Rogue

by Alex Schuler, Kevin Weir

The final frontier is closer than we think … As a war journalist, Jonah Wall saw enough of humanity’s horrors to last a lifetime. He wrecked his marriage, alienated his two sons, and escaped by working on an oil rig in Alaska, as far from civilization as possible. But when he finds a spacecraft that was buried for millennia under the tundra, he is suddenly and reluctantly thrust into an unbelievable adventure. As the ship is being unveiled to the world, it mysteriously comes to life, taking Jonah, his estranged son, and a disparate group on a terrifying journey.  Our crew of unwilling travelers are transported to a network of planets with remnants of civilizations that are strangely familiar to Jonah and his companions. But something has wiped out every one of them, and the visitors are about to find out what it is.  Rogue  is a sweeping adventure story through space and time and a profound exploration of humanity’s age-old obsession with its origins, its flirtation with self-annihilation, and people’s stubborn ability to find love even during the darkest moments.

Genres: Science Fiction

336 pages, Paperback

Published April 25, 2023

About the author

Alex Schuler is a pseudonym for the writing team of William Roetzheim and Randy Becker. William started his career as an early pioneer in the field of AI software development. His systems have been deployed on Navy ships, submarines, and NASA space shuttles, as well as by businesses and government agencies. After launching multiple software companies, William turned his attention to the arts and became an award-winning playwright, poet, and published author. Randy is an Emmy-nominated producer who began his career as an actor starring in film, television, and on Broadway (including the Tony Award–winning play Love! Valour! Compassion!). He now expresses his creativity through writing and producing.

Reviews

[Aristotle · Rating 1 out of 5]

They find a spaceship underneath the ice of Alaska.
Fast forward two years and they are having a party IN the ship when the engines kick on.
Uh.
Wait.
What?
A party? A party with Presidents, prime ministers, tv personalities and their kids being served champagne and hors d'oeuvres.
And somehow the engine turned on? Yup.
Then what? Well then the ridiculousness started.

Preposterous: contrary to nature, reason, or common sense : absurd.

Can you use that in a sentence.

The plot is preposterous.

A 17 year old using Google translator learned how to read alien language.
Bwaaaahahahahaha!

They had a party on the ship? I should have stopped there Chapter 2.
So how did it end? Aliens wanted to upload our brains into the Amazon cloud where we would live in heaven free from pain.
Bwwaaaaahahahahahaha!
Jeff Bezos attacks!
Utter nonsense.

[BlurbGoesHere · Rating 4 out of 5]

[Blurb goes here]

Jonah works at an oil rig in Alaska. For reasons unknown, the drills are getting smashed. Jonah inspect the last one to be rendered useless. He finds a strange silvery substance on it. He orders for a video camera to be lowered into the hole. What he discovers is far from ordinary.

Jonah and the rest of his crew are dismissed from the site, this is now a military operation of sorts. The government is unearthing a space ship that has been buried there for millennia.

Jonah abandoned his wife years back: the horrors of war, while he was a journalist in the middle east, wrecked his life. He rather spend the rest of it alone. Alas, his kids are coming to visit.

In an unexpected turn of events, he, along with his ex-wife and kids, are invited to the unveiling of the spaceship. His crew will be there, as will be dignitaries from all over the world.

While inside the cargo hold of the ship, where a banquet is taking place. The ship 'skips' to another planet. What started as a simple tour inside the alien craft, turns into a battle for survival.

This action packed story is well written, most characters are fleshed out, although, at times, they feel a bit like cardboard cut-outs. That rings specially true for the antagonists, and some of Jonah's crew members.

There are a few things I found hard to reconcile. I can't go into detail here, without giving things away, let me just say that loosing a loved one should have a much bigger impact on your life and actions.

While the story is interesting and fast paced, the creatures the survivors encounter are the classic animal mash-ups of old: 'a gorilla-like creature with a scorpion's tail...' I find it hard to fathom, that out there, in a strange world, humanity will find itself fighting against something so...pedestrian.

Still, a good read with an unexpected outcome.

Thank you for the advanced copy!

[Milda Jensen]

I won this book on The StoryGraph giveaway.

It started so well i thought i found a rare gem in the sea of mediocre self published novels. Thus my disappointment was even bigger when from a slow paced, low stakes, well written interpersonal drama there was an abrupt switch to a bloody gore etc at around 20%. I wanted to dnf every time Baboon with a gun was speaking, but eventually I learned to skip those pages. Later I started to skip all action scenes as well. Lots of stress, plenty of meaningless deaths, no progress in the story or the main mystery.

But eventually I did finish even though I didn't like the ending at all.

If I had to compare to another book that would be Wool Omnibus. Similar writing quality, similar character development, similar stakes and resolution.

I could ramble on but that would be of no use to anyone.

[Katie · Rating 1 out of 5]

You know “hard” sci fi? Well, this is the crumbly, soft, cottage cheese alternative. I barely got through this over months and months and months. The best example of why: the kids cobble together an alien translator on a smartphone within days (?). Uh, no. This whole tale just requires such a massive level of suspending disbelief that I couldn’t get into it. It offers very little in return. Not even the human relationships, which were basic and stereotyped (omg the scientists are soooo stuck in their ways of thinking that they can’t handle or learn to do anything else and also they fall in love of course) or just plain horrific (did I imagine it or did they conveniently forget about the death of the younger son in like two seconds?). What a letdown.

Thank you to Edelweiss+ and Level 4 Press, Inc for the advance copy, and apologies for the massive delay with my review.

[Linda George · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an excellent science fiction story. Jonah Wall and his crew of oil well diggers found an alien spaceship in Alaska. After the find, they were sent on to a new site, but two year later were invited to a worldwide event celebrating the find. Jonah arrives with his two sons and meets his estranged wife for the celebration which takes place in the ship. Suddenly the ship comes to life and people flee out of the ship, except Jonah, his son, his crew, and some others are trapped when the ramp closes and the ship teleports to another planet. This is just the beginning of a planet hopping journey where they find disintegrating cities and technologies. All Jonah wants is to go home. Just a side note, my husband has been waiting for me to finish because he wants to read this book, too.

[Mike Turner · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a difficult book to define. Is it a YA, or general audience? The story was good, workers drilling for oil in Alaska uncover a real UFO buried deep in the ice in Alaska. Fast forward a couple of years and the government has been able to break into it and they are celebrating with an open house to show it off. One of the workers who found it is invited along with his ex-wife and 2 sons to the open house. That's when things get exciting and the UFO wakes up and takes off. The older son is on board with his father, as is a similarly aged South African girl, wheelchair bound, whose father is the South African president.
There's a lot of death and violence, much of which becomes clearer towards the end of the book but is shocking as you're reading it.
I will probably look up more by this author because the twists in the plot.

[BellasCreativeLife · Rating 3 out of 5]

My first ebook ever! I am so excited to finally have a "Kindle"!! <3
I won this in a Storygraph giveaway by accident kinda? So I had no idea what it was, no clue. But I had an alright time with it. Nothing too interesting. But I enjoyed it more because of the Kindle experience I think. SO MUCH FUN. The book tho? Meh, its not really my type of genre, but still very happy that I got to read it. :)

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.8 I enjoyed this book. Humans are quick to adapt to new situations and in the end those who don't get left behind. I thought one of the plot twists would get alot more attention then it did . The book was jam packed with action that just carries the reader along.
I received this ARC from BookSirens. I am happy to leave this reveiw.

[Polly Krize · Rating 3 out of 5]

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

Finding a spaceship buried in the tundra of Alaska, Jonah Wall enters into an adventure he could never imaging as the ship takes off towards space. With his two estranged sons, Jonah must struggle to survive and protect his life and family. Well written fiction.

[A.J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gripping and terrifying

Fast-paced action like my favorite SF novels of yesteryear. Kept my interest throughout, but I don't like the ending. More "Aliens" (horror) than I would like to read. Some characters seemed one-dimensional, while others seemed fully realistic. Overall, while disturbing, this is a memorable novel which could make an exciting movie.

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fairly decent sci fi read. Some of the dialog was just too unnatural for me. Stuff like characters speaking without contractions that comes across as overly formal and weird. The ending was a bit of a letdown but the overall read was enjoyable.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good. I didn't like all of the characters, but liked the story overall. Thanks very much for the free copy for review!!

[Mik Wasiak · Rating 4 out of 5]

A decent science fiction book a found hard to keep track of the the story it good but not that new but still a good read

[allen collins · Rating 5 out of 5]

A hard start but a great read

I like the premise of the story. Its along the old lines of SF, the things that make it work. Excellent crafting!

[Morgan]

I accessed a digital review copy of this book from the publisher.

[Michel B · Rating 2 out of 5]

So booooring. Reached half of the book and then i stopped torturing myself

[Terry D. Russell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cool story

I worked on extending the read time because I enjoyed this one so much. Heck of a situation it was but loved every minute. Good book!

[Greg Braden · Rating 3 out of 5]

From the wilds of Alaska to the ends of the galaxy. Good story , Families in changing lives . I'll be looking for more from the Author. Recommend the book.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Delphia Von Heeder · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rogue is a new SiFi novel by Alex Schuler with Kevin Weir. I thought that this was an exciting story with lots of action. Jonah is working on an Alaska oil rig when his team uncovers an alien spacecraft. When the ship comes to life and leaves Earth, Jonah must find his son, Row. Unfortunately, all Jonah can find of his son, Ethan, is blood and his name badge. Rogue is excellent SiFi with a pinch of thriller. I received an arc for free and am leaving my review voluntarily.