Second Coming: Elvis. Extraterrestrials. Dogs.

by D.B. Borton

Hank Jones isn’t your typical alien abductee. There were no tractor beams, probes, or government conspiracies involved—no, Hank met his kidnappers at a bar. They weren’t exactly hard to miss—Elvis, a seven-foot tall Elvis clone, and Lawrence, a grounded European gent, were the only UCLA supporters in a bar full of Hoosiers.

Still, Hank has nothing better to do. It’s spring break, there’s a pile of freshman essays on his desk, and his thesis is going nowhere. Worse, his ex is sleeping with his dissertation director. He needs a friend, and these aliens will do.

Besides, Elvis and Lawrence could really use a hand—they haven’t visited Earth since the 1950s, and now they’re lost in Indiana, not realizing that things have changed. They need to get to if they don’t warn the president about a coming nuclear arms race, the planet will be destroyed.

But the American public don’t seem too worried. Aliens? And one of them looks like Elvis? Facebook and Twitter are aflame. Oprah and The Tonight Show hang on the phone. The apocalypse will have to wait.

Second Coming is the hilarious new novel by D.B. Borton, author of the Cat Caliban and Gilda Liberty series. Taking aim at consumerism, the cult of celebrity, and the self-destructiveness of humanity, it nonetheless finds joy in the pleasures of basketball, dogs, and rock ‘n’ roll.

Genres: Science Fiction

232 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 6, 2017

About the author

D. B. Borton is a Professor Emeritus of English at Ohio Wesleyan University and now a full-time writer. Specializing in humorous mysteries, she has published eleven mystery novels in two series, the Cat Caliban series (Berkley, Hilliard and Harris) and the Gilda Liberty series (Fawcett), as well as the mystery novel SMOKE (Boomerang) and the humorous science fiction novel SECOND COMING (Boomerang). Her latest mystery, BAYOU CITY BURNING (Boomerang), was published in June 2019.

A native of Houston, Texas, Borton became an ardent admirer of Nancy Drew at a young age. At the age of fourteen, she acquired her own blue roadster, trained on the freeways of Houston and the broad stretches of oil-endowed Texas highway, and began her travels.
She has lived in the Southwest and Midwest and on the West Coast, where she has collected three degrees in English without relinquishing her affection for the expressiveness of the everyday language that real people speak. Her research skills and her ear for language both serve her well in mysteries set in realistic places and featuring characters with authentic voices.

Reviews

[Janet Newport · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you Netgalley and Boomerang Books for this ARC.

Worried about nuclear proliferation? So is D B Borton in this fun book. Very engaging characters (especially Larry and Elvis), Well paced story of anachronistic comedy of errors

[S. Jeyran Main · Rating 4 out of 5]

Second Coming is a humorous science fiction story about Lawrence and Elvis, two aliens who have traveled to earth for the second time. Their mission is to bring a message, and that is if Earth does not stop sending weapons into space, then it will be destroyed.

The aliens had visited earth before and traveled to New Mexico to monitor the progress of the planet Earth. Elvis’s description is the replica of Elvis Presley, and the witty style of this fictional book does not end there. Hank, the alien abductee takes the lead with these two aliens, creating this funny- non-stop – science fiction story that brightens up your day.

At first, I found it very hard to get into the story. The pace was slow, and the storyline did not intrigue my interest. As I read more, I slowly got accustomed to the author’s literature and style of writing, and that is when I began to take in the humor and enjoyed the book. The story is filled with descriptive writing, and each scene is explained very well. It was clear that the author had succeeded in researching about the subject matter as I failed to notice any plausible loophole in the storyline.


The fact that the aliens had not visited Earth since 1950 was funny. They get lost and are not accustomed to all the changes that have happened since then. In addition, since Elvis looks like Elvis Presley, people go mad. Which made me think of how it would have been if we had the same thing happen to us today. I believe anyone that likes to read science fiction and is interested in aliens with a funny twist will find this book appealing.

The only thing I would improve with this book would be a better book cover. I was not a big fan of it.

[Fanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Second Coming is the perfect alien arrival science-fiction with loads of humor to top the fact that one of the two aliens is a carbon copy of Elvis Presley.

I loved this book. The general idea about it was so refreshingly edge that it won my heart right from the blurb. Overall plot revolves around two aliens--Lawrence and Elvis--who have descended down to Earth a second time. Their previous trip to Earth was in 1950, so obviously everything around has changed drastically over the decades. While they're feeling lost amidst the vast changes and new, incomprehensible, surroundings, the fact that Elvis is described to flaunt physical features exactly the same as Elvis Presley only tops the humor content.

On a parallel scene, Hank has nothing better to do and works as the best abductee the two aliens can land in this trip. His life is going all downhill, in fact it's almost monotonous with only bad-er things occurring once in a while, so accompanying these two aliens is better than anything, even if he's marked as kidnapped. The way these two plot lines merge and the three commence their journey is so well-drawn, it's hilariously unbelievable but nothing would stop you from continuing reading it.

The writing is different form the usual direct and light prose I read, but soon the story interested me more and the detailed, descriptive scenes worked. So the start might not immediately hook many readers but if you can stick a tad bit longer, the story would prove itself well. The genre is yet another amazing thing about this book. I thought humor would take the spotlight but it was pleasantly surprising to find some great science-fiction too and overall, I got what I was expecting...maybe a little more. Moreover, the way this story tackled the modern changes, social media and our human race that blows up everything minuscule, is so comically frustrating, I became a fan. For example, when the public notices this Elvis Presley's perfect lookalike, the media gets hyped up.

All in all, this book is a really good read and I would recommend it to all those who are looking for aliens, 1950 comparisons and loads of humor.

Disclaimer: I received a digital copy of this book via Netgalley but that in no way influences my rating and/or my opinions about it. Thank you Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) and D.B. Borton!

Blog | Twitter | Tumblr

[Esther · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thanks to the author for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

After needing some time to get into the book, the story was nice and I got to really like one of the characters. The message behind the book was a nice one and the ending left me satisfied.

A longer review can be found at BiteIntoBooks

Definitely a book for Elvis fans, because I'm sure you'll fall in love with the Elvis in this book as well. The message behind the story is a clear one and it's something I sometimes worry about too. I do hope the humor in this book will be for you. The ending is definitely worth reading.

[Chelsea · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mini Review: This book was certainly an entertaining read, but a little too on the silly side for my taste. I think whether or not this book will work for you completely depends on if the humor is your style. The humor didn't really hit for me, though I rarely find books laugh out loud funny.

Also, the dog doesn't get there until after halfway, despite both the cover, blurb, and tagline mentioning dogs...

ARC provided by Netgalley

[Tiffany Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was looking for a humorous book to lighten my mood and Second Coming did not dissappoint. I highly enjoyed it and can't wait to read it again.