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Brief Encounters of The Third Kind
In the early years of the Twenty First Century, London widow Susan Dexter has more to worry about than the recession. For thirty years she has kept a secret; she is not sure if her daughter is human. New events lead her to other people who need to find the truth.
How do ordinary people cope with the extraordinary?
Mystery, music and medicine are at the heart of this family saga; sub plots are woven amongst sevral very different love stories, as the characters question what it is to be human and what is reality.
How do ordinary people cope with the extraordinary?
Mystery, music and medicine are at the heart of this family saga; sub plots are woven amongst sevral very different love stories, as the characters question what it is to be human and what is reality.
779 pages, ebook
First published January 4, 2013
About the author
Janet Gogerty
16 books19 followersI have lived in various places and done a variety of jobs, even started a couple of careers, but not a day of a writer's life is wasted. From the chicken farm in suburban Perth, Australia to the Easter Egg production line in Croyden, London, from Harrod's toy department at Christmas to First Class passenger lounges at Heathrow Airport, the many people I have met are not forgotten.
Places are also important and inspire my stories, but when everyday folk experience strange events that's when my imagination takes flight. But you won't find strange planets and creatures with weird names. My characters are the people who live next door.
Places are also important and inspire my stories, but when everyday folk experience strange events that's when my imagination takes flight. But you won't find strange planets and creatures with weird names. My characters are the people who live next door.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
August 21, 2016
I would have liked to have been able to give this book 4 stars and had it been half the size it certainly would have got that. The storyline was really clever mixing the science fiction with an everyday, normal family existence. The characters were likeable and believable and I loved the baby Adam, the author wrote his part extremely well. I got the sense that I knew most of them quite well during this story. However, the pacing for my liking was too slow, i think we were taken too much through the mundane part of a family’s life and for me it felt that it dragged and slowed the story down so that I struggled. I think the story would be much tighter if some of the repetition were removed. At times I nearly gave up reading it but I wanted to find out what happened which is a credit to the author’s ability and I am glad I finished it.
There was an event (won’t say what for fear of spoiling it for other reader’s|) that I felt should have had more emotion attached to it and it felt as though it slipped in alongside the everyday events too much.
Having said all of that I did enjoy it and will pick up more by this author in the future.
There was an event (won’t say what for fear of spoiling it for other reader’s|) that I felt should have had more emotion attached to it and it felt as though it slipped in alongside the everyday events too much.
Having said all of that I did enjoy it and will pick up more by this author in the future.
September 25, 2018
What an opening!
Spaceships, encounters and strange goings-on, all so much more interesting than the film with the similar name and as I read this story, I couldn’t help wondering how I would cope in similar circumstances.
Right back at the beginning of her marriage, Susan longed to be a mother, but it looked as though she was destined to be disappointed. Then something strange happened. She was taken to a spacecraft where the aliens promised her she would have the baby she longed for.
Emma, the baby who duly arrived soon after, was perfect in every way, as all babies are. But as the child grew up, she seemed extraordinarily perfect and the exact clone of her mother. She didn’t cry and was never ill.
Three healthy boys followed, gloriously ordinary boys. You could be forgiven for thinking the story ends there, but you would be wrong. All manner of strange things continue to happen to Susan and her family, until a simple blood test throws a bunch of spanners into the works, causing trouble and suspicion.
Can Susan keep the secret and her family safe and out of harm’s way?
The aliens visit more than once, but instead of helping, I thought they made matters worse. A complicated, well-written story, believable in spite of the unusual storyline. The characters are lovely, reacting the way you imagine ordinary people would if presented with these circumstances.
I loved the way they all tried to make the best out of a sometimes difficult situation, and I am glad there is to be a sequel so we can follow Emma’s baby as he grows up.
This story is a little long, but I wouldn’t suggest shortening it in any way for fear of ruining such a perfectly plotted story…
Spaceships, encounters and strange goings-on, all so much more interesting than the film with the similar name and as I read this story, I couldn’t help wondering how I would cope in similar circumstances.
Right back at the beginning of her marriage, Susan longed to be a mother, but it looked as though she was destined to be disappointed. Then something strange happened. She was taken to a spacecraft where the aliens promised her she would have the baby she longed for.
Emma, the baby who duly arrived soon after, was perfect in every way, as all babies are. But as the child grew up, she seemed extraordinarily perfect and the exact clone of her mother. She didn’t cry and was never ill.
Three healthy boys followed, gloriously ordinary boys. You could be forgiven for thinking the story ends there, but you would be wrong. All manner of strange things continue to happen to Susan and her family, until a simple blood test throws a bunch of spanners into the works, causing trouble and suspicion.
Can Susan keep the secret and her family safe and out of harm’s way?
The aliens visit more than once, but instead of helping, I thought they made matters worse. A complicated, well-written story, believable in spite of the unusual storyline. The characters are lovely, reacting the way you imagine ordinary people would if presented with these circumstances.
I loved the way they all tried to make the best out of a sometimes difficult situation, and I am glad there is to be a sequel so we can follow Emma’s baby as he grows up.
This story is a little long, but I wouldn’t suggest shortening it in any way for fear of ruining such a perfectly plotted story…
March 27, 2016
Aliens, Time Travellers, and Great Characters.
Brief Encounters of the Third Kind is anything but brief. It is a meaty story that kept me entertained until the end. It left me wanting a sequel. I believe Janet Gogerty has a great story that could lead to further adventures.
The pace is moderate, but there is terrific character development. Each persona is different and robust. Emma is an unusual character and we can see the strain that she is placed under due to her uniqueness, which results in perfectly normal behaviour for someone who is anything but ordinary. We see her in a very human and fallible light.
At times, I was so engrossed in the story and the characters that I forgot that I was reading science fiction. With a few shocking moments toward the end, Brief Encounters of the Third Kind will keep you reading past your bedtime.
I’m rather hoping there are further adventures and that Janet Gogerty writes a follow up. I think we would all like to hear about little Adam. What happens to him? What does he become in time? I found baby Adam fascinating and well written.
If you are looking for a great story, with wonder character development, and a little bit of science fiction, then read Brief Encounters of the Third Kind.
Edit: I erroneously said I was waiting for next book and it has already been published. You can find the rest of the series on Amazon.
Brief Encounters of the Third Kind is anything but brief. It is a meaty story that kept me entertained until the end. It left me wanting a sequel. I believe Janet Gogerty has a great story that could lead to further adventures.
The pace is moderate, but there is terrific character development. Each persona is different and robust. Emma is an unusual character and we can see the strain that she is placed under due to her uniqueness, which results in perfectly normal behaviour for someone who is anything but ordinary. We see her in a very human and fallible light.
At times, I was so engrossed in the story and the characters that I forgot that I was reading science fiction. With a few shocking moments toward the end, Brief Encounters of the Third Kind will keep you reading past your bedtime.
I’m rather hoping there are further adventures and that Janet Gogerty writes a follow up. I think we would all like to hear about little Adam. What happens to him? What does he become in time? I found baby Adam fascinating and well written.
If you are looking for a great story, with wonder character development, and a little bit of science fiction, then read Brief Encounters of the Third Kind.
Edit: I erroneously said I was waiting for next book and it has already been published. You can find the rest of the series on Amazon.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews