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Kept
Twelve massive ships leave the dying earth, heading into the great unknown, seeking new life among the stars.
One of the ships, GIA, crashes on Kepler, which is already inhabited. Now at the mercy of the alien race, the humans are held in an underground cavern.
Would they still have gone knowing that they would be stripped of all humanity?
Under the constant eye of the aliens, a few men discover there may be a way out of the cavern.
But to where?
How will they escape and what will they encounter if they succeed?
One of the ships, GIA, crashes on Kepler, which is already inhabited. Now at the mercy of the alien race, the humans are held in an underground cavern.
Would they still have gone knowing that they would be stripped of all humanity?
Under the constant eye of the aliens, a few men discover there may be a way out of the cavern.
But to where?
How will they escape and what will they encounter if they succeed?
- GenresScience Fiction
244 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 22, 2018
About the author
Theresa Jacobs
37 books116 followersTheresa believes in magic, fairies, dragons, and ghosts. Yet she trusts science and thinks aliens know too much.
Though she still works full-time, she has published ten books in five years, has been included in many anthologies and has a short film available online.
She champions all things creative because art, in any form, saves our souls.
Though she still works full-time, she has published ten books in five years, has been included in many anthologies and has a short film available online.
She champions all things creative because art, in any form, saves our souls.
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
January 10, 2019
Space is filled with wonder, but the reality of travelling it can be arduous and fraught with danger. Theresa Jacobs’ Kept follows some unfortunate travelers as they find themselves stranded on a mysterious alien world. This novel is filled with twists as the inhabitants of the Earth ship Gaia discover that not everything about their mundane life is what it appears to be. A good one for any fans of Interstellar out there!
February 4, 2019
Unique Alien World
What I like most about this story is the emotional struggles of the interstellar travellers trying to cope with a bleak existence on an alien world. Held hostage by an extraterrestrial species they never would have imagined in their worst nightmares, they forge a desperate plan to risk escape, even though the outcome could surely bring death.
After countless days of planning, their situation takes a surprising turn in the form of a revelation. There are unexpected reasons why the travelers are imprisoned against their will.
Are they doomed to live out their lives on this godforsaken planet?
It seems so. Until the glorious idea of freedom sparks when hope for the future is found in the vision of a young girl.
Kept by Theresa Jacobs takes you into a unique world and leaves you there for a while. Well worth your time to read this one.
What I like most about this story is the emotional struggles of the interstellar travellers trying to cope with a bleak existence on an alien world. Held hostage by an extraterrestrial species they never would have imagined in their worst nightmares, they forge a desperate plan to risk escape, even though the outcome could surely bring death.
After countless days of planning, their situation takes a surprising turn in the form of a revelation. There are unexpected reasons why the travelers are imprisoned against their will.
Are they doomed to live out their lives on this godforsaken planet?
It seems so. Until the glorious idea of freedom sparks when hope for the future is found in the vision of a young girl.
Kept by Theresa Jacobs takes you into a unique world and leaves you there for a while. Well worth your time to read this one.
March 15, 2018
Definitely not the usual run of the mill ‘Mankind Leaving a Dying Earth’ type story but quite an interesting concept for a Sci-Fi mystery thriller.
A substantial group of refugees from a dying earth find themselves mysteriously transported from aboard their crashed spaceship to huge caverns deep underground on an alien planet where they are seemingly held in captivity by alien slug-like aliens, the sight of which they only ever see through the transparent ceilings of the caverns they’re imprisoned in.
A very strange sort of society had evolved under the control and direction of their slug-like alien masters, changing the humans both physically and psychologically. Needless to say, they don’t like their new way of life, but no one’s really sure if their slug-like controllers actually mean them harm. They have lots of questions about their strange way of life, where they are, and about the slug-like creatures that control their lives, but very few answers, just wild speculation.
The story was clear and easy to follow with a few strong well-developed central characters. The author doesn’t burden the reader with too much information about events before being stranded on a strange planet, but instead concentrates on the immediate story of the here and now of the captive humans’ situation, with just enough background to give the main story its context.
I can’t honestly think of a comparable story to this one, so full marks for originality. I also liked that the author didn’t conclude the story with lots of neat answers and explanations, but still left some mystery and room for speculation. A clever, original, and above all, an enjoyable sci-fi novel.
A substantial group of refugees from a dying earth find themselves mysteriously transported from aboard their crashed spaceship to huge caverns deep underground on an alien planet where they are seemingly held in captivity by alien slug-like aliens, the sight of which they only ever see through the transparent ceilings of the caverns they’re imprisoned in.
A very strange sort of society had evolved under the control and direction of their slug-like alien masters, changing the humans both physically and psychologically. Needless to say, they don’t like their new way of life, but no one’s really sure if their slug-like controllers actually mean them harm. They have lots of questions about their strange way of life, where they are, and about the slug-like creatures that control their lives, but very few answers, just wild speculation.
The story was clear and easy to follow with a few strong well-developed central characters. The author doesn’t burden the reader with too much information about events before being stranded on a strange planet, but instead concentrates on the immediate story of the here and now of the captive humans’ situation, with just enough background to give the main story its context.
I can’t honestly think of a comparable story to this one, so full marks for originality. I also liked that the author didn’t conclude the story with lots of neat answers and explanations, but still left some mystery and room for speculation. A clever, original, and above all, an enjoyable sci-fi novel.
May 5, 2018
This is another amazing story by Author Theresa Jacobs. I love this story and how she's developed it. Once you start reading this book, you'll become best friends with her characters. I and Finn are like two peas in a pod now. I love his humor. The author has given each of her characters a distinctive personality, which I love. If you've not read this book yet, I recommend doing so. I can't wait to read more from this author soon!
August 11, 2018
Combining elements of adventure, mystery, romance, comedy, and spirituality, KEPT is one of the best SciFi novels I've ever read, and it speaks well to the innate human urge for freedom. Suspenseful and full of wry wit and thoughtful commentary throughout, KEPT is a great summer read. Or fall, winter, or spring!
January 29, 2018
Jacobs does a good job placing you within the story. She has also come up with some unique "sci-fi" aspects, and there is a touch of mystery involved that keeps you turning the pages, wanting to discover what is happening behind the scenes.
December 10, 2020
This book and its plot was like nothing I'd read before. Kudos to the author for coming up with such a unique story. While I found the idea unique, I wasn't a big fan of the execution. The author's writing style just wasn't for me.
January 23, 2019
I first found this book through Reader Coin, only to discover that it was only a teaser, and not the full book. GASP! I was already hooked into this rather unique story, and immediatly rushed over to Audible to snag it. Great decision!
I've never read anything quite like this, and this author has done a wonderful job of world building and making the reader feel like they're trapped in the underground with the characters. The aliens were really different from any I've come across before, and I absolutely loved the way I got entrenched in their struggles. Been a while since that happened!
I'm hoping there will be a follow-up; the story is nicely ended, and could stand on its own, but I'm dying to find out more!
Bob says: 4.5 Platypires!
I've never read anything quite like this, and this author has done a wonderful job of world building and making the reader feel like they're trapped in the underground with the characters. The aliens were really different from any I've come across before, and I absolutely loved the way I got entrenched in their struggles. Been a while since that happened!
I'm hoping there will be a follow-up; the story is nicely ended, and could stand on its own, but I'm dying to find out more!
Bob says: 4.5 Platypires!
September 7, 2018
Kept by Theresa Jacobs is a sci-fi suspense novel with an intriguing premise done differently than I've seen before, though we'll dig into that in a moment. It appears to be the start of a series, given the cliffhanger at the end, but I couldn't find any information on Amazon or Goodreads to indicate such.
We meet the main character Finnegan in his dreams, hunting in the mountains of Montana. He awakens in underground tunnels monitored by aliens, having left Earth with the rest of humanity some number of years before (it isn't quite clear) due to the cooling of the sun.
I'm going to gripe about the science for a moment, because during his flashback explanation of the refugees' situation, the author quotes a year just under a millenium from now and states the sun has cooled, when that's at least a few million years off and the sun would balloon into a red giant long before the cooling would disrupt Earth's ecosystem. Putting that aside, however, and assuming it's meant to be a soft scifi/slipstream story, we can continue.
Humanity boarded twelve ships and shot off to various theoretically habitable planets. Finn's ship, the Gaia, crash landed on a rocky planet, and everyone on board was dragged into these tunnels by slug-like aliens, given sack dresses to cover themselves, and stripped of their belongings. They take pills instead of food each day, which seem to magically erase their need to defecate, eat, drink, or have sex.
We discover that Finn has a partner named Helen who is playing skip-rope with the line between insanity and stability, and shenanigans involving his attempts to kiss her get the colonists gassed. The aliens release the gas whenever humans start to fight, hurt themselves, or otherwise get up to trouble.
Talking about the plot much longer would create spoilers, so I'll give my general impression from here on out. The story takes a while to get started, but the cast of characters were enjoyable and the plot moved at an even clip. once we hit the inciting incident and the mysteries began unraveling. The majority of plot movement happens in dialog, and the setting was pretty sparse, but given the conditions in the tunnels and the lack of possessions, it ended up being far less obnoxious than many dialogue heavy novels I've read or reviewed in the past.
Setting the science aside, I found the situation to be intriguing and believable enough within the author's world building to follow along, and found myself caring about and rooting for the characters by the end. The ending was satisfying and interesting, and the hint of a sequel left me wanting more. If she put out another book, I'd love to take a look at it. Her writing style was relatively plain, sometimes repetitive, but serviceable and clear. I only found a few typos and misplaced words, which is a step above many of the submissions I've reviewed.
All in all I enjoyed reading the story and look forward to seeing more of Jacobs' work.
4/5, solid sci-fi story with well done suspense, interesting characters, and a common premise done in a very different way. Definitely worth picking up if you have the time.
We meet the main character Finnegan in his dreams, hunting in the mountains of Montana. He awakens in underground tunnels monitored by aliens, having left Earth with the rest of humanity some number of years before (it isn't quite clear) due to the cooling of the sun.
I'm going to gripe about the science for a moment, because during his flashback explanation of the refugees' situation, the author quotes a year just under a millenium from now and states the sun has cooled, when that's at least a few million years off and the sun would balloon into a red giant long before the cooling would disrupt Earth's ecosystem. Putting that aside, however, and assuming it's meant to be a soft scifi/slipstream story, we can continue.
Humanity boarded twelve ships and shot off to various theoretically habitable planets. Finn's ship, the Gaia, crash landed on a rocky planet, and everyone on board was dragged into these tunnels by slug-like aliens, given sack dresses to cover themselves, and stripped of their belongings. They take pills instead of food each day, which seem to magically erase their need to defecate, eat, drink, or have sex.
We discover that Finn has a partner named Helen who is playing skip-rope with the line between insanity and stability, and shenanigans involving his attempts to kiss her get the colonists gassed. The aliens release the gas whenever humans start to fight, hurt themselves, or otherwise get up to trouble.
Talking about the plot much longer would create spoilers, so I'll give my general impression from here on out. The story takes a while to get started, but the cast of characters were enjoyable and the plot moved at an even clip. once we hit the inciting incident and the mysteries began unraveling. The majority of plot movement happens in dialog, and the setting was pretty sparse, but given the conditions in the tunnels and the lack of possessions, it ended up being far less obnoxious than many dialogue heavy novels I've read or reviewed in the past.
Setting the science aside, I found the situation to be intriguing and believable enough within the author's world building to follow along, and found myself caring about and rooting for the characters by the end. The ending was satisfying and interesting, and the hint of a sequel left me wanting more. If she put out another book, I'd love to take a look at it. Her writing style was relatively plain, sometimes repetitive, but serviceable and clear. I only found a few typos and misplaced words, which is a step above many of the submissions I've reviewed.
All in all I enjoyed reading the story and look forward to seeing more of Jacobs' work.
4/5, solid sci-fi story with well done suspense, interesting characters, and a common premise done in a very different way. Definitely worth picking up if you have the time.
May 20, 2018
Quite a bit above average! There were a lot of things that Theresa did that many other authors seem unable to overcome. The first was the character differentiation. With so many characters it is important to build them up enough to make them distinctive. The second is that the story not have a fairy tail ending.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 17, 2018
Awesome read
I ready enjoyed read this book! Happy the worm thing's are harmless and tried to help out the best they could. You would think Finn and the rest of the people after so many year's of being trapped underground would of tried to find away out before now even searched the other tunnels. Doesn't matter it was still a great book. I love to read more about Finn and his group or even see story's from the other ship's as well.
I ready enjoyed read this book! Happy the worm thing's are harmless and tried to help out the best they could. You would think Finn and the rest of the people after so many year's of being trapped underground would of tried to find away out before now even searched the other tunnels. Doesn't matter it was still a great book. I love to read more about Finn and his group or even see story's from the other ship's as well.
May 17, 2018
This was a wonderful sci-fi read. Very imaginative. It was well-written, with diverse characters. I loved the twist. The little girl, Montana, was my favorite character. She always added joy to the story and the characters who had given up hope. The narrator was great and completely immersed me in the story. I highly recommend this one.
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November 10, 2018Different...
I found this book on reader.coin , a website to read & offer opinions on authors work. I only had 6 chapters to read so I was astounded to find it on Amazon. It was so readable that I just had to finish it!
The storyline is different from anything I've read before. Aliens, trapped on an unknown planet by these aliens. Underground with no way in or out. The characters were excellent. The author took much time developing them & it shows.
A really enjoyable book...so glad I found it..😉
I found this book on reader.coin , a website to read & offer opinions on authors work. I only had 6 chapters to read so I was astounded to find it on Amazon. It was so readable that I just had to finish it!
The storyline is different from anything I've read before. Aliens, trapped on an unknown planet by these aliens. Underground with no way in or out. The characters were excellent. The author took much time developing them & it shows.
A really enjoyable book...so glad I found it..😉
February 24, 2018
A good read with a nice message in the end.
The writing was fluent, the characters believable. The story had a interesting vibe although a tiny bit slow.
If you look for action loaded alien vs. human than this book is not for you. It's more a social and psychological study of humanity and people in a doubtful environment and the difference between being alive and live.
The writing was fluent, the characters believable. The story had a interesting vibe although a tiny bit slow.
If you look for action loaded alien vs. human than this book is not for you. It's more a social and psychological study of humanity and people in a doubtful environment and the difference between being alive and live.
September 10, 2018
Interesting premise. Good pacing and wonderful character development. Certainly a page turner as I blew through this book quickly. I found myself doing the whole "one more page" situation late into the night. The ending keeps it open for a sequel, though I've seen nothing to indicate one's coming.
November 25, 2021
I didn't know what to expect from Kept but I was pleasantly surprised for this gripping adventure into space. Following the journey of Finn who has been trapped inside the planet Kepler for 7 years after the apocalypse on earth and joins a group desperate for escape.
Kept started out a little rocky but it kept me intrigued from the first chapter to the last. I was highly curious about what was going on, and why they were being kept prisoner. Finn was an interesting character to me, with the pills they were being fed that stripped them of humanity, he still had some semblance of being human. In fact all the characters did, and that's what made their need for escape so inspiring. The world Jacobs created was unique and original.
My only negatives were that it did get quite repetitive. However, I could understand this was the reality for Finn and it's bound to be. I also didn't understand the pastor's long winded rants, I mostly skim read these sections because it held nothing to the plot. There was a constant plot point of the pastor and Monty predicting the future but that future never came true, it just seemed to end.
Regardless, if you are looking for a quick short read I highly recommend you check out this book.
Kept started out a little rocky but it kept me intrigued from the first chapter to the last. I was highly curious about what was going on, and why they were being kept prisoner. Finn was an interesting character to me, with the pills they were being fed that stripped them of humanity, he still had some semblance of being human. In fact all the characters did, and that's what made their need for escape so inspiring. The world Jacobs created was unique and original.
My only negatives were that it did get quite repetitive. However, I could understand this was the reality for Finn and it's bound to be. I also didn't understand the pastor's long winded rants, I mostly skim read these sections because it held nothing to the plot. There was a constant plot point of the pastor and Monty predicting the future but that future never came true, it just seemed to end.
Regardless, if you are looking for a quick short read I highly recommend you check out this book.
February 14, 2019
I congratulate the author for avoiding the invisible, the floating blob, or the alien with multiple features and limbs. Indeed, this story is not about aliens, it is about the most notorious creature known to us—mankind.
Place a single-celled organism in front of a mirror and you’ll have a single-celled organism and a mirror. Place a human being in front of a mirror and you’ll have conflict just waiting to happen.
Yes, there is a distant planet, aliens, and even a spacecraft, but if you’ll pardon the pun, these things combined are the vehicle which carries this great tale.
The dialogue and imagery are good, the plot develops and the characters are well-drawn which are pre-requisites of a decent story. All the sub-plots are woven in seamlessly, which is a sign of good storytelling. No second-guessing with this one—in my opinion, it’s a lesson about who we are, no matter where we go, and for however long we survive as a race.
Place a single-celled organism in front of a mirror and you’ll have a single-celled organism and a mirror. Place a human being in front of a mirror and you’ll have conflict just waiting to happen.
Yes, there is a distant planet, aliens, and even a spacecraft, but if you’ll pardon the pun, these things combined are the vehicle which carries this great tale.
The dialogue and imagery are good, the plot develops and the characters are well-drawn which are pre-requisites of a decent story. All the sub-plots are woven in seamlessly, which is a sign of good storytelling. No second-guessing with this one—in my opinion, it’s a lesson about who we are, no matter where we go, and for however long we survive as a race.
January 23, 2022
A slow book, but interesting.
June 3, 2022
A tense interesting read where a crashed human ships struggles against their alien captors and their own nature.
I appreciated the conversations the characters had, and how the story often feels on the cusp of violence but never devolves into standard fighter/thriller tropes. This is a quick and interesting read with an open ended conclusion.
I appreciated the conversations the characters had, and how the story often feels on the cusp of violence but never devolves into standard fighter/thriller tropes. This is a quick and interesting read with an open ended conclusion.
February 25, 2023
Really confusing dumps right in the middle of the book of feels like it really couldn't get into it
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews