What do you think?
Rate this book
Sons of Neptune #1
Earthweeds
It's not the end of the world, it's the start of something new.
Two students return from a mountain camping trip to find an empty city. Everyone in every metropolis has gone. Only a few living souls remain in the countryside.
And then the lizards came. The size of men, they flooded the city and attacked the few remaining people. When these mutated creatures are confronted by giant spiders, the two species fight each other for the remaining food supply...with the humans caught in the middle.
A teenage boy with electric powers,
a college student who can communicate with animals,
a scientist with a dark secret,
and a band of psychopaths with their own agenda
... all come together.
Defending each other from the evils of men and creatures alike, the last humans form separate camps and race against each other to unravel the mystery of the deserted cities, the swarming creatures, and the threat to humankind. While fighting off the giant monsters that sprang from nowhere, they search for clues that lead to alien devices and the possibility of a deeper reason for the world's transformation.
But the mystery of the human disappearance remains.
Sam, a boy born with powers able to generate electric charges, teams up with a boy who can understand the language of birds and spiders, and together they set out to find the answers. Another camp led by a mad scientist is racing to find the same answers, but for a very different reason.
A post-apocalyptic novel and science fiction adventure
blending together elements of monsters, survivalists, and science fiction.
Earthweeds is Volume 1 in the Sons of Neptune series.
Two students return from a mountain camping trip to find an empty city. Everyone in every metropolis has gone. Only a few living souls remain in the countryside.
And then the lizards came. The size of men, they flooded the city and attacked the few remaining people. When these mutated creatures are confronted by giant spiders, the two species fight each other for the remaining food supply...with the humans caught in the middle.
A teenage boy with electric powers,
a college student who can communicate with animals,
a scientist with a dark secret,
and a band of psychopaths with their own agenda
... all come together.
Defending each other from the evils of men and creatures alike, the last humans form separate camps and race against each other to unravel the mystery of the deserted cities, the swarming creatures, and the threat to humankind. While fighting off the giant monsters that sprang from nowhere, they search for clues that lead to alien devices and the possibility of a deeper reason for the world's transformation.
But the mystery of the human disappearance remains.
Sam, a boy born with powers able to generate electric charges, teams up with a boy who can understand the language of birds and spiders, and together they set out to find the answers. Another camp led by a mad scientist is racing to find the same answers, but for a very different reason.
A post-apocalyptic novel and science fiction adventure
blending together elements of monsters, survivalists, and science fiction.
Earthweeds is Volume 1 in the Sons of Neptune series.
- GenresScience FictionAmazon
358 pages, ebook
First published June 27, 2017
279 people are currently reading
288 people want to read
About the author
Rod Little
18 books25 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name. This author is Sci-fi & Horror
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews
July 12, 2017
I had a hard time deciding how many stars to give this book. In the end I went with a full 5-star rating because after all was said and done I can’t deny that I really enjoyed this book and the writing itself was excellent. It reminds me of one of those off-the-wall sci-fi movies that everyone loves no matter how crazy it gets. And this book does get pretty crazy. There’s giant killer-lizards, giant helpful and intelligent spiders and giant bats. (It should come with a heebee-jeebee warning) They’ve all been mutated from other species, humans being the species mutated into lizards. Some humans that weren’t around civilization during the attack avoided mutation and were left to fight the onslaught of crazy mutated creatures. It’s an elaborate plot with a lot of convenient points and simplicity. For example, two of the main characters just happen to have special abilities that are perfectly suited for a situation like this. One appears in the middle of the book at the perfect time after being the only survivor of a plane crash. There is a lot of simplicity in the book. Oh, alien space ships are everywhere? Let’s just go try to blow one up and see what happens. Somehow, the author manages to make this level of simplicity fun and endearing. It also helps move the plot along at an excellent pace, which is one of my favorite features of this book. I just kept reading and reading no matter how crazy things got. The fast pace also makes it easier to not get bogged down in questions of logic and the little details. All the people that can save the world just happen to be in the same town, with special abilities and scientists that were already working on mutations? Aren’t lizards cold-blooded? Why are two young college students driving around with no roof on their Jeep and a gun in the glove compartment before anything even started happening? They’re always looking for aspirin, which is the worst pain killer you could choose in this situation because it inhibits blood clotting on all the wounds and gunshots the characters pile up. These are minor details that don’t really matter. If you’re looking for realism you probably wouldn’t have chosen this book anyway. The best way to enjoy this book is to just accept what the author serves up and keep reading without getting hung up on details. It’s a great escape from reality and a wonderful apocalyptic story (instead of being dark and depressing). It’s a real rollercoaster ride that gets crazier and crazier. And just when you think things couldn’t get any weirder, things get much weirder. There’s a wide range of emotions throughout the book and a lot of action with light comedy mixed in. To be honest, I can’t even really pinpoint why I liked this book so much, but some things are better off enjoyed rather than explained. At the end of the book the author says, “Science fiction should be fun”. Since that was his goal, I’d say he definitely succeeded with Earthweeds.
January 30, 2018
Awesome
This is one of the best syfy books I have read...ever. Action, adventure, suspense. I have already downloaded the 2nd book. So many twists and turns and the ending makes you eager to read the next one. Haha. Weeds. Gotta read it to appreciate it.
This is one of the best syfy books I have read...ever. Action, adventure, suspense. I have already downloaded the 2nd book. So many twists and turns and the ending makes you eager to read the next one. Haha. Weeds. Gotta read it to appreciate it.
June 3, 2019
While looking for more modern pieces with faster pace than some classics, I came across this one. Again, I'm not a fan of series (I like my meals complete in one course), and I won't be moving on with this, but the plot seemed simple and easy enough to make for a foray into casual literature.
The summary is not quite accurate, so I'll provide a bit more. Sam and Shane are college-age brothers who are out camping. On their return home, they discover that the world has changed. Giant, man-eating lizards are running free, killing and eating everything. Over a series of events, they form one of three groups of humans who are fighting for their lives and their planet. In the midst of it all, Sam, another member of their group (Bohai), and a cruel yet mysterious genius, are all not quite what they seem. Whether it's enough to thwart the pending invasion and save the planet is a question not fully answered in this first installment.
The "fighting to save Earth" premise is nothing new, but the little wrinkles in this one are different enough to make it somewhat interesting. However, none of the characters have any depth to them (think network TV types) and there is so much "telling" (versus "showing") and even places where the author talks directly to the reader (breaking the fourth wall, if you know theatre terminology), which just rankles me because it takes me out of the story far too much. Also, the ending is far too quick and then completely unfinished ("buy the second book!" it screams), which bothers me even more, because I want some sort of resolution and got almost nothing.
If this book is read in the right mindset (think summer beach read) and by the right person (someone who enjoys going to movies because character development takes a distant back seat to action and cut-from-a-mold bad guys), this is a decent book. Heck, for what it is, it could even be 4 stars. But too much telling and radio program-style talking to the reader is just not going to cut it for me. Likable; not lovable. A book made for casual reading fans.
The summary is not quite accurate, so I'll provide a bit more. Sam and Shane are college-age brothers who are out camping. On their return home, they discover that the world has changed. Giant, man-eating lizards are running free, killing and eating everything. Over a series of events, they form one of three groups of humans who are fighting for their lives and their planet. In the midst of it all, Sam, another member of their group (Bohai), and a cruel yet mysterious genius, are all not quite what they seem. Whether it's enough to thwart the pending invasion and save the planet is a question not fully answered in this first installment.
The "fighting to save Earth" premise is nothing new, but the little wrinkles in this one are different enough to make it somewhat interesting. However, none of the characters have any depth to them (think network TV types) and there is so much "telling" (versus "showing") and even places where the author talks directly to the reader (breaking the fourth wall, if you know theatre terminology), which just rankles me because it takes me out of the story far too much. Also, the ending is far too quick and then completely unfinished ("buy the second book!" it screams), which bothers me even more, because I want some sort of resolution and got almost nothing.
If this book is read in the right mindset (think summer beach read) and by the right person (someone who enjoys going to movies because character development takes a distant back seat to action and cut-from-a-mold bad guys), this is a decent book. Heck, for what it is, it could even be 4 stars. But too much telling and radio program-style talking to the reader is just not going to cut it for me. Likable; not lovable. A book made for casual reading fans.
September 17, 2017
I’ve read a lot of post-apoc scenarios but this one was new to me, and that’s fantastic. It always thrills me to read something unexpected. Honestly, that’s why I love spec-fic. I was reminded of the old black and white sci-fi movies that give me such joy. In fact, I imagined the lizards similar to those awesome monsters from those movies.
The narrative voice was easy to fall into, letting me slip into the unreal. Pacing demanded that I keep reading, there were no lags, as I was propelled forward, needing to know what caused the mutations. The action is consistent, filling the pages with tension and excitement.
The characters are wide-ranged voices, well developed, and realistically presented. I enjoyed that young adults reacted in a way that I would expect young adults too, not being realistically transformed into perfect heroes as can happen in this type of story. There were also those who were less than likable, as there often are when things fall apart. Then there was Bohai, who I think was my instant favorite.
I won’t talk too much about the plot as not spoil things, but I will say that as things unwound it surprised me and I loved the concept even more. I’m very excited to see how things play in the next part.
The narrative voice was easy to fall into, letting me slip into the unreal. Pacing demanded that I keep reading, there were no lags, as I was propelled forward, needing to know what caused the mutations. The action is consistent, filling the pages with tension and excitement.
The characters are wide-ranged voices, well developed, and realistically presented. I enjoyed that young adults reacted in a way that I would expect young adults too, not being realistically transformed into perfect heroes as can happen in this type of story. There were also those who were less than likable, as there often are when things fall apart. Then there was Bohai, who I think was my instant favorite.
I won’t talk too much about the plot as not spoil things, but I will say that as things unwound it surprised me and I loved the concept even more. I’m very excited to see how things play in the next part.
January 27, 2019
Interesting...Weird, but Interesting...and Entertaining
Creepy creatures and snarky, funny dialogue make this worth reading. The writing was sometimes scattered, sometimes poorly executed, and sometimes rambling. Editing was not stellar. I liked the story but the plot was so difficult to believe that I couldn't get really invested in it. It got more far-fetched toward the end. I won't continue the series.
Creepy creatures and snarky, funny dialogue make this worth reading. The writing was sometimes scattered, sometimes poorly executed, and sometimes rambling. Editing was not stellar. I liked the story but the plot was so difficult to believe that I couldn't get really invested in it. It got more far-fetched toward the end. I won't continue the series.
September 22, 2020
Shane and Sam are brothers. Shane is in college and Sam is about to finish high school. Each summer the boys escape for a few weeks into the wilderness outside of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania to hunt and evade the hustle and bustle of the real world. This year, when the boys return from the mountains to their jeep they find a suicide victim with a note in his hand, “If anyone finds this, I saved another bullet in my pocket for you.”
Weird? Maybe. But Shane and Sam are about to encounter a new world dominated by fierce man-eating reptiles and huge spiders. Where are the people? That’s the boys’ first question that eventually gets answered. And what caused the apocalypse?
As the boys go into survival mode they meet other humans looking for answers. Eventually a small tribe is formed as the group, led by Shane and Sam, take refuge in a mountain resort.
The young humans uncover two nearby bands of survivalists. The first is led by an evil genius scientist named Dexter who hates George, the leader of the less scary group of scientists searching for the reasons why lizards mutated from Earth’s human population. Dexter will stop at nothing to retrieve a mysterious box that George refuses to turn over to him.
Author Rod Little has developed a well thought out apocalypse scenario that is plausible and scary. Little does a superb job of writing an exciting plot, well- developed characters with scenes readers can easily visualize.
Sam, we soon discover, has a super power. He can create electrical energy in his hands and control it. Another young man, Bohai, who is the lone survivor of a plane crash, has the unique talent of being able to communicate with animals. Perhaps these two are humanity’s final hope?
Earthweeds is the first of four books in the Sons of Neptune series, consisting of Revenge of the Spiders, The Last Starbase, and The Boneyards of Nebula, which so far has been a thrilling ride.
Weird? Maybe. But Shane and Sam are about to encounter a new world dominated by fierce man-eating reptiles and huge spiders. Where are the people? That’s the boys’ first question that eventually gets answered. And what caused the apocalypse?
As the boys go into survival mode they meet other humans looking for answers. Eventually a small tribe is formed as the group, led by Shane and Sam, take refuge in a mountain resort.
The young humans uncover two nearby bands of survivalists. The first is led by an evil genius scientist named Dexter who hates George, the leader of the less scary group of scientists searching for the reasons why lizards mutated from Earth’s human population. Dexter will stop at nothing to retrieve a mysterious box that George refuses to turn over to him.
Author Rod Little has developed a well thought out apocalypse scenario that is plausible and scary. Little does a superb job of writing an exciting plot, well- developed characters with scenes readers can easily visualize.
Sam, we soon discover, has a super power. He can create electrical energy in his hands and control it. Another young man, Bohai, who is the lone survivor of a plane crash, has the unique talent of being able to communicate with animals. Perhaps these two are humanity’s final hope?
Earthweeds is the first of four books in the Sons of Neptune series, consisting of Revenge of the Spiders, The Last Starbase, and The Boneyards of Nebula, which so far has been a thrilling ride.
January 8, 2020
To be honest this is a book that I would have overlooked. But I got a new fire tablet for Christmas and even though I have way to many books lined up to read, I thought it couldn't hurt to add 4 more. All it cost me was to push the download button. I had opened it up to read a historical fiction but my new tablet decided this was the book for me that day I thought I'm I'll read the first few pages and then decide to keep it or send it off to cloud heaven.
This book grabbed me from the start It was engaging, pulled you in to the characters
from the start and actually very well written. I found out there are 3 more books to this series so I will be purchasing them sooner rather than later. Talk about coming out of my literary shell and getting back into sci-fi reads again.
To the author, Rod Little, I give you a heartfelt thank you for renewing my faith in the sci-fi book world. I haven't devoured one of these books so quickly since my last Piers Anthony reads. I will be checking out more of your works sir.
To anyone else on the fence about reading this or not... Do yourself a favor and curl up somewhere comfy before starting this story. You won't want to stop until it's finished.
LR
This book grabbed me from the start It was engaging, pulled you in to the characters
from the start and actually very well written. I found out there are 3 more books to this series so I will be purchasing them sooner rather than later. Talk about coming out of my literary shell and getting back into sci-fi reads again.
To the author, Rod Little, I give you a heartfelt thank you for renewing my faith in the sci-fi book world. I haven't devoured one of these books so quickly since my last Piers Anthony reads. I will be checking out more of your works sir.
To anyone else on the fence about reading this or not... Do yourself a favor and curl up somewhere comfy before starting this story. You won't want to stop until it's finished.
LR
September 24, 2021
This book was a lot, so let's get started.
We begin our adventure up in a forested mountain national parky type area, where brothers Sam and Shane are enjoying a hiking / camping vacation to escape their woes for a time. Things go awry when they find a man who has committed suicide by gunshot sitting dead against a tree. He's left a suicide note in his other hand that really got me intrigued, even if the couple of lines of Sam's and Shane's dialogue immediately following said note over-explained it all and kind of spoiled the effect. Less is more, people!
Anyway. Sam, who is six feet one inch tall and has been ever since he was a kid in high school when it was weird but isn't so weird now he's a college freshman, and his older brother Shane who is five feet eleven and more athletic, are distressed by the discovery of the dead body and return to town - and that's where everything starts to go really crazy.
I admit, at the outset I got a bit of a Supernatural vibe from the two brothers, but that was only because one of them was named Sam and was quite tall (6'1", as stressed a couple of times in the opening chapters) and his older brother is less tall but a bit of a tough guy who says "awesome" and calls his car "sweetheart" and doesn't let Sammy drive it and their parents are dead. But these moderately amusing similarities took a back seat, if you will, to the fact that Sam can also summon electricity from his hands.
Why do we learn that Sam is a prematurely 6'1" freakazoid before we find out about the lightning hands? One of life's mysteries. And speaking of one of life's mysteries, Sam and Shane are about to get all the rest of life's mysteries thrown in their faces, one and two at a time, some of them wrapped in enigmas and some of them just damp and balls-out naked, so strap the fuck in.
The result is a highly entertaining, action-packed, twist-and-turn-filled adventure of a truly boggling scope and intensity. I may make light, but I was genuinely entertained and who can really ask for more than that? There were legitimately creepy moments (like the suicide and the things in the basement) and interesting premonitions (a narrator telling us what's to come) and a whole lot of craziness (too much to do parenthetical justice to) folded into an apocalyptic monster thriller that keeps the beats coming.
We have a horde of flesh-eating lizards. We have monster spiders. We have a band of heavily-armed doomsday preppers and some creepy scientist-types. We have a guy who communicates with animals. We have electric powers. We have flying saucers from Neptune (this might constitute a spoiler but come on, look at the name of the series and try to keep your eye on the ball here). We have a lot. And this is just the beginning!
A few things didn't add up, but they were mostly little things. The way a ... certain event ... occurred "over a millennium ago" and yet predated the dino-killer asteroid is one of those things that's technically true but still sounds odd. It took them way too long to realise putting on Tina's perfume was a good solution to the scent issue they were facing, rendering them "invisible" to the lizards. And once they did figure it out, it stopped being a plot point shortly afterwards. There was comedy gold to be dredged out of that ... but I get it. There was too much else going on, no time to stop to pick up loose nuggets. I also didn't get why words like Earth and Neptune were part of the lexicon when their etymology ... gah, never mind. There's a few little nits to pick but they're not a big deal. What's the odd nit when we have so much going on?
Sex-o-meter
There's a lot of lingering and insistent description of the ... three? ... female characters, two of whom need to be rescued from a doom prepper rape cage at the start, but there's no actual rape and not really any sex. It's all about the action, not the action, you know? It's kind of charming in its own way. One perfectly normal attractive step-sibling who just does normal stuff out of a possible set of attractive step-sibling triplets who get themselves trapped in implausible sexually vulnerable positions all the time because the plot demands it.
Gore-o-meter
Y'know, for a violent apocalyptic horror action story with killer lizards, there's surprisingly little gore. A bunch of people and a whole fuck-ton of lizards get killed in an assortment of ways, some of them reasonably bloody, but we can't get the gore-o-meter to go above two-and-a-half flesh-gobbets out of a possible five no matter how hard we whack it.
WTF-o-meter
Overall this book was an amazing, dizzying festival of WTFery. What a trip. At every point Little had a chance to say "this is it, this is what the story's about, let's continue," Little instead said "fuck it, that happened, now something even more balls-to-the-wall crazy is going to happen." I don't know if the WTF-o-meter could handle the rest of the books in this series. As it is, it's giving Earthweeds a Percy Jackson out of a possible Samuel L Jackson. I think ... I think you broke it. Yep, it's broken. Well that's not going to be cheap.
My Final Verdict
The words Earthians from the Earthian Empire moved to Earthus should be absolutely stupid ... but I really like it. And I don't know why. I'm sitting here covered in smoking pieces of WTF-o-meter, and I don't know why. What a wild ride. Lot of fun. Four stars on the Amazon / Goodreads scale.
We begin our adventure up in a forested mountain national parky type area, where brothers Sam and Shane are enjoying a hiking / camping vacation to escape their woes for a time. Things go awry when they find a man who has committed suicide by gunshot sitting dead against a tree. He's left a suicide note in his other hand that really got me intrigued, even if the couple of lines of Sam's and Shane's dialogue immediately following said note over-explained it all and kind of spoiled the effect. Less is more, people!
Anyway. Sam, who is six feet one inch tall and has been ever since he was a kid in high school when it was weird but isn't so weird now he's a college freshman, and his older brother Shane who is five feet eleven and more athletic, are distressed by the discovery of the dead body and return to town - and that's where everything starts to go really crazy.
I admit, at the outset I got a bit of a Supernatural vibe from the two brothers, but that was only because one of them was named Sam and was quite tall (6'1", as stressed a couple of times in the opening chapters) and his older brother is less tall but a bit of a tough guy who says "awesome" and calls his car "sweetheart" and doesn't let Sammy drive it and their parents are dead. But these moderately amusing similarities took a back seat, if you will, to the fact that Sam can also summon electricity from his hands.
Why do we learn that Sam is a prematurely 6'1" freakazoid before we find out about the lightning hands? One of life's mysteries. And speaking of one of life's mysteries, Sam and Shane are about to get all the rest of life's mysteries thrown in their faces, one and two at a time, some of them wrapped in enigmas and some of them just damp and balls-out naked, so strap the fuck in.
The result is a highly entertaining, action-packed, twist-and-turn-filled adventure of a truly boggling scope and intensity. I may make light, but I was genuinely entertained and who can really ask for more than that? There were legitimately creepy moments (like the suicide and the things in the basement) and interesting premonitions (a narrator telling us what's to come) and a whole lot of craziness (too much to do parenthetical justice to) folded into an apocalyptic monster thriller that keeps the beats coming.
We have a horde of flesh-eating lizards. We have monster spiders. We have a band of heavily-armed doomsday preppers and some creepy scientist-types. We have a guy who communicates with animals. We have electric powers. We have flying saucers from Neptune (this might constitute a spoiler but come on, look at the name of the series and try to keep your eye on the ball here). We have a lot. And this is just the beginning!
A few things didn't add up, but they were mostly little things. The way a ... certain event ... occurred "over a millennium ago" and yet predated the dino-killer asteroid is one of those things that's technically true but still sounds odd. It took them way too long to realise putting on Tina's perfume was a good solution to the scent issue they were facing, rendering them "invisible" to the lizards. And once they did figure it out, it stopped being a plot point shortly afterwards. There was comedy gold to be dredged out of that ... but I get it. There was too much else going on, no time to stop to pick up loose nuggets. I also didn't get why words like Earth and Neptune were part of the lexicon when their etymology ... gah, never mind. There's a few little nits to pick but they're not a big deal. What's the odd nit when we have so much going on?
Sex-o-meter
There's a lot of lingering and insistent description of the ... three? ... female characters, two of whom need to be rescued from a doom prepper rape cage at the start, but there's no actual rape and not really any sex. It's all about the action, not the action, you know? It's kind of charming in its own way. One perfectly normal attractive step-sibling who just does normal stuff out of a possible set of attractive step-sibling triplets who get themselves trapped in implausible sexually vulnerable positions all the time because the plot demands it.
Gore-o-meter
Y'know, for a violent apocalyptic horror action story with killer lizards, there's surprisingly little gore. A bunch of people and a whole fuck-ton of lizards get killed in an assortment of ways, some of them reasonably bloody, but we can't get the gore-o-meter to go above two-and-a-half flesh-gobbets out of a possible five no matter how hard we whack it.
WTF-o-meter
Overall this book was an amazing, dizzying festival of WTFery. What a trip. At every point Little had a chance to say "this is it, this is what the story's about, let's continue," Little instead said "fuck it, that happened, now something even more balls-to-the-wall crazy is going to happen." I don't know if the WTF-o-meter could handle the rest of the books in this series. As it is, it's giving Earthweeds a Percy Jackson out of a possible Samuel L Jackson. I think ... I think you broke it. Yep, it's broken. Well that's not going to be cheap.
My Final Verdict
The words Earthians from the Earthian Empire moved to Earthus should be absolutely stupid ... but I really like it. And I don't know why. I'm sitting here covered in smoking pieces of WTF-o-meter, and I don't know why. What a wild ride. Lot of fun. Four stars on the Amazon / Goodreads scale.
April 27, 2019
Excellent sci-fi
If you like sci-fi you'll enjoy this. Go to sleep one day wake up and people are gone. What is going on? Follow what two young men encounter. Can life return to normal? I feel this would make a good sci-fi movie. They have to keep to the author's writings. Read it and enjoy.
If you like sci-fi you'll enjoy this. Go to sleep one day wake up and people are gone. What is going on? Follow what two young men encounter. Can life return to normal? I feel this would make a good sci-fi movie. They have to keep to the author's writings. Read it and enjoy.
August 13, 2020
Brilliant
This book incorporates every science fiction conspiracy theory and idea from the last few years and takes them into a great story that everyone will enjoy. Enough action to keep anyone hooked and twists and turns that you don't want to put the book down. Download it and read for yourself.
This book incorporates every science fiction conspiracy theory and idea from the last few years and takes them into a great story that everyone will enjoy. Enough action to keep anyone hooked and twists and turns that you don't want to put the book down. Download it and read for yourself.
May 26, 2019
We are weeds
I found this writing to be amazing. I loved every part of it the characters were colourful and interesting. The story started with a lot of action and kept on going to the very end
I found this writing to be amazing. I loved every part of it the characters were colourful and interesting. The story started with a lot of action and kept on going to the very end
February 24, 2019
I hate to give any less than 3 stars but I need to be honest and hope the author will consider some of my advice below. Most of all, please keep writing and improving. I know, writing is never as easy as it seems (I know because I write, as well). Also, please realize that I rarely give 5 stars, as well, and getting 4 stars means I am quite impressed.
I tried my best to keep reading but gave up after 37 pages or so because to me, this read like a first draft. By this, I mean the story has potential but it just appeared like it had been just written out and never revised for the following problems
Like another reviewer stated, there was a lot of deus ex machina going on, and thus, made me lose interest.
You may have also heard about the rule of "Chekovs gun". The author Anton Chekhov stated: “If in Act One you have a pistol hanging on the wall, then it must fire in the last act.” Essentially, when you mention certain details in the beginning, they should have a distinct role in the story and be explained within a reasonable time frame (but for sure by the end of the story). Instead, the author of this story often overloads the reader with unnecessary details. As a normal part of the revision process, I would have suggested my creative writing professor's advice: to cut everything that doesn't drive the story forward.
Further, the author could have employed more "showing" than "telling" to keep readers more engaged. This should be self explanatory.
One thing I found was something physically impossible: When the brothers enter a hotel with a cracked glass front door, which has a piece missing and is already standing ajar. They PULL it "all the way open" and then the glass of the door shatters and not only falls off the frame but "Pieces cascaded across the floor and bounced all the way tp the other side of the lobby". The directionality is all wrong and it would have taken a lot more force into the opposite direction to spray glass all across the lobby floor in that scene (perhaps someone forcefully pushing the door open, someone getting thrown against the door from the outside, or a minor explosion close to but outside the building).
Some sentences confused me, such as "Relentless but impatient, the reptiles refused to abandon the hunt". I could see the reptiles being impatient and therefore, relentless. However, the "but" doesn't make sense, as the reptiles keep hunting relentlessly, obviously because they happen to be impatient...
And then, there are a ton of redundancies, such as in this sentence: "The late afternoon waned and began to weave onto evening". The author goes on to specify it's 1 hour before darkness sets in, which is a bad thing in this situation. While the language used sounds sort of poetic or lyrical, perhaps, considering the nature and quick progress of this story, it would be wise to use simpler, but stronger language. For example, "Twilight fell, and they had to prepare for the danger that came with darkness" or "late afternoon turned into evening, and with nighttime came the dark", or maybe, "the sun began to set as evening approached, and they didn't look forward to the dark of night", "the sun was low and, unfortunately, it would be dark, soon", or something like that...
I hope this helps. Again, please keep writing. You have talent for story; just work on the aforementioned opportunities for improvement.
I tried my best to keep reading but gave up after 37 pages or so because to me, this read like a first draft. By this, I mean the story has potential but it just appeared like it had been just written out and never revised for the following problems
Like another reviewer stated, there was a lot of deus ex machina going on, and thus, made me lose interest.
You may have also heard about the rule of "Chekovs gun". The author Anton Chekhov stated: “If in Act One you have a pistol hanging on the wall, then it must fire in the last act.” Essentially, when you mention certain details in the beginning, they should have a distinct role in the story and be explained within a reasonable time frame (but for sure by the end of the story). Instead, the author of this story often overloads the reader with unnecessary details. As a normal part of the revision process, I would have suggested my creative writing professor's advice: to cut everything that doesn't drive the story forward.
Further, the author could have employed more "showing" than "telling" to keep readers more engaged. This should be self explanatory.
One thing I found was something physically impossible: When the brothers enter a hotel with a cracked glass front door, which has a piece missing and is already standing ajar. They PULL it "all the way open" and then the glass of the door shatters and not only falls off the frame but "Pieces cascaded across the floor and bounced all the way tp the other side of the lobby". The directionality is all wrong and it would have taken a lot more force into the opposite direction to spray glass all across the lobby floor in that scene (perhaps someone forcefully pushing the door open, someone getting thrown against the door from the outside, or a minor explosion close to but outside the building).
Some sentences confused me, such as "Relentless but impatient, the reptiles refused to abandon the hunt". I could see the reptiles being impatient and therefore, relentless. However, the "but" doesn't make sense, as the reptiles keep hunting relentlessly, obviously because they happen to be impatient...
And then, there are a ton of redundancies, such as in this sentence: "The late afternoon waned and began to weave onto evening". The author goes on to specify it's 1 hour before darkness sets in, which is a bad thing in this situation. While the language used sounds sort of poetic or lyrical, perhaps, considering the nature and quick progress of this story, it would be wise to use simpler, but stronger language. For example, "Twilight fell, and they had to prepare for the danger that came with darkness" or "late afternoon turned into evening, and with nighttime came the dark", or maybe, "the sun began to set as evening approached, and they didn't look forward to the dark of night", "the sun was low and, unfortunately, it would be dark, soon", or something like that...
I hope this helps. Again, please keep writing. You have talent for story; just work on the aforementioned opportunities for improvement.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 8, 2019
The plot of Earthweeds is a strange and unique concept. it's a post-apocalyptic tale of human/lizard transformation, giant spiders, and super powers. That's a lot of moving parts. The story, as a whole, works. I found the premise interesting, and most of the character motivations compelling.
I want to minimize spoilers, so I'll be purposely vague when necessary. I think the planning of the main characters is fairly solid - Something crazy is going on, people have disappeared, there are giant man-eating lizards and giant spiders running around. Let's find a place fortified place to set up a base. They gather supplies, go to a place that they are at least a little familiar with, and set up, plan foraging trips, etc. I thought the progression of the story was well-executed, and in general, mades sense. These are the good parts.
Unfortunately, I had some issues with the book, overall. The writer's voice was difficult for me to follow. There were times that I had difficulty telling whether something I'd read was the writer's voice, or a grammatical error. I found loads of these throughout the book. There were also statements that simply didn't make any sense to me. For example, "...he carried the weight of that secret like a backpack of snow in summer". I have no idea what that means.
Other issues I had were with the characters themselves. In the opening sequence of the story, the two brothers, Shane and Sam, find a dead body. The conversation they have is like it's no big deal. I didn't find their interaction very believable. If I were their age, I'd be either disgusted or terrified after finding a man who'd committed suicide by gunshot to the head.
When I came to post this review, I noticed another person had made a statement about this book being more suited to a younger crowd. That stuck with me. I sat for a few minutes, going over the story in my head, and I think I'd have to agree. I think the simplicity of some of the characters would tend to make them more suited to a younger crowd.
Overall though, I enjoyed the story.
I want to minimize spoilers, so I'll be purposely vague when necessary. I think the planning of the main characters is fairly solid - Something crazy is going on, people have disappeared, there are giant man-eating lizards and giant spiders running around. Let's find a place fortified place to set up a base. They gather supplies, go to a place that they are at least a little familiar with, and set up, plan foraging trips, etc. I thought the progression of the story was well-executed, and in general, mades sense. These are the good parts.
Unfortunately, I had some issues with the book, overall. The writer's voice was difficult for me to follow. There were times that I had difficulty telling whether something I'd read was the writer's voice, or a grammatical error. I found loads of these throughout the book. There were also statements that simply didn't make any sense to me. For example, "...he carried the weight of that secret like a backpack of snow in summer". I have no idea what that means.
Other issues I had were with the characters themselves. In the opening sequence of the story, the two brothers, Shane and Sam, find a dead body. The conversation they have is like it's no big deal. I didn't find their interaction very believable. If I were their age, I'd be either disgusted or terrified after finding a man who'd committed suicide by gunshot to the head.
When I came to post this review, I noticed another person had made a statement about this book being more suited to a younger crowd. That stuck with me. I sat for a few minutes, going over the story in my head, and I think I'd have to agree. I think the simplicity of some of the characters would tend to make them more suited to a younger crowd.
Overall though, I enjoyed the story.
March 3, 2019
Brothers Shane and Sam have been camping in the woods when they discover a suicide. They decide to drive back into town to report the man’s body in the woods, but they find the town eerily quiet. It’s as if the whole town has been evacuated. Soon they meet up with other young people: Ken, Tina, Camila, Lucy, Lily, Mark, and Bohai Chen. It appears the town wasn’t evacuated, but that something alien has changed people into giant lizards. This same virus has also turned small spiders into giant spiders. The lizards are eating people and animals that survived, and the spiders are fighting the lizards. And the spiders want help from the young people. Bohai talks to animals and understands them, so the spiders work through him to recruit the others to help fight the lizards. Sam has a super hero ability, he can spark electricity and throw electrical balls at the enemy.
Okay, apocalyptic stories are not my cup of tea, nor is zombie viruses or viruses that turn people into lizards, but this story kept me turning the pages. And when I had to put it down for meals, I was anxious to get back to the adventure, that’s how interesting this story line is. It was well written, and the pace never slowed. It’s definitely aimed at the young adult, with a touch for the superhero crowd. There are some nice twists at the end of this yarn, and I see there is a sequel. Highly recommended.
Okay, apocalyptic stories are not my cup of tea, nor is zombie viruses or viruses that turn people into lizards, but this story kept me turning the pages. And when I had to put it down for meals, I was anxious to get back to the adventure, that’s how interesting this story line is. It was well written, and the pace never slowed. It’s definitely aimed at the young adult, with a touch for the superhero crowd. There are some nice twists at the end of this yarn, and I see there is a sequel. Highly recommended.
January 25, 2019
For a pre-teen audience, this earns 4 stars, although others might argue for 3. Here's my reasoning. The cover teases at a profound sci-fi opera like Mad Max: Fury Road that transcends genre OR a campy send-up, and yet it is neither. Rather, it reads like an homage to Stephen King: you know, a cozy coming-of-age disaster epic. If it were only that, I think it would fail to entertain much (2 stars?), but the author also manages to weave-in the paranormal thing, the other story type Mr. King is known for. So for both ambition and bang for buck, that really scores. Then there's the super-polished prose, the kind with only the strongest verbs, scrubbed of sickly -ly adverbs, free of needless cursing or gore, and the careful, unobtrusive editorial voice that steers the story just enough. In sum, middle-schoolers raised on dinosaur blockbusters will likely devour this.
January 5, 2022
I liked the premise of EARTHWEEDS—a mysterious occurrence, people disappearing and then re-emerging as blood-thirsty lizards, and one of the MC’s has a special, unexplainable superpower.
Written in past tense, 3rd person, multi- POV, which sometimes slipped into 3rd person omnipotent, EARTHWEEDS is a story of survival, so the plot was clear—stay alive and figure out what the heck happened to the world. The book gave me major Walking Dead vibes, where other people are your biggest adversaries in a post-apocalyptic world, but swap out zombies with overgrown lizards.
I wasn’t crazy about the depiction of women. They came off as a bit useless.
If you like post-apocalyptic survival stories, mutants, alien invasions, and cool superpowers, then you will love this book!
Written in past tense, 3rd person, multi- POV, which sometimes slipped into 3rd person omnipotent, EARTHWEEDS is a story of survival, so the plot was clear—stay alive and figure out what the heck happened to the world. The book gave me major Walking Dead vibes, where other people are your biggest adversaries in a post-apocalyptic world, but swap out zombies with overgrown lizards.
I wasn’t crazy about the depiction of women. They came off as a bit useless.
If you like post-apocalyptic survival stories, mutants, alien invasions, and cool superpowers, then you will love this book!
August 20, 2018
Just imagine being the survivor of a tsunami of declarative sentences with a smattering of cliched adjectives and adverbs. Then you suffer the aftershock of a trite plot rife with the proverbial "deus ex machina" being repetetively loaded in a amateur's sling shot that has the impact of a pea-shooter. I can't imagine someone slogging through two more of this. But then, if it would have been the first sci-fi book I'd have read; I probably would have loved it.
February 9, 2019
Definitely strange
I don’t want to sound snobbish but all of the spelling and grammatical errors bothered me so much I couldn’t enjoy the book, and it had an interesting premise, great characters, good versus evil versus more evil versus human nature, etc.
I am sure many will enjoy it.
I don’t want to sound snobbish but all of the spelling and grammatical errors bothered me so much I couldn’t enjoy the book, and it had an interesting premise, great characters, good versus evil versus more evil versus human nature, etc.
I am sure many will enjoy it.
February 10, 2020
I really do not know how to rate this one. It was entertaining, and then idiotic, then fun, then comedic, then at 91% went completely off the rails stupid then came back as sci-fi.
It dropped from 3 to two stars because it doesn't end at all, just suddenly hangs and advertises book 2 for $8.99.
I am not buying book 2.
It dropped from 3 to two stars because it doesn't end at all, just suddenly hangs and advertises book 2 for $8.99.
I am not buying book 2.
July 17, 2018
Well done...
Nice story, lots of aliens, whole bunch of lizards eating folk, giant mutated spiders, planetary plots, throw em all in a bowl and stir it up! Looking forward to the next book!
Nice story, lots of aliens, whole bunch of lizards eating folk, giant mutated spiders, planetary plots, throw em all in a bowl and stir it up! Looking forward to the next book!
December 16, 2018
Very different post-apocalyptic novel
I thought this book was really cool to read. The different mutations, the different characters, and the interesting twists at the end made for a great read.
I thought this book was really cool to read. The different mutations, the different characters, and the interesting twists at the end made for a great read.
January 24, 2022
Well, the cat DIDN'T die, so that earns it 2 stars right there. That isn't really a spoiler, it's too minor to count. The story was very compelling, I wanted to keep reading. The story was put together nicely, no real loose ends. Definitely worth checking out!
July 4, 2017
Great Read! Looking forward to more of his work.
Liked the strong characters both male and female
Liked the strong characters both male and female
July 9, 2018
Earthweeds
A wonderouly epic space adventure for the ages. Written by Rod Little eloquently. A must read. I Loved It!! Get it today.
A wonderouly epic space adventure for the ages. Written by Rod Little eloquently. A must read. I Loved It!! Get it today.
February 15, 2019
Strang
Well written kept me interested all the way through. The ending sucked I would have liked a more final ending.
Well written kept me interested all the way through. The ending sucked I would have liked a more final ending.
July 13, 2019
Compelling story, good pace. Characterization needs development. E-book contained multiple typos.
August 16, 2019
I enjoyed this book very much
November 2, 2019
WOW! This was a really great book. In fact, it was so good I bought the next one, The Revenge of the Spiders and I normally only read free books on Kindle.
November 15, 2019
Earthweeds
Other than women being relegated to the usual second class citizens the book was very entertaining. I will probably buy the second in this series.
Other than women being relegated to the usual second class citizens the book was very entertaining. I will probably buy the second in this series.
August 28, 2020
Entertaining in parts, but overall complete tosh: a real 50s B movie of a plot, utter nonsense. In many ways it really deserves zero stars, but I'll give it 2 for the entertainment value
Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews