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RETURNED #1
Returned
When Benjamin Lathan, a young man losing his battle with cancer, wakes up in a hospital twelve years after the plane he was on disappeared, he finds himself on a personal journey to discover the truth about what happened to him. With the help of a female galactic traveler, Ben realizes that he has acquired amazing abilities beyond his own understanding and that the answers he's looking for may be beyond this world. www.creativegeniusfilms.com
173 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2015
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
January 14, 2019
Ok, so Ben lost his parents when he was a child and then developed the same type of cancer that had been slowly killing his father. A low-key jerk to everyone but his dog, he boards a flight headed to New York with a mysterious woman.... Flash forward and we find him awakening in a hospital bed 12 years later after being found floating in the Atlantic Ocean. His memory is shotty but after being interrogated by the FBI and told that he is not only cancer free but the only survivor from his flight, he see the same mysterious woman on the tv but she's now a news anchor. Puzzled, he seeks her out, but becomes confused when she tells him that she is only 26 yrs old, making her 14 at the time of his flight's disappearance. Confused, alone, and displaying strengths that he never before had, Benjamin spends the movie trying to figure out who had him over the last 12 yrs and why he was... Returned
August 3, 2016
Tragedy has been a part of Ben’s life since he was just a young boy, when his parents went missing and were never found. Although he was loved and cared for, the burden of not knowing whether his parents were dead or alive has taken a toll on him. Years later he is diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer. As he fights for his life, he pushes away all of his friends, knowing that inevitably death is coming. An experimental treatment in New York is his only hope of surviving. However, circumstances go intensely awry and he ends up the only survivor and key suspect of what happened on that flight. With only a few memories of what happened, he goes in search of the one person who he believes can help him make sense of what has happened. What he discovers is enough to make him think he’s lost his mind. He discovers that blessings and miracles come in unexpected packages, but will he believe enough to embrace what is before him?
Marlon McCaulsky is a very versatile writer. This short work of sci-fi is well written and engaging from start to finish. The characters are relatable, the element of emotions is almost tangible. Even though some details of the story are ‘other worldly,’ it’s very easy to see oneself in the role of any of the characters. McCaulsky sheds light on how quick we are as people to destroy what we do not understand, and how the need to conqueror overrides our innate sense of compassion far too often. As with his signature way of writing, he’s included layers of self reflection and accountability. I would love for this to have gone more in depth, but all in all, Returned, is a very satisfying read.
Marlon McCaulsky is a very versatile writer. This short work of sci-fi is well written and engaging from start to finish. The characters are relatable, the element of emotions is almost tangible. Even though some details of the story are ‘other worldly,’ it’s very easy to see oneself in the role of any of the characters. McCaulsky sheds light on how quick we are as people to destroy what we do not understand, and how the need to conqueror overrides our innate sense of compassion far too often. As with his signature way of writing, he’s included layers of self reflection and accountability. I would love for this to have gone more in depth, but all in all, Returned, is a very satisfying read.
February 26, 2017
Let it first be understood that my very first encounter with Creative Genius Films' Returned was on Facebook, which given the trailer, I was impressed by the production of the independent film. (Keep "independent film" in mind.) That encounter on social media was also in advance of attending Oynxcon, back in February. It was there that I briefly met fellow author\writer and director, Lamont Gant (and crew), to which we bought each other's book, with a passing assurance to check out each other's work. Well, as it is May and time was available, I decided to jump into this title last week. I'll break my review down into two parts: format and story.
The format or "movie novelization"--which I had to consider to be a novella of the film--is laid out pretty well. I did have to do a little research on the format of novellas because I've never dealt with one before. That said, I think the format of a novel would have made this little gem shine a bit more, especially with the three separate acknowledgements of the co-authors being one concise homage upfront; and similarly with the "about author" (but remaining at the end). Page headers could have alternated with the chapter title (or authors' names) and the book title, too--after the chapter page. (Super redundant for headers to be on the front matter, as well.)
Because of it being a short read, the jury is still out with some chapters starting on even numbered page. (My preference is the odd page number, no matter what, because that's just how a book opens.) I can understand utilizing every page as to get the most bang for the buck with printing though, to which I think tweaking the typeset would have addressed (to some degree) if not remedied this issue. On that note, the chapter titles are nice and do stand out, and I think it's cool that each chapter has a 'descriptive' title--like an TV episode would have. (This is actually something I am contemplating with my next project.)
As for the story--well, again, given the "movie novelization" of Returned, it has obvious moments of reading like script, or shall I say being adapted from the film? The concept of the story (and its actual production as an independent film) is clearly present. One can't knock this; however, it does overshadow the entire work, or so I think.
I also think this novella had an opportunity to tell the story a different way from the film and missed it. For instance, taking into account its length, prolonging the "alternate" identity of the lead female character (Ixoe\Anissa) until the middle or end of the story (and perhaps with little trickles here and there leading up to who she is) would have been a nice way to hook a reader. Instead, the cat is let out of the bag early in Chapter 3 and I felt everything thereafter was just going through the motions. Fortunately, the writing style(s) and length did not make this work a chore to read, though there are parts that could be tweaked.
Also, the FBI's interest in the main male character (Ben) as a possible suspect could have be introduced sooner and better, as to cement their motivation of pursuing him, and could have given validity to the character of Agent Smith who serves as a "ground wire", so to speak among the various character types, especially on the antagonistic side.
All in all, this title is a facet of bigger work that by all accounts is awesome. It would have been nice if this literary piece was more refined.
UPDATE: 02/24/2017
Having finally acquired a DVD copy of Returned from Onyxcon 2017, after a couple opportunities to watch it didn't pan out, the film actually does the story better than the novella. After watching the film, I still feel the novella should have\could have done more with filling in more of the backstory (e.g. Ben being found in the Atlantic ocean).
Of course, keep in mind Returned, the film, is an indie project with a set budget, and it is apparent Lamont Gant used every penny of it effectively. The cinematography was cool and are the CG. It should be enjoyed for what it is.
The format or "movie novelization"--which I had to consider to be a novella of the film--is laid out pretty well. I did have to do a little research on the format of novellas because I've never dealt with one before. That said, I think the format of a novel would have made this little gem shine a bit more, especially with the three separate acknowledgements of the co-authors being one concise homage upfront; and similarly with the "about author" (but remaining at the end). Page headers could have alternated with the chapter title (or authors' names) and the book title, too--after the chapter page. (Super redundant for headers to be on the front matter, as well.)
Because of it being a short read, the jury is still out with some chapters starting on even numbered page. (My preference is the odd page number, no matter what, because that's just how a book opens.) I can understand utilizing every page as to get the most bang for the buck with printing though, to which I think tweaking the typeset would have addressed (to some degree) if not remedied this issue. On that note, the chapter titles are nice and do stand out, and I think it's cool that each chapter has a 'descriptive' title--like an TV episode would have. (This is actually something I am contemplating with my next project.)
As for the story--well, again, given the "movie novelization" of Returned, it has obvious moments of reading like script, or shall I say being adapted from the film? The concept of the story (and its actual production as an independent film) is clearly present. One can't knock this; however, it does overshadow the entire work, or so I think.
I also think this novella had an opportunity to tell the story a different way from the film and missed it. For instance, taking into account its length, prolonging the "alternate" identity of the lead female character (Ixoe\Anissa) until the middle or end of the story (and perhaps with little trickles here and there leading up to who she is) would have been a nice way to hook a reader. Instead, the cat is let out of the bag early in Chapter 3 and I felt everything thereafter was just going through the motions. Fortunately, the writing style(s) and length did not make this work a chore to read, though there are parts that could be tweaked.
Also, the FBI's interest in the main male character (Ben) as a possible suspect could have be introduced sooner and better, as to cement their motivation of pursuing him, and could have given validity to the character of Agent Smith who serves as a "ground wire", so to speak among the various character types, especially on the antagonistic side.
All in all, this title is a facet of bigger work that by all accounts is awesome. It would have been nice if this literary piece was more refined.
UPDATE: 02/24/2017
Having finally acquired a DVD copy of Returned from Onyxcon 2017, after a couple opportunities to watch it didn't pan out, the film actually does the story better than the novella. After watching the film, I still feel the novella should have\could have done more with filling in more of the backstory (e.g. Ben being found in the Atlantic ocean).
Of course, keep in mind Returned, the film, is an indie project with a set budget, and it is apparent Lamont Gant used every penny of it effectively. The cinematography was cool and are the CG. It should be enjoyed for what it is.
August 3, 2016
Returned by Marlon McCaulsky
Tragedy has been a part of Ben’s life since he was just a young boy, when his parents went missing and were never found. Although he was loved and cared for, the burden of not knowing whether his parents were dead or alive has taken a toll on him. Years later he is diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer. As he fights for his life, he pushes away all of his friends, knowing that inevitably death is coming. An experimental treatment in New York is his only hope of surviving. However, circumstances go intensely awry and he ends up the only survivor and key suspect of what happened on that flight. With only a few memories of what happened, he goes in search of the one person who he believes can help him make sense of what has happened. What he discovers is enough to make him think he’s lost his mind. He discovers that blessings and miracles come in unexpected packages, but will he believe enough to embrace what is before him?
Marlon McCaulsky is a very versatile writer. This short work of sci-fi is well written and engaging from start to finish. The characters are relatable, the element of emotions is almost tangible. Even though some details of the story are ‘other worldly,’ it’s very easy to see oneself in the role of any of the characters. McCaulsky sheds light on how quick we are as people to destroy what we do not understand, and how the need to conqueror overrides our innate sense of compassion far too often. As with his signature way of writing, he’s included layers of self-reflection and accountability. I would love for this to have gone more in depth, but all in all, Returned, is a very satisfying read.
5 stars
____
Reviewed by Tumika Patrice Cain
Tragedy has been a part of Ben’s life since he was just a young boy, when his parents went missing and were never found. Although he was loved and cared for, the burden of not knowing whether his parents were dead or alive has taken a toll on him. Years later he is diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer. As he fights for his life, he pushes away all of his friends, knowing that inevitably death is coming. An experimental treatment in New York is his only hope of surviving. However, circumstances go intensely awry and he ends up the only survivor and key suspect of what happened on that flight. With only a few memories of what happened, he goes in search of the one person who he believes can help him make sense of what has happened. What he discovers is enough to make him think he’s lost his mind. He discovers that blessings and miracles come in unexpected packages, but will he believe enough to embrace what is before him?
Marlon McCaulsky is a very versatile writer. This short work of sci-fi is well written and engaging from start to finish. The characters are relatable, the element of emotions is almost tangible. Even though some details of the story are ‘other worldly,’ it’s very easy to see oneself in the role of any of the characters. McCaulsky sheds light on how quick we are as people to destroy what we do not understand, and how the need to conqueror overrides our innate sense of compassion far too often. As with his signature way of writing, he’s included layers of self-reflection and accountability. I would love for this to have gone more in depth, but all in all, Returned, is a very satisfying read.
5 stars
____
Reviewed by Tumika Patrice Cain
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews