Twilight Visitor

by Réal Laplaine, Cindy Anderson (Illustrator)

Mateus Cordozo has just returned to his hometown of Afife, Portugal, a short vacation where he hopes to reconcile his midlife crisis, what he sees as his failure as a man - far from his "normal" life as a bioengineer back in Sweden. With two bottles of wine, cheese and freshly baked bread, he finds a secluded spot on a blustery beach where he is certain that no one will interrupt his soul-searching. His solitude is interrupted when a beautiful woman, almost too perfect, appears and asks to sit with him. Mateus is beside himself, because women rarely ever show any interest in him. Their conversation soon hits a brick wall when she announces her true purpose in seeking him out, which sends Cordozo into a mental spin, adamantly rejecting her claims as ridiculous and outlandish, at which he promptly ends their conversation. He tries to forget the bizarre dialogue, but everywhere he goes, people and the media, are talking about nothing else. His inner demons strike back, compelling him to take the "safe road", the story of his life, and the very reason he now finds himself in Afife and standing on the precipice. Should he take the leap of faith? Should he believe the stranger? Or should he take the "safe bet" and just crawl back into his shell? As the zero-hour nears, he must act before it is too late - but will he?


"This is a fast paced read but the plot contains complex ideas which adds a depth to the book. Full of action and real life scenarios this is one of those books you can spend hours reading without realizing where the time has gone. There are plenty of surprises and twists. This book will appeal to crime and science fiction fans. And will also interest those intrigued by geopolitical themes."
The Portugal News

"The story races along with pace of a Tom Clancy thriller but the depth of the plot is rich in complexities philosophical ideas. Highly recommended for readers who like fast paced thrillers but with an ingenious twist."


"I definitely recommend Twilight Visitor by Real Laplaine as a five star read to all audiences fond of international political thrillers. It has an awesome, suspenseful plot that can be described as an out of this world political intrigue!"


“… a high concept thriller that is comparable with the best of Dan Brown or Jack Higgins.”
Novelist, David Luddington

Genres: Thriller

200 pages, Paperback

First published August 27, 2014

About the author

"The truth is the only thing that nobody will believe."
- George Bernard Shaw

​​​"Freedom is the right to tell people what they do not want to hear."
​- George Orwell, author of 1984

I write high-concept thrillers, literary fiction, action-packed thrill rides, weaved around issues affecting our world today, which pull back the curtain to expose deeper truths behind the facade of mediocrity, the lies and stories we are fed to keep us from seeing the real picture. As far as literary fiction goes, I like to delve into what makes my characters tick, giving the reader a closer sense of identity with them and what motivates them, what their inner demons or the voice of their soul is saying. I am a true believer that we are, individually and collectively speaking, capable of producing a great culture where war, racism, inequality and the insane imbalance of wealth and resources in the world are largely things of the past, and where the collective and individual social consciousness is raised to a level where society focuses on equality, potential, creativity, tolerance and love - the true elements of advance. There are billions of galaxies out there beyond our tiny planet, waiting to be explored, and in them, other races to be met – and to reach them, the road ahead must be paved with the stones of a higher culture, a greater humanity, something we are capable of achieving if we push the edges of the box we find ourselves living in and reach for those stars.

Born in French-Canada, and later growing up in Ontario, Canada, Réal Laplaine's sense of adventure sent him on many bicycling trips at a young age. At sixteen he was flying single engine planes and by eighteen, he and his best friend hitchhiked across Canada into some of the remotest parts of the nation, to the Yukon and Alaska, a trip that profoundly changed him. After reading Jonathan Livingston Seagull, by Richard Bach, he set himself on a journey to find deeper meaning in life, a journey, after a long career in marketing, recruiting and sales, landed him where he truly wanted to be - a writer. Since his first book, The Buffalo Kid, he has published fourteen other books and sees no end to that road - at least until the road comes to an end.
- George Orwell, author of 1984

Réal Laplaine
Author of high-concept thrillers
www.reallaplaine.com

Reviews

[Reading Corner · Rating 3 out of 5]

Twilight Visitor was definitely not what I expected, the novel unravelled to become much more than just a story about a possible World War Three between Iran and China. The story centres around Mateus Cordozo, political figures and innocent civilians. The constant switch in perspective offers an interesting insight to everything that was going on from literally every perspective.

The glimpse into the impact the coming disaster has on civilians was my favorite narrative, as I enjoyed the first person view into what was really going on. The background insight into numerous Presidents and Prime Ministers was another gripping narrative as you could sympathise with their struggle to decide what to do. However, I do think there could have been more scenes with Mateus and I think he should have been more involved with the action.

The writing was beautifully constructed with some great lines that were highly-crafted, easily painting an image in my head. I thoroughly enjoyed the prose and it was one of the best elements of the book in my opinion.

I like sci-fi but I wasn't fond of the sci-fi element in this book and how it entangled the mysterious stranger as it was just too convenient and simplified the story. I did like the fact it wasn't too cliche and the description at the end as it was easy to understand and fascinating but I don't think it fit in.

Thank you to the author for sending my this book, it's definitely a thrilling novel but I do think it'd be better without the sci-fi element.

[Leonor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Disclaimer: Thank you Réal Laplaine for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: 3,5 cups/stars

Twilight Visitor was a rather surprising book. I was sent this book by the author himself and one of the main reasons I accepted it was the fact that part of the book is set in Portugal AND that one of the main characters is indeed Portuguese. I was rather curious to read a geopolitical thriller with a Portuguese character since this sort of books normally focus on the American hero.

Twilight Visitor is a thriller, a geopolitical book with a sci-fi twist. Yes, I know, not my normal genre of book to read but sometimes it feels rather enlightening to step out of our comfort zone and read something different. Though politics and myself don’t get along that well, I found the way that Réal Laplaine explained it simply beautiful and very simple, easy to understand.

The best way to resume this book is simply to say that this deals with the human worry of a possible World War Three happening due to the lack of natural resources. Let’s be honest, I think we all are terrified of a possible nuclear war in the future, a war that might happen for different reasons but all connected to the same thing. At least I know I am.

The Portuguese character is called Mateus and is spending time in Afife, in the Portuguese coast. I myself admit never having been there before but now I am slightly curious. He is an important piece of the puzzle to solve the worldwide crises and China from attacking further and to stop the incoming war.

The writing style of Twilight Visitor was really well done. I found that the prose fluid smoothly and Laplaine has a way of explaining things that are quite, as I mentioned, simple yet with this beauty to yet that is almost hypnotic. I admit that one of main reasons I enjoyed this book that much was the writing.

This book is not centred on Mateus though but on all the political people involved in this war theatre happening. We can read the struggle of an American President with the decision to whether help Iran or to let China attack innocent people; of China’s leader cruel intentions of rescuing resources for his own country; of important figures worldwide trying to decide what to do in this moment of darkness. And there were also chapters which presented us innocent people in the middle of all of this who can’t escape fate. The countdown to the inevitable end was told like this, switching from one point-of-view to the other and that had me on the edge.

I dare say that I was only slightly disappointed with Mateus role in all of this. I guess I was expecting him to have one of those super-heroes roles where he travels the world to stop the war. Instead he spends most of the book in Afife contemplating what to do since he was told that only him could save Earth.

Also, I have to be honest and say that despite the fact that Mateus is the great hero in the end (despite it all), he didn’t do it all alone and that small detail kind of disappointed me slightly. Even though that sci-fi twist gave this book an element of intensity and explained a few things, I found it slightly far-stretched. The fact that Mateus needed the help of a certain character (seriously, I was surprised about this twist and I’m not spilling the beans) kind of erased his credibility as an engineer. Still, I really enjoyed that character quite a lot and I think that together they could be a nice duo in future stories.

Overall Twilight Visitor was a captivating book that deals with a current fear that the whole world feels with a slice of sci-fi thrown into it. The writing style, the characters that were strong and human enough to make the story believable and the heart-pounding thriller countdown to know how is the world to stop an upcoming war was the best thing about this book. If you like books with politics, the constant survival of the human race then this book is for you.

[Kim · Rating 2 out of 5]

won this book in a 1st reads giveaway. very hard time getting into the book. so I had to stop reading it. will pick up at a later date. then re-review.

[Victoria Ichizli-Bartels · Rating 5 out of 5]

As for The Buffallo Kid, The Twilight Visitor made me again intrigued in the science fiction thrillers, which I thought were not interesting for me. But Réal Laplaine's books proved the opposite. What I liked about the Twilight Visitor is how human and how realistic all the villains in the book are. And that they are not quite villains (except only one). And how we are all driven by our emotions, how our thoughts are just thoughts and how they might fool us in our goals for the better, when the truth is completely different. I also liked how the story is set up: one man saving the world within one day and not leaving the spot he is at. In our global and internet connected world this is realistic and I liked how this was shown in the book. The news article style for some of the chapters also appealed very much to me and added to the suspense and the pace. I recommend the book to everyone whatever genre you prefer, also because the book illustrates very well how relative and fragile our thoughts, convictions and truths are.

[Dee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thoughtful, thought-provoking & very well written. I very much enjoyed this stylish thriller. It was a pleasure to read such elegant prose. I found the writing finely tuned and balanced, and the clauses nicely nestled. I wish more writers could pull off longer sentences like these. I also loved that I could sense the paragraph points building and being made. That's what I call real suspense -- at the level of language itself.

The story had me hooked as well. At every stage, I was curious to see how everything would relate and what would happen next. When I got to one of the scenes set in Beijing (not that I'm giving the story away here), I found myself crying at the sheer poignancy and beauty of the scene. No spoilers, but let's just say you're in for an emotional and deeply moving sense our shared humanity.

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an awesome book!Things like visitors coming to us to help solve world problems would be the coolest thing ever to have happen to us.We all need to all work together to keep what we have and/or to make what we have better and livable once things have gone down hill.It kept me captivated until the last page and is definitely a five star thriller.

[Bobbie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book more than I thought I would since the story involves a geopolitical/warfare story line - not my usual reading fare. But there's more to the book than that, there's the mysterious alien visitor and spiritual/philosophical themes, and even the more realistic aspects of the story merge together in smoothly written prose, which made this a pleasantly surprising read.

3.5 stars

[Stanley Townsend · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three stars is generous. There are lots of things that bothered me. Just unbelievable, though I've liked lots of unbelievable books. This one just wasn't that interesting.

[Mortimer Roxbrough · Rating 5 out of 5]

***** 5 star

Twilight Visitor – Réal Laplaine

Twilight Visitor is a political thriller that will have you reading furiously with your heart in your mouth for 180 breathtaking pages. Filled with real three dimensional characters and a very plausible political scenario the pace never lets up and the narrative is both gripping and filled with succinct analogies and vivid metaphors. Though written in Americanese the influence does not spoil what is a literary masterpiece from this very accomplished novelist. Sensibly priced by Netherworld books this novel is fairly short and can be read in two sittings, but this only serves to make it seem all the more immediate for that reason. Intensely and accurately researched the unsettling thing about the story is just how conceivable in today's political arena the basic premiss proves to be. I was gripped for forty-four stunning chapters and I am not a political thriller aficionado. To take me out of my genre comfort zone and with such a satisfactory entertainment Laplaine needs to be thoroughly congratulated and my five-star rating is only what it is because I could not give it six. Quite brilliant. If you have not yet read any Laplainé start with this one, it will have you looking for more.

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thought-provoking & very well written. I very much enjoyed this stylish thriller. It was a pleasure to read such elegant prose. I found the writing finely tuned and balanced.
This book is great for people who enjoy politics and military stuff - it has a lot of those things, but it doesn't go too much in depth, so people who aren't too into that can enjoy.
I liked his ET visitor and the possible story she brings. I want to know more about her and her people, which may happen in the next book - the end of this one actually said "The Beginning" instead of "The End", which is something I haven't seen before.
I received this book for free through Goodreads Giveaways.

[Thierry Robelin · Rating 3 out of 5]

The plot is interesting although if you give it a deeper analysis, it does not really hold together. The character development, however, is so childish as to be pathetic, which completely ruins the story.
And again, I have remained appalled at how reviewers readily give five stars to a novel. What kind of measuring meter do people use for evaluating a book? In fact, I rely much more on low stars reviews as they usually give a better analysis. Five star reviews usually limit themselves to hollow phrases as "must read", "great story", and so on without explaining why.

[Steve Martinson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a pretty good, little book. It brought quite a few elements together coherently, despite the short length. The ending was quite unique, but things would never happen in that type of timeline. Also, for such a short book, the "hero" takes way too long to make his decision. If the author had fleshed this out more, and made it considerably longer, I'm sure I would have rated it higher.

[John · Rating 1 out of 5]

I am writing this review for Goodreads. If the system would have allowed it I would have given this book zero stars. It is slow moving, pedantic, and dull. The best thing I can say for it is that it is short being only 204 pages. The characters are stiff and not likable, the writing is stilted. Be kind to the forest, publish no more copies of this book.

[Howard Katzoff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very different story!

The theme of this story was definitely a different feel than most of the books I enjoy. It's quite unique and well worth reading.

[Frank · Rating 4 out of 5]

Update

Twilight Visitor asks the question "Would you stop a world war if your could?" Well, Mateus Cordoza, with a couple of friends - an mysterious woman and an old girlfriend, tries to answer the question. As a major world power invades another country for control of oil fields, the rest of the world watches, ponderwhat to do. Mateus and the world ponder the philosophical and political implications of what is occurring. The suspense in the story builds nicely from beginning to end.

I enjoyed the writing and the story but several points bothered me: a claim that sea water can be usable after just being sand filtered, the old girlfriend who instantly believes the mysterious woman's story, and the ability to disable a nuclear warhead near the end of its trajectory where there could be a radio dead zone due to re-entry (or was it a cruise missile vice an ICBM). I found the addition of another impending doom brought forth in the last section of the book seemed forced and unnecessary to the story.

[Lyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is great for people who enjoy politics and military stuff - it has a lot of those things, but it doesn't go too much in depth, so people who aren't too into that can enjoy it, too. I thought it was great that it switched points of view so often, so we could see firsthand what was going on all around the world in the time of crisis. My favorite part of the book was the chapters with Mateus - I liked his ET visitor and the possible story she brings. I want to know more about her and her people, which may happen in the next book - the end of this one actually said "The Beginning" instead of "The End", which is something I haven't seen before.
Note: I received this book for free through Goodreads Giveaways.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won this book on Goodreads Giveaway. I just had a hard time getting into it. It went from China to Iran, back and forth. I didn't like giving a 2 but the book didn't work for me.

[Iris · Rating 2 out of 5]

Stuck in the middle on this one. I'll have to come back to it.