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An Alien Perspective
Cyn-Tia Silverthorne wakes up to find herself stranded on an alien planet. She finds seven other teenaged humans and they are as confused as she is. To Cyn’s delight, and some apprehension, twenty-four aliens (all teens on their own planets) have also been eight Temman, eight Irandi, eight Reannone. Every day, supplies and instructions are delivered to their village for pickup by the managing committee—which consists of Cyn, Stire, Frakis A Kirba, and Tine Jana—one representative from each race. After a time, the four races create a working collective, but they soon decide to rebel. The Guardian appears and sends them on a series of quests, but the grand purpose of the experiment still eludes them.
182 pages, Paperback
Published March 22, 2017
1 person is currently reading
6 people want to read
About the author
Roxanne Barbour
15 books211 followersI have been reading science fiction since about the age of eleven when I discovered “Miss Pickerell Goes to Mars” by Ellen MacGregor.
The years passed by while I had careers as a computer programmer, music teacher, insurance office administrator, and logistics coordinator for an international freight company.
I took early retirement and decided to put to use all the books on writing that I had accumulated over the years, and actually start writing.
Novel: REVOLUTIONS (2015)
Novel: SACRED TRUST (2015)
Novel: KAIKU (2017)
Novel: AN ALIEN PERSPECTIVE (2017)
Novel: ALIEN INNKEEPER (coming soon)
I also dabble in speculative poetry.
The years passed by while I had careers as a computer programmer, music teacher, insurance office administrator, and logistics coordinator for an international freight company.
I took early retirement and decided to put to use all the books on writing that I had accumulated over the years, and actually start writing.
Novel: REVOLUTIONS (2015)
Novel: SACRED TRUST (2015)
Novel: KAIKU (2017)
Novel: AN ALIEN PERSPECTIVE (2017)
Novel: ALIEN INNKEEPER (coming soon)
I also dabble in speculative poetry.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
July 8, 2017
I was hoping some other people had left a positive review as I really didn't enjoy this. Interesting premise the idea of 4 different alien species (including us humans) waking up on another alien planet and having to work together as some kind of experiment. On the first awakening of these groups despite some tears later on in the day all 4 species just accepted their fate and got on with carrying out tasks set by their mysterious captor. No hysterics, no aliens trying to kills each other - everything was just too laid back for me.
August 9, 2017
**I received this book free through NetGalley.com in exchange for an honest review.**
All spoilers will be tagged.
I loved the sound of this book. A group consisting of four alien species awake on an unknown planet and are forced to work together toward a mysterious end. Cool premise. A lot of potential there.
The story itself, however, proved to be completely hollow.
To break it down into categories;
Plot
Woefully insignificant and rushed. There were moments in abundance where it felt so unbelievable and inconsistent. The entire point of the book is summed up into about two pages near the end and was entirely unsatisfying.
Pacing
Poor, at best. Dreadfully slow with major plot points being crammed into the narrowest of paragraphs. Anything of significance was given the exact same amount of time and attention as anything of complete insignificance. To the point where it was overly easy to accidentally miss something important because the writing style never changed.
Characters
It is difficult for any writer to portray non-human characters, especially multiple different species. Here it just didn't work. They all felt human. Just different types of human.
Writing
Uninteresting and slow. There was no emotion or detail or colourful descriptions.
As a final comment, the story was simply unoriginal. Not to be too harsh but it really felt like a fan-fic version of the Maze Runner .
The only reason I finished this is because I received it through NetGalley and that is part of the agreement. I won't be recommending this to anyone.
All spoilers will be tagged.
I loved the sound of this book. A group consisting of four alien species awake on an unknown planet and are forced to work together toward a mysterious end. Cool premise. A lot of potential there.
The story itself, however, proved to be completely hollow.
To break it down into categories;
Plot
Woefully insignificant and rushed. There were moments in abundance where it felt so unbelievable and inconsistent. The entire point of the book is summed up into about two pages near the end and was entirely unsatisfying.
Pacing
Poor, at best. Dreadfully slow with major plot points being crammed into the narrowest of paragraphs. Anything of significance was given the exact same amount of time and attention as anything of complete insignificance. To the point where it was overly easy to accidentally miss something important because the writing style never changed.
Characters
It is difficult for any writer to portray non-human characters, especially multiple different species. Here it just didn't work. They all felt human. Just different types of human.
Writing
Uninteresting and slow. There was no emotion or detail or colourful descriptions.
As a final comment, the story was simply unoriginal. Not to be too harsh but it really felt like a fan-fic version of the Maze Runner .
The only reason I finished this is because I received it through NetGalley and that is part of the agreement. I won't be recommending this to anyone.
January 15, 2018
"An Alien Perspective" eBook was published in 2017 and was written by Roxanne Barbour (https://roxannebarbour.wordpress.com). Ms. Barbour has published five novels.
I received an ARC of this novel through https://www.netgalley.com in return for a fair and honest review. The story is set in contemporary times, though it takes place on another planet. The primary character is 17 year old Cyn-Tia Silverthorne. She wakes up to find herself with seven other Humans and 24 aliens split between three other races.
None know why they are there. Alien tech allows them to communicate easily with one another. They are given a number of challenges by their abductors that they must complete as a team. Silverthorne finds herself on the managing committee for the group. She encounters many issues and experiences a variety of emotions. She also finds herself drawn to one of the males from another species.
I spent 4+ hours reading this science fiction young adult novel with a touch of romance. I liked the characters. I also thought that the plot was interesting. It was a story dealing with how teens must adapt and learn to cope with their unwanted situation. I felt it was a little weak, but then again I guess that is part of being a young adult novel. The cover is OK, but one showing a scene from the story would have been better in my opinion. I give this novel a 3.8 out of 5.
Further book reviews I have written can be accessed at https://johnpurvis.wordpress.com/blog/.
I received an ARC of this novel through https://www.netgalley.com in return for a fair and honest review. The story is set in contemporary times, though it takes place on another planet. The primary character is 17 year old Cyn-Tia Silverthorne. She wakes up to find herself with seven other Humans and 24 aliens split between three other races.
None know why they are there. Alien tech allows them to communicate easily with one another. They are given a number of challenges by their abductors that they must complete as a team. Silverthorne finds herself on the managing committee for the group. She encounters many issues and experiences a variety of emotions. She also finds herself drawn to one of the males from another species.
I spent 4+ hours reading this science fiction young adult novel with a touch of romance. I liked the characters. I also thought that the plot was interesting. It was a story dealing with how teens must adapt and learn to cope with their unwanted situation. I felt it was a little weak, but then again I guess that is part of being a young adult novel. The cover is OK, but one showing a scene from the story would have been better in my opinion. I give this novel a 3.8 out of 5.
Further book reviews I have written can be accessed at https://johnpurvis.wordpress.com/blog/.
September 4, 2017
I'm probably one of the most critical reviewers that you'll meet. I really don't know why this book averaged 1.5 stars when it is really an excellent read. The characters are extremely well developed for a YA story. There are no cardboard characters here. Admittedly the action is a tad bland if you want to compare this it to something like StarTrek or Star Wars. But if you do, you are missing the whole point of a very poignant story.
Why is it that teenagers are so resilient and so determined to rise above situations. Because they believe that nothing bad will happen to them. Oh, sure, something bad happens to other teens, but nothing bad will happen to me. Adults on the other hand will struggle and strive with each other, will jockey for power, will have trouble working in a team environment, and will [spoiler]act just like the second team found a day's walk from our original team.[/spoiler]
If you've ever taken some college communications courses, this would be a good study in small group communication and leadership.
This is a study in survival from teenagers' point of view. I'd say this would be an excellent read for 9-12 year olds.
I do recommend this book.
Why is it that teenagers are so resilient and so determined to rise above situations. Because they believe that nothing bad will happen to them. Oh, sure, something bad happens to other teens, but nothing bad will happen to me. Adults on the other hand will struggle and strive with each other, will jockey for power, will have trouble working in a team environment, and will [spoiler]act just like the second team found a day's walk from our original team.[/spoiler]
If you've ever taken some college communications courses, this would be a good study in small group communication and leadership.
This is a study in survival from teenagers' point of view. I'd say this would be an excellent read for 9-12 year olds.
I do recommend this book.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews