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Emissary
"Rogers writes with confidence and authority about everything from African politics to Houston police procedure to Mexican drug gangs. There's plenty of action, and the book is populated with interesting characters from political figures to tattoo artists. Check this one out when you're looking for a real slam-bang change of pace." -Bill Crider, author of the Dan Rhodes mystery series
"At the very beginning of this story, I was reminded of ‘The Host’ by Stephanie Meyers but soon the similarities were dismissed. Many of the characters in Emissary captured my heart…they seemed very real! Other characters reminded me of how evil and corrupt many are in our present world…For more curious readers, it stimulates curiosity to the last page." -Rockin' Book Reviews
On a desperate mission to save his entire race from extinction, Emissary Ruell travels to Earth equipped with his two most powerful bargaining currencies -- health and longevity -- hoping to convince the most powerful leader in the free world that collaboration can save both of their civilizations. Having no way to communicate directly with humans, Ruell must inhabit President Addison Hale's body to carry out his mission.
He quickly discovers, however, that humans are more complex and volatile than anticipated. Only after admitting defeat does he encounter Kirk Longshadow, a cop who has nothing left to lose--who might be Ruell's last chance.
"At the very beginning of this story, I was reminded of ‘The Host’ by Stephanie Meyers but soon the similarities were dismissed. Many of the characters in Emissary captured my heart…they seemed very real! Other characters reminded me of how evil and corrupt many are in our present world…For more curious readers, it stimulates curiosity to the last page." -Rockin' Book Reviews
On a desperate mission to save his entire race from extinction, Emissary Ruell travels to Earth equipped with his two most powerful bargaining currencies -- health and longevity -- hoping to convince the most powerful leader in the free world that collaboration can save both of their civilizations. Having no way to communicate directly with humans, Ruell must inhabit President Addison Hale's body to carry out his mission.
He quickly discovers, however, that humans are more complex and volatile than anticipated. Only after admitting defeat does he encounter Kirk Longshadow, a cop who has nothing left to lose--who might be Ruell's last chance.
434 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 2, 2014
275 people want to read
About the author
Chris Rogers
97 books20 followersChris Rogers was born in Texas and raised in the days of EC Comics and “B” horror flicks that could chill you down to your funny bones. She resides in a small community within commute of the four major Texas metropolises, where she ghostwrites business books and memoirs while turning out her own novels and short stories. Chris has taught mystery writing at the Rice University School of Continuing Studies, the University of Houston and in private master classes. Her students have received numerous awards and acknowledgements for their works. After a career in graphic design, Chris became a writer the easy way: She read voraciously and filled blank pages with drivel until her fingers cramped and her brain defected. Eventually, she learned to craft a decipherable sentence. Author of the Dixie Flannigan series, Bitch Factor, Rage Factor, Chill Factor and Slice of Life, Chris has published stories and essays in, among others, Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine and Writer’s Digest.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
December 5, 2014
The book description really caught my attention on this one. I really like science fiction, especially ones that have that possibility, that make you think and wonder 'Could this really happen?'
This is one of those books. Ruell comes from another planet and enters our president's mind. He sits back and observes, watching things that happen through her eyes, all while feeling her emotions and hearing her inner thoughts, learning more about humans. And all this is in hopes to not only save his people, but ours as well.
This is a well-written, exciting adventure with lots of things going on: President Addison Hale and what she is dealing with; Ruell, learning about us, remembering what his mentor Kralaill told him, and trying to figure out his next steps; and Kirk Longshadow, a police officer who we first meet when he notices a lady walking along a city street with a bow and arrow. Seeing how all of this comes together in the end was great and the whole storyline kept me interested. And all of the characters were great - I loved the way the author describes them.
If you're into science fiction with some suspense and "mystery," this is definitely a book for you to give a try. :)
Note: I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.
This is one of those books. Ruell comes from another planet and enters our president's mind. He sits back and observes, watching things that happen through her eyes, all while feeling her emotions and hearing her inner thoughts, learning more about humans. And all this is in hopes to not only save his people, but ours as well.
This is a well-written, exciting adventure with lots of things going on: President Addison Hale and what she is dealing with; Ruell, learning about us, remembering what his mentor Kralaill told him, and trying to figure out his next steps; and Kirk Longshadow, a police officer who we first meet when he notices a lady walking along a city street with a bow and arrow. Seeing how all of this comes together in the end was great and the whole storyline kept me interested. And all of the characters were great - I loved the way the author describes them.
If you're into science fiction with some suspense and "mystery," this is definitely a book for you to give a try. :)
Note: I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.
September 16, 2016
https://anaslair.wordpress.com/2016/0...
I am quite demanding on books involving alien races because I feel that if they are alien and claim that everything Human is so darn odd because it is so different from what they are then they should come across as completely different. While there was some attempt to do that here, it felt forced, because human terms and analogies kept being used, like becoming a sponge to absorb knowledge or eating crackers by the stream.
As the narrative evolved, I only got glimpses and pieces of the world this emissary came from and although they were incredible creative it all really just sounded like a device to tell a completely different story. It took the entirety of the book for me to realize what Ruell had been telling the whole time and not exactly showing, in my opinion - that the Szhen were once like Humans, that they had evolved into something more, that he was actually quite young. Again, I was told those things but they never really sunk in because it didn't sound true, for some reason.
The writing put me off as well, as the sentences were unnecessary long and there was quite a lot of info dumping. There were many characters and many subplots. The entire story seemed unnecessary long, quite frankly. It dragged on for quite a while in particular places.
The ending was predictable and I never got to know one thing that had bothered me and that the president actually voiced towards the end but never achieved any resolution.
Emissary was not without interest. The narrative evolved in a fairly interesting manner because one minute we are in space and the next we are at Earth dealing with international crisis and getting to know a cop who suffered great losses in his life. That guy is the anchor to what the reader might consider normal, so he provided a good balance. We are also taken almost around the globe, from North America, to Africa, to South America. The highlights for me were definitely the descriptions of Szhen life and Ruell's reactions to what surrounded him, even if for a minute everything seemed to have a 'spicy' quality to it.
However, I had expected a sci-fi story and was instead presented with a political mystery sprinkled with a touch of sci-fi, where I could not even relate to the characters. I mean, how could the White House staff not only be on first name basis but also a few of them have been close friends with the president? I don't know, the utter sense of informality did not feel realistic to me and the dialogues felt so stilted. Everyone was so chummy and driven to do and be good.
And our cop guy, everything came to him to easily. There was so much that could have gone wrong, so many new people he came across and depended on that could have turned out to be scum with their own agendas but things just kept flowing for him.
So even though I felt the premise was interesting and there were a few engaging bits, overall it just didn't convince me or keep me very interesting throughout the experience.
Disclaimer: I would like to thank the publisher and Netgalley for providing me a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
I am quite demanding on books involving alien races because I feel that if they are alien and claim that everything Human is so darn odd because it is so different from what they are then they should come across as completely different. While there was some attempt to do that here, it felt forced, because human terms and analogies kept being used, like becoming a sponge to absorb knowledge or eating crackers by the stream.
As the narrative evolved, I only got glimpses and pieces of the world this emissary came from and although they were incredible creative it all really just sounded like a device to tell a completely different story. It took the entirety of the book for me to realize what Ruell had been telling the whole time and not exactly showing, in my opinion - that the Szhen were once like Humans, that they had evolved into something more, that he was actually quite young. Again, I was told those things but they never really sunk in because it didn't sound true, for some reason.
The writing put me off as well, as the sentences were unnecessary long and there was quite a lot of info dumping. There were many characters and many subplots. The entire story seemed unnecessary long, quite frankly. It dragged on for quite a while in particular places.
The ending was predictable and I never got to know one thing that had bothered me and that the president actually voiced towards the end but never achieved any resolution.
Emissary was not without interest. The narrative evolved in a fairly interesting manner because one minute we are in space and the next we are at Earth dealing with international crisis and getting to know a cop who suffered great losses in his life. That guy is the anchor to what the reader might consider normal, so he provided a good balance. We are also taken almost around the globe, from North America, to Africa, to South America. The highlights for me were definitely the descriptions of Szhen life and Ruell's reactions to what surrounded him, even if for a minute everything seemed to have a 'spicy' quality to it.
However, I had expected a sci-fi story and was instead presented with a political mystery sprinkled with a touch of sci-fi, where I could not even relate to the characters. I mean, how could the White House staff not only be on first name basis but also a few of them have been close friends with the president? I don't know, the utter sense of informality did not feel realistic to me and the dialogues felt so stilted. Everyone was so chummy and driven to do and be good.
And our cop guy, everything came to him to easily. There was so much that could have gone wrong, so many new people he came across and depended on that could have turned out to be scum with their own agendas but things just kept flowing for him.
So even though I felt the premise was interesting and there were a few engaging bits, overall it just didn't convince me or keep me very interesting throughout the experience.
Disclaimer: I would like to thank the publisher and Netgalley for providing me a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
December 4, 2015
I get the feeling the sequel for this book would be more interesting than the first book. That's what it felt, an entire book just to set up for something cool in the second book. For now you will have to drag on reading The Emissary, thinking "I hope it ends soon so I can get the sequel!"
I also don't understand why people call this book "science fiction" it's a detective story were each chapter is punctuated by an alien going "and that's what happened to our hero...and there was nothing I could do about it, next chapter" is that how it works? Put an alien at the end of Sherlock Holmes, make it said "the end" and call it science fiction?
Again I think in the sequel they could exploit this relationship between the protagonist and the alien. Make it a cool detective alien solving crimes or something maybe sprinkle a bit more "science fiction" like a A LOT more. Also you could just skip this book and wait for the next one.
I also don't understand why people call this book "science fiction" it's a detective story were each chapter is punctuated by an alien going "and that's what happened to our hero...and there was nothing I could do about it, next chapter" is that how it works? Put an alien at the end of Sherlock Holmes, make it said "the end" and call it science fiction?
Again I think in the sequel they could exploit this relationship between the protagonist and the alien. Make it a cool detective alien solving crimes or something maybe sprinkle a bit more "science fiction" like a A LOT more. Also you could just skip this book and wait for the next one.
December 2, 2014
A digital copy of this book was provided to me in exchange for an honest review.
This book is a super-cool mix of adventure, sci fi and action. There are multiple threads and characters to follow. First there is this non-earthling, Emissary Ruell who arrives on Earth, and because his race cannot communicate with earthlings, takes over the President's form. He is here to stop his people from getting doomed. The President, Addison, has no idea of this alien invasion into her body, and is blissfully oblivious, focusing her energies on her immediate problems - if she loses the election, she believes she would letting down and giving into the stereotyped notion of who can and cannot rule the country. To add to her woes, her ally, the Vice President, has been taken hostage in another continent. Each of these protaganists has their own motives and agendas. Will these two join forces to save their respective worlds and lives, or will they become adversaries, is what the book takes us through.
Although the reader could feel that the book drags on in a few places and might wish that the narration was more pacy, the nice plot makes up for it. The author weaves a multi-dimension story, involving politics, sci fi, emotions and motives. The characterisation of Addison is remarkable - denoting the pull of the dilemma between doing what she wants to, and what she needs to.
I would recommend this book to lovers of sci-fi and adventures.
My rating for this book: 3.5 stars
This book is a super-cool mix of adventure, sci fi and action. There are multiple threads and characters to follow. First there is this non-earthling, Emissary Ruell who arrives on Earth, and because his race cannot communicate with earthlings, takes over the President's form. He is here to stop his people from getting doomed. The President, Addison, has no idea of this alien invasion into her body, and is blissfully oblivious, focusing her energies on her immediate problems - if she loses the election, she believes she would letting down and giving into the stereotyped notion of who can and cannot rule the country. To add to her woes, her ally, the Vice President, has been taken hostage in another continent. Each of these protaganists has their own motives and agendas. Will these two join forces to save their respective worlds and lives, or will they become adversaries, is what the book takes us through.
Although the reader could feel that the book drags on in a few places and might wish that the narration was more pacy, the nice plot makes up for it. The author weaves a multi-dimension story, involving politics, sci fi, emotions and motives. The characterisation of Addison is remarkable - denoting the pull of the dilemma between doing what she wants to, and what she needs to.
I would recommend this book to lovers of sci-fi and adventures.
My rating for this book: 3.5 stars
March 5, 2015
Emissary by Chris Rogers took a long while to pick up, but ended up being a good book. Ignoring the generic RPG name for the protagonist, "Longshadow", he definitely is a character that is difficult to like at first. All he does is whine, drink, and complain. I really struggled through the first part because it kept switching between uninteresting politics and characters, to Longshadows depressing thoughts and behavior. I think Chris Rogers could have spent less time on the introduction and focused more on Longshadow and Ruell. Honestly at least half of the first part could have been cut out completely. After a while the plot becomes really interesting, and Longshadow develops into a badass that you'll cheer for. I think this will be an interesting series, it's no Enders game/shadow, but it does have the whole human politics/alien race survival theme going for it.
To sum up, if you stick with Emissary through the first part it does end up being an interesting read.
To sum up, if you stick with Emissary through the first part it does end up being an interesting read.
April 11, 2015
I'm so glad I read this novel by Chris Rogers. I've read other novels of hers and she never disappoints. Emissary is a political thriller with a twist. The main character is an alien named Ruell. The alien is a form of energy that can inhabit the mind of humans and transfers between humans as a spark of light. Chris Rogers is such a talented writer. Her characters are always multidimensional. I was really turning pages when the police officer Ruell is caught by some really terrifying bad guys. I can't tell more without revealing too much. This is a good read.
November 25, 2014
This book is like a love child between a Robert Ludlum political thriller and a Ray Bradbury short story. Emissary Ruell offers an interesting perspective as he encounters the human race for the first time and tries to figure us out so he can accomplish his mission. But while he's doing that, the action just keeps revving up! Satisfying ending, with room for more to come.
November 14, 2015
Actually 3.5 stars, not 3.
This book is listed as a sci-fi, and it technically is as it has aliens and stuff in it, but the sci-fi elements are small and the book is more of a political thriller or police proceedural than a sci-fi. It's not a bad hting, it's just not what I was expecting going into the book.
The book starts a a political thriller, dealing with President Hale (a 3rd Party moderate, who is hinted at being Obama's successor) and her dealing with the kidnapping of her VP by an African dictator. As a B-story we get told about a recently widowed, turned drunk cop, Longshadow, dealing with his grief. This story seems extremely removed from the Hale story and I wasnt sure why we were getting the story at first but it does eventually dovetail with the Hale storyline and eventually overtakes it, relegating Hale to the B-story. At this point the book becomes less political thriller and more police proceedural as Longshadow collects and follows evidence.
At all times the emissary Ruell is alongside, nudging the characters in the right direction.
I enjoyed the police proceedural part more than the policial thriller, but both were interesting. Overall the Hale and Longbottom stories got tied up nicely, albeit a little quick in the end, while Ruell's story is still left unfinished.
Part of Ruell's story (why he went with Longshadow) doesn't make that much sense to me in terms of this grand objective, as Longshadow isnt really in a spot to help Ruell with it. He's just a beat cop. Going with Hale, or someone of her position, made more sense. It served the story to have Ruell go with Longshadow but Im not sure it actually made sense.
This book is listed as a sci-fi, and it technically is as it has aliens and stuff in it, but the sci-fi elements are small and the book is more of a political thriller or police proceedural than a sci-fi. It's not a bad hting, it's just not what I was expecting going into the book.
The book starts a a political thriller, dealing with President Hale (a 3rd Party moderate, who is hinted at being Obama's successor) and her dealing with the kidnapping of her VP by an African dictator. As a B-story we get told about a recently widowed, turned drunk cop, Longshadow, dealing with his grief. This story seems extremely removed from the Hale story and I wasnt sure why we were getting the story at first but it does eventually dovetail with the Hale storyline and eventually overtakes it, relegating Hale to the B-story. At this point the book becomes less political thriller and more police proceedural as Longshadow collects and follows evidence.
At all times the emissary Ruell is alongside, nudging the characters in the right direction.
I enjoyed the police proceedural part more than the policial thriller, but both were interesting. Overall the Hale and Longbottom stories got tied up nicely, albeit a little quick in the end, while Ruell's story is still left unfinished.
Part of Ruell's story (why he went with Longshadow) doesn't make that much sense to me in terms of this grand objective, as Longshadow isnt really in a spot to help Ruell with it. He's just a beat cop. Going with Hale, or someone of her position, made more sense. It served the story to have Ruell go with Longshadow but Im not sure it actually made sense.
May 28, 2015
I listened to this book because it was listed, more or less, under Sci Fi, but really it is a political thriller with a small element of Sci Fi thrown in for good measure.
I felt in many ways there were 3 stories, all of which could have been a free standing novel, included in this book. One part of the book is about the US president and her staff, another is about a down and out cop who has lost all the people he loves, another is about corruption of the Mexican government and drug related gang violence. What ties all of these together is a being named Reull who is from another planet and is looking for a new planet to inhabit for his people. How many times have we read about that one? Not exactly a new idea.
What makes this one a little different is that Ruell is not a life form in the way we would think of a life form. He is an energy spark that enters his host and resides there. HIs mission is not to control his host, but to understand the host and somehow convince humans that the inhabitants of his planet could co exist here on Earth with humans.
I listened to this book and Jeff Hays does a fantastic job of bringing the many characters to life. I don't know how he was able to keep that many voices straight in his head and then bring each one forward flawlessly. He is a true storyteller!
I was gifted this book for an honest review.
I felt in many ways there were 3 stories, all of which could have been a free standing novel, included in this book. One part of the book is about the US president and her staff, another is about a down and out cop who has lost all the people he loves, another is about corruption of the Mexican government and drug related gang violence. What ties all of these together is a being named Reull who is from another planet and is looking for a new planet to inhabit for his people. How many times have we read about that one? Not exactly a new idea.
What makes this one a little different is that Ruell is not a life form in the way we would think of a life form. He is an energy spark that enters his host and resides there. HIs mission is not to control his host, but to understand the host and somehow convince humans that the inhabitants of his planet could co exist here on Earth with humans.
I listened to this book and Jeff Hays does a fantastic job of bringing the many characters to life. I don't know how he was able to keep that many voices straight in his head and then bring each one forward flawlessly. He is a true storyteller!
I was gifted this book for an honest review.
January 1, 2016
Note: I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.
Part political thriller, murder mystery and science fiction, Emissary is the story of an alien life force sent to Earth to find a sanctuary for its people.
The story starts off a little slow but develops well into an enjoyable story that is well written. I enjoyed and engaged with the characters in no small part to the audiobook narration capably acted by Jeff Hays.
There is pretty good writing here with fascinating imagery woven into the story, decent language and a nice story of pain, endurance and resolution of the protagonist, Longshadow.
The audiobook narrator was very talented and over the course of the book I became even more impressed with his versatility, accents and clever use of voice modulation to create atmosphere and enhance the story.
Part political thriller, murder mystery and science fiction, Emissary is the story of an alien life force sent to Earth to find a sanctuary for its people.
The story starts off a little slow but develops well into an enjoyable story that is well written. I enjoyed and engaged with the characters in no small part to the audiobook narration capably acted by Jeff Hays.
There is pretty good writing here with fascinating imagery woven into the story, decent language and a nice story of pain, endurance and resolution of the protagonist, Longshadow.
The audiobook narrator was very talented and over the course of the book I became even more impressed with his versatility, accents and clever use of voice modulation to create atmosphere and enhance the story.
March 23, 2015
If you like crime/conspiracy novels you would like this. It has a science fiction kick to it. As another reviewer mentioned it was pretty slow for the fist half of the book and then the pace increased. I have not read any books by John Grisham or Dean Koontz, but I feel like fans would like this if they are not close-minded to extraterrestrials added in. For me, in the end Longshadow redeemed himself as a good protagonist.
After reading this I can give this three stars because "I liked it", not "REALLY liked it". This does not mean I don't care for it. In fact I hope this will become a series and I am curious about what other situations the duo of Ruell and Longshadow will put themselves in. I'm interested to see how they will live with their symbiotic relationship.
After reading this I can give this three stars because "I liked it", not "REALLY liked it". This does not mean I don't care for it. In fact I hope this will become a series and I am curious about what other situations the duo of Ruell and Longshadow will put themselves in. I'm interested to see how they will live with their symbiotic relationship.
December 5, 2014
Someone from another planet travels to earth to save his race. He then has in inhabit the Presidents body because his species does not communicate with humans. When things go w4rong he meets a copy who can help him. This is a good bokk for someone who likes Science Fiction.
November 9, 2014
Dragged.
February 4, 2016
My review and interview with the author: https://anakalianwhims.wordpress.com/...
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