Rarity from the Hollow

by Robert Eggleton

This is an alternate cover edition for 9781907133060

Lacy Dawn's father relives the Gulf War, her mother's teeth are rotting out, and her best friend is murdered by the meanest daddy on Earth. Life in The Hollow isn't great. But Lacy has one advantage -- she's been befriended by a semi-organic, semi-robot who works with her to cure her parents. He wants something in exchange, though. It's up to her to save the Universe.

Will Lacy Dawn's predisposition, education, and magic be enough for her to save the Universe, Earth, and, most importantly, protect her own family?

Rarity from the Hollow is adult literary science fiction filled with tragedy, comedy and satire. It is a children's story for adults, not for the prudish, faint of heart, or easily offended.

Genres: Fantasy, Science Fiction, Adult, Fiction, Contemporary, Satire, Adult Fiction

284 pages, Paperback

First published March 11, 2012

About the author

Robert Eggleton has served as a children's advocate in an impoverished state for over forty years. He is best known locally for his nonfiction: investigative reports about children’s programs, most of which were published by the West Virginia Supreme Court. Today, he is a retired children's psychotherapist from a mental health center in Charleston, West Virginia, where he specialized in helping victims cope with and overcome physical and sexual abuse, and other mental health concerns.

Two of Eggleton's poems were published in the 1970s and another won first place in 2015 international poetry competition managed by the WSC Science Fiction & Fantasy Club/WillyCon. His debut novel, Rarity from the Hollow, was named one of five best reads in 2015 by a Codices, has been awarded Gold Medals by Awesome Indies and Readers' Favorite. Eggleton's short stories have appeared in magazines.

Author proceeds from Rarity from the Hollow are donated to a child abuse prevention program operated by Children’s Home Society of West Virginia. http://www.childhswv.org/ Robert continues to write adult literary science fiction with new adventures based on his work in the field of children's service. The overall theme of his stories remains victimization to empowerment.

Reviews

[Tori (InToriLex) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Find this and other Reviews at InToriLex


I was disturbed and confused while reading the first chapters. But once I settled into reading, I did enjoy the exploration of many mental health issues described throughout the book. This is definitely an adult book, which has explicit sexual acts and mentions children's physical and sexual abuse. I enjoyed the Lacy Dawn's as a protagonist, and the other very flawed characters were well described. However despite a unique story line, this novel is overly ambitious and ideas get wrapped around each other, but aren't actually completed.

This is the weirdest book I ever read in my life. The weirdness, kept me powering through even though the author brushed passed themes that should have been explained better. There was also alot of sexual description, that gave insight to characters disturbed psyche, but didn't advance the plot in anyway. The magical forest described in the synopsis, along with super powers, the robot/adviser/alien/developing man, advanced technology, a ghost who can inhabit inanimate objects to follow Lacy around, play essential parts of the plot but are all glossed over. The lazy world building.was the downfall of this book.

"Knowing everything doesn't mean that a person has a true answer to an actual question."

The characters in the book deal with fantastical aliens and space travel, while juggling everyday issues like the welfare office, and obtaining a GED. The back and forth between familiar problems and saving the universe for this disturbed family was at times jarring. I liked the writing and some of the info dump paragraphs about psychological issues were interesting.  Unfortunately this author could have  benefited from limiting the themes and characters explored because the bizarre ending didn't incorporate everything introduced. The fast pace and changing point of views  kept me engaged but didn't pay off because of the many questions I still have after reading. I would recommend this to adults, who can suspend some disbelief, enjoy science fiction, and can deal with sexual abuse and exploitation.


Author proceeds have been donated to a child abuse prevention program operated by Children's Home Society of West Virginia. This ebook was provided to me from the author, in exchange for a honest review.

[ReadAlongWithSue ★⋆. ࿐࿔catching up · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very well written book where the author has drawn on lots of his life life experiences in his work and connections.

It tackled severe disturbing scenes of child abuse that will make you cringe where at times I had to take a breather from the reading material. We see how this little girl has an alien friend dot.com.which takes us into an entire different dimension.

There is a whole heap of things I could say in this review but to write more than what other reviewers have already said wouldn't be adding anything different, in fact, it may be adding to the spoilers.
So I'm not going to mention more.

I have sat on this review.

My 4*mean a book is OK.
Well, it's more than OK ias it's written superbly but I struggled at its intensity and how real this became.

It verges on sci Fi, fantasy and a bit beyond my taste in reading material and not what I expected at all.
So to do a review where I can generalise it, this is all I can do.

Although it's not my genre (which I didn't realise until I read it) it's a fab book for those that fit this catagory.

The book came to me as a gift.

[Fidan Lurin · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was recently sent Rarity from the Hollow from the author, Robert Eggleton in exchange for an honest review.

I’m disturbed. I’m perplexed. I’m just confused. Like seriously. What in the great land of big foot’s name did I just read ? This story goes back and forth, up and down, sideways, vertical – in every possible direction you can imagine with little time to catch up or even get a grasp on what’s going on. A book which could have potentially been such a masterpiece, giving a realistic account of child abuse and the obstacles of childhood has let me down. From the very beginning this is a bizarre work of fiction that I cannot say I would recommend to anyone to read.

This is an irking tale revolving around a young, seemingly older girl named Lacey Dawn and her quest to fix her family. She lives in a troubled home with an abusive father and a submissive mother on her way to losing her teeth and her mind. Her best friend’s name is Faith. Why her name is Faith beats me as she constantly complains and plays dumb for as long as she’s present in the story, which is not long at all given that her psychotic father murders her not even fifty pages through. If that is not already troubling enough we learn soon on that Lacey Dawn has this super high intelligence level. So high that she doesn’t even really need to go to school. But she does anyway, simply by principle.

Lacey Dawn is best friends, perhaps more, with a sort of robot named DotCom who has the answers to just about everything and passes his knowledge onto Lacey Dawn.

The first portion of the book is marked with vivid, if not frightening evens including abuse, murder and depression. At first, it’s unclear exactly what role DotCom plays in this dark panorama. As the story progresses however the children: Lacy Dawn and Faith, or at least Faith’s spirit, must confront terrifying, often gruesome obstacles. They must figure out what they must sacrifice and choose what is dearest to them to hold onto. The margins between reality and the untouchable become increasingly buried in the depths of the story. This may sound enchanting and mysteriously intriguing for any science fiction fan. Sure, for me too. But it was not done fluidly. There were several moments that left me puzzled. It wasn’t that I just wasn’t following the climax or the characters. It just didn’t make sense to me. Reading is all about losing yourself in the fictional universe and discovering new heights of the imagination. This book just left me feeling flat and without any access into the story world. The whole time I was reading I was completely aware that I was reading, and that is not say that I was enjoying myself either.

What I did find intriguing was how the author dealt with mental illness. I have a high level of respect for novels which take on such a risk and reflect it vividly, but without exaggeration or romanticization, which is exactly as Eggleton managed to do. There are many forms of abuse and mental illness that are traversed, all giving a gruesome, yet utterly realistic depiction of such cases at their heights. The characters, especially the protagonist and her mother are overwhelmingly disturbed and suffer tremendously both from the world around them as well as from their own minds. Each character had problems of his or her own that came in different forms through the story, be it through technology or by death.

Nothing is every made clear and everything is constantly mysterious and blatantly unclear. I found the buildup and overall execution to be choppy and a bit rough. I often felt as though I was reading an unfinished draft. The fictional world itself was never really created. The story just dives in with little to no description or even sense of time. I think that’s what really bothered me most about this book. There was little for me to grasp onto in terms of space and time. I felt rather lost and unable to relate or step into the characters’ world. Real issues were superimposed into a magical universe made up of scientific discoveries and un-relatable objects so there was no way to really feel like I could belong anywhere which is usually what I look for when reading – to become one of the characters. I liked the idea of the author dealing with so many risky topics but the way it was all mushed up together just ruined the entire book for me because the whole time I was reading all I could think was “What?!!!!!!”

With a disturbing cast of characters, all which battle their psyche in bone-chilling ways and a rather confusing entrance into the story I am left to base my rating on the subject matter itself. I have a tremendous amount of respect and admiration for the authors attempt to use literature as a means to speak to the reader on abuse and mental illnesses. The real issues and thematics were all there and had so much potential for development. However, it was the development itself that was lacking and has lead me to give Rarity from the Hollow 2.5 stars. I close this book with the impression that this was an initial, and strong draft, not yet ready for publication.

[Dianne · Rating 2 out of 5]

What appears at first blush to be a wonderful vehicle to bring attention to child abuse and the horrific lives these children live, as well as the suffering of victims of PTSD and their families, became a convoluted tale of one young girl, whose life has been damaged and skewed, forcing her into her own world of self-protection. Pre-teen, young teen, Lacy Dawn is intelligent, but damaged. She still plays with her best friend, whose own father abused and killed her. Then there is her alien friend, the naked with no-gender obvious traits that she is in love with. She also wants desperately to “fix” her parents and her friend, Dot Com has offered to help.

Rarity from the Hollow by Robert Eggleton is pure satire, twisted, and his composite may best be stretched over more than one child. I found I was so sad for Lacy Dawn with her obsession with her panties, showing her panties and giving herself to Dot Com, while clearly not realizing he/she/it had no appropriate body parts. Her internal dialogue was disturbing, as was most of this tale, not because I do not want to think that children actually live with abuse, but this did not come across as a well-developed expose, satire or not on their situations. I did read this from cover to cover and never got that feeling of connection.

I would recommend to purchase this for the organization it benefits, or just donate to a child abuse agency in your own area directly, where every penny will go to help children in crisis.

I received this copy from Robert Eggleston in exchange for my honest review.
*PLEASE NOTE - THE AUTHOR STATES THE PROCEEDS FROM THIS NOVEL ARE GIVEN TO ORGANIZATIONS THAT DIRECTLY DEAL WITH IMPOVERISHED OR ABUSED CHILDREN IN CRISIS. THE CHARACTERS ARE COMPOSITES OF CHILDREN HE HAS ACTUALLY WORKED WITH.
Children's Home Society of West Virginia. http://www.childhswv.org/

Publication Date: March 11, 2012
Publisher: Dog Horn Publishing
Genre: Satire
Print Length: 284 pages
Available from: Amazon
For Reviews & More: http://tometender.blogspot.com

[Lonna | FLYLēF · Rating 4 out of 5]

Original Post: Rarity from the Hollow at FLYLēF (www.flylef.com)

Gazing out of my window into the vast darkness of the sky, I am struck by the brilliance of tonight's full moon—tonight's blue moon. Which coincidentally is the perfect ambiance to compose my review because once in a figurative blue moon, I enjoy stepping out of my comfort zone to read a genre that I normally wouldn't. Sometimes I greatly regret it and wonder, Why must you be so curious? This time though, I have few regrets, for I found Rarity from the Hollow, by Robert Eggleton, to deliver an entertaining acerbic satire of modern society, whilst still gently reminding us of many core values.

Rarity from the Hollow is a children's story for adults. It is a speculative fiction that touches on supernatural, fantastical, and futuristic elements, to create a darkly comedic novel that focuses on tough social issues such as domestic violence and sexually and emotional abuse. I would caution that this is not a light read, and not for the faint of heart. I tend to shy away from books that are so emotionally heavy. But, I was intrigue and stepping out of my comfort zone, remember? Plus, I was promised that this ends well.

For Lacy Dawn, life in The Hollow is challenging. With an abusive father, a nearly invisible mother, and a dead best friend, she’s certainly seen more than her share of tragedies. Things begin to look up for her after she befriends DotCom—a semi-organic robot who helps her “cure” her parents. In exchange, he wants her to save the Universe.

The story is captivating from the start with a very real and jaw-dropping conversation between Lacy Dawn and Faith (said dead best friend). This immediately sets the tone of the story and paves the way for many mature topics that are woven intimately, albeit convolutedly, throughout. Mr. Eggleton offsets some of the heaviness with moments of humor, love, and kindness through Lacy Dawn's adventures. More importantly, I like the strength that Lacy Dawn exhibits as she grows into a young lady. She represents a profound story of "victimization to empowerment."

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

+Received a copy in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!

THE WORLD: Technically most of the story is set up in The Hollow, West Virginia (USA) but we are also dealing with a spaceship and aliens so it's a bit intergalactic.

CHARACTERS: The main character is Lacy Dawn. The story starts when she's only 12 years old and we get introduced to her family environment via conversations she has with her best friend Faith. I have to say that they have very dysfunctional families, we're dealing with abusers here. Her dad is a veteran but he deals with it poorly because he's always drunk or stoned and he's suffering from PTSD I would say. He beats Lacy and her mom all the time with a switch! wtf? how the f? what? You cannot not call that monster a dad... anyway Faith's father is actually worse because she... well, ends up dying after being beaten and turns into a ghost. Lacy can see ghosts though, she can talk to Faith and to the trees (must be a magical forest or something). She is also friends with an alien robot called DotCom who promises Lacy to "fix" her family, which he does by hacking her parents brains, and he teaches her more than she can learn in school. DotCom's mission is to secure Lacy's employment for the future, to save the world. But because he's so nice Lacy sees him as her boyfriend and plans to marry him in the future... incredible. This book is very weird.

LOVE: Apart from Lacy and her "boyfriend" DotCom, there is no love whatsoever.

PLUS: Despite the weirdness of the whole story and the awful parenting examples, I did enjoy the book. It is definitely not my style but it didn't feel like a waist of time. I liked Lacy's character and her character growth and I liked the author's writing. I also enjoyed the its-and-bits of psychological issues that were presented every now and then.

MINUS: I think I didn't get the story's point... it sure was entertaining but it felt empty. I didn't really connect with any of the characters, Lacy was the closest to a connection but not even her could really drag me into the book. It was just too weird and disturbing for my mind.

OVERALL: 3 stars. Not for me but maybe it could be a better fit for some other adults who are more into weirdness and can deal with issues such as child abuse and inappropriate language. I want to mention that the author is a child therapist and of course he has probably heard even stranger stories so maybe I'm just missing the whole point.

*Author proceeds of the books get donated to a child abuse prevention program operated by Children's Home Society of West Virginia. Link: http://www.childhswv.org/.

—P.S. I Love That Book!

[Glenn Conley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is fascinating. And then, just when you thought it was going to get even more awesome, it goes full-on derpy derp, and gets stupid as fuck. It pissed me off so much. I don't know why books fail so often at being awesome throughout. It's like they just lose their mojo halfway through, and say 'fuck it'. Or in this author's case, I'm pretty sure he just got high as balls and just started pulling shit out of his ass.

This book is about a twelve-year-old girl named Lacy Dawn, and her android boyfriend from another planet, aptly named DotCom. I say it's apt, because DotCom is responsible for all the email spam in the entire universe. And there's actually a big spammer in the real world named Kim DotCom. So that kind of cracked me up.

Now, I'm not going to keep calling this stupid girl 'Lacy Dawn'. Because if you tell me your name is 'Lacy Dawn', I'm going to call you 'Lacy'. I mean, that just makes sense to me. Until I'm corrected, anyway. Nobody in this story ever even tries to call this girl 'Lacy', and I find that absolutely ridiculous.

Lacy has a very dysfunctional family. Her dad is a stoned-out drunk fucker that is suffering from PTSD from the Gulf war. He beats the ever-loving shit out of his wife and Lacy all the time. You know, for fun. He does it the old-fashioned way, with a switch. Or for them city-folk, a branch from a tree.

Which is fine, because Lacy has actual conversations with trees. Oh, and ghosts. Well, one ghost. Her name is Faith, and she lives in a tree. And she's a fucking asshole. But she does have good advice for Lacy from time to time.

The two-thousand-year-old DotCom android devises an evil plan to save Lacy's parents. He's gonna hack their motherfucking brains, and make them better. Because he's sick and fucking tired of seeing his little student get beaten by her parents.

You see, he doesn't even recognize that Lacy thinks he's her boyfriend. He's just an android doing a job. Securing Lacy's employment for a very important mission. To save the world, of course.

And this is where it goes full-on derpy derp. You see, to save the world, Lacy must go shopping in the biggest mall in the universe. No, not to get supplies, or something. That would make sense. No, she needs to go shopping to save the world. Like nobody is better at shopping than Lacy and her new and improved parents.

And yes, Lacy introduced DotCom as her boyfriend, and her parents were of course shocked. That is, until they noticed he was lounging around naked, and he had no cock or balls to speak of. Just smooth as a fucking Barbie doll down there. But not to worry, he learns how to grow some junk later, when he finally accepts Lacy's love.

But wait, there's an evil cockroach plot! I mean the goddamn cockroaches are taking over the mall. And they're taking over Lacy's dad's pot farm. Because of course he has a fucking pot farm. Because you would have to be high as fucking balls to write this shit. And the characters are constantly getting high, because apparently, you can't even participate in this story without being high as balls.

The last third of this book is about DotCom teaching Lacy's dog to communicate with roaches. So they can figure out what the fuck is going on. What can they do to help the roaches? Get 'em to move the fuck out of the mall, and out of dad's fucking pot crop. But seriously, if you can train the dog to talk to the roaches, why couldn't you just train Lacy to do it? Oh because it's cool to actually have a conversation with a dog. Which pretty much always goes like this: "Gimme bacon!"

So with the help of Lacy's dog, they negotiate a treaty with the roaches, and find them a new home. Well, it's not a new home. It's just the home they left thousands of years ago. But it's good as new now. So they move in and decide to call it 'Earth'.

This book really was fucking crazy. None of it made any fucking sense. It was a total cluster-fuck from beginning to end. And I fucking loved it. Because the author's writing style was absolutely brilliant. He weaved in first person and third person narratives like every other paragraph. And the imagination on this guy... Damn.

[1-Click Addict Support Group · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the interest of full disclosure, I really thought that this was going to be a DNF for me several times throughout the book. At about 30% in, I said "What in the bloody hell am I reading?" and put it down. I was not going to waste any more time, it was completely ridiculous, and where the heck was it going anyways? I sat there, and it was almost as if I was forced to pick it back up again. What was going to happen? How can this jumble come together with any coherency?

Well, it can't. Spoiler alert. It never gets any simpler, it never makes any more sense, and definitely only gets odder. I still don't really know where it meant to go, but it took me on one wild and crazy ride around in circles, that's for damn sure. Like one of those rides at the fair—the kind you love as a kid, but know better than to get on to soon after eating as an adult. It bounced me around, made me dizzy, and sometimes a little queasy. I fluctuated from wanting to get off, then to a desire to scream from the sheer pleasure of getting lost in a sensation again.

There was a lot of darkness. A lot. It dealt lightly with oversensitive subject matter—not so much for lack of caring, it seemed, but more to emphasize the lack of empathy in characters who didn't know a happier or safer way of life. This is their lot and they deal the best they can.

There was also massive amounts of suspended belief as this became a sci-fi fantasy before my eyes. Almost as if the plot was meandering along nicely, then, "Look a squirrel!" and off it goes, down one path after another until it just couldn't find its way back home.

Throw in some roaches (drugs and bugs), and you end up with this wiggly, creepy story that just will not die. The kind that worms its way into your house and cannot be gotten rid of. The kind that can make you feel high from too much secondhand bullshit coming from it.

I read Rarity from the Hollow in one sitting, because no matter what I did, I couldn't shake the addiction, or seem to exterminate the need to keep reading. It was ridiculous. It was awesome and terrible and pretty much everything. I kind of hope there's more to come. ~ George, 4 stars

[Claire - The Coffeeholic Bookworm · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lacy Dawn isn't your typical eleven year old kid. She has a lot of experiences under her belt, most of which aren't great. Imagine her and her toothless mom being beaten to the pulp, everyday by her Gulf War veteran father. A father who suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and deals with it by drinking, smoking weed and torturing his family, with a switch. Not a sight that would likely appeal to you, eh?

How about this? Lacy Dawn can also talk to trees, have I mentioned that? Oh and the trees converse back at her, liked it's the most normal thing they do. There's Faith the ghost, too. And then there's DotCom, an Android who's slowly growing older like Lacy. Who Lacy introduces as her boyfriend, and who tells her, she's destined to save the universe.

You see, life isn't typical where Lacy Dawn is concerned. The constant abuse, heartbreaking experiences and other children's account of maltreatment and sexual assault had struck me deep. This book is actually an eye-opener, revealing the harsh truth about Hollow and the real world, if you could see it that way. Robert Eggleton wrote a hard-hitting and amusing story that will make you realize life isn't fair and there's more to it than you'll ever know.

This is a different kind of science-fiction that would definitely tug at your hearstrings.

[Yvonne (It's All About Books) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Finished reading: August 16th 2015

“Right is right and wrong is wrong. It's just like you know in your heart. Good and evil have always been and will always be the balance on which survival of the universe depends.”

*** A copy of this novel was kindly provided to me in exchange for an honest review. Thank you! ***



I received a copy of Rarity From The Hollow for review and it turned out to be an interesting enough read. It might not be for everyone because of the use of swear words, many sexual references and the use of marijuana, but then again Rarity From The Hollow is supposed to be 'a children's story for adults'. The swearing and drug use didn't really bother me, but some of the sexual references did. Especially the way Lacy Dawn's parents act around her and talk to her... And I wasn't really sure what to think of the fact that Lacy Dawn is really young and constantly asks if Dotcom wants to see her panties either. That said, the story in general is quite creative and tells us Lacy Dawn's adventures  while growing up. Especially the scenes set in Shptiludrp, the largest Shopping Mall in the universe, are quite creative and show an alternative future where materialism corrupts the world even more than the current situation... And the cockroach infestations was a nice twist as well. The pace is fast and makes it easy to read: all in all it was an enjoyable read.



Lacy Dawn is not an ordinary little girl and she doesn't live in an ordinary place. With talking trees, the ghost of her best friend and a two thousand year old alien named Dotcom to keep her company, she tries to escape her brutal life at home. Her dad is the violent type and her mom doesn't know how to protect herself or her daughter... And Lacy Dawn is determined to make them better. But there is a bigger task out there for her; it has been decided many years ago Lacy Dawn is the one that must save the universe. How? There is a cockroach infestation at the Shptiludrp Shopping Mall, the central planet of the universe, and Lacy Dawn has to find a way to get rid of it. But things are not that easy and she will need all the help she can get...



Rarity From The Hollow is without doubt an intriguing story. The adventures of Lacy Dawn are nothing less than creative and the story is told almost like a diary. I'm not sure I can truly appreciate the prose as the many sexual references, especially those related to the young Lacy Dawn, were actually quite disturbing. But the pace is fast and the rest of the story is definitely interesting. This novel might not be for everyone, but that doesn't mean it's not good.

P.S. Find more of my reviews here.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lacy Dawn resides in the back woods of Appalachia with her poverty-stricken family. Although a bright girl, she suffers abuse at the hands of her father. Her best friend, who also has an abusive family, is killed early in the book. Aside from her intelligence, the only things in Lacy Dawn's favor are her ability to talk to trees and the alien android who took up residence 'Roundabend,' who is enhancing her intelligence for his own purposes.

Although this could be the setup for a rather dark and frightening novel, it soon explodes into satire. The android, named DotCom, turns out to be an employee of the distant planet Shptludrp, which is a giant shopping mall. Lacy Dawn has been bred throughout humanity's existence to save the mall, which is the hub of all civilization. As Lacy Dawn matures, she convinces DotCom to heal her family so they can help her. This ends the abuse and they go on to establish themselves as champion traders, getting the best deals at the mall and selling their strange intergalactic wares in a big yard sale and online as "Rarity from the Hollow." This positions Lacy Dawn and her family to do what's necessary to save the universe. All the while, she's coming of age and bringing DotCom right along with her.

There's a lot to like in this novel. Lacy Dawn is a clever and engaging character, who overcomes her difficult family situation, and her blossoming sexuality with homespun, common sense wisdom. She's equally at ease talking to alien androids, her classmates, the trees, and ghosts. Eggleton makes an admirably smooth progression from the grim realities of Appalachian life to the broadly satirical look at the "alien" economics of consumerism and how a smart kid can find solutions to problems entrenched management have made for themselves.

Unfortunately, I felt Eggleton undercut these strengths with an over reliance on potty and drug humor. Also, the full omniscient head-hopping became dizzying at times, especially with the occasionally interspersed first-person thought, not set apart with italics or helpful punctuation.

The novel is like the residents of the Hollow, imperfect but worth knowing. Lacy Dawn, her family, and friends go on a journey that is both fun and thought-provoking. What's more, Eggleton is donating the novel's proceeds to a child abuse prevention program operated by Children’s Home Society of West Virginia.

[Join the Penguin Resistance! · Rating 4 out of 5]

REVIEW: RARITY IN THE HOLLOW by Robert Eggleston

Appalachia is a beautiful, scenic region, with a glorious environment (or at least that was so before mining, mountaintop removal, and tourism). But as glorious as is the backdrop, much of life Isn't pretty, nor even tolerable (or even legal). Perhaps if all the inhabitants were emotionless drones or androids, life would be acceptable. But then, among robots or androids, such goings on would never occur, because so much of crime, abuse, and other dangers spring directly from human emotions, which certainly run at full flood throughout this story. When life is intolerable, escape is essential; when physical escape is impossible, the mind must find its own way out, through reading, compartmentalizing--or the madness of a diseased imagination.

Rated 18+ for language and situations
,

[Fran · Rating 5 out of 5]

Living in a world where your mainstay of communication are the trees in the Roundabend, a ghost that was your friend what was killed by her father, other inanimate objects that you hope will give you advice and an Android that becomes the center of your attention. Living in poverty, fearful of your actions and dealing with an abusive father and a negligent mother, what hope does a young child have? There are many issues brought to light in Rarity from the Hollow as we take the journey inside the Hollow and meet Lacy Dawn, her father Dwayne and mother Jenny. Having to hide material things that she wants in order to further her education, taking pride in being super smart, never late or absent from school and getting straight A’s, Lacy Dawn often hides away from her home, winds up sleeping on a boat owned by her Android friend DotCom and finds little solace at first even speaking to a father that is violent, abusive to not only her but her mother too. His weapon of choice a switch and no one at first would dare speak up to him or defy him when he does come home and he’s usually drunk. Lacy Dawn goes to meet her friends and hopes to escape her home life knowing that as an almost teen she can only do so much yet she is exceptional, kindhearted, astute and living in a community that is quite backward where the people there have little or no education, she is unique and seems to thrive in her own way. In order to cope she speaks to the trees, to Faith her loyal and deceased friend, DotCom who teaches her about the world and important subjects in school except he has a motive and that’s to take on a serious and important job: TO SAVE THE UNIVERSE and if she does he will fix her parents and make them normal and loving. But, can she take on such an important task? Lacy Dawn rationalizes her motives, her actions and is in constant fear of her father if she arrives home and he is out of sorts. He is a veteran suffering from PTSD and gets violent at times. But, her secret friend can cure him even though he is an Android programmed to not really deal with human emotions but at times you forget he’s a robot of some type and not a real person. Her father and mother are dysfunctional and her mother just wants to learn to drive but has to hide the fact from her father. Jenny, her mother is not educated and at times she appears but mentally she is not there even though physically she is present in the situation but disregards the realities of much of what she is going through and almost accepts her sad fate. DotCom comes to the rescue as long as she signs a contract to save the entire universe. Telling her what she has to do to prepare her parents to be reprogrammed and fixed she enlists the help of the dog, a great character, that she communicates with, Brownie to dig certain holes in the yard in order for wiring of some type to be placed there. But, Lacy Dawn is quick and smart has a clever way of hiding the holes. DotCom teaches her things she is not learning in school and using what he has taught her and talking to the forest trees and other inanimate objects, she helps her friends and fixes her family.
How do you live knowing that someone is using you as a hitting board on a daily basis? Why doesn’t her mother fight back? Not finishing high school, Jenny wants her GED but Dwayne cannot know that and the study materials are hidden as well as the fact that she wants to learn to drive. PTSD is serious and often veterans relive many of the nightmares that they endured when returning home. Not working, violent and arrogant he is one character that is not very likeable or even strong-minded as he gives into his own disabilities and has no desire at first to change or better himself.
DotCom is a major part of Lacy Dawn’s world and she even states she is going to marry him. But, when his superior learns about her, her resignation not to take on the job of saving the universe, DotCom’s wiring is disconnected and he is reprogrammed not to have any human feelings towards Lacy Dawn. But, little does anyone know that she is tough and when she decides to negotiate watch out and just say yes to whatever she demands. He’s an android sent to Earth over 2000 years ago and is supposed to get her to save the universe. Not human he understands what’s inside of him and programmed but not that she considers him “her man.” Meanwhile her parents are finally fixed and they become romantic at all times of the day when their neighbor Tom who sells, grows and supplies everyone with “Weed,” offers her father a job as a manager of one of his businesses.
Going back to talk to the trees in this magical forest, we learn that they only talk to kids who need help and advice and poor Lacy Dawn needs all the help she can get being in the fifth grade and 11 you wonder where she gets living in this far from enriched environment so much common sense and intelligence. While visiting DotCom we learn that his role is to create her genetic history for the next 1000 years in order for her to prepare to save the universe. Attaching a monitor or port to her she learns many lessons that her school does not teach. Brownie continues to dig a ditch to their house so that she can lay cables that will eventually as it has already fixed her parents but for how long? So, when her father starts bringing home lost of money from the lucrative working for Tom, they spend tons of time in a strange mall shopping. DotCom take Lacy Dawn to his home planet with her mother to meet the head of the mall, who never quite met anyone like Lacy Dawn in a place called Shptiludrp or shop till you drop, sounds great to me, which is run by a really powerful and mean man named Mr. Prump. Jenny gets her teeth repaired and looks great and she and her husband rekindle their love. In order for Lacy Dawn to accept her job to save the universe she enlists the help of her father to learn more about her mission but they that does not happen. Instead, they become great shoppers and their spending and shopping skills are first rate making them celebrities on Shptiludrp and everyone wants to know them and get their autograph. But, the shopping spree is quite unique as Mr. Plump explains that they need a high score at the end of the spree in order to negotiate the job that Lacy Dawn has to do to save the universe. As DotCom is not partially human and he is now her Advocate, he states the lengthy rules for shopping and what happens when Dwayne has to bargain with storeowners is hilarious and when Lacy Dawn realizes discrepancies it’s like a chapter out of a wild comedy sitcom. Deciding what to do with all of the merchandise they brought comes next as Lacy Dawn decides on a yard sale and that leads to her needed to learn more computer skills, creating a website, publicizing it and much more. With the help of her parents she just might succeed as Jenny now has her learner’s permit and things should get even more complicated now.
At times downtrodden, feeling that they are not equal to anyone else, yet although her parents are dysfunctional, not always on task nor savvy to more worldly ways you begin to wonder if they are just trying to cope with life and its difficulties, feel useful and needed and hopefully fulfill some of their own special dreams.
Next we learn the rationale behind perks for shopping, the rules of how you get more points and the next thing we know is that they are totally rich. But, where to hide the money, what about the IRS and taxes and how is all of this money affecting their family, their loyalties and Lacy Dawn’s relationship with DotCom? Dwayne’s bookkeeping skills are quite unique. Lacy Dawn’s computer and website skills are creative, her mother at times seems strong while at other times is engrossed in her shopping and other areas. DotCom has become money oriented and some of his android qualities seem to be diminishing.
The story continues as they form a team consisting of her parents, DotCom, Tom and herself and at times we hear from Faith who feels left out since she is no longer alive but has her own opinion about what is happening. Dealing with Mr. Plump and his double and learning the rules about high and low scoring items when shopping gives a whole new meaning to creating a different hierarchy for people or standards for them to live by. The author delves into why Earth was at first an undeveloped planet and how it later becomes the prime place for everyone to live but just how and if she saves the universe is quite unique and you definitely won’t figure it out. But, first realize that she starts the novel by showing how she can fix some of the students in her school who have problems wanting to fix her parents and herself but loses or has no idea of how and the final ending will leave you wondering just where the world is going, who will live there, what places are habitable and who or what will live there and rule.
The ending creates much discussion as the team along with Mr.Prump and his brother Mr. Rump have to coordinate with the rest to decide where the living things that have invaded Shptiludrp and find somewhere they can all survive, enough ways to transport them and hopefully save the universe but first they deal with Welfare, food stamps, courts and many other bureaucratic groups that each one has to find a way override their decisions and come out on top. Jenny becomes quite adept at dealing with Welfare and caseworkers, while Dwayne comes through at times in a pinch along with Tom. But, who saves the Universe and will the plan work? The only way you will find out is to go deep inside the Hollow, join the team of colorful, interesting and downtrodden characters and find out if a dysfunctional, poverty stricken, uneducated, group of mismatched adults, one android and one very bright teen can save the world. The author gives us much pause for thought as we read this uniquely crafted story about some real life situations handled in very unorthodox ways filled with humor, sarcasm, heartfelt situations and fun.
Fran Lewis: Just reviews/MJ magazine

[Anne · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a strange book! Maybe not the strangest book I've ever read, but still, pretty fucking strange.

The first part is where we meet Lacy Dawn and her dysfunctional family and neighbours. They live in the Hollow, a semi-fictional rural community in the region of Appalachia in the US (I'm calling it semi-fictional because there are plenty of 'hollows' out there just like this one). The first chapter opens up with child abuse seeming like the most normal thing in the world to these people. Add some more domestic violence, sexual abuse, smoking pot and welfare kings and queens to the mix and you think you figured it out. That's when DotCom, an ancient alien android designed to look like a human except for his genital parts, enters the story and everything changes. With the help of DotCom, Lucy Dawn is determined to fix her parents and thereby, creating a better life for herself as well. DotCom also happens to be her boyfriend. Which is okay for a 12-year-old girl because he doesn't have any genitals anyways.

Even though this might sound batshit crazy to you (and it is, really), I liked this first part of the book the most. Being a European girl who grew up in a relatively wealthy environment, it's always fascinating to see hillbillies on TV, wondering how on earth people can still live like this in 2016. Then again, we've got our own versions of hillbillies here as well and I think if you're born in such an environment, it's extremely hard to get out of it. Unless you have a secret alien android boyfriend parked in a spaceship Roundabend of course.

The second part of the book was my least favourite part. It became pretty confusing when Lacy Dawn had to save the universe by going on a shopping spree on another planet, Shptiludrp (which also happens to be the central planet of our universe in Lacy Dawn's world). It was a test to see if she would be capable enough of solving the actual problems on Shptiludrp and thereby, saving planet Earth in the meantime. You're still following me? Good, because I'm like this again...


The third part covers the actual saving of the universe. And it involves seducing cockroaches. I really felt like I was on crack throughout the last 40% of the book or so; boy, does the author have a heck of an imagination! Last time I felt this way was when I was reading books from the L.Frank Baum's Oz series.

Apart from a couple of info dumps that could've been skipped if it were up to me, the writing style was good. It was kept simple, yet not simple at all which can be quite an achievement. The psychology that was weaved throughout the book really showed Eggleton's tremendous experience in the field. Since studying psychological behaviour has always been a hobby of mine, I found the references pretty interesting.
“I guess sometimes a person becomes what he pretends to be. I pretended that I had a good reason to be mad and I was. Then, I pretended that I wasn't mad and somehow it went away.”
My favourite character was probably Brownie because A. he's a super smart dog, B. he's called brownie, duh, and C. he gets embarrassed about his own farts, something I keep hoping my dog will do as well some day. My least favourite character was Jenny, Lacy Dawn's mother, because all she could think of was dressing up and seducing her husband. While leaving her daughter neglected most of the time.

Even though it sometimes added up to the general confusion, I liked reading the thoughts of every single individual involved in a scene. Even Brownie's thoughts were captured, which is why I know he's so embarrassed about his farting.

This is a book which is definitely not meant for everyone. I'm still having a hard time figuring out what I thought of it exactly! There's a lot of swearing, sexual puns and references, marijuana and crazy town involved. Seeing as I'm Dutch and really can't be shocked all too much when it comes to drugs, the abundance of smoking pot wasn't an issue to read about for me at all. I can imagine this doesn't apply to everyone, though.
Also, if you don't feel any connection to sci-fi whatsoever, I strongly suggest passing on this one as well because the odd sci-fi twists and turns make it a requirement to having at least a bit of sci-fi imagination hardwired into your brain.

Even though this book is batshit crazy weird, it still delivers the message of why it's so important to try and prevent child abuse. The naive voice of Faith, Lacy Dawn's friend who has been killed by her own father, is heartbreakingly shocking and I don't doubt for a second that there are lots of children who think it's normal to be treated that way by their parents or feel that they are to be blamed themselves for the abuse.

I ended up giving it 2.5 brownies because it's not a bad book by any means, but I can't say it was really my cup of tea either. I'm positively sure it can be a 5-star rated book for someone else, though!

A big thank you to Robert Eggleton for providing me a copy of his book in exchange for an honest review! 

[The Reviewer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lacy Dawn is just a kid. She lives in a poor area, where drugs and domestic violence are common. Lacy Dawn can help the other kids though, with magic taught to her by her secret friend DotCom.

“’It’s a kid’s job to help her parents and any kid who don’t ain’t much of a kid and maybe don’t even deserve to live!’ Faith yelled…”

Lacy Dawn is in the fifth grade when her friend Faith is beaten to death by her dad. Lacy Dawn’s own father beats her and her mother frequently. Sometimes even Lacy Dawn’s dog, Brownie, suffers this abuse. Her mother became pregnant with Lacy Dawn in the eighth grade and now spends her days secretly studying for her GED (she has to hide the study guide from her husband). Her dad suffers from PTSD, and uses weed to try and make himself better. Lacy Dawn is smart for her age, but she’s still just a kid.

Lacy Dawn is special though. Us humans don’t realize it, but beings not from Earth have figured it out. That’s why DotCom has been sent to teach her. Lacy Dawn also hopes he’ll help fix her family.

“’I told you I got extra help learning stuff when we had our clubhouse. You said he was Jesus and I got pissed off. He’s a lot more powerful than Jesus.’”

This book has been described as a laugh-out-loud book, but I disagree with that. I found it to be very dark. Sure, it has humorous moments, but it’s not a comedy. The author’s categorization is, “elements of everyday horror, paranormal, true love type romance, mystery, and adventure. The content addresses poverty, domestic violence, child maltreatment, local and intergalactic economics, mental health issues – including PTSD experienced by Veterans and the medicinal use of marijuana for treatment of bipolar disorder, capitalism, and touches on the role of Jesus.”

Yes, the book is dark, but it’s also good. It’s well-written and it makes you think. Here I think it’s worth it to mention that the author is a retired mental health psychotherapist. He’s had to work with the sort of people described in his novel, which may be why everything comes across so vividly. Of course, the matter-of-fact voice of a pre-teen narrator may also explain that.

I found this book to be worth the read, but only if you’re in the mood for something dark.

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[JD Nelson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Robert Eggleton is a gifted storyteller of boundless imagination and masterful skill. Rarity from the Hollow is a dark, humorous and suspenseful science-fantasy story that showcases Eggleton's expert characterization, description and dialogue. His frank and honest portrayal of poverty in rural Appalachia is reminiscent of Stephen King's use of "everyday horrors" to create a convincing sense of dread. Eggleton counters the story's dark mood with touches of warmth and humor, à la Ray Bradbury. I look forward to reading more from this rare, original author." J. D. Nelson, Poet, http://www.MadVerse.com

[Aly · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book to me was very different in a good way. I love the character of Lacy and I love the idea of her powers to help. This book was unique and I enjoy finding books that to not fit any type of certain mold. Lucy's father is a bad guy and I do not like his character but what is a story without good and evil right? * I received this book from the author in exchange for an honest review*

[Susan Hampson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is probably one of the most strange, bizarre and utterly compelling books that I have read in a while. I got the feeling that it was set years ago from the descriptions of the back water town where Lacy Dawn lives with her dysfunctional family, but events that were mentioned such as the Golf War put it much later. The Hollow, the place she lives, is a where child abuse of every form is common place, with her best friend Faith, ‘murdered by the meanest daddy’. Lace Dawn is quite a special girl and deals with what life throws at her in her own way. She tries to keep out of the way of her family and spends time talking to trees and her dead friend…………. and they talk back.
Lacy Dawn is befriended by a semi organic, part robot alien, called Dotcom  who educates her with technology far more advanced than anyone one else has access to. This gives her the knowledge to ‘cure her family and help others’. Nothing is for free and Lacy is expected to pay a price.
This book is at times very hard to read because of the child abuse, so if this is the type of thing that will deeply upset you then it isn’t a book that you should consider reading at all. Don’t get me wrong the book is well written and although a sci fi book it is easy to draw parallels with real life situations too.
I went from reading a book about child abuse at its worst, to a sci fi element and saving the world which I really liked to be honest, but I wasn’t sure about the wrap up in the last third. I sort of thought ‘really?’ I did though enjoy the book on the whole.
The author gives 50% of all royalties from this book to a charity for Child Abuse Prevention.

[Rachael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Where do I start? Firstly I would like to thank Robert for kindly sending me a copy for review. I would like to point out that my views are my own, and entirely unbiased.
Let me begin by saying that this is not my genre of choice. I have never been one for science fiction or supernatural fantasy. I prefer my novels to be rooted in reality. That said, I thoroughly enjoyed Rarity in the Hollow. It is well written, extremely detailed and Robert has a wonderful sense of imagination. The book is described as a children’s story for adults and I fully agree. It addresses problems such as abuse and domestic violence but in a lighthearted and almost humorous way whilst telling a story fit for a children’s fairytale book, where a brave and heroic school girl saves the universe with her trusty dog and best friend by her side.
For fans of the genre I would absolutely recommend Rarity from the Hollow.

[Andrea Hatfield · Rating 4 out of 5]

*I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review and all opinions within this review are my own.*

I was really excited when Robert Eggleton, the author of "Rarity from the Hollow", emailed me asking for a review of Rarity from the Hollow. For one thing I love books that are centered in my home state and another thing is I love helping out fellow Mountaineers. I became even more excited when I continued reading the email and found out that Mr. Eggleton donates his author proceeds to a child abuse prevention program operated by Children’s Home Society of West Virginia in his home state. Further into the review I will place a link to the CHSofWV webpage so you can see for yourself the things the program is doing to help the youth of WV.

Lacy Dawn is an extremely smart eleven year old girl who is living an extremely hard life. She has to deal with poverty, abusive and neglectful parents. Her father, who is a Gulf War vet and is suffering from PTSD, constantly beats Lacy Dawn and her mother Jenny. Jenny is under-educated, there in physical form but is mentally absent when it comes to parenting and has lost her teeth as a result of having Lacy Dawn and poverty. Lacy Dawn has been told by DotCom (Bucky), an android, that it is up to her to save the entire universe. With help from her friends and family will Lacy Dawn be able to find a way to save the universe?

Lacy Dawn is our heroin and at the beginning of the story only a mere eleven years old. She is wise beyond her years, because she has had education lessons from DotCom for years, and she uses that knowledge to help friends and family in her own way. For a kid, I think she handled the news of saving the universe very well, but I think in most situations kids do handle things better than we expect them to. I really liked Lacy Dawn's character.

Jenny, Lacy Dawn mother, has been beaten down everyday since her husband and Lacy Dawn's father returned from the Gulf War. She never finished high school so she is studying to take her GED test but she has to hide to study and she has to keep her study book hidden so Dwayne never finds it. Jenny also longs to get her drivers license one day. At times in the beginning I felt like Jenny was more content living in her past than trying to change her current situation.

Dwayne, Lacy Dawn's father, is suffering severely from PTSD and the VA has been unable to help him overcome it. Along with drinking and smoking weed on a daily basis he also beats the crap out of Lacy Dawn and Jenny using a switch. A good bit of this book I hated Dwayne's character and wanted nothing more than to knock the crap out of him.

DotCom, aka Bucky, plays a huge part throughout the entire story. He starts off as an android sent to Earth over 2000 years ago to enlist Lacy Dawn's help to save the universe. He is completely oblivious to the fact that Lacy Dawn has declared him to be her boyfriend and it almost seems like he really doesn't know what that means. About halfway through the book he hits puberty and finally starts to notice Lacy Dawn. I got really aggravated with the fact that he was constantly telling her that it was her job to save the universe but expected an eleven year old girl to figure out how.

Tom is their neighbor who grows and supplies the entire hollow with weed and seems to have his hands into everything from pizza joints to portable potties. He seems like a nice enough guy but a little bit of a prev.

I absolutely loved Lacy Dawn's dog Brownie because of the brief glimpses into his thoughts in about the middle of the book. It was so funny and with that alone he became a favorite. I mean who wouldn't want to know what it is that their dog is thinking.

Faith is Lacy Dawn's best friend, and a little bit into the story she is killed by her father. She then becomes a ghost that stays in the magical type forest that is near Lacy Dawn's house and inhabits different inanimate objects so she can talk to Lacy Dawn. Being Lacy Dawn's best friend she tries to give her advice when she needs it but sometimes she is a little annoying because it's very immature.

Okay so now lets talk about the magical type of forest for a minuet. Lacy Dawn has the ability to talk to the trees and hold conversations with them. Apparently the trees will only talk to the kids who really need someone to talk to and with everything that Lacy Dawn has to endure that's just what she needs.

"Rarity from the Hollow" is purely a work of fiction but there is a deeper message embedded within the pages. Robert Eggleton touches on the sick but all to true issues of child abuse, child molestation, domestic violence, alcoholism, drug use and poverty that are plaguing not only the beautiful state of West Virginia but every corner of the world. If you take away the sci-fi and fantasy aspect of this story this very well could be some child's life.

I really enjoyed "Rarity from the Hollow". Robert Eggleton has woven a story packed full of adventure, desperation, pain, heartache, romance, and humor. While this may be a book that might not be everyone's cup of tea I definitely think that everyone should give this book a try. Although, I do feel that this is a book not recommended for children because of the issues and certain events that are described within the book.

[Nina Miteva · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ревюто на български - тук

This is the story of a little girl, Lacy Dawn, from a family that is about to break. Lacy's father is a war veteran and suffers from the trauma of his past. His suffering echoes throught the whole family, bringing it down with him. Meanwhile, the life of Lacy's friend gets a turn even for a worse. Lacy's life changes dramatically when she meets DotCom - a robot who has a very special mission for her.
Lacy Dawn is a half part growing up story, half part sci-fi adventure, all graced with with a touch of fantasy and a fair share of reflections (or rather, episodes that should make you reflect) on some actual problems. For the sci-fi part, I quite enjoyed the authors imagination. He created such an entertaining world in outer space. While in the book there aren't great space battles with all their flare, it is definitely filled with adventures and emotions. I really liked the relationships between the characters and how they evolved, especially of Lacy and DotCom.
Along with the fantastic adventure, the book mentions some serious issues like disfunctional families and child abuse. The author stays subtle, so I don't think anyone will feel disturbed because of that (tho I don't think anyone should) but the problems are present. As the author says, sex themes are mentioned mostly in the form of puns. Actually, to the end, I growed bit annoyed with this as the trope simply got overused. There is a certain limit of panty mentions for one book. However, I do appreciate the author bring those themes forward, as it is something we need to talk about.
I had tons of fun with the family's adventures both on Eart and in space. What the alien world turned to be was an awesome surprise, but I shouldn't give spoilers. And it was so heartwarming to see love and friendship and care grow where there used to be ruins. Part of me was sad that it was possible with a little bit of sci-fi/magic, which is hardly to be expected in the real world. But my other half thought of it as a metaphore that even if it all depends on the person's inner desire and intent to make things better, it is more than ok to seek or accept help from outside, when you feel you can't make it on your own. I also want to say how much I liked the fact that Lacy's whole family takes part. In most books, in similar situations, we are more likely to see the main character cutting all connections and going on on her/his own, but this novel brings the family together.
However, even if all those episodes were really interesting, as the novel went on, I thought it started loosing focus. Chapter after chapter we followed Lacy's life, but still without knowing her mission. She herself admited at one point forgetting about it. As I was really looking forward to it, at times this lack of direction almost made me want to drop the book. I am one of the readers who prefer a plot that is going somewhere, where the series of events combine and lead to the culmination, opposed to the slice-of-life narrative. I must admit tho, that when in the very end of the book Lacy's mission was uncovered, I thought it genious and it made me laugh out loud.
In conclusion, Rarity from the Hollow was quite the unusual book. It had some details that weren't fully to my reader's taste, but even so it was a novel filled with wonders. It had original characters, interestion situations, episodes that brought a smile on my face and it also can make you think. I would recommend it to fans of modern litterature and sci-fi lovers who don't shy from more unusual storytellings and give it 4 out of 5 stars

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I first read Rarity from the Hollow two years ago, when the author, Robert Eggleton contacted me and asked me to consider it. It seemed interesting, edgy and different, so I took a chance, and was immediately hooked on his concept and his story. I was supposed to review it then, life got in the way, and it was a year (and a revised edition) later before I wrote a review. Somehow, that review got eaten by WordPress, and after far too much patience on Mr. Eggleton’s part, I’ve rewritten it and am posting it now.

Described as a ‘fairy tale for adults,’ this novel looks at PTSD, poverty, child sexual abuse and child murder – any one of which could be considered a trigger for most readers – wraps them in literary science fiction, and gives us a protagonist in Lacy Dawn (who is also the primary POV character) who is sensitive, spunky, inquisitive, and manages to contain within herself a combination of too much awareness and childish innocence that should not work, but strangely does.

Calling this novel a fairy tale or science fiction, while accurate, is also limiting, because it’s so much more than both. Parts of this story are quite tragic – when we first meet Lacy Dawn, she is coaching her best friend Faith on a spelling test, her father is abusive and her mother is battered in both body and spirit. Within a few chapters, Faith has been killed, but her spirit lingers and her relationship with Lacy Dawn does as well, but then, our heroine also talks to trees, understands her dog Brownie, and has an android boyfriend named DotCom who is also recruiting her for a business venture (no, nothing salacious).

(As an aside, DotCom is my favorite of the supporting characters – but that’s probably because of my decades old crush on Data from Star Trek: The Next Generation.)

In many ways, Rarity from the Hollow feels like a coming-of-age novel for adults. As we experience the end of true childhood and the beginning of adolescence with Lacy Dawn, we also confront the leftover issues from our own childhoods – our relationships with our friends and families, our own choices about sex and love and when to act on each, how we handled college and our first careers.

Unlike Lacy Dawn, we don’t have magical abilities or help from androids from other planets. We have to muddle through our lives in a world that is increasingly dangerous and frightening, but novels like Rarity from the Hollow give us the ability to engage in self-reflection while living vicariously through fictional characters. Author Eggleton has couched some very important truths in a story that is equal parts entertaining and provocative.

Not to be overlooked are some truly comic moments. DotCom’s anatomy changes as he moves toward an adult relationship and there’s a creative use of a laptop and the inner wish that perhaps he should have worn clothes that is described in a way worthy of a Monty Python sketch.

If you enjoyed Piers Anthony’s Mode series (which I haven’t read in over twenty years), or are a fan of the work of Douglas Adams (Not just The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. I’m addressing those who like Dirk Gently, also.) you will likely enjoy Rarity from the Hollow, because Robert Eggleton excels at mixing the absurd and nearly preposterous with the incredibly real. However, even if you’re not a fan of those authors, I still recommend this novel. It’s sharply written, well crafted, genre-defying, and totally worth the time spent reading it.

[Martha · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a decidedly weird read full of engaging characters and humor.

Ahem (clearing throat)– Whew-Oookay. I have read a few very strange books. This one may be the strangest yet. Strange but engaging in a…. weird way. I think a good word is “bizarre” (definition: very strange or unusual, especially so as to cause interest or amusement).

Lacy Dawn is really a wonderful character! She is a young person with an old soul. Lacy Dawn is a 13-year-old fifth grader, residing in an impoverished community known as The Hollow, in West Virginia. Lacy Dawn lives in a falling down home with her dysfunctional family. Her father, Dwayne, is a Gulf War veteran suffering from PTSD and medicating with pot. Her mother, Jenny, sacrificed her dreams of wealth and comfort to stay with her husband, even when he is broken. Oh, and I almost forgot the family dog, Brownie, who learns to communicate later in the story. And, almost part of the family, is Lacy Dawn’s best friend, Faith, who lives – and dies – in an abusive family situation, but continues as a spirit in Lacy Dawn’s beloved trees. And finally, there is Tom, an entrepreneur neighbor who hires Dwayne after Dwayne gets some healing help from Lacy Dawn’s other friend, Dot.com.

Lacy Dawn thinks it is her job to fix her family. But how can she do that? Well --- with the help of Dot.com of course. Dot.com is an android, computer intelligence, that (whom) she discovered ‘round the bend’, in a space-ship hidden in a cave. Dot.com is an integral part of Lacy Dawn’s life. He has been educating her beyond the levels of her grade and she is convinced he will be her future mate. As time goes by, Dot.com, aka Bucky, begins to grow more human. The mental assimilations are understandable; the physical growth – ahh – interesting! According to Dot.com, Lacy Dawn was planted/seeded by his superiors millennia ago to save the universe. That is her destiny if she will accept it.

Dot.com has to introduce Lacy Dawn to his world and Shptiludrp. There she will learn about the task she must accept if she chooses to save the Universe. Before she will accept her monumental destiny, Lacy Dawn engages the help of her family and friends as it will take everyone working together to pull this off. About this point the story takes off on another strange tack which I’m not sure I should disclose. It is totally bizarre but I was compelled to read to the end to find out what happened.

There is a lot of prurient comment coming from the view of a mostly innocent 13-year-old who doesn’t plan on having sex until she marries, and that only after college. I would caution that the story is not for the squeamish. I’d say ‘prudish’ but I have always had a tendency towards being prudish and I got through this. There is quite a bit of point of view hopping but that worked with the bizarreness of the story. I do think the author shares a certain picture of the difficult life of those in poverty. Some people might try to find a deeper meaning or philosophy in this but I am not digging that deeply. I accepted it as a zany adventure.

Would I read more of Lacy Dawn’s adventures? I just might when in a mood for an off-the-wall portrayal of life. If you are a reader who likes humor and is willing to take a chance on a bizarre read, this would be a good choice.

I received this title from the author for an honest review.

[J.E. Barrett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rarity From the Hollow

A Wonderfully Fun Story!


“Rarity From the Hollow” was a great read and nothing like I expected! The author takes the reader on a fun filled journey through the fictional world that he has created. Before reading the story, I had made a number of assumptions, based on the author’s background and the description of the book, but I was wrong on all counts. I thought that the story might get preachy and heavy handed in the delivery of its message. I thought that maybe this was just another author trying to copy Douglas Adams and the very successful, “Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” series. I could not have been more wrong on both counts. The book does deal with some very serious issues, including child abuse, poverty, lack of education and substance abuse. Instead of the story getting mired in the characters difficulties though, the author uses them to pull the reader in and create empathy. Mr. Eggleton has truly found his own style and voice as he weaves a wonderful tongue-in-cheek science fiction tale that is an absolute joy to read.

Lacy Dawn, a young girl from the hills of West Virginia, is already struggling to help those she cares about overcome poverty, a lack of education and the scars of war, when she’s told that she is the only one who can save the universe. Instead of refusing to accept the weighty news, she simply wants to know what is endangering the universe and how she is supposed to accomplish the monumental task. Unfortunately, the strange messenger’s only reply is that those are things she must discover it for herself.

Lacy Dawn assembles her team from those she knows best; her war traumatized father, beat down mother, the family dog, their marijuana growing neighbor and the mysterious messenger, DOTCOM. Together they set off on their journey to discover exactly what is endangering the universe and how they can fix it. Along the way each of them does their part and learns that no matter how worthless they feel, they still have value to the others and to the universe.

The author does an incredible job of effortlessly weaving serious topics and light hearted fun together throughout the story. If you are a fan of humor, great science fiction storytelling, tales that keep you guessing, or just a good read, then “Rarity From the Hollow” is an absolute must read. I can honestly say that I have never read a book quite like this and I encourage everyone to take the time to read it. On top of it being a good story, the proceeds go to benefit a very worthwhile cause.

[Beth Hale · Rating 4 out of 5]

***I received this book in exchange for an honest review*** Rarity from the Hollow is an unique reading experience. It starts by letting us know Lacy Dawn is an abused\neglected child, and so is her best friend, Faith. The beginning really struck a chord in me because it brought up childhood memories. As the story progresses, we find out more about Lacy Dawn: the life she leads and the secrets she keeps. The first half of this book tugged at my heartstrings and I couldn't put the book down. But as the story progressed--when the problem Lacy Dawn needed to solve was revealed--I was a little disappointed. It seemed a little silly to me. The solution seemed just as silly. That's why I'm giving this book four stars. I will say this, though: Robert Eggleton has a way with words. The story flows smoothly and the descriptions were spot-on for me. I could see the events unfolding. I appreciated the emotions in the book as well. There is pity, anger, shock, and humor; and it all twines together to create a rich story that will keep you turning pages.

[Chrissy (The Every Free Chance Reader) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Did I enjoy this book: This is the weirdest book I’ve ever read. I love it.

It took me a few chapters to get used to Eggleton’s writing style, but the weirdness of the language matches the weirdness of the story, and it works. Lacy Dawn is not your average heroine, but then again, she’s engaged to an alien/android named DotCom. And guys. GUYS. Just wait until you see what DotCom meant when he said he needs her to save the world. SO. AWESOMELY. WEIRD. I . . . I kind of want to call Mr. Eggleton to ask if he’s done with the next book in the series yet. I’m hooked (and I wish I could give this book more than 5 stars)!

Would I recommend it: Absolutely! . . . unless you’re the kind of person who gets embarrassed and/or offended by using anatomically correct language to identify body parts . . .

As reviewed by Melissa at Every Free Chance Books. http://everyfreechance.com/2016/09/me...

Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Joannes Rhino · Rating 4 out of 5]

This reading is something that I didn't expect, but in a good ways of course. I expected to have something light to read before sleep. Instead, I had to work my brain out. For me personally, reading Rarity From The Hollow is like finding someone's journal in an old abandon house. It's so natural and complicated. But then it makes perfect sense of how a person able to create such imaginative world inside his/her head. The author did a wonderful job in creating readers' empathy. I am not gonna say Rarity From The Hollow is a fun reading, but it's definitely brilliant.

[Faith Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

Do you know the plate spinning game, kids? It’s really fun. What you do is borrow the drill from Daddy’s shed and make a lot of holes in the floor of your front room, then you need to poke all the bean poles you can find from the garden into the holes but always make sure you can reach the top because that’s important. When it’s ready and you have a forest of sticks, carry out a couple of dinner service-loads of china plates from Mummy’s cupboards and place them one by one on top of the poles, swishing and swirling each pole around in a circle to make the plate spin on top of it. Isn’t it beautiful? Call everyone in the house to come downstairs and have a look, then do all of the plates like that, tens, twenties, try to do thirties, swirling and spinning, returning to the earliest ones as they slow down and begin to wobble, speeding them up again, circling the pole, quicker and quicker but not too much until everyone comes in to see what you’ve done and all these beautiful, complicated pieces are spinning in the air at once and you even have time to go and make a cup of tea and come back, not too late to miss the critical moment though, milking the tension, waiting for the final remaining seconds to count away as everyone holds their breath, then smile your finest lopsided smile, let your eyes go blank, far away and allow all of the plates to smash on the ground. Lovely. What a protest.

I should add that the first time I saw this trick, they got the ending completely wrong, saved the plates and no one talked about it at all. Part one of this book is the former, with so many plates in the air that almost all have passed beyond a child’s ability to control and it starts with some of the ugliest: an overwhelming portrayal of monstrous abuse and suffering within a family, child and wife-beating, fight or flight stress, perversion, exploitation and entrapment. The soundest advice would be to let the whole situation smash and then walk away and start again in a foster family. As it is, the social work hangover from the first third of the novel casts a shadow across the rest of the book, so even when the story lightens up it’s still in the context of the opening chapters.

The little girl reacts to each vindictive incident and her mind maladjusts into worrying, defensive trenches. Her behaviour at school is a clue, inappropriate sexual language and little screams for help. The father suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder (some people shouldn’t return from wars) and is taking it out on his wife and child, so he’s more sick, evil and guilty than anyone he presumably joined up to protect his family from. It took me far outside my comfort zone and into territory I would never have chosen to explore. Until the book changed, I felt conned by being told this was sci-fi and I could see that the author wanted to convey the full impact of awfulness that the child was trapped into but, as a customer, I don’t select books to be sickened. I decided after reading The Omen, no more horror for me thank you Damien, so just push off would you? Go on, shoo! and take your little knives and tongs with you. Sunny side up for me please.

Imaginary friend escapism syndrome, that’s another thing this book picks up. Not only does the small girl talk to trees and thinks that one at least talks back because there’s a ghostly child inside it (more rottenness) but she is revealed to have a unique kind of imaginary friend who isn’t from her own neck of the woods at all, or even her own solar system. Hooray! Sci-fi at last. At first I thought this was a child’s way of describing the internet, as in you ask a question and it replies, like a search engine, but after staring at the page a bit longer I could see her bestie was some kind of automaton or life form, a sort of mechanised E.T.

What’s his name? Dot.com. What’s his game? That would be telling.

About a hundred pages in, I struck a seam of welcome humour which the author had held back until he’d had enough of the mood-pit he’d dug for us. “Lacy Dawn gave up on getting any attention from her father and decided to practice for the next spitting contest at school”, soon followed by “and there’s a door on my bedroom… it’s sure cool… open, shut, open, shut, open open open. Shit, I’ve locked myself out.” It’s lines like that that make me want to keep reading.

In the middle third of the book, the stressed child, Lacy Dawn is shown scenes of human pre-history, as her parents are re-educated. She’s then presented with a contract and a job to do, a big one, presumably to repay the repair work done on her parents. I don’t know how resilient children are but my guess is that she’s permanently damaged already and this would put her out of immediate danger from them but not from her mental damage. The father then says “I have to think of what’s best for my daughter”. That’s shocking too, in a way, because the reformed character has no insight into what he’s already done to her.

In the space of a sentence or two, members of the family nip off to another location in the Universe and the story changes to a sort of flamboyant alien capitalist heaven shopping fantasy, where the characters can spend as much unearned pocket money as they like. The cosmopolitan society they’ve entered is awash with alien species that, with the diversions of a whole galaxy open to them, all have one desire in common; hanging around in a big shopping centre. Saving the World, correction the Universe, also gets added to the adventure because there’s a new high level threat for the hick people to deal with. The irony is that, to me, the most alien characters encountered are this particular set of humans. I’ve got nothing in common with these people, so find them other worldly too. Cucumber sandwich anyone?

Is the book traumatic? Yes, I think that’s one aspect that the author wanted to include. Is it a mess of subjects? It reads like a child psychology professional creating some horrible fiction from the nasty things they’ve been exposed to through their career (to educate rather than entertain the reader) and then thinking they’ve maybe gone a bit too far and lightening the mood with an escapist fantasy that, to me, is a metaphor for the child having retreated so far into their own mind, looking for a safe place, that they’ve dislocated themselves from reality, curled up in a foetal ball, hugged their knees and started rocking. If you have no hope of being saved by anyone real, why not imagine your best chance is to meet an alien who makes your parents nice and really values you, for a change? It’s a variation of the knight on the white charger galloping to the rescue, on one hand a real-life disgusting nest of crime called “home” and on the other a fantasy solution which is never going to happen no matter how long you poke your nose out of the window of the dark tower and wave that silly handkerchief.

The closing third of the book has a different theme again, as the family direct their energies on a fantastic alien cockroach round-up, ye-haw, complete with dressing up in random fancy dress outfits, talking wood, chatty dogs and a squirming insect nation that Bill Bailey may have already sung about (does he know something?).

That’s three themes which I have trouble reconciling. I think criticising structure is valid because that’s a fair target and “what on Earth possessed you to put these three things together?” is a fair question not satisfactorily answered by the text.

Important: The fact that I don’t like the subject shouldn’t affect my assessment and rating of a book’s quality, although being objective isn’t easy when the neighbour’s sexually abused and murdered daughter who’s become a dryad has the same name as me. I know that if I don’t like sporks and I agree to review The History of Sporks, my inclination has to be set aside because the criteria must be strictly about whether it is, in relative terms, a high or low quality work of its type. Spork fans can then rely on the reviewer’s opinion and rest safely in their beds to rise tomorrow and make better informed spork-related purchasing decisions. Hail Spork! This is another metaphor. I only said hail spork because I won’t say hail child abuse. However, I am not going to rate the quality of the book lower because of my personal feelings about the subject (aversion). If the characters were designed with the intention of upsetting the reader, then well done because the writer has demonstrated that he has the level of skill to achieve that aim. Was it to make a point? Yes. Will raising awareness improve lives? Insignificantly, unless the book is issued in prisons. How many readers of this book already work in social intervention? Probably most. It will certainly also depress a few good people in the outside world. Some combinations work, Zen and Motorcycle Repair, some don’t, fish and bicycles. Domestic abuse vs sci-fi vs shopping vs bug hunt is a sub-genre with a population of one book so far and I can’t see that changing. Can I criticise it though when the author is setting out his stall to combat child abuse? Well, yes, but only if the rest is a cat’s cradle anyway.

Objectively then, is it a really cool and entertaining story about a horrible topic? No, not really. It’s a competent story covering a horrible topic but it isn’t literature and I don’t think the themes jam together very well or make pathfinding headway in sci-fi originality. The portrayal of an alien robotic presence and the way it changes to please the child is so/so, nothing special, and its society’s interest in commercialism has already been done thoroughly with the Ferengi of Deep Space Nine. The reason why the alien would be interested in saving the child is not as credible as a similar film called The Last Star Fighter, where the boy is chosen because he has a realistic skill (his reaction speed when playing Space Invaders is relevant to being a pilot). Is Lacy Dawn at the pinnacle of managed evolution and displaying an impressive problem solving intelligence? Well… disbelief suspends only so far when she so frequently talks about her pants.

I rate this as a reasonable read for people who aren’t as sensitive as me, a middling quality story with an unusual combination of themes that will certainly provoke thought and appeal to a defined audience of people who want to hear about social malfunction, some people adore their sporks, and sending all the profits to charity shows the author’s heart is surely golden but it isn’t the best thing I’ve read this year in sci-fi and squashing these subjects together in this way, like speed-dating for the good, the bad and the ugly hasn’t convinced me it’s anything more insightful and impactful than culture shock. Please give this book out in specialist prisons because that’s where the message can be used to best effect. Just don’t tell me this stuff is going on in the world, adding me to depressing mailing lists and send the clippings (head, bucket of sand), just call the professional bug services instead. I’m off shopping with fingers in my ears. La-la-la, la-la-la, I can’t hear you, cheering up already.

---- Footnote ----

Following this review and after discussion with the author, I now see that understanding the topical references made in the book is geographically dependent. If you are in the USA (5% of the global population, one of 198 countries), you will of course have read US domestic papers, seen or heard the broadcast media and know what the author is referring to. A reviewer without that sphere of influence and shared set of political references will find that many of the points the author has connected this story to will fly unnoticed straight over their heads. I acknowledge that this has happened to me as I'm unaware/ignorant of US domestic investment in child safety, locally infamous political comments broadcast in the media dehumanizing refugees and I haven't seen the current US leader's former appearances on television. There is clearly more to this book than I picked up when I read it and the cockroach connection has since been explained to me. Should it even be reviewed by a non-US citizen? I don't know. I would note though that the way I understood the book is representative of, or at least closer to, the way a non-US global audience will read and form views about it, as they are similarly unaware of essential background, which other reviewers have said add depth, historical interest and literary muscle to the book. I do wonder if the topicality will endure though if the story rests on these links too much - would an American reading this twenty years from now remember these things or would they understand the work in a shallow way, as I have?

I expect the author doesn't value my views at the moment but it seems to me that US reviewers only are needed for this. Anyone else will fail to make the intended connections and then think more like me. I can see now that the author wants to highlight problems in US social policy and call for changes, to improve the lives of vulnerable children, so what's important to consider is the view of the US reviewers. Forgive me for seeing the tips of icebergs and describing them as small. All readers are the products of their influences and I didn't get it, but I do understand why that happened.

----- A response to this review, by Robert Eggleton -----

Thanks for your great book review. It was very well written. I'm commenting about the review at your invitation. Thanks, again.

I'm a little disappointed that you didn't connect with or mention the political allegory in Rarity from the Hollow. As you are aware, my story includes pressing issues that America is fighting about today, including illegal immigration and the refuge crisis, extreme capitalism / consumerism. Mr. Prump, one of the characters in the story, was a projection of Donald Trump based on the TV show, The Apprentice. Part of the negotiations in the story occur in the only high rise on planet Shptiludrp (Shop Until You Drop), a giant shopping mall and the center of economic governance, now more easily identifiable as Trump Tower. Mr. Rump, another character in my story, was modeled after Bernie Sanders. One chapter was titled: "The First Sexual Harassment Complaint on Shptiludrp." This also corresponded to one of the headline controversies about President Trump. Despite much praise that the ARC of my novel received by independent book reviewers (sixty-eight five and four star reviews), some reviewers of the ARC found the imminent threat to the universe in the story to have been silly: cockroach infestation. Please note the recent insult hurled at refugees by calling them cockroaches. http://freedomdaily.com/kick-the-cock.... The political allegory in Rarity from the Hollow is much more obvious now that Donald Trump has become a household name, worldwide, and I was hopeful that it would be mentioned your findings. At this point, given the administration's announcement of upcoming budget cuts for social programs, its refusal to help with the refugee crisis, the deportation of mothers from their children born in the U.S. and related policies, my personal prayer is that the U.S. budget cuts will not adversely affect children's health and welfare programs in communities, worldwide. While there is no political advocacy in the story, it doesn't pick one side or another, I do hope that it sensitizes readers to the huge social problem of child maltreatment.

With respect to your review, the closing lines of the story were supposed to tie everything together. At the risk of spoiling the read for others, if you remember, Dwayne, the abusive father, first achieved insight that he had been abusive to Lacy and Denise, the downtrodden mother, when on planet Shptiudrp. Before then, he believed that harsh discipline of children and dominance over wives was supported by the Bible, an inter-generational predominant traditional value in the Bible Belt of America where I live. (Of course, ET assistance for Dwayne's treatment was a metaphor to encourage Veterans to seek help for PTSD through the VA.) In the spaceship, on their way home after having saved the universe, Dwayne asked Lacy Dawn, "Will you ever forgive me?" She answered, "No but I will always love you." No amount of hard work by Dwayne on Shptiludrp could cause Lacy to ever forget her maltreatment or to forgive him. IMO, as a retired children's psychotherapist, this is the optimal solution in many real-life child maltreatment cases. As survivors and for reformed maltreators, we are not destined to live in the past or for past trauma to control our lives. Yes, I agree with you that this ending was not a bubbly HEA, but I feel that it was realistically hopeful and the practice of living in the present has empowered many survivors toward wonderful lives and accomplishments. Of course, the impact of having read my story is an individual matter and I certainly respect your opinion about how the book impacted you.

For those in your audience who may consider reading this novel even though it is not pure escapist science fiction, I hope that you, Faith, also permit me to share an alternative reaction the having read my book. This organization awarded the Advance Review Copy of my novel a Gold Medal. Here's an excerpt of the review:

"a hillbilly version of Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, only instead of the earth being destroyed to make way for a hyperspace bypass, Lacy Dawn must…The author has managed to do what I would have thought impossible; taken serious subjects like poverty, ignorance, abuse, and written about them with tongue-in-cheek humor without trivializing them.…Eggleton sucks you into the Hollow, dunks you in the creek, rolls you in the mud, and splays you in the sun to dry off. Tucked between the folds of humor are some profound observations on human nature and modern society that you have to read to appreciate. It's a funny book that most sci-fi fans will thoroughly enjoy…" http://www.awesomeindies.net/ai-appro...

[E.A. · Rating 4 out of 5]

(I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review)
My Recommendation: Highly

This was quit a different read for me. I don't normally read this type of fiction and in truth I wasn't all that captured by the first chapter. But I stuck with it, because of the amazing reviews and my own curiosity. And I will tell you, it was worth it.

This story is in it's own league. From the unique plot, story and characters, it took something that has been over done, (saving the world, broken home, super pre-teen) and gave it a new and incredible life, that will have you flipping the pages like your life depended on it.

I will say there are some really heart breaking scenes, and some more questionable scenes between DotCom and Lucy, I wasn't feeling nor did I feel like it should have been a thing. Giving that Lucy is a young child, it was for me, unsettling.(Don't get me wrong it wasn't anything sexual, just a tab bit too close to it) That's way I can't quite give this book the 5 star.

This is a complex story with many layers, and it's worth the read. Each character grows, matures and the journey they each have to go one to get out of the dark is a fantastic one.There are different ways to save the world, and I'm not going to spoil the surprising ending, you're going to have to read it to find out.

Happy Reading

-E.A. Walsh

[Michael Flanagan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is not a book for all it is written in a style that takes a bit to get settled into and the subject matter is not a comfortable one. This book deals with child abuse in a very unique but totally confronting way.

Unique is definitely a good description for this book and for me it had a lot of layers. I think that individual readers will interpret this book separately. For me who as child lived through abuse I see the fantasy side of the story as a child's way to deal with and at times escape reality.

At the end of the day regardless of the mechanics of the book it delivers a very powerful message that whilst is disturbing needs to be told. Make sure you are up to the world this book takes you before beginning the journey.