No Place

by Sam Swicegood

Fifteen years after an alien invasion, Gail, a seventeen-year-old girl raised mostly in solitude, wanders through the slowly-crumbling world in search of a family she has never known. When she runs into a snarky “computer witch” named Crow, she becomes embroiled in a plan to take down the oppressive Mori—a 4000-year-old enemy of Earth. The two are joined by other people in on this plan, including a US marine trapped inside an experimental power suit, and a knife-throwing con man.When Gail accidentally kills the younger brother of the self-proclaimed “Duke of the East,” Gail is branded a criminal. While she traverses a post-technology world, Gail learns the importance of a “found family,” while also discovering the truth about her own heritage. She also learns that the Mori are planning a mass extermination of humans, and she may be the only key to stopping them.

320 pages, Paperback

Published July 28, 2019

About the author

Sam Swicegood is a native of the Baltimore area now living in Cincinnati, Ohio. He has been a writer for over a decade with several published Sci-fi and Fantasy titles.

He is an active member of Ohio Free and Accepted Masons, N. C. Harmony Lodge No. 2. He is a community activist, internet dweeb, redditor, and general nuisance. His hobbies include running D&D games, complaining about Ohio weather, accidentally finding new ways to trigger anxiety attacks, looking up pictures of cute animals on the internet, and failing horribly at writing self-biographical blurbs.

Reviews

[HippieLunatic · Rating 4 out of 5]

Swicegood used the character structure of a girl with multiple helpers, on a journey to find answers and a place she can call home. The plot was an interesting exploration of what misunderstood technology can mean to a battle between groups.

All in all, I loved the plot. There were some minor issues with the characterizations - at times reliance on the tropes of Oz were too strong. At other times, additional pieces of a character study seemed to be almost haphazardly thrown into the story... being a Mason was the big one for me, at least.

It was an interesting use of a mix of the known story of Oz, a fight against an overwhelming set of circumstances, and character growth in Gail.

I look forward to what else comes from Swicegood.

[~Cyanide Latte~ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Apologies in advance if this review comes across as jumbled, rambling or disorganized, but I just finished reading this and I have to say that this was 100% worth the purchase and so worth reading.

Let me be up-front first: I did meet the author outside of a convention hall while waiting for a con to open up, as he was out-and-about trying to raise interest in this book (and his other works; he did sell me a copy of his book The Wizards on Walnut Street alongside this copy of No Place) and I had actually caught a snatch of conversation before he came near us that piqued my interest. I had sworn he said that his book was a sci-fi retelling of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, which turned out to indeed be what he'd said after he walked up to our little trio to talk to us, and anyone who knows me well enough by now knows at this point that it's very hard for me to turn down anything that has any inspirational roots in Oz. We chatted for a few minutes and I'm sure that means some people will consider this review to come with a bit of personal bias, so think what you want, but all opinions expressed in this review are, I promise you, uncolored by my interaction with Swicegood.

So to begin, while this story is definitely a retelling of TWWoO in the sci-fi genre and set in an apocalyptic Earth with alien invaders, this book also delves into aspects of Celtic mythology as a framework and explanation for various story elements. If nothing had been mentioned about the Oz inspiration, the thing that would have still sold me on this book would be that. We never have enough books that draw inspiration from Celtic myths, as far as I'm concerned, and Swicegood did his research for the story, as evidenced by his acknowledgments page. [Research was not solely done just on the mythology, but also for other aspects of the story and the world setting, if any individuals were wondering. To that I say "mundo kudos."]

The story follows protagonist Gail and her canine companion Lukather the sheepdog as she searches for answers regarding her missing family in the wake of her friend M's disappearance. Along the way she gains a motley crew and a greater sense of purpose and urgency as destiny starts to take hold of them all.
And in truth, I think the characters are part of what make this story so entertaining and potable. Completely unique with shades of the familiar, every one of them feel very well-developed and well-rounded, and I grew to love them and the dynamic that forms between them far quicker than I expected to. They stand out and they just grow on you, and I appreciate that so immensely. The pacing of the story is quick without being rushed, and I do believe that a lot of that can be attributed to how naturally the character interactions happened and the choices they made.

Additionally, the story was engaging. I suppose my biggest issue with No Place does deal with the story though, and that's the fact that this feels like the first major arc in an overall larger story that we didn't see in this book. This isn't a bad thing and by no means does that drag the book down; it just feels somewhere between "incomplete" and "on the cusp of something greater". To that end, I do hope Swicegood considers returning to this world he's created in the future and continues to write in it, because I do believe it's worth exploring.

I should mention that he did tell me he wrote the story to be dystopian, but I personally feel like it could be taken either way. Dystopian elements are present, true, but there is a greater pervading sense of hope present as well that I think changes the tone. As such, I didn't feel the need to put this in my tw-dystopian shelf; I enjoyed No Place without the usual struggle I experience when reading dystopian lit.

Now that I've completely made this review a rambling mess, I'll just give you all the "too long, didn't read" bit that you might be hoping to see.
TL;DR: No Place is absolutely stellar, worth reading, and you should put it on your TBR list for the future. Buy it, especially you fellow Ozians out there. Don't think I don't see you.

[Mike Sherer]

Gail, Crow, and Nick make this story rock. These are such rich characters that the story flies past your eyes. Forget about the elements of Wizard of Oz that are in the story. Forget about the Irish mythology of an ancient alien invasion (although that is fascinating). It is when Gail and Crow and Nick share the pages that the story crackles. Such rich characters are rare in dystopian fiction. Most of the time the emphasis in such stories is on the destruction of the planet and the degradation of the surviving humans. The author throws a whacky curveball with this. The conquering aliens sincerely believe they are SAVING the Earth from the humans who are wrecking it. These aliens, the Mori, are one of the most unusual alien races to populate a science fiction tome, unlike any I’ve read before. They possesses advanced tech, sure, all conquering alien races do, BUT the Mori don’t comprehend their tech any more than the humans do. That is a fascinating twist.

Not wanting to give away any more of the many twists and turns in this end of the world whopper, I’ll quit. But you should get to know Gail and Crow and Nick. You’ll love them.