Alien Within

by Karen Forrester

Sandi is an Earthling–or is she? Sandi believes she is, despite the gaps in her memory and her ability to sense the thoughts and emotions of others. She thinks she’s alone until she meets Bern, who has similar abilities. Bern is a member of the Combine, an alien criminal organization that’s in the process of taking over the United States. She's worried the Combine no longer trusts her and has sent Sandi after her. They didn’t tell her about this unknown telepath. Why else would they be keeping secrets from her? The truth about Sandi’s identity has repercussions that reach from Earth to a planet light years away.

Genres: Queer

276 pages, Paperback

First published July 20, 2014

About the author

I write science fiction and fantasy that's about people, not technology.

Reviews

[Alex Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received a copy of this book courtesy of First Reads in exchange for an honest review.

Overall not a half bad book: the main characters had a fair amount of depth, the storyline was mostly interesting, and the science fiction universe was creative enough to satisfy my tastes. My favorite part of the book was definitely the relationship between Bern and Sandi. I thought the author developed their bond well enough to make the ending that much better. I also enjoyed the lame jokes that characters cracked throughout the story, gave the book some personality that I think can be lacking in the sci-fi genre.

However, there were a few things that definitely kept this book away from my favorite sci-fi of all time. The first thing was the pacing. At times I felt as if the book was strapped to a Ferrari tearing down a highway, while at others I was shaking my head at the crawling pace of the plot.

The other part of the book that really irked me was the nature of the "big plot twist". Poorly set-up, and I was more annoyed than anything at it. I know that was extremely vague, but I don't want to give anything away.

I'm not sure who I would recommend this book to. Probably wouldn't interest any hard-core science fictions readers, but I can't see it becoming a book for the masses either. I guess those people that fall somewhere in between would be the most suitable audience. Whoever you are, I would still recommend giving it a try.

[Darlene · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay. This was more like it. A sci-fi with strong female leads. Other planets and peoples. Bad people that want to take over the Earth. All happening while we get to know a nice main character, Sandi.

I am having trouble avoiding spoilers. I guess all I can say is read it for yourself. Especially if you love sci-fi with strong females. Warning: there are LGBTQ themes, but not in ways that are overwhelming. Just the right amount for folks that are more advanced than our current population in ways of love.

This edition was given to me during an author giveaway for free-4-reviews. I feel so lucky that I was able to read it. It was fun. I miss it already! I look forward to a possible book two, please, please, please. I will read Karen Forrester's book Inner Mind/Outer Space, just to keep the good feelings alive that I got from Alien Within.

By the way, these two books I placed in my Moon Reader Pro so that my tablet could use its text-to-speech. I do love that program. It makes reading faster and easier for me.

So, sci-fi friends, please seek these books out and enjoy!

[Di · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sandi is a girl who has weird abilities since she can remember (and she can’t remember the first 10 years of her childhood), and one day, a shattering event will turn her life upside down, bringing her to a road of self discovery and revelations that will take you through the most important journey of her life. So far!

Forrester creates an interesting Sci-Fi world of plots and conspiracies, and in the end, you never know who you can really trust. Will Sandi be able to realize on time who is on her side and who’s the bad guy?

The author approaches subjects such as gender and LGBT issues in a hilarious but insightful way. The discrimination between adepts and neutrals makes you think about the similarities of this intergalactic universe to our own situation here in Planet Earth.

Saudi’s quirky sense of humor and the songs that constantly get stuck in her head help the characters cope humorously with the dire situations they have to affront.

Can’t wait to see what happens with the Combine!

[Karen Forrester · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a reader, I love Alien Within because it has likeable characters, an engaging story, suspense, humor, and a little romance. As a feminist and a queer, I appreciate the fact that the book has strong women characters, and pushes gender boundaries. As the author, I love the book because it was satisfying and fun to write. I especially had fun giving two of the characters pieces of my own weird sense of humor and giving the book a soundtrack as though it were a movie. I also loved the fact that once I developed and understood my characters sufficiently, they sometimes took over my brain and took scenes in a direction that made sense for them but wasn't necessarily what I'd planned.

[Giordahno · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sandi is a character that I welcomed, her personality was perfectly blended into the storyline. This scify book was not what I may be used to reading but surely entertaining. There are more things I'd like to discuss but would rather not give anything away other than this female character is certainly one of a kind. Was glad t receive in a good reads giveaway sometime back.

[Whoopy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not badly written at all but absolutely not my cup of tea. I am not into futuristic sci-fi themes. I can not even follow the events. Happy to have read it because now I am sure that I will not again read such book.

[Alaina Maxam · Rating 5 out of 5]

I REALLY ENJOYED THIS BOOK. THE FIRST PART OF THIS BOOK WAS KINDA FREAKY BECAUSE I LIVE IN NEBRASKA. ALL IN ALL IT HAS A STORY LINE THAT FLOWS PERFECTLY AND DRAWS YOU IN NO MATTER WHERE YOU LIVE,