Messenger's Soliloquy

Aliens, Tequila & Us #1

by Michael Herman

Alien Invasion at the Tequila Distillery!
Messenger’s survivalist family flees for their lives when three alien craft suddenly appear in the sky and attack his family’s Organic Tequila Distillery and Ice Caves.
Inside the ice caves, sixteen-year-old Messenger discovers that not only have his parents been expecting and preparing for this, but the invaders are the vanguard of a celestial event that will irrevocably wipe out most life on earth, giving the aliens a clean slate to repopulate the world in their image.
All the aliens have to do is destroy humanity’s ancient protective entity that is buried beneath his family’s farm below the ice caves.
All his family has to do is thwart them.
All he has to do is survive the day.
No problem.

If you are interested in alien creatures, tequila, mass extinction events, speaking in tongue, evolution theories, survivalist families, agave farms, the Anza Borrego Desert, underground caves, family mysteries, panic rooms, Bob Ted Carol and Alice, first love, avatars, sniper rifles, bats, bat guano, and orchids, then this is the book for you.

Genres: Fantasy, Science Fiction, Aliens

116 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 24, 2018

About the author

I write from my small urban hillside farm in California where I type away to the sounds of chickens, coyotes, the occasional fox and my household pets.

For news, free books, & updates, join the email list here: https: //www.mherman.net/herman-santangelo-sig...

Twitter chatter is here: https://twitter.com/author_mh

Facebook thoughts are here: https://www.facebook.com/michaelherma...

Reviews

[Louie the Mustache Matos · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am usually reading 5 or 6 books at a time on 5 or 6 devices and/or physical, hard copy. When I am thoroughly engrossed in a book, that book usually gets preferential treatment. You can usually tell because my updates on other titles get slow. This one has been on the back burner for a month, and it is a short read, should have been dispatched in a week. It has received the opposite of preferential treatment, treated more like an unloved distant relative. That should tell you how I felt about it. It was weirdly-unique (which I can generally get behind). Alien invasion narrative dealing with a tequila ranch and an apocalypse expecting prepper family. Yeah! Weird. Not horrible, interesting in fact, but merely MEH! I NEVER DNF so I am committed to reading the other 2 installments of the trilogy because I already own them. Hopefully this turns into something special.

[C.E. Clayton · Rating 3 out of 5]

The title of this book, coupled with the vaguely angelic looking, tribal painted model would have you think this book is some introspective art piece, I mean, the title is essentially a messenger’s speech/monologue, which, it actually is. The monologue I mean, not the art piece. Messenger, the 16 year old main character, is telling the story of what happened to him, his family’s tequila farm, and his entire family plus his love interest, to a therapist of sorts while he recovers in a hospital. The entire book, with very few exceptions, is told through this dialogue, recounting the recent past. Basically, on one rather normal day, Messenger’s farm is destroyed by three alien ships as they land and then begin hunting for something on the property. What follows is the main characters tale of how they ran, what they found, and how everything changed from that moment on.

Given this is a novella, a lot needs to be covered in a short amount of space. And while some things do get covered, a lot of questions are raised that get tabled until, presumably, the next book(s) in the series, all of which are meant to read like quick little serials that are easily digestible for a variety of readers. And the writing is solid, with only fantasy-like violence and a few instances of mature language, this book is appropriate for a wide age range of readers, especially if they enjoy alien encounter books with just a bit of science-fiction thrown in for good measure. I enjoyed the uniqueness of the setting and the nontraditional family dynamic between Messenger and his parents, as well as his siblings. The characters felt well rounded and, generally, like a fun bunch to hang out with. But my hang ups for this novella come in the things not answered, or accounted for, as well as Messenger himself.

Messenger never really read, or felt, like a 16 year-old boy to me. Instead, the narration read more like an adult Messenger recounting this horrifying experience of how his family had to race through the ice caves to get to another hidden craft to where they could then better equip themselves to do battle against these alien invaders. Just the things he says to his doctor, how he constantly seems to remind the reader that certain responses were appropriate for a 16 year-old, felt like it should be coming from a much older person while reminiscing. This was only compounded by the fact that everything Messenger is telling the reader is meant to be Messenger telling a doctor this story in real time. So the language just felt… off to me? It may have flowed better and kept me in the story more if it hadn’t been written in the extreme first person, but it’s also hard to say what affect that would have had on the story as a whole, either. Additionally, the reader is told about the aliens and what they do to the farm, but not necessarily why they are there, or to what purpose Messenger and his family are targeted, for it is made clear that they are targeted. After all, Messenger’s parents have prepared for this moment to some degree. But there were a lot of “why” questions left unanswered, or purposefully vague that it was hard for me to truly get what was going on, and to what end. I walked away with far more questions than answers, most of which I can’t share in order to avoid spoilers. Again, this only reemphasizes to me that this series is meant to feel like a serial of sorts in how it’s presented. Except the next book is supposed to be 10 years after the events of the first book? So perhaps I am wrong on that score.

Overall, the book had a really interesting premise, and I found the double meaning behind the title and some of the characters’ names to be rather clever. I also enjoyed the setting in which this book takes place, and the descriptions of the aliens and their craft are all really well done. But the narration and the unanswered questions made it hard for me to really get into this novella and to feel like the novella format was justified for the story that Herman has to tell, for he does have a very interesting story to share! I think if you like a more mature YA alien based science fiction book and you want to binge read a lot of short little novellas back-to-back, that not only will this book be a lot of fun for you, but the series as a whole as well. But for just the stand alone book, for me personally anyway, I just felt as if a bit too much was missing, which is why this is a 3.5 star for me. Now, the author did ask me to review his work, but I “bought” this on my own, but thanks to the author for introducing me to his fascinating world and his rich characters!

[Faith Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought Aliens, Tequila & Us: Messenger’s Soliloquy was a really good science fiction fantasy, engaging from the start, well-composed and with no slack passages. I wasn’t sure what to expect from the picture on the cover as that reminded me of David Niven’s hippie version of Casino Royale but it made sense when I read it. On first impression, the page count seemed lower than usual for a novel but after reading it I can see this was also about right. The first image that I found abstract and haunting in this story was the circular henge within henges of agave plants radiating out from the tequila farm, like living tomb stones but also advertising perfectly to any onlooker what the place was about, a kind of throne on a hill, ringed and cloaked with acolytes, all laying their lives down for tequila. Now that’s abstract. Tequila is surely no greater than one percent of importance in proportion to anything else (medicine, moonlight, fried eggs, Tuesdays) in most people’s lives but here it is everything, everywhere and unescapable, in the very fabric of place. It’s as if a species of plants had decided to go to a conference, or offer protection to something they revere, like a vegetable shield. What a scene to set up the context. The other beautiful image is that of the glowing biological entities (worms) which swarm over, up and around visitors. There’s something tingly, exposed, a touchy feely very personal sensation about this handshake of two species, so I felt if it was a real thing, the morality spoiling crew would quickly find a way to ban it. The characters were pretty interesting too, from the over-capable mother to the enamoured sixteen year olds and then, of course, the cooperative individuality of the aliens which gives them a kind of heat-seeking, team-tumbling-over-an-obstacle-course personality. The idea that an alien ship has been hanging around long enough to have influenced our ancestors (e.g. Stargate) has been tried but in this case the pro bono meddling is occasional and subtle, dropping thoughts into heads, so I loved the suggestion that a certain religious figure might have been an unwitting stooge of an extra-terrestrial mind (and that’s how he got his wings). What an unusual explanation, just as likely as any other you might suppose. I don’t think I liked the taste of tequila when I tried it, so maybe they only export the basic stuff, or it clashed with my toothpaste. It’s also a tale set in the middle of nowhere, the desert badlands, so it was a welcome bonus to read a story that doesn’t rely on the police or army taking over from the original group and giving them a cheap, formulaic way out. Altogether, I thought this book was a top read, soaring easily above the congested average, and I can see this author has sent me two from the series for review so it seems very likely I will read the whole lot even if I have to buy them. This one is definitely recommended for entertainment value and as an example of well written fantastical science fiction. Like string soup to a Clanger, if you lend this mind candy out to a fan of the genre, you won’t get it back.

[Linda Herman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Can't Put It Down

If I am grumpy today, it is the fault of Michael Herman. I stayed up really late reading this book. I could not put it down. The author has a wild, fascinating, imagination. The characters are real. They are fun. I want to know them. Fascinating story. Author has a very subtle sense of humor. I look forward to the next story.

[Ami · Rating 5 out of 5]

I started reading soon after finishing another book which I rarely do. I usually wait a few hours or a day or two to cleanse my mental palate, so to speak. I think this is partially why I didn't love it. I read 3 or 4 pages and decided to try again after some sleep. Wow, was I blown away by the next few pages that grabbed me with multiple appendages and yanked me into the story. I only put it down for one very short break and then read with all speed ahead. This book is very different from the average alien/sci-fi stories I've read but that is definitely not a bad thing. When I say sci-fi please note it is very light in that area. There are a few grammatical errors, but the story is so good and the characters so likable I was able to ignore them. I highly recommend it and hope you enjoy it as much as I did. I'm going to read the next book in the series right now.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this ebook from the author and this is my honest and freely given opinion.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

It differs from the normal sci-fi I read, that wasn’t a bad thing. It was a nice change from the normal. The story is very unique and well told. Plus the pace was extremely on point. The Author did very well for the number of pages with the story he manage to tell. I like how it was told from his point of view, added a nice layer to the story.

Wasn’t exactly your normal family either which was nice to see. The relationships built felt real and was well told again. All of them felt multi-layer and had their own personalities.

[Pamela Canepa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This author has an out-of-this-world imagination! I wasn't sure about his writing style, much of the start is being told to another character, but the description is very vivid, and he writes about things that are not commonly used in a sci-fi book. So, overall, this book really satisfied my sci-fi craving! Aliens, tequila, underground spaceships, and a very trippy (or tricky, if you prefer) method that the humans use to disguise themselves and survive all kept me riveted to see what turn the author what have his character take next.

[cc · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is such a dude book.

The story started off well enough - alien attack, secret underground control center - that I thought it was going to be one of those highly rated weirdo scifi novels I enjoy. But then, like, the last half of the book happened, and our characters turned into battle bugs, so I'm really just asking why.

[Jay Clark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Michael writes in a way that allows me to easily visualize the story and action, as if it were a film.... and it should be! The plot and characters are clear and I was wrapped up enough to read the whole trilogy. Thanks for the kind of entertainment I like Mike!