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Guest
Thione Aldermann, a third generation homesteader in the Columbia Valley, prides herself on having a plan for all of life's little eventualities and never being caught flat-footed. But her contingency plan for first contact is about a decade out of date. Enter Guest, a spiderlike alien, who crash-lands in her back pasture. He's wounded, scared, unintelligible, and worse yet – clueless. Fortunately for Guest, Thione formulates a plan to help him, hide him, and when the time is right, heave him back to whence he came. But nosy neighbors and an untrustworthy sheriff imperil the fragile plan from the start, forcing Thione to pull up stakes and risk her farm to even have a chance at sending Guest home.
514 pages, Paperback
Published December 17, 2017
7 people are currently reading
24 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
February 2, 2018
In a future where twerking is the new square dancing, a lonely woman befriends a 50-pound spider.
I’m a sucker for a novel with soul. What do I mean by soul? I mean the writing equivalent of singing as opposed to dancing around while lip-syncing. Maybe that doesn’t help much, so how about this: I like to read a novel that makes me feel like I’m sitting in a comfy chair in front of a roaring fire with a nice glass of Oregon Pinot Noir while my good friend, the author, sitting in an equally comfy chair with the beverage of their choice, is telling me a story.
That’s the way reading Guest made me feel. The novel has plenty of flaws. It could have used a good line-editing. Sub-plots are started and left dangling. Some good opportunities to throw interesting monkey wrenches into the works are squandered.
But . . . if you've got the fire and the comfy chair and the Pinot Noir . . . well, what’s a typo or a loose end or two among friends?
I’m a sucker for a novel with soul. What do I mean by soul? I mean the writing equivalent of singing as opposed to dancing around while lip-syncing. Maybe that doesn’t help much, so how about this: I like to read a novel that makes me feel like I’m sitting in a comfy chair in front of a roaring fire with a nice glass of Oregon Pinot Noir while my good friend, the author, sitting in an equally comfy chair with the beverage of their choice, is telling me a story.
That’s the way reading Guest made me feel. The novel has plenty of flaws. It could have used a good line-editing. Sub-plots are started and left dangling. Some good opportunities to throw interesting monkey wrenches into the works are squandered.
But . . . if you've got the fire and the comfy chair and the Pinot Noir . . . well, what’s a typo or a loose end or two among friends?
January 6, 2019
Similar botanics-focused sci-fi book as Martian. So if you liked that then you'll like this.
May 1, 2018
A sweet rustic twist on a first contact story
I'd recommend this book for those who like hard scrabble living off the land stories with a little gentle humor and friendship thrown in. Not cloying, though- this is a sincere book and quick read
I'd recommend this book for those who like hard scrabble living off the land stories with a little gentle humor and friendship thrown in. Not cloying, though- this is a sincere book and quick read
July 9, 2020
Less Than I Expected
As I read this story, I kept waiting for everything to jell or come together into a cohesive tale of first contact. It never quite does that and at the end I was still left waiting for that moment of clarity. This could/should have been better.
The biggest failure in this story is lack of details. The worldview for this future Earth setting is never fully detailed for the reader. Nouns are used for objects currently unknown with no definition and often only a minimum of description. The storyline construction - grammar and editing - is poorly done. The possessive form of I is my or mine, not I’s. The ending turns out to be not the end, and the reader is left with little resolution.
As I read this story, I kept waiting for everything to jell or come together into a cohesive tale of first contact. It never quite does that and at the end I was still left waiting for that moment of clarity. This could/should have been better.
The biggest failure in this story is lack of details. The worldview for this future Earth setting is never fully detailed for the reader. Nouns are used for objects currently unknown with no definition and often only a minimum of description. The storyline construction - grammar and editing - is poorly done. The possessive form of I is my or mine, not I’s. The ending turns out to be not the end, and the reader is left with little resolution.
February 13, 2021
A Glorious First Contact Story
Reviewed in the United States on April 14, 2020
For once Amazon's algorithm got it right and offered Guest as a recommended book. If you need something unique and quirky to read, Guest is a fantastically real look at a very different alien and the woman determined to help him. This a!ien is fuzzy, charming, kind, and unforgettable. I read this book on KU, but I'll buy it for frequent comfort rereads.
Reviewed in the United States on April 14, 2020
For once Amazon's algorithm got it right and offered Guest as a recommended book. If you need something unique and quirky to read, Guest is a fantastically real look at a very different alien and the woman determined to help him. This a!ien is fuzzy, charming, kind, and unforgettable. I read this book on KU, but I'll buy it for frequent comfort rereads.
January 29, 2019
Enjoyable tale of first contact
While the book had a slow start, once it got rolling it was hard to put down. I enjoyed the end portion quite a bit. Lots of thought put into the worldbuilding.
While the book had a slow start, once it got rolling it was hard to put down. I enjoyed the end portion quite a bit. Lots of thought put into the worldbuilding.
April 18, 2020
Exceptional Book
I loved this book. It's warmth, thoughtfulness, and many surprises, both small and large create the perfect tone and atmosphere; suspenseful, intelligent, compassionate, tender, and surprisingly human. It has some imperfections that should have been cleaned up in editing, but this novel is so good I didn't mind. Sure, it's not everyone 's cup of tea, but if you are ready for a warm, humorous, sci-fi, refreshing, dystopian, near-future, novel of first contact, this will be your cup of tea.
I plan to begin the second book immediately.
I loved this book. It's warmth, thoughtfulness, and many surprises, both small and large create the perfect tone and atmosphere; suspenseful, intelligent, compassionate, tender, and surprisingly human. It has some imperfections that should have been cleaned up in editing, but this novel is so good I didn't mind. Sure, it's not everyone 's cup of tea, but if you are ready for a warm, humorous, sci-fi, refreshing, dystopian, near-future, novel of first contact, this will be your cup of tea.
I plan to begin the second book immediately.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews