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Under a Fallen Sun
A town is under siege from an alien menace. Four college students are battling for their lives. Can they defeat invaders who seek to conquer Earth?
Paige is a carefree college student who has her world turn upside down when her brother Todd vanishes without a trace. She undertakes a spring break road trip with her friends along the same route where he disappeared. A broken down car forces them to seek help in Travis, an isolated West Texas town.
Travis harbors frightening secrets. A mysterious energy barrier traps all visitors inside the town. Signs of violent struggles are present in many buildings. And horrifying changes have overtaken the few surviving residents.
Efforts to unravel the frightening mystery brings Paige and her friends face to face with an adversary from across the stars. An enemy they never knew existed has come to Earth. Now the fate of the entire human race could hinge on their survival.
Under a Fallen Sun is a science fiction thriller from Amazon bestselling author John Coon that explores what it means to be human and the terrifying implications of humanity not being alone in the galaxy.
Paige is a carefree college student who has her world turn upside down when her brother Todd vanishes without a trace. She undertakes a spring break road trip with her friends along the same route where he disappeared. A broken down car forces them to seek help in Travis, an isolated West Texas town.
Travis harbors frightening secrets. A mysterious energy barrier traps all visitors inside the town. Signs of violent struggles are present in many buildings. And horrifying changes have overtaken the few surviving residents.
Efforts to unravel the frightening mystery brings Paige and her friends face to face with an adversary from across the stars. An enemy they never knew existed has come to Earth. Now the fate of the entire human race could hinge on their survival.
Under a Fallen Sun is a science fiction thriller from Amazon bestselling author John Coon that explores what it means to be human and the terrifying implications of humanity not being alone in the galaxy.
328 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 15, 2019
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
August 10, 2019
This story has all the ingredients needed for a popular, B sci-fi flick: a military vet trapped in a cabin and injured, hapless college students who are just trying to survive, a magnetic field bubbling a town in, and, of course, an alien race seeking to destroy humankind that they might call earth home.
Though the premise is familiar, Mr. Coon puts his own spin on this story through his creation of character, the way he creates the backstory for our two main heroes and the way he causes us, on some level, to even sympathize with the alien race.
There were four things that didn't work for me but didn't necessarily kill the reading experience.
1) The flashbacks at times took me out of the action.
2) The use of rapid-fire rhetorical questions to express the concerns and fears of a character was distracting.
3) The college students were a little too quick to figure out what was going on.
4) Some things were described in the exact same way by two different characters.
But, like I said, these weren't deal breakers for me. I feel like the pacing in the last half of the book was spot on, while the pacing in the first half of the book could have used some more work. The four things I noted were mostly in the first half of the book, with the exception of number four.
Overall, this book was okay. I imagine future books from this author being much better in craft, structure, and character arc.
Though the premise is familiar, Mr. Coon puts his own spin on this story through his creation of character, the way he creates the backstory for our two main heroes and the way he causes us, on some level, to even sympathize with the alien race.
There were four things that didn't work for me but didn't necessarily kill the reading experience.
1) The flashbacks at times took me out of the action.
2) The use of rapid-fire rhetorical questions to express the concerns and fears of a character was distracting.
3) The college students were a little too quick to figure out what was going on.
4) Some things were described in the exact same way by two different characters.
But, like I said, these weren't deal breakers for me. I feel like the pacing in the last half of the book was spot on, while the pacing in the first half of the book could have used some more work. The four things I noted were mostly in the first half of the book, with the exception of number four.
Overall, this book was okay. I imagine future books from this author being much better in craft, structure, and character arc.
December 8, 2021
This book is fun for those who like Under the Dome with B-movie vibes. The early parts of the book are suspenseful. From the book description, people will know that aliens are to blame for what happens in the small town. Moments of the book are genuinely creepy despite this early knowledge, though. I also liked the bits from one of the alien’s POV, during which the reader learns the reason why they have visited Earth.
June 26, 2020
John Coon hits us with a tense thriller in Under a Fallen Sun! In a search for her missing brother, college student Paige ends up stranded in the seemingly abandoned town of Travis. Only too late does she realize that Travis isn’t abandoned, and the things living in it are less than human. Coon truly is a master of suspense! The characters are meaningful, the monsters are horrible, and the descriptions are visceral! Packed with great twists, Under a Fallen Sun is a creature feature thriller you won’t want to miss!
July 31, 2019
Thank you John Coon for the digital arc for an honest review.
I love apocalyptic books and anything along those line grabs my interest.
Under a fallen Sun is a story about aliens trying to invade earth to supplant human life and to make earth their new planet. Since their planet Rubrum is dying.
Travis a small town in Texas is successfully captured by these aliens and a mysterious energy barrier is created to trap all visitors within the town. They have also started to tamper with human bio code that has led to horrifying changes in the surviving residents.
The fate of the entire human race is found to be hinged on the survival of Paige and her friends who somehow end up stuck in Travis.
I have to say it’s a well- written story, the premise is great and the book moves quickly. John Coon has done a great job at that. Also, the survival take of the characters was extremely gripping.
All in all, it was an enjoyable read and if you are looking for some fast-paced, action-packed, dark and mysterious alien invasion story, Under a fallen sun is just the book that delivers it all.
August 20, 2019
Okay, let me start by saying I'm not into scary things. Monsters, demons, aliens all cross a line with me. However, the way John Coon tells a story makes you want to find out about these characters regardless of the fear factors. After the first few lines, I was like, this sounds a bit scary. By the time I get through chapter 2, I thought, well damn, I need to know what's going on here. You will be hooked from start to finish.
August 4, 2019
Fast-paced action and a wonderful storyline, this book is an awesome book! I was captivated by the story and add in all of the twists and turns that make this an especially intriguing and captivating story, I was totally unable to put the book down. Pick it up and you will see what I mean!
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
August 30, 2019
What if the Movie Alien took place on Earth?
Sci-fi horror strikes at home as the advance troops of an alien invasion takes over a small Texas town. Advanced tech competes with the human will to survive in this scary tale of two races fighting for one planet.
Sci-fi horror strikes at home as the advance troops of an alien invasion takes over a small Texas town. Advanced tech competes with the human will to survive in this scary tale of two races fighting for one planet.
August 9, 2019
Paige tells her friends that their trip to Las Vegas needs to be by car because of her fear of flying. She fails to mention that the real reason she wants to drive is so that she can follow the route taken by her brother before he disappeared. Mechanical failure leads to them hitch-hiking, and they stop in Travis in the hope of finding a mechanic to tow and repair their car.
Travis is a quiet town. Too quiet – there’s not a soul in sight. After their good Samaritan is attacked, they try to leave, only to find that an invisible barrier keeps them trapped within. What has happened to the residents of Travis, and will it happen to them, too?
The premise of Under a Fallen Sun is decent enough, but the telling of the story leaves a lot to be desired. Characterisation is poor, and the writing is very simplistic. There’s very little detail, and way too many moments that made me roll my eyes. This is the first of John Coon’s works that I’ve read, and there was nothing here to make me want to try another.
I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Travis is a quiet town. Too quiet – there’s not a soul in sight. After their good Samaritan is attacked, they try to leave, only to find that an invisible barrier keeps them trapped within. What has happened to the residents of Travis, and will it happen to them, too?
The premise of Under a Fallen Sun is decent enough, but the telling of the story leaves a lot to be desired. Characterisation is poor, and the writing is very simplistic. There’s very little detail, and way too many moments that made me roll my eyes. This is the first of John Coon’s works that I’ve read, and there was nothing here to make me want to try another.
I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
August 10, 2019
I usually ignore books by indie authors after reading a really terrible one a while back. This one caught my eye and I'm glad I decided to give it a chance. Under a Fallen Sun hooked me into the story from the first chapter and I could not put it down. Tons of nail biting suspense and some cool twists. I also liked seeing smart characters who drove the action instead of existing as plot devices. Definitely worth a read if you're a science fiction fan.
I received an ARC of this book and I am leaving an honest review.
I received an ARC of this book and I am leaving an honest review.
October 11, 2019
Good book
What would you do if you got stuck in a city full of aliens and their monster creations with no way out? You find your will to survive. This quick paced story will keep you reading up until the very end.
What would you do if you got stuck in a city full of aliens and their monster creations with no way out? You find your will to survive. This quick paced story will keep you reading up until the very end.
March 8, 2020
Under the fallen sun by John Coon.
A very enjoyable read. Some good characters. I wasn't sure about Melody. She grew on me. I liked Paige and Heather and rich and Jason. 4*.
A very enjoyable read. Some good characters. I wasn't sure about Melody. She grew on me. I liked Paige and Heather and rich and Jason. 4*.
March 12, 2020
Alien Invasion story. Basically enjoyable, but the author uses way too much deus ex machina and the more you think about it, the worse it gets.
Girl's brother and his wife disappears on a drive east to take a new job in Albuquerque, so a month or so later she convinces her friends to take a road trip to Vegas, with the hidden agenda of finding them. West of Amarillo on I-40 they break down just by coincidence near the same town her brother happens to be holed up in. While this wouldn't be too bad if it were just Texas (there are precisely 2 towns with a double digit number of people or more between Amarillo and the New Mexico border), that's less than a quarter the distance to Albuquerque, and there are considerably more towns in New Mexico.
They find the town deserted except for something that attacks the trucker who gave them a lift into town. Of course, there's a barrier preventing exit and no cell phone or wireless or landline connectivity, and nobody has a radio that can reach so much as the trucker traffic on I-40, and nobody came to read the meters or deliver the groceries to the store the town has or anything else in all this time so the world outside is somehow clueless. Yes, my suspension of disbelief was getting tenuous.
The four millenials are so driven by social media that even in the midst of all this, they're still concentrating on that. My kids are social media millenials, and they'd change their priorities well before that point.
Then after they meet up with aliens who appear human and are on their way to be taken into custody, the clueless alien just happens to escort them past the stronghold of the last resistor in town and for some reason they decide to go in and ask him if he's got any Grey Poupon or something, and voila, it's the lost brother.
Brother has managed to hold out solo for six weeks or so despite being infected by alien DNA through using UV light to treat the infection, despite the fact UV light doesn't penetrate skin. Then of course there are the obligatory scenery chewing stupidities through which the author manipulates the plot. Well, so does any book, but when people won't consider obvious issues that any reasonable rational person would, that's
going too far.
The aliens aren't exactly all there in terms of their thinking either - and I'm going to leave it there because I don't want to go in-depth on all of that nonsense.
Basically, if you're looking for a mindless read, might be fun for you. If you expect some sort of intelligence on the part of the characters, not so much.
I'll give it five of ten - by Amazon standards, a three star book.
Girl's brother and his wife disappears on a drive east to take a new job in Albuquerque, so a month or so later she convinces her friends to take a road trip to Vegas, with the hidden agenda of finding them. West of Amarillo on I-40 they break down just by coincidence near the same town her brother happens to be holed up in. While this wouldn't be too bad if it were just Texas (there are precisely 2 towns with a double digit number of people or more between Amarillo and the New Mexico border), that's less than a quarter the distance to Albuquerque, and there are considerably more towns in New Mexico.
They find the town deserted except for something that attacks the trucker who gave them a lift into town. Of course, there's a barrier preventing exit and no cell phone or wireless or landline connectivity, and nobody has a radio that can reach so much as the trucker traffic on I-40, and nobody came to read the meters or deliver the groceries to the store the town has or anything else in all this time so the world outside is somehow clueless. Yes, my suspension of disbelief was getting tenuous.
The four millenials are so driven by social media that even in the midst of all this, they're still concentrating on that. My kids are social media millenials, and they'd change their priorities well before that point.
Then after they meet up with aliens who appear human and are on their way to be taken into custody, the clueless alien just happens to escort them past the stronghold of the last resistor in town and for some reason they decide to go in and ask him if he's got any Grey Poupon or something, and voila, it's the lost brother.
Brother has managed to hold out solo for six weeks or so despite being infected by alien DNA through using UV light to treat the infection, despite the fact UV light doesn't penetrate skin. Then of course there are the obligatory scenery chewing stupidities through which the author manipulates the plot. Well, so does any book, but when people won't consider obvious issues that any reasonable rational person would, that's
going too far.
The aliens aren't exactly all there in terms of their thinking either - and I'm going to leave it there because I don't want to go in-depth on all of that nonsense.
Basically, if you're looking for a mindless read, might be fun for you. If you expect some sort of intelligence on the part of the characters, not so much.
I'll give it five of ten - by Amazon standards, a three star book.
November 20, 2019
There is a reader for every book, but it seems that I am not the reader for Under A Fallen Sun. The reason why I say this is that from the very beginning, the idea of an energy barrier was much too similar with the one met in Under the Dome (TV series), for my taste.
On the other hand, despite the fast pace that was meant to keep the reader engaged, there was not so much awaiting me beyond the well-constructed suspense. The long-promised escaping plans and revenge actions turned into the fast, unexpected and superficial deaths of so many characters.
There were also moments when the characters seemed to be similar to lifeless puppets that mechanically moved on a stage. Unfortunately, while reading John Coon’s book I felt more like being part of a disengaged audience instead of resonating with the characters or with their feelings.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
On the other hand, despite the fast pace that was meant to keep the reader engaged, there was not so much awaiting me beyond the well-constructed suspense. The long-promised escaping plans and revenge actions turned into the fast, unexpected and superficial deaths of so many characters.
There were also moments when the characters seemed to be similar to lifeless puppets that mechanically moved on a stage. Unfortunately, while reading John Coon’s book I felt more like being part of a disengaged audience instead of resonating with the characters or with their feelings.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
September 23, 2019
The general premise of this story is right up my ally, but these characters and the dialog is pathetic. The main characters are annoying, thickheaded and dumb. I listened to the audio version and the female Mississippi accent is like fingernails on a chalkboard.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews