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Tarizon Saga #3
Desert Swarm
Due to a freak auto accident, Jack Carpenter discovers a strange geological formation in the Mojave Desert near Bat Mountain, California. He thinks little about it until he returns out of curiosity and discovers the formation is growing, and doing so at a staggering rate. Fascinated by this, he calls in his friend George Parker, a local geology professor, and together they begin to study the Bat Mountain Formation in earnest.
Professor Parker has never seen or heard of a geological formation that is growing nearly six inches a day, so he contacts a friend at the U.S. Park Service to get him to take a look. Eventually word of the bizarre discovery gets out and people flock to see this miracle in the desert, which is beginning to look like a cathedral.
Seeing an opportunity to save his failing Church of the Living Desert, Reverend John Little proclaims that the Bat Mountain Formation is, indeed, a cathedral and it is being built by God to herald the second coming of Christ.
But before Reverend Little and his flock can get their movement off the ground, the U.S. Army steps in and declares the formation a potential public hazard and possible threat to national security. A series of mysterious deaths and the inability of scientist to explain the phenomenon gives credence to the Army's concern.
Professor Parker has never seen or heard of a geological formation that is growing nearly six inches a day, so he contacts a friend at the U.S. Park Service to get him to take a look. Eventually word of the bizarre discovery gets out and people flock to see this miracle in the desert, which is beginning to look like a cathedral.
Seeing an opportunity to save his failing Church of the Living Desert, Reverend John Little proclaims that the Bat Mountain Formation is, indeed, a cathedral and it is being built by God to herald the second coming of Christ.
But before Reverend Little and his flock can get their movement off the ground, the U.S. Army steps in and declares the formation a potential public hazard and possible threat to national security. A series of mysterious deaths and the inability of scientist to explain the phenomenon gives credence to the Army's concern.
- GenresScience Fiction
308 pages, Paperback
First published January 2, 2014
2 people are currently reading
966 people want to read
About the author
William Manchee
39 books192 followersWilliam Manchee is an attorney by trade and practices consumer law in Texas with his son Jim. Originally from southern California, he now lives in Plano, Texas. He is the author of 25 novels including the Stan Turner Mysteries, Rich Coleman Novels, and the Tarizon Saga.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 69 reviews
June 30, 2017
-Disclaimer: I won this book for free through goodreads giveaways in exchange for an honest review.-
I decided not to review this book since the review I want to write wouldn't be very nice. I shall just pass it on-perhaps someone else will enjoy the book.
I decided not to review this book since the review I want to write wouldn't be very nice. I shall just pass it on-perhaps someone else will enjoy the book.
December 2, 2017
Although the basic premise of Desert Swarm was pretty interesting, the execution is where things fell apart a little bit for me. Here were some of the problems:
1. This was supposed to be set in the '50s, but other than several mentions of the year, it could have been any time period. Contrast that to Sue Grafton's excellent alphabet series, set in the '80s. Part of what makes her work stand out is that she includes so many period-specific details that make you feel like you're right back there, listening to the Bee Gees and experiencing the decade all over again.
2. The dialogue felt awkward and didn't flow as well as it could have. I found myself mentally rewriting it to make it sound better, which kept pulling me out of the story.
3. I'm guessing Manchee hasn't been around the military much. Just one example: A captain would NEVER greet a general with a "Oh. Hi, general."
Still, the concept was different enough that it gets 3 stars.
My thanks to the author and publisher; I won a copy on a Goodreads giveaway.
1. This was supposed to be set in the '50s, but other than several mentions of the year, it could have been any time period. Contrast that to Sue Grafton's excellent alphabet series, set in the '80s. Part of what makes her work stand out is that she includes so many period-specific details that make you feel like you're right back there, listening to the Bee Gees and experiencing the decade all over again.
2. The dialogue felt awkward and didn't flow as well as it could have. I found myself mentally rewriting it to make it sound better, which kept pulling me out of the story.
3. I'm guessing Manchee hasn't been around the military much. Just one example: A captain would NEVER greet a general with a "Oh. Hi, general."
Still, the concept was different enough that it gets 3 stars.
My thanks to the author and publisher; I won a copy on a Goodreads giveaway.
June 2, 2014
The Stan Turner mystery I read by this author was good. This one... not really. The premise is interesting enough, but it would have been far better told as a short story. As a novel of over 300 pages, we meander around way too much. Too much telling, too many inconsistencies, too many blunders. Is this his first draft? Did anyone bother to even read it for typos? If you're absolutely thrilled with the whole Tarizon saga, I suppose you'll want to wade through this. Otherwise, it's a bit like chewing on a tough piece of meat that just won't go down easy.
I received this book for free through Goodreads.
I received this book for free through Goodreads.
March 26, 2014
Book 3 of the Tarizon Saga takes place on earth. A building is bursting forth from the desert. What's going on??? Well the Nanomites have come to Earth along with the humans from Tarizon. Those Nanomites can certainly be troublecausers. Will the live up to they treaty? Since our government hasn't shared what's going on how will the people react to buildings just appearing?
I am not a big science fiction fan but Manchee does spin a good yarn. This one is limited somewhat to dealing with the Nanomites.
I am not a big science fiction fan but Manchee does spin a good yarn. This one is limited somewhat to dealing with the Nanomites.
May 10, 2015
Fairly interesting thriller. A freak formation is found in the Mojave Desert and is growing rapidly. More and more people hear about this and arrive to see it. A Reverend wants to us the formation to save his church. Before he can do anything the Army moves in. Soon deaths follow. This story keeps you waiting for the next shoe to drop. Different story line.
May 2, 2019
Believable, great from the start. Good pace. Bit of a twist at the end but could happen scenario, especially in this political climate. Would recommend and want to read more.
February 2, 2018
Suspense down to the last minute ! A seemingly curious artifact is discovered in a remote desert site. Jack, concrete contractor, notices a strange crystalline lump in the sand after he suffers a truck accident on the way to a future construction job. He finds a team of curious friends who are determined to discover the origin and physical structure of the self-building wall of crystals. Nano-sentient alien lifeforms are involved along with government secrets and troubling dangers that keep the secrets hidden deep within. Unfortunately Jack is not content to ignore the object and discovers Earth is alive with miniscule lifeforms and hive communities. This is the last book of trilogy and ends with deadly survival instincts.
March 18, 2020
Its an interesting plot of what a common man, a man of God and a man of science think about a sudden structure that erupted from the ground and continues to grow inches in time. The story is wonderfully written and well suits in a SciFi Historical Fiction genre. Desert Swarm is a good addition to Tarizon series. This is my first book from this series. Mr.Manchee captures the thinking process of men who believe in different things and manages to keep the reader well informed and gripped till the last. Lost a star because the story supposedly happens in 50s, but the flow of the story, made me feel that the story happens later in time rather later than 50s.
Thank you Voracious Readers and the author William Manchee for sending a reader’s copy.
Thank you Voracious Readers and the author William Manchee for sending a reader’s copy.
January 19, 2019
I've been putting off writing this review because,truth to tell,I didn't like the book. I got my free review copy from the For Voracious Readers Only program. Two hundred plus pages seems a long slog through more cardboard characters than Upper Deck's roster ever produced just to get to the brilliance of the greatest line n the book.One of the aforesaid cutouts says of a 7' green skinned alien "He would stand out like a pickle in a bag of french fries."
It is a sad commentary on this novel that that ingenius simile stands out like a jalepeño pepper in a sea of mashed potatoes and vanilla cookies.
It is a sad commentary on this novel that that ingenius simile stands out like a jalepeño pepper in a sea of mashed potatoes and vanilla cookies.
October 18, 2019
When I began reading Desert Swarm I was unaware it was book 3 in a series. However, it works just fine as a stand alone novel with a nice set up for a sequel.
In general, this book was a fun read. It did not require a lot of concentration and was, on the whole, an easy sci-fi/alien story to read. While it was not my favorite book, I found myself intrigued by the concept and looking forward to finding out what happened next.
My main complaint would be two gratuitous sex scenes. They didn’t add to the plot in any way and I felt they should have been left out all together.
In general, this book was a fun read. It did not require a lot of concentration and was, on the whole, an easy sci-fi/alien story to read. While it was not my favorite book, I found myself intrigued by the concept and looking forward to finding out what happened next.
My main complaint would be two gratuitous sex scenes. They didn’t add to the plot in any way and I felt they should have been left out all together.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 2, 2018
*I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*
I can't begin to say how much I disliked this book. It didn't make any sense. There was no reason for why the aliens would trust Jack. None. Zip. Zilch. Zero. The entire book told me what was going on in short sentences that were not descriptive or interesting. Sadly it was a waste of time and I would not recommend this to anyone.
I can't begin to say how much I disliked this book. It didn't make any sense. There was no reason for why the aliens would trust Jack. None. Zip. Zilch. Zero. The entire book told me what was going on in short sentences that were not descriptive or interesting. Sadly it was a waste of time and I would not recommend this to anyone.
October 23, 2019
I received a free copy of this book from the author via vorocious readers. I personally found this book was not for me, as I prefer a story which is either completely fantasy based or one which makes you think this could perhaps happen and this is a mixture of believable and complete fantasy so did not reall appeal to me. However I have read the whole book and it is well written with very few mistakes I think I would recommend it for young adults or older teenagers.
July 31, 2020
*I received a copy of this book from the author via voracious readers only in exchange for an honest review*
It was an interesting premise however it wasn't very well executed, it was very rough around the edges and in the end I couldn't bring myself to finish it. I got about half way but the characters were so bland and devoid of any personality that I didn't feel invested in the story, I couldn't even tell you what any of them were supposed to look like.
It was an interesting premise however it wasn't very well executed, it was very rough around the edges and in the end I couldn't bring myself to finish it. I got about half way but the characters were so bland and devoid of any personality that I didn't feel invested in the story, I couldn't even tell you what any of them were supposed to look like.
May 1, 2019
I received a free copy of this book through Voracious Readers Only.
Unfortunately, that's just about the only positive thing I can say about this book.
While the story was science fiction, I did not find this to be a thriller.
The character development was poor and the dialogue did not flow naturally.
Unfortunately, that's just about the only positive thing I can say about this book.
While the story was science fiction, I did not find this to be a thriller.
The character development was poor and the dialogue did not flow naturally.
July 26, 2019
I received this book for free through Voracious Readers. I wish I could say I liked it but I’m afraid I was unable to finish it. I normally like sci-fi but I couldn’t figure out what was going on in this book, couldn’t connect with the characters and got turned off with the stereotypical portrayals of the different factions involved.
November 15, 2019
I received a free copy of this book from Voracious Readers in exchange for an honest review.
I really wanted to be able to say I'd loved it, but like a few other reviewers I'm afraid I didn't finish it. It's a shame because I normally enjoy a bit of sci-fi and I love all things X-Files but I just couldn't connect with the characters and the story didn't grab me all. A disappointment.
I really wanted to be able to say I'd loved it, but like a few other reviewers I'm afraid I didn't finish it. It's a shame because I normally enjoy a bit of sci-fi and I love all things X-Files but I just couldn't connect with the characters and the story didn't grab me all. A disappointment.
May 16, 2020
I received a complimentary copy of the book from the author via Voracious Readers Only in exchange for an honest review.
It was an okay read, all things considered. Reading straight through, with no time to think about it, it was enjoyable. Fifteen minutes later, and I've got a headache trying to figure out what exactly I liked about it, as the plothole at the end engulfed everything else.
There should be a content warning for sexually explicit material. In all honesty, the graphic sex scene was completely unnecessary. It added absolutely nothing to the story, only extra pages of graphic content in what would otherwise be a well-paced plot.
There were some glaring errors in which character names were obviously mixed up, quotation marks at the beginning of sentences that were describing the speaker, rather than around the words being spoken. They really threw off the flow of the story.
The main character and his son have names so incredibly similar it makes it difficult to remember who is who. Not that it matters after the first quarter of the book or so, as he seemingly forgets he has a son that he supposedly loves so much and wants to spend all sorts of quality time with.
This was a major plot hole that was painfully noticeable by the end of the book, in regards to the main character and his son, as our hero and his girlfriend of maybe two weeks accept an ambassador position for an undetermined amount of time, on a planet light-years away without a second thought.
I can't say this would be the first book I'd recommend, just out of the blue. However, as it was enjoyable while I read it, I'd probably think of it if someone asked for a specific recommendation, plot holes be damned.
It was an okay read, all things considered. Reading straight through, with no time to think about it, it was enjoyable. Fifteen minutes later, and I've got a headache trying to figure out what exactly I liked about it, as the plothole at the end engulfed everything else.
There should be a content warning for sexually explicit material. In all honesty, the graphic sex scene was completely unnecessary. It added absolutely nothing to the story, only extra pages of graphic content in what would otherwise be a well-paced plot.
There were some glaring errors in which character names were obviously mixed up, quotation marks at the beginning of sentences that were describing the speaker, rather than around the words being spoken. They really threw off the flow of the story.
The main character and his son have names so incredibly similar it makes it difficult to remember who is who. Not that it matters after the first quarter of the book or so, as he seemingly forgets he has a son that he supposedly loves so much and wants to spend all sorts of quality time with.
This was a major plot hole that was painfully noticeable by the end of the book, in regards to the main character and his son, as our hero and his girlfriend of maybe two weeks accept an ambassador position for an undetermined amount of time, on a planet light-years away without a second thought.
I can't say this would be the first book I'd recommend, just out of the blue. However, as it was enjoyable while I read it, I'd probably think of it if someone asked for a specific recommendation, plot holes be damned.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 19, 2022
Review is of a free copy. This book is OK; but far from great. While the premise is somewhat interesting, the execution is very sophomoric. The characters are, for the most part, poorly developed and the proofing or editing of the book is not very good with quite a few misspelled words. I also have a free copy of another book in the Tarizon series, hopefully it will be better.
October 2, 2018
This book was very good with all of the different possibilities that could be created to explain away the almost unexplainable, but certainly mysterious, events occurring in an empty landscape in the American west.
April 26, 2020
A free book from Voracious Readers thank you
All fiction is based on fact and this story of alien settlement and government cover-up could well be a real scenario today! Do aliens walk among us?
A recommended read for fans of conspiracy theories and this genre
All fiction is based on fact and this story of alien settlement and government cover-up could well be a real scenario today! Do aliens walk among us?
A recommended read for fans of conspiracy theories and this genre
May 16, 2017
A well written and flowing storyline. Enjoyed immensely. Jack is a great character that you can relate too. Won from goodreads.
February 5, 2019
I received a complimentary copy through Voracious Readers Only. It was quite a good read. It flowed well with interesting characters and had a bit of a different premise.
March 26, 2019
Who doesn't love great Alien story. Tons of fun, lots government conspiracy and cover ups and even a little romance. #voraciousreaders only
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 11, 2019
Awesome read, was slow starting but then took off at pace. Look forward to next in series
September 8, 2020
I regret every minute I spent on this book. I only finished it because I was comfortable and didn't want to get up to find another one.
December 26, 2019
It was a very good book. It was a bit odd. I got a free copy from Vocarious readers only.
June 12, 2015
I received this book as a Goodreads.com First Read win in exchange for my honest opinion. This story started out readable as a stand-alone. There was detail given about the underlying series, but the book could be read as it's own story, right up till the end when we were left with a cliff-hanger.
The premise of the story is an alien life-force on Earth, inadvertently causing mayhem and suffering due to misunderstandings with the humans around them.
The very first page of this story indicates that it is set in 1959. This became unbelievable almost instantly as we see all the women in the story carrying much more authority and modern morals than would have been present in 1959. Were it set in 1979, or '89 I'd have found it much more realistic. The technology used by the Americans in the story also seemed more in line with '79 to mid-80s, and not so much '59.
The author spent the whole of the book TELLING us what the characters were doing, never drawing us into the story, never setting the scene in such a way that I ever felt like I was there. There was no character development, each of the several "main characters" remained static throughout. There was no authentic voice used by individual characters. Every line of dialog in the book could have come from ONE character, with no dialog idiosyncrasies to set the characters apart. The characters themselves were poorly done sketches. Jack, we're told, is a divorcee who's still in love with his ex. For all that, he takes up awfully quickly with "Dolly" who's a waitress at the cliche "Mona's Diner." Dolly never shows any ambition of her own, other than her initial interest in Jack, she's presented solely for Jack's use as bed-mate and sounding board. We meet Professor George and his "assistant/sex-partner" Cindy. Jack's Ex-wife Angela has a rather flighty nature as well. In the beginning of the story we're told she doesn't like Jack, she doesn't like to see him, but toward the end we're told that she still has feelings for him, still loves him. She left him for another man, Curt, who at one point says he has no problem with Jack (and why should he? He was the man who was cheating with Jack's ex-wife Angela?) but then we're later told that he resents Jack and tries to make Jack's life miserable because Angela still loves Jack.
The FBI agent who takes the lead on the investigation is a female, who then backs off and hands over the investigation to a bunch of civilians? This whole story was unbelievable, misplaced, and hokey. And that's before we even touch on the multiple times that the author is talking about one group of people or place and suddenly we find ourselves in the same chapter, with no indication of change of scene, talking to another group of people or in another place. How Jack went to bed in one place monitoring one set of aliens and woke up in another place monitoring a different set of aliens is beyond me. It seemed that there were multiple times throughout the story that the author lost track of his story, lost track of his characters, and just kept right on writing. He could have done with a heck of a lot more editing, and a couple good re-writes of this story.
I won't be recommending it to fellow readers, and I won't be looking up any more of the series. The only reason I'm giving it two stars instead of one is because I DID finish it.
The premise of the story is an alien life-force on Earth, inadvertently causing mayhem and suffering due to misunderstandings with the humans around them.
The very first page of this story indicates that it is set in 1959. This became unbelievable almost instantly as we see all the women in the story carrying much more authority and modern morals than would have been present in 1959. Were it set in 1979, or '89 I'd have found it much more realistic. The technology used by the Americans in the story also seemed more in line with '79 to mid-80s, and not so much '59.
The author spent the whole of the book TELLING us what the characters were doing, never drawing us into the story, never setting the scene in such a way that I ever felt like I was there. There was no character development, each of the several "main characters" remained static throughout. There was no authentic voice used by individual characters. Every line of dialog in the book could have come from ONE character, with no dialog idiosyncrasies to set the characters apart. The characters themselves were poorly done sketches. Jack, we're told, is a divorcee who's still in love with his ex. For all that, he takes up awfully quickly with "Dolly" who's a waitress at the cliche "Mona's Diner." Dolly never shows any ambition of her own, other than her initial interest in Jack, she's presented solely for Jack's use as bed-mate and sounding board. We meet Professor George and his "assistant/sex-partner" Cindy. Jack's Ex-wife Angela has a rather flighty nature as well. In the beginning of the story we're told she doesn't like Jack, she doesn't like to see him, but toward the end we're told that she still has feelings for him, still loves him. She left him for another man, Curt, who at one point says he has no problem with Jack (and why should he? He was the man who was cheating with Jack's ex-wife Angela?) but then we're later told that he resents Jack and tries to make Jack's life miserable because Angela still loves Jack.
The FBI agent who takes the lead on the investigation is a female, who then backs off and hands over the investigation to a bunch of civilians? This whole story was unbelievable, misplaced, and hokey. And that's before we even touch on the multiple times that the author is talking about one group of people or place and suddenly we find ourselves in the same chapter, with no indication of change of scene, talking to another group of people or in another place. How Jack went to bed in one place monitoring one set of aliens and woke up in another place monitoring a different set of aliens is beyond me. It seemed that there were multiple times throughout the story that the author lost track of his story, lost track of his characters, and just kept right on writing. He could have done with a heck of a lot more editing, and a couple good re-writes of this story.
I won't be recommending it to fellow readers, and I won't be looking up any more of the series. The only reason I'm giving it two stars instead of one is because I DID finish it.
May 30, 2014
I received this book as a GoodReads First Reads. The book is the third book in the Tarizon Saga by William Manchee.
Okay I am sorry it took so long to give an up date.
Well I will keep this short so I can hopefully get more interested. Jack is a local who owns a construction business out in the Desert. After a long work week Jack heads home to keep a promise to his son Jake who lives with his mother. On the way home Jack stops at a diner he like for a late supper, where Dolly his waitress ( who likes him) invites her to her house to get some sleep before he drives all night. Jack refused the offer and gets back on the road (he should have taken it) he ends up falling asleep at the wheel and rolls his truck of the highway. Instead of staying with his truck he stumbles around in the desert for a while before deciding to sit and rest, in the morning he starts for the highway and ends up finding a very large foundation out in the middle of no where. There are no signs of trucks or people around so he tacks a closer look wandering why some one would be building out here, after looking at the substance being used he find it is not like anything he has seen before.
Well after getting back to town he calls his ex wife to come get him from the doctors office and borrows he car to take his son out and to look for his truck then get a closer look and some pictures of the site he found. Jack then calls a friend of his a George Parker a local geology professor to ask him if he has seen any thing like it before. After Jack convinces George to come see it. George decides to bring on of his students with him this is when Jack finds there is more to his little find then he thought.
Needless to say such a find does not stay quite for long the next this the crew knows there is a whole lot of people coming including the USA government.
Well with out giving away the story I will say that things take a turn on Jack and his crew could it be for the best or the worst well you will have to read it for yourself.
I will say that the beginning was a little slow and almost put the book down but I decided to give it a shot and I am glad I did so.
I recommend this book to everyone who likes a lot of twist and turns
Okay I am sorry it took so long to give an up date.
Well I will keep this short so I can hopefully get more interested. Jack is a local who owns a construction business out in the Desert. After a long work week Jack heads home to keep a promise to his son Jake who lives with his mother. On the way home Jack stops at a diner he like for a late supper, where Dolly his waitress ( who likes him) invites her to her house to get some sleep before he drives all night. Jack refused the offer and gets back on the road (he should have taken it) he ends up falling asleep at the wheel and rolls his truck of the highway. Instead of staying with his truck he stumbles around in the desert for a while before deciding to sit and rest, in the morning he starts for the highway and ends up finding a very large foundation out in the middle of no where. There are no signs of trucks or people around so he tacks a closer look wandering why some one would be building out here, after looking at the substance being used he find it is not like anything he has seen before.
Well after getting back to town he calls his ex wife to come get him from the doctors office and borrows he car to take his son out and to look for his truck then get a closer look and some pictures of the site he found. Jack then calls a friend of his a George Parker a local geology professor to ask him if he has seen any thing like it before. After Jack convinces George to come see it. George decides to bring on of his students with him this is when Jack finds there is more to his little find then he thought.
Needless to say such a find does not stay quite for long the next this the crew knows there is a whole lot of people coming including the USA government.
Well with out giving away the story I will say that things take a turn on Jack and his crew could it be for the best or the worst well you will have to read it for yourself.
I will say that the beginning was a little slow and almost put the book down but I decided to give it a shot and I am glad I did so.
I recommend this book to everyone who likes a lot of twist and turns
July 28, 2015
William Manchee knocked it out of the park with this one.
Jack Carpenter has recently been divorced and is very busy with work, traveling and his son Jake ho he sees on the weekend when his life is changed. One late night on the road he falls asleep at the wheel and runs off the road, down a hill and into a tree. When he wakes up instead of staying with his vehicle he walks off into the desert instead of back up to the road. Stumbling with a concussion he runs into a building site in the middle of no where that has been built with an odd material. Hours later he finds a highway and has a passerby drive him into town to the doctors office.
Once Jack is taken care of and sees his son he just can't get this site out of his mind. His son Jake and him go back to the site of the accident to check on the truck and then go out to look at the site. Something just isn't right. When he brings in a man name George in on the big discovery things begin to get a little exciting as more and more people hear about the rare building that now seems to be growing by itself. Pilgrims from a church begin calling it a cathedral. From there the Government gets involved and kicks everyone out of the site, but when people begin to start dying on the site questions are raised on what is really going on.
As things begin to get weirder and weirder people begin to question if it is God's hand that is building this cathedral or if it is visitors from another planet. It begins to be a race against time to save cities as buildings begin to be threatened by this weird occurrence.
This review and others are also on my blog:
https://standi69.wordpress.com/2015/0...
Jack Carpenter has recently been divorced and is very busy with work, traveling and his son Jake ho he sees on the weekend when his life is changed. One late night on the road he falls asleep at the wheel and runs off the road, down a hill and into a tree. When he wakes up instead of staying with his vehicle he walks off into the desert instead of back up to the road. Stumbling with a concussion he runs into a building site in the middle of no where that has been built with an odd material. Hours later he finds a highway and has a passerby drive him into town to the doctors office.
Once Jack is taken care of and sees his son he just can't get this site out of his mind. His son Jake and him go back to the site of the accident to check on the truck and then go out to look at the site. Something just isn't right. When he brings in a man name George in on the big discovery things begin to get a little exciting as more and more people hear about the rare building that now seems to be growing by itself. Pilgrims from a church begin calling it a cathedral. From there the Government gets involved and kicks everyone out of the site, but when people begin to start dying on the site questions are raised on what is really going on.
As things begin to get weirder and weirder people begin to question if it is God's hand that is building this cathedral or if it is visitors from another planet. It begins to be a race against time to save cities as buildings begin to be threatened by this weird occurrence.
This review and others are also on my blog:
https://standi69.wordpress.com/2015/0...
July 1, 2014
Tarizon: Desert Swarm by William Manchee is another wonderful story. This one takes place in the 1950s when a construction worker, Jack Carpenter accidently stumbles upon a desert structure. He brings his girlfriend Dolly with him when he goes back to investigate. He discovers it has grown larger in a day. He took pictures and compares. He goes to the University and meets George the geologist and brings him out to investigate. Meanwhile, Reverend John Little of the Living Desert takes it on himself to declare it a miracle from God for the faithful. He pays an actor to improvise a miraculous cure by touching the structure. Police are called in to handle the crowds. Then the FBI comes in. Then the military gets involved. A park ranger tries to get samples for the museum and the structure kills him. Then the major denies access to the cathedral and he is killed in his tent by bats. The Reverend immediately says it was in retaliation for him denying access to the pilgrims. A police deputy took a piece home as a souvenir and it seals his house. He manages to get his kids out the bathroom window but he and his wife are killed in the resulting gas explosion. The FBI investigates the murders. The military takes over and sends the FBI packing. Jack is confused by the happenings. Unbeknown to him, it is an alien race known as nanobites. The military brings in an alien interpreter who uses psychic abilities to converse with the swarm masters. He tells Jack he has the gift. More cathedrals are developing where ever the nanobites have been found. They try to convince the swarm masters to return to the original site. Will they succeed?
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