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The Man Who Fell to Earth: A post-apocalyptic story
The Heat Wave drew a violence that was as unexpected as the bioluminescent flora that had begun sprouting in the slopes and valleys of Appalachia. It was swift and efficient at breaking humanity but now Abraham’s people have come to the rescue—although, only for those they deem worthy. Banished with the task of culling this planet and others, Abraham struggles with the reality that he is different from his own people and that the relationship with his brother has never been the same since exile. While Abraham is pressured to meet his quota, the population dwindles, and he is disturbed by the violence of humanity.
Until he meets Nova. Twice. She’s the woman who got away, the single person who’s refused his offer of sanctuary because the promise of a floating city in the sky sounds absurd, even if it does offer relief from the sweltering heat and violence. Nova goes her own way. She carves her own path even in the most vulnerable of times. But this planet has a way of bringing certain people together, especially when they need it most. At the end of the world, there will be violence and there just might be a man playing 90’s tunes on a harmonica.
Until he meets Nova. Twice. She’s the woman who got away, the single person who’s refused his offer of sanctuary because the promise of a floating city in the sky sounds absurd, even if it does offer relief from the sweltering heat and violence. Nova goes her own way. She carves her own path even in the most vulnerable of times. But this planet has a way of bringing certain people together, especially when they need it most. At the end of the world, there will be violence and there just might be a man playing 90’s tunes on a harmonica.
- GenresScience Fiction
392 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 7, 2019
30 people are currently reading
34 people want to read
About the author
M.R. Pritchard
50 books163 followersM. R. Pritchard is a two-time Kindle Scout winning author and her short story "Glitch" has been featured in the 2017 winter edition of THE FIRST LINE literary journal. She holds degrees in Biochemistry and Nursing. She is a northern New Yorker transplanted to the Gulf Coast of Florida who enjoys coffee, mint chocolate, cloudy days, and reading on the lanai.
Visit her website MRPritchard.com and sign up for her newsletter. You'll get a monthly newsletter with updates, day to day shenanigans, and book deals.
Visit her website MRPritchard.com and sign up for her newsletter. You'll get a monthly newsletter with updates, day to day shenanigans, and book deals.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
October 23, 2022
I felt like this story had a lot of potential. But it fell way short of that potential. There's a lot that's left unexplained like:
* What caused a global heat wave? Does world climate really work that way?
* If there was such a terrible heat wave that was literally killing off millions of people, why was there still water everywhere? Wouldn't a lot of it dry up, especially as we know that ground water in many places is already low?
* How were so many non-human animals in some places able to live in a heat wave that had killed millions of human animals?
* It was really hard to pinpoint when the story took place because there were signs in towns from the 1980s but the main character had an iPhone.
* There's no real explanation for what the government had tried to do/were doing about the global heat or if they ever had tried anything.
* Whatever was happening seemed to take place in a relatively short period of time. The heat wave that seemingly killed millions happened within the main characters' adult life. So like within 5 years? Less? A little more? That seems like more than a heat wave.
* When did the aliens come? Where did the aliens come from and why were they doing what they were doing?
* What in the world did the aliens do with the people that their city accepted? If the aliens whole premise was to rid planets of violence and leave only peaceful people, why keep all the peaceful people in their floating city?
* I get that even science now shows that increased heat can cause many people to become angry and violent but between this and the bible-thumping fanatics trope, there seemed little other explanation for why millions seemed to have died from the heat but a few had not like the main characters.
* Why did Duke die from the cyanobacteria but everyone else seemed fine? It seemed like a major event that had no real meaning or connection to the story. In fact, Duke's entire character had no real point.
* If the planets of the seven galaxies were "sacrosanct" for the aliens, why cull them? Why come along when the planets are in chaos and sneakily steal people from them (and to what purpose???? WHYYYYYY did they take people???)
I could go on but to be frank, the biggest mysteries of all were:
* In what ways was Abraham different from "his people"? It seemed to be more than just the fact that he was banished and was advocating for change in his people's culture.
* What exactly did he want changed in his people's culture? This was never clearly explained at all. It was hinted at in maddening passages when Abraham talked to his brother or his Mother or general reflected on his banishment.
* What had he refused to do that got him banished? Was it just refusing to agree to give up his first born? Was this entire story some convoluted allegory?
* What does the Mother (or Mothers) do with the first born of the aliens? Why did they want children so much from the planets they went to?
The story left me with way more questions than anything. The characters were mostly flat and seemed utterly ungrounded, random, and vague. Their backstories, where we get them, are strange: A member of a blues band who is randomly selected by a woman to have sex with but who becomes semi-obsessed with finding her again, though in reality he sits around waiting for the world to literally burn. A random woman who lost her husband to cancer and, in her grief, inexplicably decides to have sex with a random stranger on a beach. An inexplicably banished alien whose accent was also inexplicable who inexplicably falls in love with the random woman A very random overweight, ignorant sheriff whose entire purpose in the book seems to be to add more mystery where it was not needed. The world they live in was blurred - hard to picture, hard to imagine. The aliens are hard to picture, their city hard to envision.
Not a book I'd recommend and not an author that I am likely to try again.
* What caused a global heat wave? Does world climate really work that way?
* If there was such a terrible heat wave that was literally killing off millions of people, why was there still water everywhere? Wouldn't a lot of it dry up, especially as we know that ground water in many places is already low?
* How were so many non-human animals in some places able to live in a heat wave that had killed millions of human animals?
* It was really hard to pinpoint when the story took place because there were signs in towns from the 1980s but the main character had an iPhone.
* There's no real explanation for what the government had tried to do/were doing about the global heat or if they ever had tried anything.
* Whatever was happening seemed to take place in a relatively short period of time. The heat wave that seemingly killed millions happened within the main characters' adult life. So like within 5 years? Less? A little more? That seems like more than a heat wave.
* When did the aliens come? Where did the aliens come from and why were they doing what they were doing?
* What in the world did the aliens do with the people that their city accepted? If the aliens whole premise was to rid planets of violence and leave only peaceful people, why keep all the peaceful people in their floating city?
* I get that even science now shows that increased heat can cause many people to become angry and violent but between this and the bible-thumping fanatics trope, there seemed little other explanation for why millions seemed to have died from the heat but a few had not like the main characters.
* Why did Duke die from the cyanobacteria but everyone else seemed fine? It seemed like a major event that had no real meaning or connection to the story. In fact, Duke's entire character had no real point.
* If the planets of the seven galaxies were "sacrosanct" for the aliens, why cull them? Why come along when the planets are in chaos and sneakily steal people from them (and to what purpose???? WHYYYYYY did they take people???)
I could go on but to be frank, the biggest mysteries of all were:
* In what ways was Abraham different from "his people"? It seemed to be more than just the fact that he was banished and was advocating for change in his people's culture.
* What exactly did he want changed in his people's culture? This was never clearly explained at all. It was hinted at in maddening passages when Abraham talked to his brother or his Mother or general reflected on his banishment.
* What had he refused to do that got him banished? Was it just refusing to agree to give up his first born? Was this entire story some convoluted allegory?
* What does the Mother (or Mothers) do with the first born of the aliens? Why did they want children so much from the planets they went to?
The story left me with way more questions than anything. The characters were mostly flat and seemed utterly ungrounded, random, and vague. Their backstories, where we get them, are strange: A member of a blues band who is randomly selected by a woman to have sex with but who becomes semi-obsessed with finding her again, though in reality he sits around waiting for the world to literally burn. A random woman who lost her husband to cancer and, in her grief, inexplicably decides to have sex with a random stranger on a beach. An inexplicably banished alien whose accent was also inexplicable who inexplicably falls in love with the random woman A very random overweight, ignorant sheriff whose entire purpose in the book seems to be to add more mystery where it was not needed. The world they live in was blurred - hard to picture, hard to imagine. The aliens are hard to picture, their city hard to envision.
Not a book I'd recommend and not an author that I am likely to try again.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 17, 2022
I had intended to download a different book by the same title. At first I was disappointed, and a little apprehensive since i wasn't familiar with the author but decided i would give it a shot anyways. I'm glad i did, because the writing was excellent and the story quite enjoyable. While it is science fiction, it's light on sci-fi and strong on story and character development. The ending was a little too abrupt for me, but did not take away from my opinion of the book.
September 7, 2023
A hot new world
An alien man ( Abraham)has the job of "culling" humans on Earth saving the good and destroying the evil though it's not up to him who goes up to the city in the sky (almost invisible,) to live. There is really only four main characters in this story and there is a lot of struggle in this hot new world. Great story.
An alien man ( Abraham)has the job of "culling" humans on Earth saving the good and destroying the evil though it's not up to him who goes up to the city in the sky (almost invisible,) to live. There is really only four main characters in this story and there is a lot of struggle in this hot new world. Great story.
March 2, 2020
A different take on alien presence in the world, set against the background of a world on fire due to climate change. Ends a bit too neatly, perhaps bit an engaging read, nonetheless.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews