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Symbiont
Book 1 of the Symbiont Trilogy
When Apoehl, the last of a race of benevolent and powerful aliens, comes to Earth to escape the war mongering Chilk, he is forced to abandon his failing body. To survive he must merge his life force with a human.
Jennifer has become the latest in a long line of hosts. Now she finds herself endowed with inhuman energy, in possession of the memories and strengths of those before her, and caught in a war.
It falls to Sam, the grizzled retired Marine now in command of a covert Government agency, and Paz, Sam's mountain-sized right-hand man, to protect her from Brett, who craves the power for himself and will do whatever it takes to get it.
But as Jennifer fights against her past and questions the person she is becoming, the greatest struggle could be with herself.
Together, Jennifer, Sam, Paz, and Brett will unfold and build the story of the conflict that will change them all and decide Apoehl's fate.
When Apoehl, the last of a race of benevolent and powerful aliens, comes to Earth to escape the war mongering Chilk, he is forced to abandon his failing body. To survive he must merge his life force with a human.
Jennifer has become the latest in a long line of hosts. Now she finds herself endowed with inhuman energy, in possession of the memories and strengths of those before her, and caught in a war.
It falls to Sam, the grizzled retired Marine now in command of a covert Government agency, and Paz, Sam's mountain-sized right-hand man, to protect her from Brett, who craves the power for himself and will do whatever it takes to get it.
But as Jennifer fights against her past and questions the person she is becoming, the greatest struggle could be with herself.
Together, Jennifer, Sam, Paz, and Brett will unfold and build the story of the conflict that will change them all and decide Apoehl's fate.
426 pages, Paperback
First published March 25, 2014
1 person is currently reading
530 people want to read
About the author
Alex D.T. Baker
3 books35 followersAlex D T Baker is a passionate Richmond, VA based science fiction and fantasy author whose stories weave together visionary worlds and compelling characters. Every character Alex creates carries a piece of his own life experiences while maintaining their own unique personality, making each journey resonate with authenticity and heart. Alex’s writing pays tribute to the storytelling styles of authors who first sparked his love for speculative fiction. Beyond literary influences, music plays an essential role in Alex’s creative process, shaping the mood, rhythm, and emotional depth of his narratives. With each story, Alex invites readers to travel the echoes of worlds and adventures that can only come from an overactive imagination, a love of all things Sci-Fi and Fantasy, and the consumption of far too many cold brew coffees.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
May 9, 2014
In this debute novel of Alex Baker, comes an extremely captivating story off an alien that bonds with a human to survive, both for the alien's race and the human's as well. The author entertains the reader will a truly evil genius, bent on consuming enough power to rule over everyone else. Both amazing points to a fantastic story. But it still fell a little short for me. I felt like the characters could have used a little bit more development, after a while all of them seemed to have a too similar sounding voice. I wish the alien that laid host to the main character, Jen, would have show more of its character as well, because they intrigued me. The sentance fragments were distracting at times, and made the story seem a little too choppy for me. My favorite character was Brett, because he is one of the better villians that I have read in some time, and loved that. All in all I would say that this is decent read, especially if you love power struggles between powerful aliens and crazed humans. Thanks again to Alex Baker for sending me this to read. I can hardly wait for the next installment!
June 28, 2017
I received a free copy from the author, Alex D.T. Baker. I enjoyed the book. It is about a woman that ends up with a symbitotic alien host inside her. There is a different race of aliens on the planet that are working with the woman's boss to capture this alien. The alien gives the woman otherworldy abilitites that help in the battles to come.
There were a few times when there was a missing word, which interrupted the flow of the story. Other than that, it was a quick and easy read. It captured the imagination well. I usually dislike changing from one characters POV to another. However, it worked for this story. It was nice to read the events as they happened from each of the four main characters POV's, without having to reread some action that had already happened.
The part I didn't like (and why I rated it at 4 stars) was that almost every chapter started in the "present" with the character going into a flashback to the begining, working towards the "present". I was confused a few times about where in the timeline of the story the action was taking place. It may have flowed better with the first part of Jennifer's story in the "present" happening as a prologue and then chapter 1 starting the story in a linear fashion without jumpping from past to present. But, I am not sure that would have worked with how it was written. Just a thought.
Overall, a good book that I would recommend to others.
There were a few times when there was a missing word, which interrupted the flow of the story. Other than that, it was a quick and easy read. It captured the imagination well. I usually dislike changing from one characters POV to another. However, it worked for this story. It was nice to read the events as they happened from each of the four main characters POV's, without having to reread some action that had already happened.
The part I didn't like (and why I rated it at 4 stars) was that almost every chapter started in the "present" with the character going into a flashback to the begining, working towards the "present". I was confused a few times about where in the timeline of the story the action was taking place. It may have flowed better with the first part of Jennifer's story in the "present" happening as a prologue and then chapter 1 starting the story in a linear fashion without jumpping from past to present. But, I am not sure that would have worked with how it was written. Just a thought.
Overall, a good book that I would recommend to others.
May 10, 2016
Science fiction is all about exploring plausible possibilities and extrapolating the present out to its logical extreme. In that regard, Symbiont checks all the boxes. But, regardless of genre, regardless of plot perfection, if a novel doesn’t offer believable, relatable characters, it won’t be a satisfying story. This isn’t a problem with Symbiont.
Even more than the very workable and intriguing plot, it’s the characters that drive the story and kept me reading. After finishing it, I find myself still thinking about the characters in odd moments, wondering how they’ll move past the events they endure. This, I think, is one of the best indicators of a good piece of writing.
Symbiont’s structure is interesting, with each section being told from the point of view of a different principle character. This never becomes confusing, however. Each character’s voice and personality is so well-defined, we hardly need the emblematic icon in each chapter heading to know who is telling this section of the tale—but that little visual indicator is welcome, all the same.
Though each character is drawn from an archetype of this genre, they never come across as stereotypes. The heroes are the best sort, flawed people who do the hard, dangerous thing regardless of their fears or misgivings, because the hard, dangerous thing is the right move to make for humanity as a whole.
Even the deliciously vile villain has his inner motivations and blind spots that keep him from becoming a caricature of humanity’s capacity for greed and evil, which makes him all the more horrifying. Making the reader think ‘There but for the grace of God…’ is always the best way to send a chill down the spine.
Despite this being the first of a series, the characters were allowed to come out of the far side of their experiences here with profound insights and permanent changes. That’s key to a good novel, but something that’s lacking in a lot of current series, which seem to be written more like a TV episode, where there’s no real defining changes allowed in the characters through the course of each installment.
I’m looking forward to the next novel, to follow these characters through another harrowing adventure dealing with the ramifications of the world-wide situation unleashed here.
Even more than the very workable and intriguing plot, it’s the characters that drive the story and kept me reading. After finishing it, I find myself still thinking about the characters in odd moments, wondering how they’ll move past the events they endure. This, I think, is one of the best indicators of a good piece of writing.
Symbiont’s structure is interesting, with each section being told from the point of view of a different principle character. This never becomes confusing, however. Each character’s voice and personality is so well-defined, we hardly need the emblematic icon in each chapter heading to know who is telling this section of the tale—but that little visual indicator is welcome, all the same.
Though each character is drawn from an archetype of this genre, they never come across as stereotypes. The heroes are the best sort, flawed people who do the hard, dangerous thing regardless of their fears or misgivings, because the hard, dangerous thing is the right move to make for humanity as a whole.
Even the deliciously vile villain has his inner motivations and blind spots that keep him from becoming a caricature of humanity’s capacity for greed and evil, which makes him all the more horrifying. Making the reader think ‘There but for the grace of God…’ is always the best way to send a chill down the spine.
Despite this being the first of a series, the characters were allowed to come out of the far side of their experiences here with profound insights and permanent changes. That’s key to a good novel, but something that’s lacking in a lot of current series, which seem to be written more like a TV episode, where there’s no real defining changes allowed in the characters through the course of each installment.
I’m looking forward to the next novel, to follow these characters through another harrowing adventure dealing with the ramifications of the world-wide situation unleashed here.
March 28, 2014
I received an advanced copy of this book for editorial support, and am giving an honest opinion.
I gave this book a 5 star rating for two reasons. One, the writing is beyond good. There aren't any lags in the story line. It is interesting and entertaining from cover to cover. One of my favorite things about the writing is the dry humor and sarcasm that comes through at times that adds a levity to the writing - telling you that this author isn't stuffy but he does it in such a way that you know he takes the craft seriously. The other reason I loved this story is that I DO NO READ SCI-FI, but I thoroughly enjoyed this story. There is nothing at all that would have ever made me think I would like to read this type of story - while I read a very wide variety of books, from biography and history all the way to erotica, sci-fi has never been a go-to category for me. Not only did I enjoy reading this book, the first thing that hit my brain after I finished was - please tell me this isn't all there will be. Not because there is a cliff-hanger, but because I really wanted to see where the characters go from here. This is definitely a "must read" in my opinion.
I gave this book a 5 star rating for two reasons. One, the writing is beyond good. There aren't any lags in the story line. It is interesting and entertaining from cover to cover. One of my favorite things about the writing is the dry humor and sarcasm that comes through at times that adds a levity to the writing - telling you that this author isn't stuffy but he does it in such a way that you know he takes the craft seriously. The other reason I loved this story is that I DO NO READ SCI-FI, but I thoroughly enjoyed this story. There is nothing at all that would have ever made me think I would like to read this type of story - while I read a very wide variety of books, from biography and history all the way to erotica, sci-fi has never been a go-to category for me. Not only did I enjoy reading this book, the first thing that hit my brain after I finished was - please tell me this isn't all there will be. Not because there is a cliff-hanger, but because I really wanted to see where the characters go from here. This is definitely a "must read" in my opinion.
May 2, 2016
I pinched this book from my partner as I was intrigued by the synopsis, even though I have a few books on my own to read list, and I must say I wasn't disappointed. The first few chapters are hard to transition between because each of the early chapters is a new first-person narrative and it took me a while to realise that the 'author' had changed. However, these introductions to the minds of the main characters quickly enable us to have a good understanding of their personalities and it becomes easy to recognise who the author is as the book progresses.
I broke my own rule of only taking kindle books away on holiday as I couldn't wait to finish the book and I thoroughly enjoyed it ..... although am hopeful that the ending will allow a follow up that I shall look forward to borrowing again!
Happy to recommend!
I broke my own rule of only taking kindle books away on holiday as I couldn't wait to finish the book and I thoroughly enjoyed it ..... although am hopeful that the ending will allow a follow up that I shall look forward to borrowing again!
Happy to recommend!
June 9, 2016
Thanks to Alex Baker for sending me this to read.
It is an extremely captivating story off an alien that bonds with a human to survive, both for the alien's race and the human's as well. But it still fell a little short for me. I felt like the characters could have used a little bit more development. I wish the alien that laid host to the main character, Jen, would have show more of its character as well, because they intrigued me.
Symbiont’s structure is interesting, with each section being told from the point of view of a different principle character. This never becomes confusing, however. Each character’s voice and personality is so well-defined and the introductions to the minds of the main characters quickly enable us to have a good understanding of their personalities.
Story line will keep you interested. It is interesting and entertaining from cover to cover.
It is an extremely captivating story off an alien that bonds with a human to survive, both for the alien's race and the human's as well. But it still fell a little short for me. I felt like the characters could have used a little bit more development. I wish the alien that laid host to the main character, Jen, would have show more of its character as well, because they intrigued me.
Symbiont’s structure is interesting, with each section being told from the point of view of a different principle character. This never becomes confusing, however. Each character’s voice and personality is so well-defined and the introductions to the minds of the main characters quickly enable us to have a good understanding of their personalities.
Story line will keep you interested. It is interesting and entertaining from cover to cover.
August 31, 2014
First I will say: Story line will keep you interested. Once you get used to the fact you are reading from different character viewpoints it's easier to go along with the story. Stick with it and you'll finish off a nice sci-fi read.
Second I will say: Should have gone through a better editing process. The typos, grammar inconsistencies, choppy nature of many of the chapters really detracts from the fact that this really is a good story to read through.
Second I will say: Should have gone through a better editing process. The typos, grammar inconsistencies, choppy nature of many of the chapters really detracts from the fact that this really is a good story to read through.
August 7, 2014
Won this here on Goodreads. Took me a while to read. Not sure why. Perhaps the format - each chapter is in the voice of a specific character, so a lot of the action is repeated from a different perspective. Good story. I really like this book. Well written. Characters developed well. Alien life form that melds with a human, due to its species dying out. Lots more to the story.
June 9, 2016
I wasn't able to connect to any of the characters, I really didn't care for any of them. The point of view was muddled for me. I was really looking forward to reading Symbiont but it was just a big miss for me.
April 30, 2017
This was very well written but was not the symbiotic time travel that I expected.
did-not-finish
June 30, 2017I really really tried...but I just couldn't get into it.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews