Ashland, OR (PRWEB) June 17, 2013
Readers’ Favorite contest reviewer, Paul Johnson, gives Alien Threat 5 Stars. Finalists are to be chosen July 1 and winners announced August 1.
Friendly aliens from Xyrpta (X-erp-ta) land on Earth seeking a partner to extend their space exploration program. Unwittingly, they have led their arch enemy, the Praetorians, here who are searching for a planet with a better climate to escape the harsh environment of their home. A globe-encircling network of laser-laden satellites is hurriedly being constructed to intercept on-coming missiles. With Xyrptan help, an epic, intra-galactic battle ensues in an attempt to halt the gunships shepherding thousands of nuclear missiles towards Earth. Perhaps a first, dogfights between spaceships, manned by humans and robots, plays a part in determining the fate of Earth.
Civilization, as we know it, is on the verge of extinction. Can Earthlings, with the help of their new, alien friends survive, or will they succumb to the more advanced, brutally vicious, planetary invader?
(Reviewer, Turkophile, on Amazon, gave the story 5 stars) “… Blide commands an encyclopedic range of modern and contemporary science from astronomy to zygotes. His smooth, irresistible story about the contending forces from outer space pits the friendlies from Xyrpta against the sinister Praetorians, with Earth’s welcoming atmosphere as the prize. Through the novels twenty-three chapters we follow the actions twists and turns, along with the characters, never sure how the next crisis will be resolved. . . . Such breadth encompasses a wicked sense of humor, scientific speculation, and a varied tableau in between. I would locate the perspective somewhere between Greg Benford and Frank Baum, where Blide is fully in charge as the wizard of odd… The reader is amply rewarded by the clever geometry of space battle, probing cosmological and ontological intrigue, and much more than can be packed into a short summation.”
Excerpts from Alien Threat: “A sudden turn to the left and upward put Torbid on edge to the enemy who had veered downward. Both bot gunners got him in their sights simultaneously and fired. The explosion shook their ship violently. Torbid wasn’t sure but what they had been hit too. Looking on their monitors, there was little to see—just chunks of metal and smoke dispersing in all directions. The enemy had been blown to smithereens.”
“Sometimes a wounded opponent is the most dangerous enemy. As they had gotten off their last shot, simultaneously, a beam had escaped the stricken ship. It struck home with a jolt. Torbid and crew knew they had been hit. There was no explosion but a hole was showing in the deck near their fuel source. He called for Rubid to take the controls so he could examine the damage. Fortunately, there had been no harm to the bots. On checking the equipment, he soon realized they had major breakage… They would become inoperative—a derelict drifting in space for eternity.”
Visit the website http://www.cedarknollbooks.com for more details and to purchase this great, new adventure. Cedar Knoll Books is a small publishing house set up by the author to aid in publishing his books. This book is available as a paperback or Kindle edition from Amazon or by order from your local bookstore.
