Review of Aliens Among Us

[Josephe-Anne]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Aliens Among Us" by Bruce L Mazzie.]

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1 out of 4 stars

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Reminiscent of the Ancient Aliens television series, Aliens Among Us by Bruce L. Mazzie is a science fiction novel that explores the concept of an interplanetary alliance between Earth and the faraway planet of Coltin. This second installment of the Ronin Trilogy can be read as a standalone. The story begins with Matt Jaynes, an engineer who is training to become the first ambassador to Coltin. His humanoid alien friend, Ronin Tannerin, also plays an important role because he was hired by NASA. As Matt embarks on his mission, he is faced with an unexpected task. He must rid Coltin of fearsome beasts that roam the land. While Matt is dealing with the beasts, Ronin is responsible for sharing his planet’s advanced technology with the space agency. Will both friends be successful?

The cover design is simple. It features an image of Earth in space with the title printed in a bold font. The book is divided into forty brief chapters, and the introduction gives a backstory and summarizes the events of the first installment. Most of the narrative is told from a third-person point of view, but there are instances when readers are given the first-person perspectives of different characters. The main themes of the story are science, interplanetary travel, American patriotism, unity, loyalty, and friendship. The text contains no vulgarity, violence, or explicit content.

Other than Matt and Ronin, there are several other characters worth mentioning. Carlin and Sally are respectively their significant others. Like most of her people, Carlin is a scientist from Coltin, and Sally is an average American woman. Both ladies provide valuable support to the men in their lives while managing to accomplish their personal goals. Marge Paterson is another strong female. As the U.S. Secretary of State, her ties to the president and her sage advice cannot be overstated. The (fictional) President Thompson even makes several appearances throughout the story. He is depicted as a generous and level-headed leader.

There were some pleasant features in this book. Among the many press conference dialogs, I found a number of humorous quips. I thought the inclusion of emails that the characters sent to each other was a nice touch. The text was also filled with positive messages. Among them, the sentiments that family support and patriotic duty are of the utmost importance stood out to me. The ending was nice and satisfying. It paved the way for the next installment.

While I applaud Mr. Mazzie’s efforts, there were many issues with this publication. First of all, there were a multitude of punctuation errors and typos in the text. Apart from the witty press conference scenes, the dialogs seemed very stiff and devoid of emotion. The story would have been more engaging if the author had described each person’s facial expressions, tone of voice, and body language in different situations. I didn’t find any physical descriptions, but I wanted to know what Matt and the others looked like. The characters seemed one-dimensional. They each lacked personality, an original voice, and real development. Milestones were accomplished, but the characters’ behaviors remained the same. The details of the settings and scenery also left much to be desired. The author did a lot of telling and not enough showing.

There were also some contradictions with the world-building because on page seventy-eight, it stated that music on Coltin was similar to classical music. Then later on, it was said that there was no music at all. Similarly, the beasts were first explained as cannibals, but then they were said to be herbivores. It also didn’t make sense that a planet of scientists with advanced technology couldn’t find a way to either domesticate the beasts or learn to deal with them effectively. The biggest issue was the absence of conflict in the story. Apart from one brief break-up, all of the romantic relationships were unrealistically perfect. Everyone was in agreement, and there was never any serious opposition. There were no villains except for the beasts, yet there could have been some sort of scheme behind the animals’ proliferation, such as a rival alien race interfering or a traitor from either Earth or Coltin.

Due to all of these issues, it saddens me to give Aliens Among Us a rating of one out of four stars. The plot was too simplistic, and it lacked drama, action, suspense, conflict, and depth. Even though the ending was lovely and reminded me of Hollywood classics, it did not make up for the rest of the story. The author had some good ideas, but the execution needs a lot of work. A round of professional editing can go a long way. Until improvements are made, I cannot recommend this book.

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Aliens Among Us
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[AvidBibliophile]

An interplanetary alliance, fearsome beasts, and humanoid alien friends would have great potential to create a thrilling and memorable storyline, but you make a lot of worthwhile points that thoroughly explain the reason for your overall analysis and rating. Thank you for providing an honest and insightful assessment of this one.

[Josephe-Anne]

An interplanetary alliance, fearsome beasts, and humanoid alien friends would have great potential to create a thrilling and memorable storyline, but you make a lot of worthwhile points that thoroughly explain the reason for your overall analysis and rating. Thank you for providing an honest and insightful assessment of this one.

You're welcome! Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment.

[Nqobile Mashinini Tshabalala]

The title of the book on its own is intriguing.I enjoy science fiction novels and might just give this book a chance based on you review and recommendation. Great job with the review!

[zainherb]

Ouch! I don't know whether to cry or send virtual hugs to the writer.
This books has a great plot but the execution is highly problematic.
Knowing firsthand the amount of work, mental and physical that goes into writing, I find it sad that the book turned out this way with one star.

I wish that the publisher would do something about it.
It has too much potential for this.

Thanks for an honest review.

[Josephe-Anne]

The title of the book on its own is intriguing.I enjoy science fiction novels and might just give this book a chance based on you review and recommendation. Great job with the review!

There are some positive aspects that you may enjoy since you like science fiction.

Thank you for stopping by to comment.

[NetMassimo]

This seems like a draft rather than a book ready for publication. A professional editor might help the author in developing this novel, not to mention proofreading. Thank you for your honest review!

[Jagiine]

I was a little excited when you mentioned the inclusion of correspondence; I love little details like that! Alas, it's a real shame that there were so many issues with the development of the actual character and story. I hope Mazzie partners up with a good editor to further develop any future works. Thank you for your thoughtful review!

[Josephe-Anne]

Ouch! I don't know whether to cry or send virtual hugs to the writer.
This books has a great plot but the execution is highly problematic.
Knowing firsthand the amount of work, mental and physical that goes into writing, I find it sad that the book turned out this way with one star.

I wish that the publisher would do something about it.
It has too much potential for this.

Thanks for an honest review.

I try not to be too harsh because I know how much work it takes to write and publish a book. But there are a lot of issues that need to be addressed. I hope they can be improved.

Thank you for sharing your thoughts.

[Josephe-Anne]

This seems like a draft rather than a book ready for publication. A professional editor might help the author in developing this novel, not to mention proofreading. Thank you for your honest review!

Those thoughts crossed my mind too. It really seemed more like a draft. There's potential in the plot, and a professional editor could refine the story.

Thank you for your comment.

[Josephe-Anne]

I was a little excited when you mentioned the inclusion of correspondence; I love little details like that! Alas, it's a real shame that there were so many issues with the development of the actual character and story. I hope Mazzie partners up with a good editor to further develop any future works. Thank you for your thoughtful review!

I hope so too, and I agree that the little details make a big difference.

Thank you so much for your comment.

[markodim721]

I think it's great that the author has managed to design an entire civilization. There are few authors with such skills. Thanks for reading recommendation.

[Amy Luman]

I understand your concerns with the plot and other parts of the novel. I think, however, that I’ll try it. That’s after I read the first one. Thanks for the review.

[Josephe-Anne]

I think it's great that the author has managed to design an entire civilization. There are few authors with such skills. Thanks for reading recommendation.

The author's concept for the story was great. I just felt that it needed to be more refined. But you may like the book.

Thank you for commenting.

[Josephe-Anne]

I understand your concerns with the plot and other parts of the novel. I think, however, that I’ll try it. That’s after I read the first one. Thanks for the review.

Sure. The concept is interesting, so you may enjoy it much more than I did. Thank you for stopping by to read my review and leave a comment.