By: Vlane Carter
Publisher: VC Imagination Factory
Publication Date: July 2010
ISBN: 978-0578044545
Reviewed by: Amy Lignor
Review Date: December 2010
Science fiction fans unite! If the title doesn't say it all, I don't know what will! To preface this review, all of you naysayers out there who shake their heads at sci-fi should remember that, back in the 70's, the names R2-D2, C3PO, Chewie...you get my point, here...were unknowns. Now they are as much a facet of popular literary culture as is Mr. Darcy. Jane Austen, Henry James, Dickens, etc., were beautiful storytellers, but sci-fi has amazingly imaginative beauty surrounding it as well. And this author, Vlane Carter, knows that for a fact.
We begin our story with Jaden, a nineteen-year-old boy who is racing through the cornfield in the cold night air, trying desperately to remember the location of what he saw. This young man has always wanted to be an astronaut; he remembers when he stared up through his telescope at night and wondered when he would have the ability to become one with the stars. What he never counted on was the fact that he would see those stars up close and personal someday using a whole other mode of transport than the Space Shuttle.
Close behind Jaden, in that cornfield, are military men with weapons drawn, trying desperately to stop him from finding what they seek for themselves. Their leader is Major Robinson. He's keeping close contact with his UF1-retrac team, which is desperately following the young Jaden to try and locate the UFO08 that they know landed somewhere in this "middle of nowhere" place. They need to find and capture this spacecraft as soon as possible; after all, it could be representing anything from a UFO attack, to a terrorist drill that could take out everyone on Earth. Seems strange, yes, but it's the year 1996 and these things have been happening for ages. When they see, through their scanners, the outline of a strange silver ship blinking on and off, like the aliens are playing a game of "now you see me, now you don't," Major Robinson knows that the young boy has found what they've all been searching for.
A decision must be made by Jaden...a hard decision. Should he leave all of his family, friends, and his girlfriend Amy behind? There's a 50/50 chance that these alien beings are "friends," and seeing that the military firing bullets behind him are 100% enemies, Jaden takes the risk and enters the craft. As he literally walks into another world, Jaden first sees the nanoeyes (clear orbs that float through the air around him). They study his brain and body, downloading the information he has so they can teach themselves English in a split second of time. After a huge battle between the military on the ground - and a fantastic series of scenes that show Jaden flying over every city and town in the U.S. - the spaceship does what it needs to do and leaves Earth's atmosphere.
The author brilliantly takes us into other dimensions, offering us planets with virtual cities, such as the world of the Andromedians - a place where anyone can be whatever they want to be (which would be really nice). There, Jaden meets Bellona, who can be a warrior like Xena with beauty, brains, and brawn one minute - then a mighty lion the next. In addition to her, we are given Marco - yet another character who is trying to save Jaden's life from the evil beings called Darclonians. Why would they save such a creature, considering that in the last 100,000 years they've barely met up with any intelligent lifeforms from Earth? Well...because these beings sense an anomaly in Jaden; the makings of a legendary good force that the world truly needs.
Soon, Jaden is being trained by warriors, having fun in spaceship races, and playing with the nanotechnology at his fingertips, as Bellona tells him of the past, the history of her species, and the "bad" guys that are out there just waiting for their chance to destroy. When Jaden returns to Earth, it's the year 2014 and the first place he gets to see is the mental hospital's psycho ward where he's referred to as Mr. John Doe. From there he will meet up with AI, who becomes a true friend; he will see his old girlfriend Amy, who has a very big surprise; meet an amazing woman named Kim, who will perhaps steal his heart; and, take his first step toward becoming a true hero.
Yes, this review is long, but the book comes in at over six hundred pages and, no, the margins are small so there are A LOT of scenes that the reader gets to experience. From the military battle with the UFO, to the alien shark attack on another planet (which is really cool, by the way), this author offers a never-ending parade of amazing creatures and locations that will, perhaps, one day be logged into popular literary culture right beside old C3PO and his little beeping buddy.
Quill says: The words 'tome' and 'epic' were made for this novel. Although there are a number of places that certainly could be condensed for an easier read, the story is extremely solid and well-thought-out. As a person who lives down the road from the actual Roswell, NM crash site, I will be driving there this weekend after reading this, closing my eyes, and - yes - wondering what EXACTLY the government DID try to cover-up so long ago. There are two factions out there in America - Star Wars vs. Star Trek - and I am definitely on the side of George Lucas having the more creative concept. So hats off to this writer, Vlane Carter, who may someday join those Lucas ranks if readers and sci-fi fans everywhere band together and realize that the force really MAY be with this one.
For more information on The Bialien Trilogy: An Alien of Two Worlds (Vol: 1: Rise of the Bialiensapien: Human Evolved), please visit the book's website at: www.bialien.com
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