REVIEW by J’aime: Invasion by Sean Platt and Johnny B. Truant

THEY ARE COMING. THE COUNTDOWN HAS BEGUN.

The discovery of objects approaching from Jupiter orbit sets humanity on edge, sending cities into panic. Most is unknown, but thanks to the popular Astral space app, everyone knows the few facts the government has tried to hide:

The objects are enormous spheres numbering in the dozens, maybe hundreds. They are on an approach vector toward Earth … and they will arrive in six days.

Entrepreneur Meyer Dempsey is in New York, realizing the time has come to act on all the preparations he’s made without ever consciously knowing why. For years Meyer has been preoccupied by a dreamlike sense of coming peril and knows where he must take his family … if, that is, they can make it before society eats itself alive with fear.

This relentless, page-turning tale of apocalyptic dawn is the first in the Alien Invasion series by masters of story Truant & Platt, authors of The Beam, Robot Proletariat, and many more.

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About the Book

Invasion
by Sean Platt & Johnny B. Truant

Series
Alien Invasion #1

Genre
Adult
Science Fiction & Fantasy

Publisher
Sterling & Stone

Publication Date
February 26, 2015

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J’aime’s Review

An alien fleet is on an approach vector for earth, and no one knows what it wants.

Luckily, Meyer had a drug-induced premonition of disaster, and built his family a bunker that could survive anything.

Unluckily, he built it in Colorado, but they currently live in New York. But all they have to do is get there before the aliens arrive, and everything will be fine…

Rather than the usual post-apocalyptic dystopia, Invasion is a “pre-apocalyptic” novel. This means that if you are in this series for the aliens, the pace might feel slow, because we don’t see them in this book. We only see their mysterious ships getting closer, as Meyer tries to get his family to safety before planet earth meets its unknown fate.

Even though it’s not usually my favorite subgenre, I had a hard time putting this book down. It has a disaster-movie feel like I should be eating popcorn while reading. I kept telling myself, “just one more chapter” because so many chapters end on cliffhangers or moments of danger and uncertainty.

Rather than aliens, the main conflict of this book comes from other humans. Inside the family, there is enough interpersonal drama to fuel a soap opera. Outside the family, everyone panics, creating unintentional drama like traffic jams, and intentional drama like armed robberies. I wondered several times how the heck they were going to get to Colorado after the latest setback.

Although I found the plot suspenseful and gripping, I didn’t really connect to most of the characters. The protagonist Meyer was hard for me to relate to. He’s arrogant and bossy to his sweet wife, whom he is cheating on with his clever, sarcastic, mean ex-wife. Also, I wasn’t sure what to make of Meyer’s drug habit. Apparently we are really supposed to believe he foresaw the invasion in an ayahuasca vision. Hm.

The ending doesn’t wrap up; this is the first book in a series with an ongoing story. In fact the very ending was such a surprising twist that I now need to read the next book and find out what it means.

Recommended if you liked the movie Independence Day (another story about an alien invasion and its impact on ordinary people and families) or end-of-the-world sci-fi stories in general.

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Disclaimer

The review copy of this book was downloaded by the reviewer during a temporary free promotion. All titles reviewed on this blog are a fair and honest assessment of the book. No monetary compensation was received in exchange for this review. For more information regarding our review process, please visit our Review Policy & Review Request Submission page.