Xenogeneic: First Contact

by Lance Erlick

KIDNAPPED HUMANS … DESPERATE ALIENS … FIGHT FOR EXISTENCE.

“A suspenseful, action-packed space saga featuring a strong female protagonist, Xenogeneic: First Contact is a gem for connoisseurs of genre, and highly recommended.” – Midwest Book Review

Dr. Elena Pyetrov’s father vanished in space 18 years ago while searching for extraterrestrial life. As a determined aerospace engineer, Elena finally gets her mission to search for answers and to continue his work. Her ship is pulled off course and crashes.

The alien Knoonk lost their civil war in a distant star system and fled to Earth’s neighborhood to hide and regroup. They present themselves as persecuted pilgrims in need of a new home—Earth. Unable to live in Earth’s toxic environment, the Knoonk kidnap humans and use genetic engineering to adapt the Knoonk to Earth.

Surviving the crash, Elena and her shipmates are transported to a closed cave system where the Knoonk monitor and control everything. Elena tries to connect with their hosts and find ways to work together, but Knoonk leaders force the humans to submit as slaves. The aliens use illusions, distractions, and social experiments to learn from their hostages and keep them off balance. Resistance by captive humans brings swift punishment to break the human spirit.

With time running out, can Elena dig deep enough to uncover the alien plan and find a way to stop them? If she fails, the Knoonk take Earth, enslaving or exterminating humans. If she succeeds, the price may be the loss of everyone she loves. Is she willing to sacrifice them to save the world?

Genres: Science Fiction

300 pages, Paperback

Published March 10, 2017

About the author

Lance Erlick writes science fiction thrillers for adult and young adult readers. In 2018, he launched his Android Chronicles novels with Reborn and continued it with Unbound and Emergent. This series follows the challenges of Synthia Cross, wrestling with the download of a human mind and emergent behavior while confronted by humans who seek to control her. In the Rebel series, Annabelle Scott faces a crisis of conscience after she’s drafted into the military to enforce laws she believes are wrong. The Regina Shen series takes place after abrupt climate change leads to Collapse and a new World Federation. As an outcast, Regina must fight to stay alive and help her family while she avoids being captured. Xenogeneic: First Contact is about aerospace engineer Elena Pyetrov’s struggles with alien pilgrims determined to take over Earth.

To learn more, visit him online at www.LanceErlick.com.

Reviews

[Esther Haddie's Haven · Rating 5 out of 5]

DISCLAIMER: I was sent a copy of this book for a blog tour and honest review.

I am thoroughly surprised at how enjoyable this book was for me. Don't get me wrong. I enjoy a great Sci-Fi. Sometimes I have a hard time getting into them and I stop for a break. It never has anything to do with the book or the author, writing or whatnot. That is all on my and personal preference.

Xenogeneic: First Contact has strong female characters, both the lead and the villain-ish characters, and a very determined, handsome, shuttle captain. Yes. Marc's determination must be acknowledged.

Elena's character is admirable. She is on a strange planet; she has just reunited with her father, who has been supposed dad for the last eighteen years, and learns that she has a younger sister. Elena's father tries to warn her about the "evil K", which is where he breathes his last.

I must admit that I got so frustrated with the plot because it just felt like Elena, Marc and the rest of the crew, were going in circles trying to find a way to either get off this foreign planet, or defy their host, the Knoonk. However, once I got over that hurtle, my stress level went back down to 0 and I kept reading. I liked the ending. What I'm worrying about is if there will be another book. If there is, this is going to be a great series. If not, it's still a great book.

It's technically an adult fiction, but I must say that everything was kept to a bare minimal. Most scenarios were kept behind closed doors, language was hardly there. It was great.

[Narendra · Rating 5 out of 5]

To be honest, I am not a book-reader. However, when I won 'Xenogeneic: First Contact' in a goodreads giveaway, I decided to give this one a shot. And guess what, I was hooked to it in an instant. The story is captivating from the start and stays interesting throughout till the end. I felt an instant connection to the characters and could relate to their emotions as the story progressed. It's Sci-fi but not one of those where you struggle to understand the story because of the complications. The author paints a picture of the interaction between Aliens and humans in a very simple yet descriptive way. I am hooked to reading now!!

[Veronique]

DNF 40%

This is very rare for me... The blurb for this novel sounded exactly the kind of thing I like. Although many ideas/aspects put together were interesting and fertile ground for many developments, I just couldn't connect with the characters. It felts as if story elements hadn't been thought out properly, or logically. Moreover, the aliens seemed quite ridiculous to my eyes and once that happened, I couldn't take them seriously.

I may come back to this and give it another chance :O)

[Laura Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s winner takes all in the fight for Earth. When the Knoonk, an alien species, lose their civil war, they set there eyes on Earth as their new home and go about their insidious plan in unimaginable ways.

This story feels “alien.” What I mean is, the way the aliens think and act is so different from humans how could we ever hope to negotiate with them. They look like we picture them to be, grey little beings from outerspace. It’s how they think that throws us. For example, even the pinkish color of our skin is an abomination to them. Color is ugly and hurts their eyes. If how we look is an insult to them, why would they treat us humanely.

But, when Dr. Elena Pvetrov’s ship crashes on an strange planet, she’s determined to try. The Knoonk have many tricks up their sleeves to keep their human captives off balance and controllable. As she adjusts to her new life, she studies her captors, forges friendships and alliances, and tries to get back home to Earth to warn them of what is coming.

I knew this was going to be a hard one to review. So much to tell, yet I can’t without spoiling things for you. The author put me in so many character’s shoes, I stumbled my way along, conflicted about my feelings towards them. Not in a bad way though. More like a challenging one. I liked some that I probably shouldn’t and disliked some in the same way. This certainly kept me turning the pages to learn more about them.

An intriguing beginning to this science fiction adventure and one I would like to follow to its conclusion.

I received a complimentary copy. My review is voluntarily given.

[Marilyn Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have previously reviewed this author's four book Regina Shen YA Science Fiction Series and really enjoyed it. So I excited to see a new offering SciFi offering from him. While offering an entirely different view of the future, it is also a dark tale with its characters surrounded by suffering. And it also has a strong, independent woman cast as in the lead roll.

Dr. Elena Pyetrov's father left on a mission to Jupiter when she was young and now she stands poised to fulfill his dreams by going there herself. Unfortunately, the world is in crisis and there are many averse to spending money on space programs. At the last moment she gets approval, but once out in space everything goes totally wrong.

The ship and all it's passengers are hijacked by an alien race hiding in wait close by. Their mission, to cleanse earth of it's inhabitants and claim it as their new home. For years they have been capturing humans for a hidden reason, confining them to caves and demanding high birth quotas. Why? No one is sure. But if the humans don't meet these quotas, the aliens withhold food, heat and all the other basics they need to survive. In these brutal conditions, many lose their humanity. It becomes survival of the fittest.

Elena is convinced she can find a solution. She interacts with the aliens to get clues, secretly explores the caves and works hard to unite the competing captive human groups into a supportive community. Then she angles herself into a mission back on earth to locate a missing rebel alien couple who hold the key to this group taking over the planet. While on earth, can she find a way to disrupt the alien's plans and to let the world know about this imminent threat?

A strong and unusual story. A great read, although be prepared, it will take you on very dark journey. But it's message is one of hope. One person can choose to be strong, stand up and make a difference.

[Misty · Rating 5 out of 5]

Xenogeneic: First Contact by Lance Erlick was a very well written adult science fiction novel. Science Fiction is by far my favorite genre and recently I have been truly struggling to locate good science fiction that I had not already read. When I found and read Xenogeneic: First Contact by Lance Erlick I realized I had found a unique science fiction novel that was simply amazing.

I loved Dr. Elena Pyetrov the way that she first tried to find common ground with the aliens and to avoid enslavement or bloodshed was amazing. Then when the aliens began their experiments I truly got to see her shine as a character. I really liked that she was a strong female character and not just a pushover. I found the social experiments of the aliens to also be interesting and well described. I really enjoyed reading Xenogeneic: First Contact by Lance Erlick.

[Sian · Rating 3 out of 5]

* I have been asked to give a honest review

I found the first couple of chapters were slow and had difficulty to keep interested in them. Although as the book carried on it became more interesting.
A story of family reunion, tragedy and deception.
For people who are interested in si-fi its a book I would recommend reading.

[Dawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I chose to read this book after receiving a free e-copy from the author. All opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. I was excited to read this book because I'd read the Regina Shen series by Lance Erlick and I like his writing.

Xenogeneic is science fiction with many twists. Dr. Elena Pyetrov wants to continue her father's work in space. Her space ship doesn't even make it to the base on the moon when it is taken off course and crashes. Even though all of the people on board should have died, most of them find themselves in a network of caves. They learn that their captors are the Knoonk and they want to take over Earth for their species to live on.

Lance Erlick’s writing flows well and his descriptions are great. He has the ability to make you feel like you’re actually there. In Xenogeneic, there are is continuous change for the characters and many twists. What a ride!

All of the characters, even the Knoonk, carry baggage which affects how they deal with the situation. One of the Knoonk hates humans so she treats them horribly. Others aren't so abusive, at least not one on one. Elena is driven, strong, and independent which makes her a born leader. Her ex-fiance is also a born leader but his type of leadership doesn't work here.

I definitely recommend Xenogeneic. In fact, you may have trouble putting it down once you start reading it.

[Martha · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bit repetitive in the middle but the ending on this pulls it together.

Elena has spent her life preparing to follow her father into space. She’s broken off with her fiancé, Marc, a marine who seeks just a bit too much control over her decisions. Elena’s scheduled space trip is almost cancelled by political opposition. She gets surprising clearance at the last minute only to arrive on ship to find Marc and a few other rejected candidates have been swapped with the approved crew.

The shuttle never makes it to the moon landing but veers off course at a speed that has no explanation. The shuttle crashes on a planet that is supposed to be Europa – the original destination. Elena, Marc and another crew member find themselves healed of injuries and transported to a strange cave. As they explore the lush ‘paradise’ cave, Elena stumbles upon a home like her childhood home. There she is shocked to find her father and a thirteen-year-old, half sister, Thelma. Thelma appears to be autistic, speaking only in rhymes and suffering from seizures.

More of the shuttle crew and passengers begin to appear and some of them quickly exhibit disturbing behaviors. Elena learns that she and her shipmates have been imprisoned by an alien race, the Knooks. This race rewards the women, with supplies and survival, if they become pregnant. Numerous human groups have formed competitive clans. The men tend to attack other clans, killing the males and raiding for women. Elena fights against this primitive mentally, seeking a peaceable alliance and trying to negotiate with the Knooks.

Much of the middle of the book is spent on brutal clan battles and Elena’s attempts to learn the secrets, intentions and methods of the aliens. Elena does learn that the technology of the Knooks is superior to humans and that the female race plans to take over earth as soon as they can raise their mutated children.

The Knooks are basically all powerful and controlling. It is frustratingly unclear why they allow Elena to move about as freely as she does without punishment. The coyote images of Elena’s half Navaho heritage, are continually hinting that the situation is not all it appears to be. It is well into the book before it becomes clear that Elena is being used -- for some purpose or another.

The last 25% of the story finally moves forward with hopeful (rather than hopeless) action and some surprising twists. I am glad I chose to read to the end as it brings sense to the rest. The writing is a little choppy – as if written for a younger audience (as in the tech/text generation). The middle seems to bog in repetitive and almost hopeless scenes. The characters are not strongly endearing until the end. I do encourage pushing through to the action and suspense near the end, which I enjoyed. Fans of alien First Contact sci fi might want to give this a try.

I received this ebook, for an honest review, through iReads Book Tours.

[Joy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dr. Elena Pyetrov is a brilliant aerospace engineer with one goal in mind, travelling to space to finish the dream her father had failed fulfilling 18 years ago. She is going to make if further than he did and finally prove that there is life beyond Earth. After working against government red tape and a few naysayers, she successfully convinces them that her mission is worthy of support but when the day finally comes an unexpected event happens. The mission goes terribly wrong and Elena’s ship is pulled off course crashing onto another planet. Elena and her crew quickly find out that their crash was orchestrated by an alien species that has kidnapped them and a number of other humans for a specific purpose. Elena will have to do everything in her power to lead the humans and protect them while trying to figure out what exactly their captors have in store for them, humanity and with Earth.

The storyline is packed full of tons of twists and turns that keep the reader engaged in the characters and the plot. There is a great deal going on from the inner fighting between the factions of the Knoonk (the aliens) to the inner fighting between the human clans and the interpersonal relationships between Marc, Elena and her sister. There is never a dull moment even when the moments in the storyline are meant to be dull. I do wish there had been more detailed background focus on the Knoonk concerning what exactly happened within their civil war to cause the factions and why they made the choices they made concerning their religion, gender and so on.

Xenogeneic is a great sci-fi story with a host of strong female characters leading the charge on both sides of the conflict. The descriptive writing paints a detailed picture that doesn’t overwhelm the sci-fi plot but adds to the visuals and flow of the story. Overall it’s a great book with the potential to carry on as series that delves deeper into the continuation of Elena and her sister’s life on Earth.

Copy provided for review.
Reviewed by Joy for Crystal's Many Reviewers

[Leila · Rating 4 out of 5]

I honest to goodness am not sure what to say about this book. This had to be the strangest, most far fetched storyline I have ever read yet I was trapped. I was pulled in and could not stop reading. I wanted to figure out the who, the what, the where, the why, the how it happened, how it was occurring, and what was going to happen. I was sucked in.

Similar to the Regina Shen series by this author, the “in control” population is a female dominant (no males) ran government.

Because it is an “alien race” there were many far fetched ideas that were occurring paired with normal thoughts. It made for an interesting read, but at times; slightly confusing.

Overall, I liked the book. There was a lot of action, a lot of mystery, and definitely no lull in the read.

If you enjoy alien, sci-fi, out of our world story lines – this is one you will definitely need to read!

[Elisha · Rating 3 out of 5]

I can honestly say that as interesting as this book sounded, I was not expecting to enjoy it as much as I did. Why? It isn't in my normal genre or type of book I read. But once in a while I take a chance on a book I wouldn't normally pick up; and I am glad I did. I don't normally pick up or even read sci-fi books. They're hard for my to get into because they tend to be unrealistic and that annoys me. However, depending on the context, it can make for an interesting read that captivates you from the very start. I think it also helped that side from the darkness that looms the pages of this story with aliens and scary futuristic thinking, that there is a secondary story-line within these pages that weaves itself into the primary plot making this story even more enjoyable than it already was. I look forward to more with the author.

For my full review, go to:
http://bookjunkiemom.blogspot.com/201...

[Leserling Belana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Disclaimer: I got a free copy of the book as a participant of iRead Book Tours.

This is the first time I take part in an iRead Book Tour, and it is my first book by Lance Erlick. The book description sounded intriguing, especially if, like me, you love a good science fiction story.
The first third of the book was fine, but then it started to fall flat.
The whole book is written in a style that might work as a movie script, but to me, all the short sentences and rapid changes of scenes made the story feel disjointed. It was like watching a movie, with lots of flickering scenes, changing rapidly all over the place, but this didn’t work for me in book form.
After about 50%, I started to get bored, the book couldn’t really keep my interest any more and I might have given up if it hadn’t been for the book tour.
Sure, I wanted to find out what exactly was going on, but all the in-fighting among the humans just dragged on and on. Nothing much happened for the next 30% of the book, then it slowly got interesting again. And then it all happened at once.

I’m sorry to say that the ending didn’t manage to convince me. It all went so fast, with no rhyme or reason, and nobody is who they appear to be, and the explanations appear flimsy and not well thought out.

However, this is just my personal view. The idea is good, the questions the story raises are very valid ones (which unfortunately I cannot go into without putting spoilers). I’m convinced that, if compressed, and with a clear story line, this could be so much better.

[Debra Schoenberger · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have to admit that I’m a sci-fi fan and do enjoy a good space opera. The plot from Xenogeneic begins on earth with Elena Pyetrov planning a manned space flight to space. While en route her craft is hijacked and her crew and passengers taken hostage on an unknown planet. This is where Space 1999 meets Planet of the Apes.

The plot had my head spinning. I really struggled to keep track of the different characters. There was constant head-banging repetition and that really made the book drag. The language was YA or lower (although labelled adult fiction) and I was aghast when there were mature scenes interspersed throughout the book because I always felt that the book was written for a younger audience.

To be honest, although this book drove me crazy, there is enough in the plot to keep you reading to the end. The author has a lot of imagination and if you are a B movie enthusiast, you will enjoy this story.

[Anthony · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won this as a giveaway...now I have to buy the rest of the series as it comes out. Not a perfect book, but a great world and some interesting characters. I hope to see them developed more in the future.

[Jessica Bronder · Rating 4 out of 5]

Elena Pyetrov’s father disappeared in space eighteen years ago. Everyone has figured him dead and Elena wants to complete his mission. But while in space something goes horribly wrong and her ship crashes. It seems that an alien race, the Knoonk fought a civil war and lost. They have decided to take Earth over as their own planet. The problem is that they are not able to survive in its atmosphere so they have been capturing humans for years and experimenting on them to they to adapt themselves. It’s up to Elena and the other human captives to stop the Knoonk.

I read Lance Erlick’s Regina Shen series and was excited to see what happened in this book. I was really pleased with the results. Elena is a strong woman and determined to finish her father’s work. But the Knoonk are doing messed up things to the humans they have captured. They have broken them to their base human needs. It’s up to Elena to get everyone gathered together and fight back.

This was a good story and had an original plot. My problem is that we get stuck in several continuous loops of the same thing over and over as they try to fight back. It gets the point across about how hopeless the humans have become. It’s going to be an uphill fight for Elena to get everyone gathered together but it got to be repetitive and frustrating.

I really enjoyed this book. If it is to be a series I would be happy to read the next book. Otherwise this is a great standalone book.

I received Xenogeneic: First Contact from iRead Book Tours for free. This has no influenced my opinion in any way.

[Audio Audits · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dr. Elena Pyetrov’s father, a scientist, disappeared years ago. Now a young engineer Elena’s is determined to find out what happened to her father and carry on his legacy.
Elena’s plans are derailed when the spaceship she’s aboard, is steered off course and she and her crew are forced to crash land on what turns out to be a cave system controlled by aliens determined to learn all they can about humans so that they can adapt and take over planet Earth.

Xenogeneic is pure science fiction, a genre I love! Cave System author Lance Erlick builds is unique. Each cave is its own world and each world is completely different, It's a fascinating part of this book. Elena tries hard to appease the aliens, but it’s a fruitless endeavor. Humans are only considered a means to an end.

I found parts of the book frustrating when it seemed like variations of the same situation happened repeatedly. At one point, I literally thought of that oft-told joke about the definition of insanity. Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

I’m excited to see if this book makes it into audio form. I think it would do well as an audiobook, the characters have depth and Lance Erlick's alien world is written in rich detail.

I found Xenogeneic an enjoyable read and plan to search out more books by Lance Erlick.