Official Review: Your Truth is Out There

[braver]

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Your Truth is Out There" by David Allen Kimmel.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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On Earth, Henry has just been fired from his steady, stable marketing job at Telasco Industries. Disappointed with everything else in his life, he turns to his art in a last ditch effort to find some solace. On Clangdor, Gsefx (pronounced Zef) has just been fired from his promising career as an accountant at Galacticount. Stunned by this turn of events, he decides to indulge in his current hobby with a quick trip to add some new music to his collection. These unrelated events lead to a chance encounter between Henry and Gsefx that drastically alters the course of both of their lives, throwing them into a crazy plot that involves the U.S. military and members of the galaxy’s most notorious criminal gang.

Your Truth Is Out There, the first book in David Allen Kimmel’s Find Your Truth series, is an easy read full of intrigue, mystery, and humor, as well as plenty of unexpected wisdom. Should you take a chance and pursue your dreams or just try to make a living? Can you learn to see your strengths as others do and believe in your own abilities? Who or what determines whether a different culture is civilized or not? These are just some of the excellent themes addressed throughout the book.

The writing was very good, both technically and illustratively. I did not find any grammar errors in the book and was grabbed by some beautifully crafted sentences right off the bat. In the beginning of the book, each chapter switched between Henry’s story and Gsefx’s story, which cleverly served to highlight the similarities in their situations. There was a bit of a Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy flavor to the whole story, but it was not nearly as over-the-top with silliness as Hitchhiker’s.

The characters in the story were not terribly complicated, but they were by no means simple and flat. Henry’s despondency, Gsefx’s self-doubt, Lhvunsa’s fear, Qilzar’s jealousy, General Alcorn’s regret - all of these emotions were realistically portrayed and were instantly relatable. I could see pieces of myself in each of them. The way the characters and their relationships grew and changed throughout the book came across genuinely as well.

I really only have one complaint: I wish the two appendices explaining the pronunciation of the alien names and giving definitions to the alien units of time had been provided at the beginning of the book. I find it difficult to read a story when I don’t know how to say the characters’ names, and these were such simple bits of information that would have made reading much easier without giving anything away had they been presented first.

As far as kicking off a series goes, the author did an excellent job. He wrapped up enough of the story to feel like the book had a nice conclusion, but left enough threads dangling to encourage continued interest in the series. This can be a hard balance to achieve and it was very well done in this book. Overall, this was an enjoyable story that will appeal to a wide range of audiences. I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars.

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Your Truth is Out There
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[CrescentMoon]

This sounds like a really interesting story. I like reading books with powerful themes and this seems to be one of them. Great review!

[braver]

This sounds like a really interesting story. I like reading books with powerful themes and this seems to be one of them. Great review!

Thank you! Yes, the themes in the book were quite good. I hope the author is able to keep it up through the rest of the series!

[kimmyschemy06]

Sounds like a very interesting book and your enthusiasm is contagious I would have to agree about names that are difficult to pronounce. I have read something like that and it was an ordeal Great job on the review. Congratulations to David Allen Kimmel on such an obviously well written book.

[AuthoressofMystery]

This sounds like a perfect read for my Fall bookshelf! Your review is great - I want to pick up the book Now!

[braver]

Sounds like a very interesting book and your enthusiasm is contagious I would have to agree about names that are difficult to pronounce. I have read something like that and it was an ordeal Great job on the review. Congratulations to David Allen Kimmel on such an obviously well written book.

Well, at least now you know to check the back of this book first!

-- 20 Aug 2016, 20:39 --

This sounds like a perfect read for my Fall bookshelf! Your review is great - I want to pick up the book Now!

Thank you! Hope you enjoy it!

[Kourtney Bradley]

I'm the same way with character name pronunciation! Would have been helpful to have that in the beginning, but I'm glad to hear it was still included. Nice review!

[braver]

I'm the same way with character name pronunciation! Would have been helpful to have that in the beginning, but I'm glad to hear it was still included. Nice review!

Thank you! I feel that way about any made up words in stories - I don't like not knowing how something is meant to be pronounced!

[lane_vespertine]

Great review!
You answered every question I have when trying to decide if I want to read a new book.
Well done!

[braver]

Great review!
You answered every question I have when trying to decide if I want to read a new book.
Well done!

Thank you! I'm glad you found the review helpful!