Dead Planet: Three Tales of Invasion

by Joseph Pesavento

An invasion has come to Earth. Two different travelers from distant worlds are here to control the planet by overpowering humanity. These invaders, however, are foes from across galaxies. These three tales speak of the human interaction among stronger, alien  One alien contacts a space station with the aid of a power-hungry astronaut.  Four neighbors discover an invasion during their BBQ night.  Two teens encounter the battle for Earth, joining the fight alongside the bizarre town conspiracy theorist.
With Earth serving as the final battlefield, humanity can only rely on the end of the world to rid them of their oppressors. Leaving only...a dead planet.

Genres: Science Fiction, Horror

82 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 25, 2023

Reviews

[Mona Kabbani · Rating 4 out of 5]

Played out like an alien disaster movie in my head and I love that. Full review to come!!!

[Kiera ☠ · Rating 4 out of 5]

ALIENS!! 👽

I’m obsessed with how Joseph wrote this. This is comprised of three stories, describing the progression of an alien invasion on earth. From an encounter out in space, to their arrival on earth and it’s eventual destruction.

This was fast-paced and so much fun! I’m so interested in this purple alien, captivated with its story and where it came from and why it’s so damn evil! If you’re looking for a quick, alien invasion tale, I definitely recommend picking this one up!

[Robin Ginther-Venneri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dead Planet: Three Tales of Invasion
By: Joseph Pesavento

Publisher: Independently Published
Published: August 25, 2023
ASIN: B0CFY1BW5F
Page Count: 82

Triggers: violence, alien invasion, body horror, planetary destruction

Star Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Skull Dread Rating: 💀💀

What Did I Just Walk Into? 🤨
You ever read a book where Earth basically becomes the cosmic equivalent of a wrestling ring, and two alien species show up ready to throw down while humanity just stands there like:

“…we live here, you know.”

That’s the vibe of Dead Planet.

This book delivers three interconnected stories where humanity discovers we’re not the top of the food chain. Not even close. Apparently we’re more like the collateral damage while extraterrestrial rivals settle their galactic beef.

Here’s What Slapped 🔥
The book is structured as three separate invasion stories that slowly link together, which makes it feel like watching a series of sci-fi horror episodes that build toward one big chaotic finale.

Story one kicks things off with a space station encounter involving a power-hungry astronaut and a very dramatic alien visitor. It has strong B-movie sci-fi energy. Think big threats, big violence, and dialogue that knows exactly what kind of fun it’s having.

Story two ramps things up with some surprisingly creepy body horror. A neighborhood BBQ turns into a “wait…why is the neighbor absorbing people?” situation real quick. Honestly, this section might be the creepiest of the three.

Then the third story drops the hammer and goes full alien battle royale. Two extraterrestrial species essentially use Earth as their battlefield while a handful of humans try not to get vaporized in the process.

It reads like a wild Dragon Ball Z style showdown, except instead of a desert wasteland, it’s our entire planet getting wrecked.

What Could’ve Been Better 🧠
Because the stories are short, the characters and aliens sometimes don’t get quite as much depth as you might want.

The purple alien in the first story in particular has some serious universe-conquering ambitions… but occasionally delivers those ambitions with the energy of a villain who just discovered monologuing five minutes ago.

More backstory or menace there could have made the threat feel bigger.

But honestly, this book is leaning into the fast, pulpy sci-fi horror fun side of storytelling, and it mostly works.

Perfect for Readers Who Love 📚
• Alien invasion stories
• Short sci-fi horror reads
• B-movie science fiction vibes
• Body horror and creature encounters
• Big cosmic battles with humanity caught in the middle

Sum It Up 💜
Dead Planet is a quick, entertaining sci-fi horror ride where alien rivals turn Earth into their battleground and humanity just tries not to get wiped out in the crossfire. It’s pulpy, fast, and increasingly fun as the stories collide into one chaotic cosmic showdown.

Reviewed by Robin for Robin’s Review 📚💜

[RoseDevoursBooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dead Planet is comprised of three alien encounter stories that interconnect and join together into one epic finale. The first story follows a small research team out in space whom encounter an alien on their ship with threats of ending human existence. This leads into the second story about three friends who discover their neighbor is being used as a host to a strange alien species that absorbs people to become stronger. Which then concludes with the final story “Battle of Earths End”, where all the pieces fall into place and two different alien species challenge one another.

This was a quick and entertaining read at just 105 pages, easily devoured in one sitting. The first story felt like watching a b-movie with cheesy dialogue from a purple alien wanting to destroy earth and over the top violent scenes. It moved at a fast pace and although the Alien itself never felt menacing enough, I thought it was a solid enough story. I enjoyed the next segment a little more and found the alien body horror to be exceptionally well done and creepy. The third story was my favorite, the characters are well written and you quickly grow to care about Jamie, Tyler and Terence in their dire situation. It reads like an epic DBZ battle of two alien species using Earth as their battleground while the world gets destroyed during their fight to be the dominating force.

Overall, the more I read, the more entertaining it became. I do wish there was more character development for the purple alien, its personality didn’t quite match up with his ultimate goal of conquering the Universe. I would even say he was a little too nice? (especially when it came to loaning out his powers to humans he didn’t know). But either way, I still had fun reading this for what it was. I would recommend it to those seeking a quick Sci-fi Horror to spend the afternoon with. I would also highly suggest checking out the authors other books as they are some of my favorites!

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 (3.5/5 stars rounded up to 4)

[Jacob Osmond · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dead Planet is a trilogy of novelettes that all intertwine to make one great alien invasion story!

In the first story, we follow a group on a space shuttle as they encounter a very powerful being.

In the second story, we follow a group of friends having a BBQ night, but they wander into an alien invasion.

And in my favourite of the three, we follow two teens as they help the battle for earth, joining alongside a very dorky conspiracy theorist.

All of these stories were amazing, they were fun, gory, and even though we didn’t get too much character backstory, I still felt connected to some of them, most specifically, Tyler. (though not about his parenting problems, just everything else about him)

I loved how Joseph made all of these stories intertwine. I at first thought they were going to be a different story every time, but when he connected all of the stories together, I loved it. It seriously was a blast⚡…

The only thing that takes it down a bit, was the dialogue, I felt it was kinda lacking emotion, and some of it was really quirky.

Overall though, Dead Planet was a fun ride, and I can't wait to read more of Josephs work.

I gave Dead Planet a ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5/5 stars. (Rounded up to 5)

[Joey Powell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love seeing Joseph Pesavento stretch himself creatively across different genres. Here, he tackles the alien invasion trope from a few very different and interesting angles, all with an overarching plot line that's devastatingly fatalistic.

We get three stories here, each involving a malevolent entity hellbent on destroying earth. The story I enjoyed most was the one set in space, which serves as the catalyst for the two stories that follow. As a lover of space horror, and someone who frequently re-watching Event Horizon, the mix of sci-fi and intergalactic cosmic weirdness struck the perfect tone for me.

I just wish there was more!

I'm hereby starting a campaign to urge Joseph Pesavento make a full-length space-set horror story. He certainly has the chops for it.

Another fun read from a writer who continues to surprise me.

[Meghan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Would never gravitate towards a Sci-Fi novel but to support this new author I've been definitely going outside of my comfort zone. I applaud him on his creativity of this novel as a typical invasion of aliens is not as it is always portrayed in movies. I liked this read a lot and finished within a couple hours. If you are looking for a quick Sci-Fi read, I'd choose this one. Plus the cover is purple!

[Emelie L · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5 stars!

This book was very diffrent from what I usually read but I'm definitely here for it. This book has 3 diffrent story's about aliens and invasion, and they all entwine. I think my favourite one was the first story.

I really liked that they all connected at the end, it was a great detail that I didn't expect. Love the alien theme and Joseph's writing is really great! Will definitely check out more of his work that might be more up my alley with what I usually read, even tho this book was interesting and action packed!

[Stephanie Ortiz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very unique fast past sci-fi!! My favorite genre. 3 different stories that were unpredictable!

[Willow Webster · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked it. It was good. I liked how all 3 stories tied together. 5 Stars!

[Damaris Quinones · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book had me on the edge of my seat. The more I read the more I wanted to know what was going to happen next. I absolutely love how Joseph wrote this book. It has three stories and they are all interconnected.

The first story is about the first interaction between a life form trying to reach earth and the humans aboard a space shuttle. The second story is about the start of an alien invasion on earth. The last story is about the moments leading to the destruction of earth.

This was an absolutely awesome read. It was a short, entertaining and fast-paced read. I read this in a couple of hours and didn’t want it to end. I wish it was longer.

[Nicholas Stonehouse · Rating 5 out of 5]

I finished Dead Planet right after reading Three Body Problem which everyone seems to love but I thought the characters in Three Body were all selfish and annoying. I liked the characterization in Dead Planet where these were normal people who had step up to act heroic and how they did this in different ways.