139 ratings | 84 reviews | avg rating:3.85

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Alan Zendell’s Followers (14)

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Alan Zendell

Goodreads Author

Born

in Brooklyn, New York, The United States

Website

http://alanzendell.com/

Genre

Science Fiction & Fantasy, Politics, Short Stories

Member Since

May 2011

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/alanz

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Alan Zendell spent more than forty years as a scientist, aerospace engineer, software consultant, database developer, and government analyst. He spent two years working on the first manned lunar mission, then moved on to a variety of near-Earth satellite projects, and Pentagon support for anti-ballistic missile systems. As the aerospace industry became more oriented toward the military, he applied his skill set to health care and social service systems, and ultimately branched out into software and database consulting.

No matter what he did to earn a living, he never lost his fascination with science fiction and speculating about the future. He always wrote a lot, but it was generally really boring stuff like proposals and technical papers, Alan Zendell spent more than forty years as a scientist, aerospace engineer, software consultant, database developer, and government analyst. He spent two years working on the first manned lunar mission, then moved on to a variety of near-Earth satellite projects, and Pentagon support for anti-ballistic missile systems. As the aerospace industry became more oriented toward the military, he applied his skill set to health care and social service systems, and ultimately branched out into software and database consulting.

No matter what he did to earn a living, he never lost his fascination with science fiction and speculating about the future. He always wrote a lot, but it was generally really boring stuff like proposals and technical papers, reports, business letters, and policy memoranda. But trapped inside him all that time were stories he wanted to tell and ideas he wanted to share, so with encouragement and cajoling from a loving baby sister he plunged into fiction.

He has written several short pieces in a variety of genres and completed five novel manuscripts, three of which have three of which have found their way into print and e-books. “Wednesday’s Child” is hard science fiction with a different twist on time travel; “The Portal” is a science-fiction love story set in a dystopian twenty-second century America; and “Critical Focus” is a contemporary political novel that addresses the major issues facing present-day America. But regardless of the story lines and subject matter, his writing is about more than aliens and technical marvels. He creates strong, three-dimensional characters a reader can care about, because it’s people and the way they live and feel that are important. It’s the things they believe in and how much they’re willing to invest to preserve them that make a story worth telling. It’s convincing interactions and well-researched credible plots that make a story worth reading.

Alan has six book currently listed on Goodreads, including sample chapters. ...more

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Combine Editions
Alan Zendell’s books

Average rating: 4.33 · 69 ratings · 30 reviews · 12 distinct works

	The Portal 4.37 avg rating — 19 ratings — published 2011 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Wednesday's Child 4.16 avg rating — 19 ratings — published 2010 — 6 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Element 42: Book 1 4.50 avg rating — 10 ratings — published 2012 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Earth Emerges (Element 42 #2) 4.14 avg rating — 7 ratings — published 2012 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Temporally Misplaced 4.20 avg rating — 5 ratings — published 2012	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Critical Focus 4.50 avg rating — 4 ratings — published 2011 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	KARRYN 4.67 avg rating — 3 ratings — published 2012	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	A Boy and His Dog - an Unfinished Love Story it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 2 ratings — published 2012	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Trains, Planes, Cars & Spaceships 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	A Boy and His Dog: an Unfinished Love Story ... and other Stories 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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31 posts
Alan Zendell's Blog: It's About Time

The Next Big Thing - An Interview About My Book, The Portal

The Next Big Thing is an author interview series currently generating lots of buzz for its inside look into how writers, working in a variety of genres, create their best work. My special thanks to Toby Devens, who invited me to participate and provided the questions. You can see Toby’s interview about her book, Happy Any Day Now at: http://midlifepassions.blogspot.com/ .

And now, it’s my turn to Read more of this blog post »

2 likes · Like • 1 comment • flag

Published on March 22, 2013 13:23 • Tags: next-big-thing, the-portal

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Series by Alan Zendell

Element 42 (2 books)
by

Alan Zendell (Goodreads Author)

4.35 avg rating — 17 ratings

Alan is Currently Reading

Alan Zendell is currently reading

Sandstorm (Sandstorm #1)

by T.W. Piperbrook (Goodreads Author)

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Apr 13, 2025 12:20PM

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Jezero City: Colony Four Mars (Colony Mars #4)

by Gerald M. Kilby (Goodreads Author)

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Nov 24, 2024 05:32PM

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Colony Three Mars (Colony Mars #3)

by Gerald M. Kilby (Goodreads Author)

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Oct 19, 2024 08:08AM

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Alan Zendell rated a book liked it The Object by Joshua T. Calvert (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Nov 24, 2025 05:25AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Object by Joshua T. Calvert. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Object by Joshua T. Calvert <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Alan Zendell is currently reading Sandstorm (Sandstorm #1) by T.W. Piperbrook (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Apr 13, 2025 12:20PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Sandstorm by T.W. Piperbrook. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Sandstorm by T.W. Piperbrook <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Alan Zendell is currently reading Jezero City: Colony Four Mars (Colony Mars #4) by Gerald M. Kilby (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
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Alan Zendell is currently reading Colony Three Mars (Colony Mars #3) by Gerald M. Kilby (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Oct 19, 2024 08:08AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Colony Three Mars by Gerald M. Kilby. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Colony Three Mars by Gerald M. Kilby <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Alan Zendell is currently reading Colony Two Mars (Colony Mars #2) by Gerald M. Kilby (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
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Alan’s Friend Comments

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message 3: by Alan

Sep 14, 2012 12:13PM

Yes, Catherine, we do seem to have similar interests. Nice to meet you.

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message 2: by Catherine

Sep 13, 2012 07:33AM

Hi, Alan, thanks for friending me. Similar writing and reading interest in scifi! Catherine Stine

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message 1: by Book Club

Jun 30, 2012 12:28PM

Hi Alan,

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Alan Zendell’s Followers (14)

Alan Zendell

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