many things that I would've wanted more infromation on - consequently it fell flat.
I want to be immersed in a book and not wonder about unexplained things.

-1 | The writing. Unfortuantely there were mistakes that made the experience as a whole less than it could've been.
><><><

Overall rounding everything up, the book is halfway there and I think it has potential.

Read on lovelies,
Sally

[Dejanira Dawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

So im finally able to review this. I haven't had time but I do now!

I usually don't read alien/science type books so this was a huge change for me. I loved it, actually and I really want to read more about Aliens and what not.
Other than a few grammar/spelling issues the book was good. It was a short simpleish read, and I usually don't read ebooks also.

You guys should defiantly check this book out if you enjoy aliens or you want something new.

[Marco · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disclaimer: I was given an ARC of Alien Busters by Safa Shaqsy in exchange for an honest review.

Alien Busters is not the first work published by Safa Shaqsy, but it feels like it could be. The Finite Series is also available by her, which disappointed me because it meant there shouldn't really be any excuse as to why the writing in this novel was so amateur. As a reader, I expect an author to give me their best work. There are always clear signs that a book was or wasn't proofread and unfortunately, this one falls into the latter category.

I'm not certain if English is the author's native tongue but it is hard to overlook some silly mistakes. If this is the case, some very minor research or reading other books could have fixed it. The author writes whip cream instead of whipped cream, proudness instead of pride, and Adam's apples instead of Adam's apple. She lazily says till instead of the full until. There are awkward sentences like, "I turned to Kraig for explanation who was also checking out the cave", "...I sensed that the Insitute is evolved somehow to my parents death", and "Was to run for our lives and to find a safe place to hide in". Yes, that last example is the full sentence.

The narration style was first-person and it was told in the past tense. And present tense. Sometimes both in the same sentence. This was a persistent problem that lasted the duration of the novel and would easily be caught if somebody edited or proofread it before sending it out for review. For example, the narrator says,"Then I remembered my snow outfit when I was a baby that my parents kept in a box inside the garage, hoping that someday it will snow in the city." The simple will instead of would gives this sentence two different tenses.

This was not the only problem I had with the mechanics of the novel. Another big issue was that the dialogue formatting was off. Conversations were clumped into long paragraphs, often leaving me confused as to who was speaking to whom. There was quite a bit of exposition that seemed unnatural. The author seemed to want to give all the information upfront and it didn't work. Right on the first page she mentions that a scanner would scan alien corpses spread on a land with dry, cracked ground. Two sentences later, she says that Alien corpses were scattered everywhere on the dry land. This was also only the first of many instances of redundancy.

There were some grammatical mistakes, mostly involving commas and apostrophes. There were also many instances of sentence fragments. Sometimes the author's word choice was off-putting and lead to confusion. Sentences were just poorly written and never revised. It was as if the author had a deadline and handed in the first draft a minute before the final product was due. The narrator describes a hallway as being unreachable while already standing there. At one point she mentions that she is joined by other members of her team. Later on, two of these other members are described as Isabel's friends. Even later, someone mentions that she was joined by Team 5. A reader shouldn't have this much trouble keeping things straight.

When I read the blurb about what the novel was, I thought it was a cool story idea. This is what drew me to reading the novel. However, the idea was executed in a less than desirable way. All of the story beats were good, and in a perfect universe, they would've been written in a way that engaged me as the reader. Like I stated above, all writing problems kept causing me to disengage from the novel. I had to stop, reread, and think about what the author was trying to say.

This was just Part One, and I knew that before I started reading the story. I went in hoping that I would finish it and be curious about Part Two. Unless the writing vastly improves, I can't honestly say that I'll be checking it out. Reading this novel felt a bit like a chore and I don't want to feel that way again.

2 out of 5 Stars. If you can get past the amateur writing, I'd maybe give it a 3 1/2.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

First of all, thank you Safa Shaqsy for sending me this ebook in exchange for a review.

This novelette took me by surprise I had other books come to mind when reading this book, it felt like Illuminae, (which is one of my favorite books) and Zenith. These books didn't come to mind just because they are about space and aliens, but because of the quality of how space and other planets are portrayed. The story didn't sound cheesy like extra-terrestrial stories can come off as. I really liked this sci-fi read.

With the story itself I loved the pet alien idea. I completely relate to Nat in the story with her decisions. This story was comical and had a since of reality to it.

Overall, I cannot wait until the second part is released. I would recommend this short story for anyone looking for a good sci-fi experience.

[Gaynah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novelette is definitely not what I usually read. But overall I enjoyed reading this short novelette, and it definitely opened me up to a more reading variety since I don't usually read Sci-fi.

This book is a definite go. Whether you are a sci-fi reader, this will be a fun-light read. Or if you are a reader who normally don't read sci-fi books, I think this book is perfect for you to experiment with. Because it is fast paced and very easy to read.

It'll be fun to continue reading this book when more parts come out, because I'd want to know how the friendship between Nathalie and Star develop.
I don't know if there is going to be ship in this book, but I think Andie and Nat can develop some kind of romantic relations between them, I don't know... I'm really just a sucker for romance in very book I read.

[Leah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I want to thank Safa Shaqsy that she sent me a copy of this amazing novellette

I did not expect to enjoy this as much as I did.
Usually I would not go and grab a book about aliens because it is not something I would read normally.

But the concept of this girl Nathalie keeping this baby alien to protect it and by doing that, she is not doing her job but following her conscience is incredible.
Learning this bit about her parents makes her choice more understandable.

I can't wait to read more of this and hope I love it as much as this short story.
I will pick up Safa's other book as soon as I can get a hold of it
I would totally recommend this to everyone.

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

the moment I started reading the first paragraph I was instantly transported to a scientific world. The word play in this adventure was beyond incredible to the point not only could I visualize the scenes the characters witnessed I could also smell the scent of rotting alien corpses as well as becoming aware of the sounds and feeling as nervous and jittery as the main character. I love watching alien movies but actually reading a sci-fi book really changes the tone and puts you right in the story and Safa does that very well.

[Books In Brogan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very cool science fiction book, definitely one I would recommend for anyone who likes their scifi mixed with a mystery.   There are lot of unpredictable twists that kept me guessing until the end. I enjoyed every minute of it and can't wait until the next one. This review was originally posted on Books In Brogan

[the_only_bunny · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a great pleasure to read this book!
Glad I got to read it !
:-)

[John Purvis · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Alien busters” eBook was published in 2016 and was written by Safa Shaqsy (http://safashaqsy.com). Ms. Shaqsy has published five novels. This is the first in a planned series surrounding the “Alien Busters”.

I received an ARC of this novella through https://www.netgalley.com in return for a fair and honest review. I categorize this novel as ‘G’. The story is set on an Earth colony on a far away world. The primary character is young Nathalie, an Alien Buster.

As an Alien Buster, she and her colleagues, kill every alien that they can find. Her city on the colonized world believes them all to be a threat to humans. Then one day as she was on a mission to search and destroy aliens, she comes across a young alien and, instead of destroying it, smuggles it back to her home.

She soon involves her two best friends in her deception. They all think there is something that those in control of her city are hiding. They are trying to help Nathalie discover the hidden secrets and keep her ‘pet’ alien, Star, a secret.

I was glad that this was a 185 page read of less than three hours. I did not think this Young Adult Science Fiction novella was very good. The plot was simplistic and weak. I will not be reading any more in this series. The cover art is OK, but has little to do with the plot of the story. I give this novel a 2.9 (rounded up to a 3) out of 5.

Further book reviews I have written can be accessed at https://johnpurvis.wordpress.com/blog/.

[Ross Armstrong · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received a copy free copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is a young adult novel and maybe I am not as thrilled with this because I am not part of the target audience but I found the tale to be rather unoriginal and lacking in world building and characterization.

Our heroine is Nathalie, a member of Alien Busters, an organization whose job is to hunt and terminate aliens that threaten her home of Adkad City on the planet of Zaldea. While on a mission, her team encounters aliens obviously killed by other, more deadly, aliens. Nathalie finds a baby alien and rather than kill it she hides it and turns it into a pet.

This is supposed to be set on a new planet that has been colonized for generations yet it has not been mapped and the inhabitants of Adkad City don't know anything beyond the security walls. And there aren't even any species names until late in the book.
I am willing to forgive the poor spelling and grammar as this is probably an advance galley. But the forced antagonism between Nathalie and her boss does not work, nor does her trusting everyone on first sight even though she keeps saying she doesn't do this.
Nathalie keeps taking the blame for failed missions even though, the way it is written, she is not. Character's make ridiculous actions as when a teammate climbs an alien tower and is killed by an alien. She refused to listen to anyone including Nathalie.
And the discovery of an alien spaceship is right out of left field. More will be done with this in the sequel I am sure but I won't be along for this ride.

[S.A. Gibson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting take on alien contact. I liked the way the character meets an alien and learns to live in new ways. This is a story which leaves you wanting to know what happens next. It will be fun to follow the future adventures of this story. Some additional editing could improve the flow of the tale. This read is suitable for low middle school and up.

[Amber Drew]

(Before you continue reading this review, please note that I personally read an ARC copy of the novel, so any criticisms involving technical errors may not be relevant for the final published version.)
This novel displays typical signs of being an author's first work, such as stiff dialogue that would be a bit unnatural if actually spoken aloud, and a writing style that hasn't quite reached the confidence of a professional. It also has the misfortune of trying to create a new universe, without effectively explaining all of the elements of said universe, rendering the reader vaguely lost at times. You are left awaiting vivid descriptions of aliens and landscapes that would never come (at least, to the extent that I would have hoped for in a written medium). In all honesty, I was reminded more of a screenplay than a book, because I personally pictured this working better as a feature length film than as the novel it was published as. Nathalie, the heroine of the story, is incredibly hypocritical, and written in such a way to where she is hard to personally relate to, but not so much so that I was... ahem... alienated from her. You do get more bits of description of the world as the story continues, and it does actually draw you in around the 7th or 8th chapter (don't let that intimidate you, the chapters are relatively short). As the latter half of the book progresses, the events get a little smushed together, and the chapter breaks begin to occur at odd intervals that could have been organized a little better. The budding of romance at the end, while predictable from the introduction of the new character, feels a bit forced and based off of nothing, and quite frankly, I personally would have respected the story as a scify a little bit more if it hadn't tried to cram a last minute romance in (but maybe that's just my insistence that a story doesn't need to involve love in order for it to be good.) While this review may overall sound a bit negative, that is not my overall impression of the novel at all. While flawed, it was an enjoyable, quick read, and definitely a nice introduction for anyone not previously acquainted with the scify genre, and left enough intrigue and unanswered questions to leave me willing to continue with the next installment.

[J.S. Frankel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was provided with a free PDF by the author who at no time promised me good ratings on all by novels, an all-expense paid trip to Spain, or an educational allowance for my children. She did, however, ask me to read Alien Busters and since I just finished it a few minutes ago, time to get in the review. This is the first novel of Ms. Shaqsy's I've read, so I came into this situation not knowing what to expect. The "not-knowing" part is really the best thing about a recent (or fairly recent) author, so I had no preconceived notions.

Overall, this is a pretty solid read, but like any novel, there are good points and bad points. I'll start with the good. We have Nat (short for Nathalie), living on an alien world after Earth has been destroyed, and she's part of an alien-killing outfit. Them nasty alienz want this planet, too, and there ain't enough room for two sheriffs--or species--in town!

Or is there? Nat's parents were killed (I won't say how, but their deaths leave a mark on her) and she has sworn to kill any of those gray-skinned monsters she comes across...but doesn't. Instead, she rescues the offspring of one of them and takes it home as her pet, but it becomes more than a pet and having this little critter around upends her black-and-white world. She becomes attached to it, knowing it contravenes Alien Buster rules and regs because YOU GOTTA KILL THEM ALIENZ!

Nat's character is sharply drawn, along with the other members of her alien-killing crew. The moral dilemma is neatly presented, and in a way, it reminded me of Ender's Game, how Ender decides to (spoiler, sorta) spare the alien and mess with his superiors' minds. Nat is no different.

The dialogue is also pretty decent. There are no draggy bits (to me, if to no one else) and the action is solid...

But...here come the negatives, and I gotta be fair. While the action is presented well, it seems to come in the last three or four paragraphs and it seemed a bit rushed. There were some spelling mistakes, punctuation errors as well as mistakes in tense usage. One or two are forgiveable, and since this is an ARC, I don't expect perfection, but because they happened quite frequently it sort of put me off and that's why the one star was deducted.

The good thing is the characters are so likeable they grow on you, as does the alien critter. I think that if Ms. Shaqsy refines her editing, then she'll have future five-star reviews on hand. I'm wondering what will happen in the sequel...it should be good.

[➳ Anthony ➳ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5
Date Reviewed: 20 November 2016
This Review was first posted on It’s All Anthony. For more reviews, check out the blog here.

ARC provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.

I was very excited when I received this copy for an honest review. When I first looked to see what this story was about, it had something that told me it was going to be very interesting. A story about space and aliens? Almost a battle between the two kinds of life? I know there is other stories about there about battles and the sort between humans and aliens. However, as I read, there was a short twist that I didn't see coming. In the typical stories, humans usually have one role. In this story, humans sort of have a different role than normal. No, it's not the role of killing aliens.

As the story goes on, we learn the history of what happens in the past while Nathalie is out on a mission. During the mission, she comes across a baby alien with no parents. The mission calls for all aliens to kill. However, something happens and that one alien changes everything.

Before I started, I thought the baby would one of aliens that was human like and not creature like. When the main character first met the baby, the description of it could go either way, but I believe the baby alien was more of a creature type alien. I would have hoped the baby alien had a more proper description, giving a clearer image to think of.

As I progressed through the story, I noticed there were little mistakes in the writing. I felt that some of the sentences did not have to be there, as it was writing something previous said. I'm not talking like chapters apart, but sentences apart. This did not happen often, but only a few times. There was also a couple of sentences that did not make sense to me until I realized that they may have been a few grammar mistakes or poor editing choices. I kept coming across these and had to keep reading the sentences over a couple of times until I guessed which one was correct.

Other than that, I loved the story and how it was different. I loved how it was short and overall good and exciting. It would have been perfect if editing was more thorough. When the next part comes out, I hope it will not be just as good. I hope that it can be even better this one.

[Lydia Redwine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would like to start this review off by thanking Safa for sending me this book in exchange for an honest review. If you read my review on The Finite, you would know I thought the book had potential but wasn't my favorite thing I've read. From reading Alien Busters, however, I can see how much Safa's writing has improved!

Other than Star Wars and The Lunar Chronicles I'm not the biggest geek on scifi. I've never really found it to be much of my thing but have been wanting to try it out for awhile. Safa's writing, espeically in this book is easy to read and provides a novel that isn't ultra complicated and techy. In most scifi books I get lost realllly quickly but this has never been the case with reading Safa's books.

I'm not gonna lie, I'm not the biggest fan of aliens but the main alien in this book is absolutely adorable, and you can't help not loving it!

I am obsessed with the cover and have already seen the covers for parts 2 and 3 which are also beautiful!

The writing style is greatly improved. Yes, there were still some spots that almost had me cringing (hence the one less star) and some missing commas (but only grammar geeks like me care about that) etc. but OVERALL I really liked the style especially in the dialogue. For whatever reason, I was really into how everyone spoke and every conversation held between characters.

This book is short (but there's more to come so...yayyy) thus I didn't get to know the characters very well so I can't really say I love these characters. They are, however, interesting enough to want more from them.

The setting was vague (??) At least, from what I'm remembering but the one thing I always like about scifi are learning and exploring different plant terrains. What I've seen from this books seems like something I want to explore more.

With all that being said, I would recommend this to those who have read The Finite (If you loved it, you will love this too! If you hated it, you will find potential has grown with this one.)
I would also recommend this to someone who wants a quick read or is just beginning to wade the vast waters of science fiction and wants something mildly complicated to begin with.

[Tuğçe Özdinç · Rating 4 out of 5]

First I want to thank Safa Shaqsy for sending me the e-copy of Alien Busters in exchange for an honest review. It was a pleasure to read your book, and thanks also for changing my opinions about sci-fi genre.

I really enjoy Safa Shaqsy's book. Her second book and first novella Alien Busters is a enjoyable, quick read which was like my savior among all those boring collage readings.

Shaqsy has the power of creating visual worlds through words. While I was reading I could imagine all those scenes in my mind, like a movie. It would be perfect to see the book on the big screen as an actual movie too though. The novella itself is really promising in that sense plotwise.

The characterisation is one of Shaqsy's strong traits. I like her triangular structure for the main characters; one rascal (which is always my favorite in Shaqsy's books; in this one it's Kraig) one idealist and one logical character who is like a bridge between the two.

I have to say that I love Safa Shaqsy personally because she is so nice as a person and very promising as an independant writer.

I highly recommend Alien Busters if you're looking for a light read which is at the same time fascinating.

[Eva Pasco · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sophisticated Simplicity

Having destroyed Earth, humans are forced to seek refuge on Planet Zelea which is located in a parallel solar system. The protagonist, Nathalie Jefferson, is one of several alien busters whose mission is to search for and indiscriminately kill aliens. The dilemma occurs when Nathalie doesn’t have the heart to shoot a baby alien she finds mourning the death of its mother on a battlefield. Unbeknownst to her team or commander, she spares its life and hides it in her home.

Although the reader senses there is so much more to unfold in the next story of the series, the author laid the groundwork in Book 1 through sophisticated simplicity with plotting and dialoguing.

While this short read certainly found its niche in the genre of Sci-Fi, human feelings are what spun this story into orbit for me. Nathalie mourns the death of her parents. She puts herself in danger by rescuing a living being whose species will be annihilated without justification.

Barring a couple of adult spoken words, I find this Sci-Fi short ideally suited for adolescents and young teens for its length, engaging action, high-interest level, and universal themes.

[Michael Keller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Busting aliens for fun and profit

This is the first time I've read this author's work and while I haven't been a young adult for quite some time, I did enjoy the concept of the story. Alien hunting is a sport/profession that I would definitely have engaged in when I had the youth and health to pursue it. I'm not entirely convinced I'd have kept a wild young alien as a pet, but I can understand what drew young Nathalie to Star's big dark eyes and fuzzy fur. The long sharp teeth might have put new off a bit, but don't seem to bother Nat - not too much anyway.

I enjoyed the story enough to overlook the lack of proofreading. A good editing would have improved the readability of the story, but was easily understood and didn't detract from the tale overall. I enjoyed the story enough to read the rest of the series when it is published, and I enjoyed the writing style enough to read some of the author's other work.

Looking for interesting Young Adult Sci-fi? I can recommend this book.

[Ellie · Rating 3 out of 5]

First I want to thank the author Safa Shaqsy for giving me an opportunity to read her work. I admit that this isn't my cup of tea and I haven't read anything that is alien related but I do love sci-fi.

Even though this is my first time reading something like this, I enjoyed the story and it is an easy read for me. I mean I can dive into the story easily and I can relate to the character.

There are scenes that I argue with the actions of the characters but that's okay. I like the writing style but I wish it can convey more emotions. This is only 10 chapters so I understand why the turn of event is like that. Anyway, I am looking forward to the part 2, maybe things will get more interesting

[Michael N. · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF - 40%


I couldn't do it.

I tried, I really did. Did any of you ever read any Bruce Coville novels like Space Brat? I couldn't stop thinking of Poodnobie the whole time.

The writing here is beyond YA, which was surprising to me. Yes, maybe I was doing a bit of cover judging, but I still don't see where this is labeled as a young young YA book. The characters were incredibly flat, and the story unimaginative and to be honest there wasn't anything that I enjoyed.

I hope others get more than I did from this book, because it is obvious there was a lot of effort put in to writing it.

This book was provided to me free of charge via NetGalley, which had no impact on my review. After all, free is the same price as the library!

[Nicole Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alien Busters is a science fiction novelette by Safa Shaqsy. The story is of Nat, an alien hunter, who finds herself in a moral dilemma when she can’t bring herself to kill an alien baby. Nat’s decision ultimately leads her life in a direction she never expected, changing her life forever.

Shaqsy’s novelette is entertaining and touching and the beginning of what looks to be an entertaining series. Fans of science fiction will enjoy the premise, while reluctant sci-fi fans will be drawn to Nat’s character and the difficult, life-changing choice she must make.

The Alien Busters series is one for readers to keep their eye on.

[alotofbooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

First, Thank so much Safa Shaqsy for sent me a e-copy.


This story begins with Nathalie, she´s an alien buster. Her parents died in the battlefield, and they were the same as her ( THEY KILL ALIENS) When she was in an area with her companions looking for aliens, she found a orphan alien baby and she can´t kill it. However, she decided take it like her pet.


I really enjoyed it. The bad thing was the story is so shot :C , but was intersting too. the writing style was different ( THE AUTHOR HAS OTHER BOOK) but easy. I really recommend it.

[FairyTalesForGirls · Rating 1 out of 5]

The way this book started, it definitely caught my attention. But, the more it revealed some of the more important character's (Nat) it disappointed me on how it was poorly written. Nat pissed me off threw out the book. I almost didn't want to finish the book. It all went down hill from there. I wouldn't want anyone to waste there time reading this book.

[Elizabetta Holcomb · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting concept with a pull on the heart strings. An orphaned "alien buster" meets a baby alien who has just lost its mother. Two beings with much and nothing in common. Ended abruptly as it is a novella. I want to see how the story progresses :)

[Marvin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Real Aliens Real Sci-Fi

A very good read on some of the challenges and politics of "First Contact" with alien worlds and species. It's more complex than it seems.