Alien Disaster

Alien Disaster Trilogy #1

by Rob May

Fourteen-year-old Brandon Walker's world is changed forever in the middle of the summer holidays when London is hit by a mysterious and catastrophic attack. With the help of two unlikely friends, he battles to uncover a secret within his own family that might hold the key to saving the whole planet. Alien Disaster is the start of an epic science fiction trilogy, with the twists and turns of a thriller, and all the excitement of an action movie.

Genres: Young Adult, Science Fiction, Aliens, Fiction

200 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2013

About the author

Rob May studied English at Lancaster University and is the author of Reckoning of Dragons, a trilogy of fantasy thrillers featuring Kal Moonheart, adventurer, gambler and thief.

Rob lives in Warwickshire, England.

Reviews

[Lora Milton · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one is very YA with teenage characters and about as much nod to realism as there is puffer fish in Nanny Ogg's recipe.

The main character, Brandon, has strange eyes. It's kind of obvious where that's going to go. His mother is a scientist and as meteors start crashing onto the planet, she sends him to her lab to get an unexplained object. He meets up with a couple of kids he knows from school and they start making their way to Brighton, where Brandon thinks his mother has gone to, but the military is closing it off.

It's a fun adventure about an alien invasion that would make a good introduction to science fiction for a Middle school student. There is some violence. Not too graphic for the most part but people do die. There are serious elements regarding loss.

As you might expect, there is plenty of action fighting aliens and a big battle climax. Sort of Hardy Boys meets Armageddon.

[Marise Ghorayeb · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is so much I loved about “Alien Disaster” I almost don’t know where to begin. Almost. Since I’m a total geek, I’m going to start by raving about the scientific accuracy and plausibility embedded in this story. A couple minor details were a touch stretched, but overall the author went through great pains to ensure that the descriptions and details didn’t defy science or common sense. I can’t express how excited I was to read an intelligently written science fiction book with a competent protagonist!

Alien Disaster is about the heroics of a teenage boy, Brandon, and his friends and family during an alien attack of England. The action starts in the first chapter and the excitement only builds from there, with twists and surprises at every turn. I loved the protagonist, Brandon. He had qualities that reminded me of Orson Scott Card’s Andrew “Ender” Wiggin (from “Enders Game”). Namely, Brandon is intelligent, confident, cool, caring, and motivated by his sense of morality.

I always try to keep my reviews balanced by pointing out a couple things I didn’t like about the book, but it was hard to find flaws with this one. My only complaint was that I had a little trouble keeping “Kat” and “Gem” straight at first because both are single syllable names. I also had a touch of trouble with “James” and “Jason”. However, this did not significantly impact my enjoyment of the book and I was eventually able to get the characters straight.

Overall, this is the best book I’ve read within the past year and I would enthusiastically recommend it to anyone who will listen – especially fans of science fiction.

[Dean C. Moore · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is actually written correctly to the formulas for an action-adventure much more so than for sci-fi though it fits comfortably into both categories, and I say that as a ringing endorsement, because the action genre is universally considered the hardest one to write in. To keep the pace moving at a clip without subjecting the reader to shallow, cardboard cutout characters is often considered the greatest challenge, or, just as bad, making us think of a hundred other similar movies we’ve seen or books we’ve read in the latest uninspired rehash. Rob tiptoes through this minefield of this genre’s overworked tropes by taking some hard unexpected right turns periodically throughout the story, keeping the reader on his toes.

Standouts for me were the compelling lead male hero (rare for Rob, he usually goes with female heroes), and having a gang of teens see what they can do to save the world while being, well, entirely believable teens. That is to say, they’re typically over their heads for having a bad hair day or a cute guy look at them the wrong way, far less having meteors land on their heads and top secret organizations on their tails. But the very underwhelming nature of our hero and his sidekicks makes for humor and a taut thriller-like atmosphere throughout. And when our hero comes into his own, not only is his maturation that much more fun to watch, but his facility with next generation technologies quickly puts the reader on notice that what moments ago seemed like the least likely of heroes, suddenly makes a lot more sense when coming up against high-tech foes, as who’s better and more fluent in cutting edge tech than the latest generation on line? (Um, for those of you who will recall the thrust of Ender’s Game, I think you’ll see I’m not going out on a limb here.)

Some challenges for me were, I’d like to have seen the personalities of the sidekicks a little more developed. But this is a nitpick as a compelling hero more than makes up for that in my mind, and also, well, you’re either doing a character driven piece or you’re doing an action driven piece. So while some readers might prefer a few more breathers to flesh out the sidekicks more, others will likely say, you’re now no longer being true to formula; keep the roller coaster moving, please! So some of these comments may just fall under you can’t please all the people all of the time. And, as I said at the outset, at least the characters were believable and real as opposed to two-dimensional.

I’d also like to have seen a little more B-story romance, perhaps a female protagonist on par with our hero for a little added tension and titillation. But again, not going down this road is certainly a valid choice for this genre. One will recall that in many action adventure stories, the hero and heroine are lucky if they just find their way into one another’s arms and kiss at the end.

[Kevis Hendrickson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Alien Disaster by Rob May is a good novel that has some tried and true, but entertaining ideas. Where the book excelled for me was concerning the back story of how events came to be. I was immensely caught up in the tale of an alien world threatened by the megalomaniacal villain of the book and how his warmongering led to the invasion of Earth. I also found the histories of the hero's origins to be quite engaging. I wasn't, however, as interested in the main story. I felt the characters weren't altogether likeable. Perhaps, it had more to do with the fact that the story moves so quickly, there isn't a chance to really delve into the characters personas per se except for snippets delivered on the fly.

Speaking of which, the breakneck pace of the book, which is one of its strengths, also works against it. There is always some action scene or other element drawing the reader's attention. But I felt rather as if I was being pulled in to many narrative directions at once and was sometimes overwhelmed by it all. I also don't feel the book does a good job expressing the gravity of the events or the significance of a world that is on the verge of being either destroyed or conquered. Perhaps, it may have something to do with the age of the main characters. But I wanted to feel more empathy for what was happening and never reached that level of concern for the characters.

With that said, the book is well-written with all the usual elements of an invasion story. I am, convinced that younger readers who are the book's intended audience will no doubt devour every page. There is action aplenty and strange aliens to keep them flipping pages. Based off of the ending of the book, there seems to be an impending sequel. There are many directions it can go, so I'll definitely check it out. But I'll keep my fingers crossed that it can deliver a more emotionally satisfying experience for me.

3 Stars.

Disclosure: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest, non-reciprocal, review.

[Laurie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book starts off quickly and keeps up the momentum with lots of action and plenty of twists. Brandon is a likable character who finds out through the course of the story that more than just his unusual eye color sets him apart from other people. Aliens invade, and London is bombarded by a merciless barrage from the sky. Barely escaping, Brandon, his sister, and two other classmates try to reach his mom’s secret laboratory. The action and suspense continue to escalate as the stakes get higher. Pursued by two warring factions, Brandon puts it all on the line to protect a priceless capsule coveted for its unusual properties.


I enjoyed this book because it was fast-paced with an intelligently thought-out scientific basis. Sometimes events transpired that significantly stretched credibility, but for the most part there was a logical progression that made sense to me and kept me entertained. I was bothered by the seeming lack of emotion the teens displayed at the horrendous losses they endured, but with everything in their lives literally crumbling around them I reasoned that they just did not have time to grieve. I would have enjoyed a more detailed and descriptive account of the initial invasion. It was so fascinating – I just wanted more. While this story seems geared toward younger male readers, I think any fan of the genre will enjoy the adventure.


This book was given to me by the author in exchange for my honest review.


Reviewed by Laurie-J

[Angie ~aka Reading Machine~ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brandon Walker is your typical teenager interested in video games, all things science, and music. There's just one thing that sets Brandon apart from everyone~he's got purple eyes. His mother Sarah is medical researcher with different labs in and around London. She sets Brandon a task that she doesn't what his father to know about or his older sister Gem. Sarah didn't realize the danger she was setting Brandon in. Brandon completes the task before him but London is under attack with asteriods. Twins Jason and Kat Brown hook up with Brandon in order to complete the mission Brandon's mother set. Brandon learns about Talem Tarsus from a video diary. Why is London being attacked? Will Brandon complete the task? What project was Sarah and Talem working on? Your answers await you in Alien Disaster.


I have to say I'm impressed with this author's book. This book is totally unique in it's concept. I especially loved Brandon and Kat! They're truly fascinating characters that leave you wanting more of them. I'm not a fan of Brandon's sister Gem, she's very arrogant and know it all to boot. Sarah and Talem's project is brillant, scary, useful, and very dangerous to all. The author did a terrific job with this story I hope to see more of it.

[A.K. · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is fast paced with a well defined plot and lots of action. Not at any point will there fail to be something happening!

Overuse of passive voice, as well as telling instead of showing, make it difficult to really connect to the characters, to care about them or understand their motivations. They are likable enough, just not overly well defined. The dialogue can be stilted and many of the events, character actions, and plot twists don't make any sense (when this happens, we are usually told what to believe about an event, rather than being shown it). The story contains multiple literary cliches and would benefit from the talents of a skilled developmental editor.

It's definitely soft science fiction. A tremendous amount of suspension of belief must be assumed before reading this novel, as the major plot elements revolve around faulty biology and physics. (That's not a knock on the book at all! Soft science fiction has a place for a good reason, it's just something to note. :)

Overall, it would be a fun read for a young teenager, and it's definitely the kind of book I would have picked up from the library as a kid. If you're looking for a quick, entertaining read for middle grade/early high school, this isn't a bad choice.

[Jack · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was remarkable, well written. It was really engaging through the whole story and the conflicts and the emotions felt real.

I really liked that while a lot of the characters were young they acted with sensibility and were not crying all the time.

Also, I really liked Lieutenant Hewson. I thought he was a great addition to the book that made it seem kinda of odd but really quite funny.

In many ways, the way people reacted to the main characters did seem a bit improbable, yet probable because it was the end of the world in the book.

One thing, that was nice was the craziness of the story. While aliens coming to earth is pretty crazy, most writers don't seem to take that into account and make a lot of the characters act normal. Which ironically does not seem normal due to the circumstance.

Overall, this book was fantastic, exciting, and nicely logical in certain parts of the book. Probably the best thing was the understanding that bad guys will in general keep trying to kill you until you do something about it.

[Chris The Story Reading Ape · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reserve some time and enjoy a fast moving read about asteroids, hominid aliens, daring do British Special Forces, battles galore and a boy with deep violet eyes.

You won't regret it.

If Steven Spielberg ever makes this a movie, I'll be first in the queue to watch it.

[Ilona Fenton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Why do YA get all the great Science Fiction books nowadays? This was an action packed Aliens invade Earth story that had a few unusual twists and was so well written in it's descriptions that I can see it making a wonderful film too.

[Mary Harden · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a really fun book, and a good, fast read for adults that like young adult science fiction. The characters are interesting, and I thought the underlying story was rather unique. I took a chance on this as I found it for free, but I will definitely be looking for sequels to buy.

[Wendy]

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[Doreen Dalesandro]

Kindle freebie, 2/17/13

[Mayhem-RW · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brandon Walker woke late on Saturday and began playing video games. By the evening, he will have escaped death more than once. Once, by a meteor strike on his mom’s place of work or three of them in a row. Once, by a squad or so of very ugly, very strong aliens who killed his teacher. He will have blown up his school to kill those aliens. He will have listened to his mother die and watched as a meteor hit his house, making him believe that his father was dead, but when he got in contact with his sister, Gem, he learned that his father had left the house. He would find out that not only were the aliens after him, but it seemed like his own government was also, so he would have to dodge around them to get out of London.

This read is fun and full of action. However, parents will need to decide on death. This book contains both alien and human death, and while not as disturbing as it could be described, it is enough to make me wonder if it is juvenile acceptable. The physical world-building gets you by in some places but is generally more descriptive with major places. The ethereal world-building is more of a personalized thing than a general description. The character interaction is believable most of the time, but there comes a point when this interaction, at least for me, comes into question.

If you are looking for something with action and science fiction, go no further. You have found it. I give this read four stars out of five stars.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a pretty harmless book, starts as a standard post-apocalyptic novel, turns into a sci-fi adventure with aliens battling the military, UFOs, alien bad guys, betrayal and more. This is a good easy read if you need something inoffensive to read.