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Alien Cadets #1
Manipulate
The aliens who currently administer Earth have a simple proverb: Survival is sanity.
Forcibly conscripted into the alien training program as a child, Sam has grown up on their home world. He has become one of their favorite cadets through his charisma and hard work, but now Sam is on his way back to Earth to work in their Los Angeles headquarters, and to find the line between being used... and using them.
When Sam's homecoming speech sets off a string of violence, his realizes his choices carry more weight than he realized. First there's a hate message scrawled in blood, then a drive-by attack, and a riot that ends in fire. When the next attack ends with the abduction of Sam's girlfriend, he'll dare anything to identify their enemy.
From the slums of Los Angeles to a treacherous space station, Sam must uncover the real reason for the cadet program. And the true meaning of sanity may not spell survival, at least not for him.
Alien Cadets Reading Order:
Manipulate (Book 1)
Captivate (Book 2)
Eradicate (Book 3)
Forcibly conscripted into the alien training program as a child, Sam has grown up on their home world. He has become one of their favorite cadets through his charisma and hard work, but now Sam is on his way back to Earth to work in their Los Angeles headquarters, and to find the line between being used... and using them.
When Sam's homecoming speech sets off a string of violence, his realizes his choices carry more weight than he realized. First there's a hate message scrawled in blood, then a drive-by attack, and a riot that ends in fire. When the next attack ends with the abduction of Sam's girlfriend, he'll dare anything to identify their enemy.
From the slums of Los Angeles to a treacherous space station, Sam must uncover the real reason for the cadet program. And the true meaning of sanity may not spell survival, at least not for him.
Alien Cadets Reading Order:
Manipulate (Book 1)
Captivate (Book 2)
Eradicate (Book 3)
- GenresScience Fiction
299 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 29, 2012
48 people are currently reading
492 people want to read
About the author
Corrie Garrett
36 books58 followersHello! I'm Corrie Garrett, indie author of the Austen Ensemble trilogy and other romance novels. I'm currently working on a story about the characters of Mansfield Park, as well as an historical fantasy in the Byzantine Empire.
I love to read as well as write - mainly young adult (contemporary, dystopian, adventure, science fiction), romance (Christian, suspense, historical), science fiction, and urban fantasy.
Ask a question, make a recommendation, or just say hello - and thanks for stopping by!
I love to read as well as write - mainly young adult (contemporary, dystopian, adventure, science fiction), romance (Christian, suspense, historical), science fiction, and urban fantasy.
Ask a question, make a recommendation, or just say hello - and thanks for stopping by!
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
July 17, 2013
While this was a fun science fiction book, it was not my usual genre. But that was my mistake. In my defense, I was so caught up with the great artwork, the killer title, and the story summary that I did not read other reviews. If I had I would have seen that it is more along the lines of a YA book. But I want to put in a review on it because as a YA book, it was very good. I have a feeling a much younger reader than myself would love this. (I'm in my forties, and they wouldn't have to be much younger than me.) There are some great sci-fi ideas here, and the writing solid. So I would certainly encourage people to read this.
October 22, 2014
Fun sci fi thriller.
June 5, 2018
The alien-invasion plot line has been done so many times that one might feel every possible iteration of the idea has already been beaten into the ground by now. But just when you think a genre has been worn completely out, an author comes along who gives it a unique twist. "Manipulate" is a new angle on a familiar plot thread, giving us something fresh and new with the "alien invasion" plotline. And while it is a somewhat flawed read, it's story kept me reading, and while not perfect it was certainly an enjoyable ride from start to finish.
"Manipulate" follows Sam, a cadet who has trained with the alien race known as the Spo for years. The Spo took over Earth six years ago after a devastating terrorist attack wiped out most of Europe and threatened to destroy the world... but humanity is on trial at the moment, and Sam and his fellow cadets -- teens who were taken from their families and raised and trained by the Spo to be their representatives on Earth -- will serve as witnesses to prove to the sentient races of the galaxy that humanity deserves to be recognized as sentient as well. But humanity resents the Spo and isn't afraid to indulge in outright violence against them... and something is stalking and violently murdering Sam's fellow cadets. Can Sam track down a killer and unravel the conspiracy against the cadets and the Spo... or will a killer go free and humanity doom itself to a hostile takeover?
I'll just get the flaws out of the way first. The writing, while serviceable, isn't the best, and can get downright bland at times. The author has an annoying tendency to "glue" two sentences together with a comma, when most English majors will tell you this isn't an appropriate use for a comma. Some of the characters' behaviors felt idiotic and contrived for the sake of drama, especially Nat in later chapters, and the betrayal on the part of an otherwise-likable character, while appropriately shocking, came out of nowhere and was never properly explained to my satisfaction. Perhaps Garrett hoped to address this in a sequel?
Sometimes, though, a compelling and original story can overcome mediocre writing, just as amazing writing can sometimes make up for a bland story. Garrett gives us a fascinating look at an alien culture with the Spo, and the brief glimpses we get of other alien races are weird yet tantalizing. She weaves in unique concepts that nonetheless play an important part in the plot, such as the trouncers (frog-like creatures) and ships that use organic brain material to power their computers. And I couldn't help but root for Sam and the other characters -- they have their flaws and personality quirks, which helps make them more relatable, and Sam in particular goes through a lot of growth throughout the book, learning to become his own person instead of a mouthpiece.
There are hints of a romance in the building here, but thankfully said romance is merely hinted at and doesn't hijack the plot. I'm not against romance in general, but when an otherwise good story ends up derailing entirely into a forced romance, I have problems. Here it's merely given a mention now and again, and while it will possibly show up in future books, it's nice that it didn't overtake the plot here.
And finally -- thank you, thank you, THANK YOU, Corrie Garrett, for not ending this book on a cliffhanger. All too often the first book in a series or trilogy won't come to an end so much as it will just STOP, forcing the reader to buy the next book to find out what happens next. This feels like a cheap trick in my book, and almost always backfires by making me swear off the rest of the series. Garrett gives this story a proper conclusion while still leaving things open for a sequel, as well as incorporating a sneak peek at the next book to tempt the reader further. THIS is the proper way to get people to buy your next book, and I just may reward Garrett for this by doing so...
All in all, while it has its flaws, "Manipulate" was an entertaining sci-fi read, and a new twist on the alien-invasion story. If you're in the mood for a quick, fast-paced, and fun science fiction novel, I recommend "Manipulate."
"Manipulate" follows Sam, a cadet who has trained with the alien race known as the Spo for years. The Spo took over Earth six years ago after a devastating terrorist attack wiped out most of Europe and threatened to destroy the world... but humanity is on trial at the moment, and Sam and his fellow cadets -- teens who were taken from their families and raised and trained by the Spo to be their representatives on Earth -- will serve as witnesses to prove to the sentient races of the galaxy that humanity deserves to be recognized as sentient as well. But humanity resents the Spo and isn't afraid to indulge in outright violence against them... and something is stalking and violently murdering Sam's fellow cadets. Can Sam track down a killer and unravel the conspiracy against the cadets and the Spo... or will a killer go free and humanity doom itself to a hostile takeover?
I'll just get the flaws out of the way first. The writing, while serviceable, isn't the best, and can get downright bland at times. The author has an annoying tendency to "glue" two sentences together with a comma, when most English majors will tell you this isn't an appropriate use for a comma. Some of the characters' behaviors felt idiotic and contrived for the sake of drama, especially Nat in later chapters, and the betrayal on the part of an otherwise-likable character, while appropriately shocking, came out of nowhere and was never properly explained to my satisfaction. Perhaps Garrett hoped to address this in a sequel?
Sometimes, though, a compelling and original story can overcome mediocre writing, just as amazing writing can sometimes make up for a bland story. Garrett gives us a fascinating look at an alien culture with the Spo, and the brief glimpses we get of other alien races are weird yet tantalizing. She weaves in unique concepts that nonetheless play an important part in the plot, such as the trouncers (frog-like creatures) and ships that use organic brain material to power their computers. And I couldn't help but root for Sam and the other characters -- they have their flaws and personality quirks, which helps make them more relatable, and Sam in particular goes through a lot of growth throughout the book, learning to become his own person instead of a mouthpiece.
There are hints of a romance in the building here, but thankfully said romance is merely hinted at and doesn't hijack the plot. I'm not against romance in general, but when an otherwise good story ends up derailing entirely into a forced romance, I have problems. Here it's merely given a mention now and again, and while it will possibly show up in future books, it's nice that it didn't overtake the plot here.
And finally -- thank you, thank you, THANK YOU, Corrie Garrett, for not ending this book on a cliffhanger. All too often the first book in a series or trilogy won't come to an end so much as it will just STOP, forcing the reader to buy the next book to find out what happens next. This feels like a cheap trick in my book, and almost always backfires by making me swear off the rest of the series. Garrett gives this story a proper conclusion while still leaving things open for a sequel, as well as incorporating a sneak peek at the next book to tempt the reader further. THIS is the proper way to get people to buy your next book, and I just may reward Garrett for this by doing so...
All in all, while it has its flaws, "Manipulate" was an entertaining sci-fi read, and a new twist on the alien-invasion story. If you're in the mood for a quick, fast-paced, and fun science fiction novel, I recommend "Manipulate."
July 4, 2020
Six years ago, Sam and other teens were abducted from Earth by an alien race known as Spo. Earth had caused its own demise and were being saved by the Spo; the kids were taken to learn about the alien culture and help convince the Humans that aliens weren't bad.
I liked the premise of the story, I think there was a lot of great ideas behind it, but the author flops at creating realistic characters. The main character is meant to be charismatic but comes across as whiney and over-important, and more often than not, you're rolling your eyes at his actions or words more than backing him. At some point in the story, he becomes the one everyone listens to even though there has been no reason for it. And the big reveal at the end isn't really a reveal at all but he says "that sounds like a confession to me" (cue the proverbial "cuff 'em, boys!")
This had some good potential but never really hit the mark.
I liked the premise of the story, I think there was a lot of great ideas behind it, but the author flops at creating realistic characters. The main character is meant to be charismatic but comes across as whiney and over-important, and more often than not, you're rolling your eyes at his actions or words more than backing him. At some point in the story, he becomes the one everyone listens to even though there has been no reason for it. And the big reveal at the end isn't really a reveal at all but he says "that sounds like a confession to me" (cue the proverbial "cuff 'em, boys!")
This had some good potential but never really hit the mark.
June 10, 2017
I liked both this story and the background universe
Certain authors have,the great good fortune not only to write a good science fiction Novel but also a plausible future universe that could unfold into a large number of yet unwritten stories. Like Andre Norton, Marion Zimmer Bradley, Poul Anderson, Gordon Dickson, Robert Heinlein, George Lucas and Star Trek I think Corrie Garrett has opened the doors into a possible future history where not only fan fiction writers will follow but other more professional writers and screenwriters may choose to follow and explore stories of their own. I seldom give a book more than three stars. For breadth of imagination, Connie Garrett rates four, and she has only just begun to seriously spin this yarn.
Certain authors have,the great good fortune not only to write a good science fiction Novel but also a plausible future universe that could unfold into a large number of yet unwritten stories. Like Andre Norton, Marion Zimmer Bradley, Poul Anderson, Gordon Dickson, Robert Heinlein, George Lucas and Star Trek I think Corrie Garrett has opened the doors into a possible future history where not only fan fiction writers will follow but other more professional writers and screenwriters may choose to follow and explore stories of their own. I seldom give a book more than three stars. For breadth of imagination, Connie Garrett rates four, and she has only just begun to seriously spin this yarn.
September 10, 2017
Satisfying
Satisfying, well-paced read for YA and beyond (and I'm well beyond). Lots of ethical complexity for discussion. Main characters are poised to become the next Spocks, Kirks, and Picards. My only quibble is a grammatical one about the forms of regular and irregular verbs, a problem I see in general with ebooks, which often don't benefit from professional editing.
Satisfying, well-paced read for YA and beyond (and I'm well beyond). Lots of ethical complexity for discussion. Main characters are poised to become the next Spocks, Kirks, and Picards. My only quibble is a grammatical one about the forms of regular and irregular verbs, a problem I see in general with ebooks, which often don't benefit from professional editing.
July 18, 2019
Awesome!
Story of humanity being contacted by aliens...and being put on trial to see if intelligent enough to join them or be ??? Don't want to spoil it for you. Wonderfully original treatment. Loved it! Can't wait to read the next book!
Story of humanity being contacted by aliens...and being put on trial to see if intelligent enough to join them or be ??? Don't want to spoil it for you. Wonderfully original treatment. Loved it! Can't wait to read the next book!
June 17, 2020
Dastardly aliens
Very interesting twist on a Bible story. The conflicts and the conflicted thoughts of the protagonists made for a fun read with just enough plot twists to keep it interesting without being overwhelmingly complex.
Very interesting twist on a Bible story. The conflicts and the conflicted thoughts of the protagonists made for a fun read with just enough plot twists to keep it interesting without being overwhelmingly complex.
July 18, 2020
Excellent!!
I got the book for free, but am looking for the others in the series now. Good thriller, good plot, and fun and clean!
I got the book for free, but am looking for the others in the series now. Good thriller, good plot, and fun and clean!
May 18, 2015
More reviews (and no fluff) on the blog http://surrealtalvi.wordpress.com/
Manipulate is a decently written story with enough pathos and engaging characters to keep readers invested to the end. Though a bit too long and with whole sections that could be removed to streamline the story, I found myself interested enough to want to finish. At heart, we have a cautionary story on race relations and understanding what it means to be human. And the soul is very much the very likeable protagonist, 19 year old Sam.Story: When a supercollider explodes in Switzerland and causes widespread environmental and economic disaster, aliens appear and clear up the radiation and save millions. But the price is that children are taken from all over the world and sent to the alien homeworld for training. 13 year old Sam was abruptly removed from his home and now returns 7 years later, for the first time, to a very different Los Angeles. There is unrest at his home planet and his charisma is needed to keep people calm. But that undercurrent of unrest poses a huge problem for the humans: they are about to be judged by a council of alien species - and if proven unfit, they will be open to annihilation. Can Sam find a bridge between the humans and the aliens before it is too late?
Despite my enjoyment of the characters, it wasn't a perfect book. E.g., sloppy writing or poor research was distracting (i.e., Sam walks out of the Chinese Theater onto Hollywood "Avenue" and then went to Disney World (Disneyland is in LA, Disney World is in Florida). Anyone from Los Angeles would never mix those up and Sam hadn't been gone that long. And as already noted, the book really is too long. It would have been an excellent book with about 1/4 excised.
But those quibbles aside, this is really a character piece. Sam is very much an everyman and straddling two very different cultures. The insectoid type aliens who raised him to manhood and the family who had to give him up. Sam was chosen by the aliens because of his ability to 'manipulate' (read: charisma) and speak the right words at the right time. But the unrest means that the cadets who return are targeted for violence by the humans and by other aliens hoping to take advantage of a poor council ruling. Most of the plot involves the machinations of the different aliens and how Sam and his cadet friends deal with the situations that arise.
The 'bad aliens' were fairly one-dimensional and probably should give up their villain cards since their plans were so incredibly bad and unproductive. Their POVs really weren't needed and just made them seem even sillier than their plotting. I was always relieved when the story came back to Sam again since his was the most compelling POV.
The story is YA - this isn't hard hitting sci fi but it isn't insulting YA, either. Author Garrett's strength is in characterizations and therein lies the charm of Manipulate. You want to see how Sam will handle every situation and if he will figure out the evil plans of the aliens in time to save the Earth. It's a very easy and fluid read.
I listened to the Audible version and the narrator did a decent job. I could have wished for different 'voices' among the characters - sometimes the dialogue blended. But in all, a decent narration.
June 21, 2015
This is a great coming-of-age scifi story that aptly turns the normal alien invasion meme on its head. In the world created by author Corrie Garrett, humans nearly destroyed themselves through war and conflict. An alien species called the Spo occupied the planet to save humanity from itself. Struggling to keep control of resentful Earthlings, the Spo took a few hundred human children away for six years of training as intermediaries.
Most of the novel is told from the point of view of one of those children, Sam Locklear, beginning from the moment he returns to Earth. This moment is great for starting the novel because we are immediately thrust into action. Sam expects to be treated like a celebrity, but is shocked to find himself vilified and threatened by many humans, who consider him a traitor. Garrett does a masterful job of describing Sam’s emotional turmoil as he struggles between his mixed loyalties to both the Spo and humanity. As the plot develops, Garrett adds additional PoV characters and layers of intrigue, punctuated by a number of tense action sequences.
The writing is also full of great little concepts that add layers of realistic detail to the alien species. For example, the Spo register emotion not with facial expressions but by changing their skin pigments. Sam is weirded out by this even though he has long since learned to instinctively understand it. Garrett also offers descriptions of alien art and how humans have trouble parsing the symbolism, and of alien computer systems, whose interfaces work differently because of alien physiology. This detail is very welcome because the contrasts and conflicts between different alien cultures – sometimes obvious, sometimes subtle and nuanced – are fundamental drivers of the plot.
My biggest complaint is that the underlying love story is not as developed as the main plot line so I guess if you’re looking for “space opera” you might be left feeling a little unfulfilled. Based on the excerpt from the next book at the end of this one, it seems that romantic plotlines will be more developed in the sequels so even this minor quibble is on its way to being addressed.
So in summary – great, imaginative read with nuanced characters and fast-paced plot. And first in a trilogy so if you get hooked (which seems likely) you will have two more books waiting for you.
Most of the novel is told from the point of view of one of those children, Sam Locklear, beginning from the moment he returns to Earth. This moment is great for starting the novel because we are immediately thrust into action. Sam expects to be treated like a celebrity, but is shocked to find himself vilified and threatened by many humans, who consider him a traitor. Garrett does a masterful job of describing Sam’s emotional turmoil as he struggles between his mixed loyalties to both the Spo and humanity. As the plot develops, Garrett adds additional PoV characters and layers of intrigue, punctuated by a number of tense action sequences.
The writing is also full of great little concepts that add layers of realistic detail to the alien species. For example, the Spo register emotion not with facial expressions but by changing their skin pigments. Sam is weirded out by this even though he has long since learned to instinctively understand it. Garrett also offers descriptions of alien art and how humans have trouble parsing the symbolism, and of alien computer systems, whose interfaces work differently because of alien physiology. This detail is very welcome because the contrasts and conflicts between different alien cultures – sometimes obvious, sometimes subtle and nuanced – are fundamental drivers of the plot.
My biggest complaint is that the underlying love story is not as developed as the main plot line so I guess if you’re looking for “space opera” you might be left feeling a little unfulfilled. Based on the excerpt from the next book at the end of this one, it seems that romantic plotlines will be more developed in the sequels so even this minor quibble is on its way to being addressed.
So in summary – great, imaginative read with nuanced characters and fast-paced plot. And first in a trilogy so if you get hooked (which seems likely) you will have two more books waiting for you.
January 12, 2015
I give this book a five star rating without reservation. I usually spend some time nit picking plot holes or problematic writing in my reviews but this story was just such a delightful read that I don’t see any reason to say anything but how much I enjoyed it. The writing was stellar – something I don’t always see in ebooks. The story was engaging and imaginative. One reviewer called it a YA book and given that the main protagonist is a young man in his late teens, I could see that it might seem that way. I can say as a woman in her fifties who has been reading science fiction my whole life it never felt too immature for me. It was a refreshing break from the unoriginal paranormal romance that seems to dominate the publishing world today. The story and the character development kept me reading until I had finished in just two evenings. I was so disappointed to see the sequel isn’t out yet and I’m anticipating it now I know it is in the works at least. The story has a bit of Octavia Butler’s Xenogenesis trilogy in the way aliens were truly alien. A bit of David Brin’s Uplift series and the unironic optimism of Star Trek. The writer managed to reflect back to all of these classics and remain fresh and original at the same time. Read it – if you love science fiction you won’t be disappointed!
March 14, 2016
I am not a big sci-fi person. However this book was excellent! It was an easy read and you were drawn in immediately with a quick start that kept me interested in what was going to happen. There is some violence and killing but it is nicely written in with just enough details to let you know what happened but not enough to give you nightmares! Overall a great read and I can't wait to read the next book!
February 5, 2017
Entertaining
I really wanted to give this a 3.5, but rounded up. This book was fun, had solid pacing, and the author did a good job of making all of the characters, human or not, relatable.
I really wanted to give this a 3.5, but rounded up. This book was fun, had solid pacing, and the author did a good job of making all of the characters, human or not, relatable.
March 21, 2016
Great story
While I was not expecting this book to be more than formulaic I got a big surprise. Characters were well thought out and the story plot hummed along without any awkwardness. Throw in a psychotic alien and the plot kept me guessing. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and recommend it highly. I guess ill have to read the others now.
While I was not expecting this book to be more than formulaic I got a big surprise. Characters were well thought out and the story plot hummed along without any awkwardness. Throw in a psychotic alien and the plot kept me guessing. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and recommend it highly. I guess ill have to read the others now.
July 9, 2017
I wasn't sure if I'd like this book, but I did! I'm not a major Si-Fi Fan. I won this book in a contest, and I'm so thankful I did because I may have never given it a chance otherwise. I was really surprised by how much I enjoyed this book and how hard it was to put down. I'll be finding the other books in the series to read soon.
August 7, 2013
I really liked this story. It had maybe two swear words, the g word and the h word. There was a kissing scene, and some descriptive violence. If you do not like animal testing, or very descriptive dissection, you'll have trouble with this book, it is quite graphic in parts.
September 17, 2013
Great book, can't wait to read the next one.
March 29, 2015
This book is terrific! I enjoyed not knowing what was going to happen next. The characters are complex and intriguing. You won't regret buying this Sci-fi novel.
February 4, 2016
I truly enjoyed this book! It kept me reading and had a fascinating plot. Looking forward to reading more!
November 27, 2016
It was funny and clever and there were aliens. What's not to like?
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews