Elom

by William H. Drinkard

Fire from the Goddess and the meat and furs of the mammoth are all that the People need to live. It is a harsh life but a good one and it is one that all cherish. Young Geerna knows that the time has come for her to become a woman and take up the tasks to keep her people safe. She waits in the Awakening Place, fearful and hopeful as her ordeals come to an end. Then, on the eve of her Womanhood, a shining light descends upon her and her world is torn asunder. And she embarks on a journey that none of her people could ever envision... Eons have passed. Cycle upon cycle the Way of the People have remain women are artists, men are hunters. Geerna’s Law is the covenant by which humans live in harmony and peace. But all is about to change. A call has come for The People to choose their champions, and a summons to meet the mysterious creatures who selected Geerna so long ago. All is unknown. As the brave souls who are chosen venture forth, they will come to discover just how much that pact that Geerna made so long ago has cost them. And they will have to confront the choices that might help them to finally know true freedom.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Fantasy, Historical Fiction

544 pages, Hardcover

First published March 4, 2008

About the author

William H. Drinkard, an Alabama native, is a life long SF addict and novice SF writer. His main interest is SF novels with realistic alien cultures. He collects old books and first editions (non-SF, mostly 18th & 19th century works); he also collects Pre-Colombian Art and middle-eastern artifacts. He is the outgoing Chairman of the Alabama Historical Commission, which has charge of the State Capitol plus many of the state’s historical sites. In his multifaceted life, he has been the V.P of an advertising agency, politician, hospital administrator, and real estate developer. He now operates a consulting business. Drinkard earned a BS at Auburn University and a MBA at Jacksonville State University.

Reviews

[Michele · Rating 1 out of 5]

Utterly bad. Packed with stock characters, clumsy writing, anachronistic language, unrealistic behavior, and (the final deadly blow) dragged down further by positively sludgy pacing. The worst part is that the underlying story had a lot of potential, but the best parts of it (the controlled evolution, the gender-based division of labor, the council of Medoras) are shorted and most of the time is spent on *ahem* "character development" (at a junior high level -- they spend a lot of time glancing at each other, holding hands, getting embarrassed, etc etc etc).

[Clay Kallam · Rating 2 out of 5]

First-time author William H. Drinkard's inexperience shows, as “Elom” (Tor, $25.95, 544 pages) is a very long setup with absolutely no payoff whatsoever. The plot is driven by the “judgment” that a group of human beings on a non-earth planet are about to undergo – but after more than 500 pages, it turns out Drinkard had no intention on delivering on the implied promise of his premise.

Instead, we are supposed to be happy that the romantic problems of seven young human beings who have been raised in a primitive society are all going to work out. That’s nice, but I didn’t sign on to “Elom” to read a very long romance novel with aliens – or an updated “Clan of the Cave Bear” with space travel.

[Zora · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is wretchedly horrid. Its like I am reading about horny teenagers on a different planet. The amatuer writing clearly shows with poor descriptions and insuffient detail in the plot, setting, and character development. The chapters seemed to be inconsistant with thoughts of characters. It seems the author decided to write about one, then next paragraph skip to another character that I the reader know nothing about. I do not recommend this book to anyone.

[Jeff · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ick.

[Karen Groves · Rating 1 out of 5]

Thought I'd try some science fiction for a change. Didn't finish this one. Boring and confusing.

[Phil · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clan of the Cave Bear meets Our Benevolent Alien Overlords. Serious points for originality and great character development.

[Janet Ramski · Rating 2 out of 5]

One reviewer described this book as 'sludgey'. That's a perfect word for it! I dragged myself through this story hoping to find out what happened, and was terribly disappointed. Turns out, it ended with no ending. Clearly the author meant to write more, (can't you say what you needed to in 500 pages????) The characters were shallow and predictable, stuck in adolescent crushes and teenaged male fantasies regarding what women want. It took me forever to read it, and I regret bitterly the time I wasted on it. Save your time for a better story.

[Sandy Carmichael · Rating 3 out of 5]

A sci-fi about humans taken from earth, enhanced thru generations; meeting other races and learning how unique they are---then returned to the earth. Ends before they actually reach earth.

[Brette C · Rating 2 out of 5]

This author is so obviously a white guy. A hollow, cheap story.

[Zac Sweeney · Rating 1 out of 5]

Worst book i read in 2024

[Sade · Rating 3 out of 5]

My enjoyment of this book was somewhat hampered by having recently read Kim Stanley Robinson's 'Shaman', which begins in a similar world to Elom. Unlike this book, Robinson stays there for the entire tale; however, this caused me to keep trying to view Drinkard's story through a similar lens. Entirely my failing, but it made it harder for me to accept the premise of a world that, while rooted in a very similar spot, grows into something entirely different.

I don't know if this internal filter affected my reading of the characters - their motivations and behaviours lacked a certain depth, perhaps befitting life in the simpler world they inhabit; but this limited my ability to engage with them. Once they moved on to the events that shape the true purpose of their journey (avoiding spoilers here), I was able to connect with them more, and ultimately enjoyed the story. But I wouldn't necessarily want to read anything else about them or their world.

Overall, not a great book, but certainly not a bad one. Despite characters that left me a bit cold, their journey takes some turns I didn't see coming, always a plus. If the premise sounds interesting, one could certainly do worse than to spend some time immersed in the world of Elom.

[Brooke Gilley · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book with alot of twists and turns. It is also the 1st book for this author.

Takes place on another planet known as Elom. It reminds me of a croos between Clan of the Cave Bear and Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
The main characters are kind of prehistoric people that hunt mammoth and are centered around a goddess religion. Males and Females go thru individual testings to determine who is going to mate and who is not. During one of these ceremonies a higher test occurs a spiritual test for all of humanity and one that will take some of the people from Elom to another world. Several different cultures are brought together in this book, even a intelligent dinosauring-like race.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm sure I'm in the minority but that doesn't bother me. I enjoyed visiting the world crafted by Mr. Drinkard despite some glaring writing errors and a horrible, politically-minded ending. But if people can enjoy the Harry Potter series from page 1 of book 1 all the way to the end of the epilogue, then this, a beautifully new world, can equally be enjoyed.

I would not recommend this to people who find writing errors and are put off by them, nor would I recommend this to people who can't enjoy the journey if the end is terrible. For me, I enjoyed all but the last chapter or so...

[Kerry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Elom is the first book by an older writer William Drinkard, who it seems, has done a bit of everything in his life. The PB is 470 pages and quite frankly impressive, at least to me, in both scope and detail. The book has some faults. It does plod on at times but on the other hand I found myself intrigued and kept reading. This review is flawed too as he gets some facts wrong :http://www.sfreviews.net/drinkard_elo....
This was published in 2008. Drinkard has yet to produce another book.

[Ryn · Rating 1 out of 5]

Another one I barely began to read, so I'll hold back on the snark (though I feel somewhat slightly vindicated by the low rating). It seemed very... in depth. And very... informative. Alright, it was massively overdone, and the thought of forcing my way through all those dragging sentences made me die a little on the inside.

[Gail · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun and interesting, a different take on relationships. From the viewpoints of many characters, the story is kept alive with their personal analysis of others. It almost feels like a detective story, with clues all the way through and an outcome that is fairly unexpected.

[Kristin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read from 1/7 - 1/8.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was interested enough to find out how it ended. However, I was not too excited about the ending.

[Sam L · Rating 3 out of 5]

not a great book but pretty good.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the main characters. We watch them as they first encounter aliens, technology, and spaceships. They live in a society lead by divine instruction then find out it was all really alien meddling.

[Jayde · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mind blowing!

[Kyra Dune · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was ... A big no for me.

[Carol · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm sure it'll be a great book...if I could bring myself to get past 100 pages.