Conduit: The Beginning

by James Alexander

A cold, psychological descent into dread — where horror bleeds into sci-fi and nothing stays in a single genre for long.

Marcus has never felt entirely human. Haunted by visions he can’t explain and memories that don’t feel like his own, he senses something shifting inside him just as strange events begin spreading across the country.

In a small town already fraying at the edges, ordinary lives start to crack under growing pressure. Secrets surface. People change. And an unseen force begins tightening its grip.

This isn’t an action-driven alien invasion.

It’s the slow, psychological unraveling that happens before the world ends.

Told through multiple perspectives and rising tension, Conduit blends psychological horror with existential sci-fi — a story about identity, dread, and the quiet collapse of normal life.

For readers who enjoy:

– psychological horror

– genre-bending sci-fi

– slow-burn escalation and atmosphere

– stories like Annihilation, The Outsider, The Mist, or The Leftovers

Not for readers seeking:

– military sci-fi

– action-heavy alien invasions

– hopeful or comforting narratives

Conduit: The Beginning is the first book in a dark, atmospheric series about what happens when the invasion starts from the inside.

Genres: Science Fiction

Kindle Edition

First published February 22, 2012

About the author

James Alexander writes psychological and speculative fiction that explores the hidden edges of human consciousness, the mysteries of identity, and the forces-seen and unseen-that shape our world. Drawn to stories that blend tension, emotion, and the uncanny, he creates character driven narratives where the unknown is as internal as it is cosmic. A lifelong explorer of science fiction, technology, and the strange possibilities that lie just beyond ordinary life, James brings a grounded, human perspective to the extraordinary. When he's not writing, he enjoys diving into information technology, spending time with his kids, tinkering with home projects (with mixed results), and imagining new worlds and unsettling what-ifs. He is a lifelong resident of Maine, USA.

Follow James with these links:

Website: http://www.writerjamesalexander.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/James-...

BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/authorjalexa...

Reviews

[Hazel · Rating 5 out of 5]

A well-planned alien invasion.

This is an excellent start to an alien invasion. Well-written, exciting and plausible it is a great read. Much more logical and easier than brute force it makes sense to expend the least amount of effort to conquer a world. Invaders will always find a way forward. I liked all the fragments of other peoples lives, esp. Rick.
I just hope it doesn't stop anyone having their Covid vaccine!

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Tom Henrich · Rating 2 out of 5]

The plot synopsis sounded intriguing, if not particularly novel, so I gave this a shot. Disappointing. Granted, not everyone can write like Stephen King or have the eloquence of Shakespeare. Every author has to start somewhere, but this read like it was done for a high school creative writing class, and got a C+.
Ignoring the simple spelling and grammar issues that a proofreader or editor should have caught immediately, it was almost painfully awkward. None of the characters used anything resembling actual spoken English, or had any sort of plausible interactions with each other. At no point during the book did I have any interest in any of the characters, at no point did I care about their role in the story or what would happen to them.
This is apparently the first book in a series, but I won't be reading the rest even out of curiosity. My apologies to the author, but the style and tone of this was entirely too amateur to continue. Please, find someone to at least proofread first, someone to bounce conversations off of, who will say "whoa, no, that needs to be rewritten because *no one ever talks or acts like that*."

[Paul Madsen · Rating 1 out of 5]

Hard to llike

This tale has very raw taste to to. You like Marc, Jack and Megan but most of the other characters are just down right nasty (Joe and Rick). In the end the story leaves too many things up in the air that need to be addressed. It could be made in to a movie if some of the holes are filled in. The aliens take over was too simplistic to be believable. So Sorry it gets a thumbs down.

[Sandra Williams · Rating 2 out of 5]

wonderful writing, horrible characters

Almost every single person in this story is damaged and cruel, or soon dead. It is depressing. I kept reading, hoping the story would get better, then was incredulous to find it didn’t even come to a finish. The cliffhanger was not thrilling. I am NOT interested in reading the second section. Sorry. Not impressed. This story reads worse than today’s news. No hope in sight.

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is different from other alien invasion books. It was interesting how it was done. I can only complain about too much child abuse in the book. It could have been less. As it was, I think it totaled near 20% of the book. At one point I was ready to stop reading. This is a cliff hanger, though. There is a second book. However, personally, I do not think I will get into the second book. If you are looking for a book to read, grab this. But if your TBR list is long - like mine - move on.

[Nancy Portz · Rating 5 out of 5]

You won't be able to stop until the end!

This book started out as a horror story, and eventually morphed into an alien invasion story! It was so exciting, I am now anxious to read other books by James Alexander. And I believe there are subsequent books to this one. At least I hope so. I am now a confirmed J.A. fan and will follow him on Amazon.

[Jeff · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was just too brutal and with the lack of any good character I just couldn't finish it... and I'm an avid reader of horror stories. The author needs to intersperse something of redeeming value between the chapters focused on the horror characters - something for the reader to hold onto.

I finally quit this book about 20% of the way because it was just too relentlessly gut wrenching.

[David Schick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Conduit: The Beginning had equal parts good and bad. Good: Interesting plot and nice set-up for a series. Bad: The synopsis does not accurately describe the story. Good: Cover art is awesome, and really works with what's inside. Bad: Grammatical and punctuation errors kept me from becoming absorbed in the story. Good: Mr. Alexander took his time telling the story, so it doesn't come across as rushed like many indie books do. Bad: Too many characters made it difficult sometimes to keep track of everyone's whereabouts and motives. The best part is that much of the bad is completely correctable, so if a second edition is ever released, I would highly recommend that one.

[Tiffany Tinkham · Rating 3 out of 5]

Aliens invade Earth to take over it before they are forced into extinction. Can a 1/2 alien human settle things between them and save the world from extinction?

This was a okay book. It was hard to get into at first, but once I got past the start it got interesting. That's why I only give it 3 out of 5 stars.

[Carol Bowers · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book starts out really interesting but then it got really strange but since i was already 3/4 of the way into it i read it to the end not sure if give it more than a 2 star