Lost Arrow

by Marshall Ross

Binge readers rejoice. Here’s the whole twisted story in one volume. Seven miles below the surface of the Pacific Ocean, in the deepest place on Earth, beneath centuries of silt and sand, lay the answer to humanity’s oldest question. And when a young geologist, Sarah Long, exposes the truth, hell comes to the surface with it. Not only do we have company in the universe, we are not who we think we are. The shocking news ignites a confrontation between two very human civilizations. One alien and one Earth-bound, both forced to come to grips with a perilous future neither had ever imagined. And when Sarah meets Trin, her world is turned even harder on its head. The two are thrust into the middle of a war that no one wants but no one seems able to stop. Fighting ancient beliefs and power grabs on both sides, Sarah and Trin are in wildly over their heads. They’ll need a plan, allies, and a whole lot of luck to keep the worst from happening. They have zero experience in the save-the-world business. But now they have each other. And somehow, that’ll have to be enough. All the ideas about who we are and where we come from get twisted in this colonization story crafted with all the intrigue and layers of a nail-biting thriller. If you love Michael Crichton and Dan Brown, you’ll love this fast-reading series.

446 pages, Paperback

Published November 9, 2018

Reviews

[Caitlin · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received a copy of this book free from BookishFirst in exchange for an honest review.

Lost Arrow, along with Fallen Arrow and Jagged Arrow which are included in this omnibus, is a sci-fi book dealing with the "first contact" between "aliens" (who as it turns out are humans) and the people of Earth. It is told in third person omniscient and hops around various perspectives, though I believe it stays with our main characters Sarah and Trin the most.

I should probably start off by saying that I'm not a big science fiction reader. Of the many books jammed on my bookshelves, maybe four or five could qualify as sci-fi. So, it's really not that surprising that this turned out not to be my cup of tea.

The concept was really cool. The writing was pretty good and flowed well. However, I have to say that there is no reason this should be split in three books. The first book, in particular, didn't read like a full novel on its own to me. The general impression I got from reading these books was that nothing is really happening (even though, technically, there were plenty things going on). It is a very, very slow build up, and the pace doesn't really pick up at all until two thirds into the last book. I wasn't particularly a fan of the ending, either. It didn't feel completely resolved, and I never quite understood why the antagonist made the choices that she did. As to the characters, I honestly can't say I felt connected to any of them. I think it jumped perspectives a bit too much for my liking.

Overall, this book was okay, and perhaps someone more into science fiction would enjoy it more than I did.

[Audrey Stars in Her Eye · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was pleased to win in the Pacific Ocean. Oceanographers ping on something below. The scan shows a ship, but there is no way. Thinking it's a false reading, the team moves along. But what they don't know that below is a ship with people sleeping. These people have been sleeping for over a thousand years. They are now waking up because the ship has been scanned. Suddenly, humanity learns they are not alone and get to meet their creator's face to face. Faced with a warning of death from a fraction of the ship, Earth must protect itself from the ones claiming to do God's bidding.
I give teh first book 3.5 stars. It could have been a four but the first book does not have a self-contained story; it's really the exposition of teh whole series. I liked the world created, teh mythology, and teh character. I was willing to keep going because they made me want to know what was happening.
The second book only gets two stars. Every other chapter was a new character. Some of them wound into teh bigger story and somewhere just dead ends. Too much time was spent on these side stories than the actual plot.
I was so bored trying to get through crap like Facebook engagement when I wanted to know what was happening with the Kalelah crew.
The third book gets 2.5 stars. OIt continues in the fashion of teh second book, but it actually ties things up. Overall, I wasn't pleased with the ending as I felt they were just scratching the surface.
Overall, I would not have purchased these singly not wold I recommend the series to others.

All opinions are my own and do not reflect Bookish First or the Publisher.

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'd actually bump this to a 3.5 stars if given the option, the basic idea, a seed population gets dropped off on a habitable planet, coaxed along invisibly by "aliens" - actually advanced us, every 5-6 thousand years or so through "skips" while they sleep in between those skips - but something goes horribly wrong on the Kalelah, and they sleep through all their skips and don't wake up until Earth has been happily evolving along for 120,000 years. Horror of horrors, they wake up to modern day us, and we're just mucking it up all over the place. So of course, they don't think of us as human, we're just a "population" out of control, and to us, they're "alien". Their babies have really jacked it up. Half of the Kalelah think we shouldn't be corrected, they other half think we should. What's corrected? you ask. Burning the whole Earth to a crispy tater tot while the crew of the Kalelah then self corrects into a meteor. They're taking the whole God cult thing real serious, and they failed at their job miserably. So that's the book's premise, there's a little bit of love story, some character building, and some really awful military stereotyping, I'm thinking the author has little to no experience with the military except what they've seen in really awful B Hollywood movies but we didn't all just run around ripping our sunglasses off screaming expletives at each other. Other than that, it was a good book, I'm glad they released all 3 at once, this would have been way too short one book at a time, entertaining for a couple days worth of reading!

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gosh, I’m not sure how to begin. This book really caught my attention. But after a few chapters, I was sort of lost. No pun intended in regards to title lol. It was the aliens’ perspective that threw me. Don’t get me wrong, others will love reading that part. But I had trouble with the ‘skip’ and their view of religious stuff. It’s not preachy, so don’t worry those who don’t like that. And I like religious things thrown in. It was like it was a burden for some of the aliens to worship. Almost forced upon them to do so so many times a day. But I don’t think that’s what got me. I guess the alien side of the story seemed sterile. I can’t describe it. But the whole unknown for both sides was so intriguing. That’s why I gave this four stars. The human side was so exciting and scary as crap. Imagine finding something seven miles below the ocean. But the dangers that lie within aren’t just from the dangers of being that far down. What if something horrible is unleashed? Maybe it would be best to leave it be? I was dying to find out from the human’s side that didn’t know anything about the aliens. I loved how the author told this. I’m thankful he gave us both sides and how they were feeling and their perspective on discovering each other. It was interesting that the aliens were also apprehensive on discovering us. They were a little scared. This would make a great Halloween read!

[Emma · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this collection of three novels, we get a "first contact" story from both perspectives of the people of Earth and the aliens who have landed here. This book was reminiscent of an alien blockbuster movie, starting with the confusion of discovery, the fear, the panic, and then exploring the ways the two groups react to the situation. What should be done with the creatures on the surface? What are humans to do with the aliens at the bottom of the ocean? I enjoyed hearing the story from both sides instead of just the people of Earth. It created more intrigue and did not paint either group as a villain as many first encounter stories do. The plot is fast paced, and the characters find themselves in an array of political controversy, romantic affairs, and existential questions creating a dynamic and well thought out story.

I'm glad I received all three books in one package as I think the story is better read as one big book instead of three separate ones. I don't think it needed to be split up so much, so buying the collected work is probably the best decision for this story. Fans of alien invasion thrillers will definitely enjoy this one.

[Alicia Herrington · Rating 4 out of 5]

Librarian: This book feels very much like one that would be on the shelves of many library science fiction collections. It has the right ingredients, plucky heroine, something hidden in the deep, aliens (who may not be aliens at all), and even the religious themes and tones that populate so much of science fiction. So yeah, the feel is right. And if you have the budget to include less well-known authors in your collection, then this is one to consider. Unfortunately, most of us do not. And the truth is in order to get the numbers on a less well-known author, it needs to be truly spectacular. This isn't. But it is fun, so as I said, if you have the budget, it's worth the look.
Reader: I have read many, many science fiction novels over the years. In fact two of my bookshelves are exclusively SF/Fantasy. (For the record I have 12 bookshelves at the moment. And I probably need more, but I only have so much room.) This book is a fun example of that genre. It's nothing groundbreaking, nothing I haven't read before, but sometimes that's exactly what you want in sci-fi. Sometimes all you want is the expected. This delivers nicely.

[Angela Kreais · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received an eBook of The Kalelah trilogy from BookishFirst for review purposes. Whether positive or negative, my review is my own and may differ from others opinions. 2.5 stars- it was OK

I really think the idea behind this work is great: What if we discovered an alien spaceship that explains human origin story? What if God sent his people on a mission to spread his word and populate the Galaxy? What if Earth was a failed or sabotaged mission and we were left without his guidance for 120,000 years and that now needs corrected?

Since each book is approximately 100 pages long and released on the same day, I feel like the trilogy should have just been one book and not separated. Even so it doesn't have a satisfying ending to me.

The story is set in a not too far off future in the middle of the ocean near Hawaii and miles under the sea on a ship called Kalelah. Told from both the aliens and humanity summarizing how they got to the point being on Earth and first contact.

I don't feel like the story was completely resolved.

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5/5⭐️

I won this sci-fi trilogy (also Fallen Arrow & Jagged Arrow, basically three novellas) in a #BookishFirst giveaway.

While it had some interesting points and twists, and the writing was fine overall, it was very slow going and not really my thing as I’m not a huge sci-fi fan.

A huge “alien” ship is discovered buried in the Mariana Trench. I won’t give away the plot line, but there is a theological conflict as a major theme between them and humans on Earth...God as freely chosen or by indoctrination. And I didn’t feel that I received sufficient/clear background material on the “alien” viewpoint. And unfortunately I felt pretty much no connection to the myriad characters, both alien and human. And the ending left me unsatisfied and a bit confused.

Maybe it just wasn’t for me as a novice sci-fi reader.

Thanks to BookishFirst for this trilogy. The opinions are strictly my own.

[madysin · Rating 5 out of 5]

An intriguing story

The idea of an alien ship under the sea isn't completely new but... Everything that followed was fresh, intricate and new. It was all believable and real, while being completely fantastic and impossible (or is it)?
I got very involved with several main characters, each one very well fleshed out, original and enjoyable.
The bad guys were there too and also well crafted. They did things wrong, but nothing in life is perfect and the author got their flaws amazingly.
You could see why all the characters exactly the way they did.
I wasn't sure quite how I wanted the story to go, but it went in some surprising directions, but every twist was logical and in the end, inevitable. It finally ended in exactly the right way, which I hadn't pictured until near the end.
I found this a great series and my only unfulfilled wish was that it was longer. I hope the author has more stories up his sleeve. Brilliant stuff!

[Stephanie Mathews · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thanks to Bookish First for a copy of this book.
Good sci-go story. It starts off with a ship picking up something on their radar. 
The story goes back and forth in the narrative, which I like, and the suspense starts to build. 
There's conflict with the humans and what should be done with this object they've discovered. 
There is also some tension going on within this alien ship that has been detected. 
The first book was great and set the story up well. Book two and three were also good, but didn't quite hold my attention as much as the first. 
While this wasn't my favorite sci-fi story I've ever read, it was still a good read. 
I enjoyed all that went on between the ships and within the ships, which kept the story exciting. 
It was a pretty quick read and a good book to read for some light entertainment.

[Ralph Gerbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perhaps the author thinks we have short attention spans, but I doubt most readers of The Kalelah Series will have the patience to eat such a sumptuous dinner from small plates. I didn't even consider stopping for a breather after completing Book I - that simply wasn't gonna happen. It's just too good to stop. And besides, I can't handle being left hanging from a cliff like Wile-E-Coyote. I've gotta know what's gonna happen - Now. True, there are tasty morsels to be savored throughout the series, and I respect that approach, but reading it all straight through, and fast, was truly a blast!

This book comes very highly recommended, and not just from Sci-fi fans. It'll be enjoyed by men, women, young adults and a multitude of species from other worlds, whether below sea level, in outer space, in other dimensions, fictional or not. You'll enjoy it.

[Jennifer Maben · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first chapters of this book were incredible to me. It started off with the discovery of an unknown ship way down below in the ocean. To me, it was The Abyss meets Avatar meets Independence Day all in one. The plot developed and shifted focus and really had a lot going on, but not in a bad way. At one point, God becomes a huge focus and I really questioned what I was reading but it all came together and made sense. The characters were interesting but some didn't seem like they had a lot of depth. Sarah and Trin didn't have as much background as some of the other secondary characters. In one sense, it almost seemed like the writing lacked something that I can't quite put my finger on. I enjoyed it and there were great elements, but looking back on it makes me feel like something is missing. The ending was also not my favorite because I was expecting more, but it does make sense. All in all, I did enjoy it and it was an interesting plot.

[Patricia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won this book thru BookishFirst.com. This book opens with a vessel being found in the deepest part of the Pacific ocean. Obviously an impossibility or is it. Who are they? Where did they come from? Then we switch to the perspective of the ship at the bottom of the ocean. The people there are waking up. Something unforeseen has happened. They are meant to wake up every so often, only this time an error has occurred and they have slept for much longer than planned. What should be done about the people on the surface? They have technology that they shouldn't have yet.
And then the surface people drop a nuke on the ship at the bottom of the ocean. Fear and strangeness can make people do stupid things. Things that could mean the end of all life on earth.
Really a lesson for us all.

[MizzyRed · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first book in the trilogy was cool. I found the premise of aliens in the Mariana trench that had been down there for 120,000 years really interesting and I thought the whole first contact thing was pretty good. I was also glad to have all three books together because the first two books ended on major cliffhangers. The end of the second book and then on to the third kind of got bogged down for me because I was frustrated with the actions of the people of earth in which, instead of being reasonable and trying to convince the ones on the ship that they were worth saving, tried their darnedest to try and destroy the ship. I was more interested in the goings on of the ship with Trin and Sara and their plan to save humanity, rather than the reactions of the humans above the water.

[sharon saban · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun read!

A fun read! I read this late into the night! A book that you become invested in☺ You will enjoy this one.