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Translocator #2

The Alien Element

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Drawn by an ancient mystery

The question of how a tribe of ancient Mayans ended up living on a distant planet continues to haunt archaeologist Eliana Fisk, but Amon won't let her anywhere near the Translocator after what happened last time.

Since a return journey is impossible, she does what archaeologists were born to do, and searches for clues among Mayan ruins on Earth.

What she discovers in the jungle will reveal a mystery far older than she thought possible, with roots winding back through through the centuries...and eventually lead her to an primeval well of power that threatens the safety of both worlds.

The Alien Element is a fast-paced science fiction thriller with an edge of the fantastic—a treacherous quest for answers that becomes a harrowing battle against an ancient adversary beyond imagining.

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About the author

M.G. Herron

46 books101 followers
M.G. Herron is the author of Starfighter Down, Culture Shock, and more than a dozen other science fiction novels.

His work spans military space opera, sci-fi detective noir, and portal fiction—stories about first contact, ancient alien civilizations, and the encounters that defy reality and make your neck hairs stand on end. His books have sold over 100,000 copies worldwide and been licensed for production by Podium Entertainment, Audible Studios and Plotsy.tv.

Matt (as he’s known among family and friends) started writing science fiction because he couldn't find enough books that blended the wonder of epic space sagas with characters he actually wanted to spend time with. So he wrote them himself.

These days he lives in Austin, Texas with his patient wife, their four unruly kids, and one loyal canine sidekick. When he's not at his desk, he's probably reading—or hiking in the Greenbelt while daydreaming about his next book.

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Community Reviews

5 stars
44 (41%)
4 stars
41 (38%)
3 stars
18 (16%)
2 stars
3 (2%)
1 star
1 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
Profile Image for John.
219 reviews
July 30, 2017
WOW! What a second book! The character development is amazing! I so much love the tech, but sooooo happy the tech does not get in the way of the story and the backstories of all the characters! How he keeps this all straight in his head is beyond me, characters all over the world and galaxy, whew yeah!

Amon is such a troubled character, but is always trying to do the right thing. Eliana is a super smart and amazing woman and love her determination. I hope Agent Moreno gets more airtime in the 3rd book, he seems like a super cool character with true grit.

Highly recommend this book, seriously, get it!
Profile Image for BP34.
6,539 reviews47 followers
July 27, 2017
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book

This is the second book in the Translocator Trilogy series. This is a great sci-fi series that bounces back and forth between the Earth, Kabul and the Moon. Lots of action and suspense in this fast paced book. The translocator had a glitch supposedly caused by the black meteorite but another one has been found. If you like science fiction you will enjoy this series.
Profile Image for Kavita Favelle.
282 reviews2 followers
December 26, 2017
If I could give halves, I'd give this 4.5 as I didn't love it quite as much as the first part, perhaps because it was focused more on the classic sci-fi alien and the travelling machine technology. Still had enough of the characterisation and interactions with the local inhabitants though to make it a cracking read.
Profile Image for Tonya OK.
599 reviews1 follower
May 21, 2020
4.5 stars. A delightful sci-fi page-turner that packs enough action and suspense to make up for a lack of depth or science. Although plot elements were much better developed than in the first volume, the ending still feels very rushed, leaving some important questions unanswered. Counting in book 3 for that!
Profile Image for Cleocutie.
3,315 reviews25 followers
July 29, 2017
Action packed sci-fi book with a wonderful storyline. Switching back and forth between locations lets you get a good feel for the similarities and differences between them and the mythology/history the story is based on is very rich.
Profile Image for Ann Thomas.
Author 22 books49 followers
September 22, 2017
More scifi goings-on alongside an ancient Mayan civilisation, both equally well drawn. I loved the first book so much I immediately bought the second, and it didn't disappoint. Now I'm waiting for the next one. Highly recommended, but read book 1 first to really enjoy it.
420 reviews1 follower
August 25, 2017
Good read, but not quite in my zone of interest. It was and interesting story and I enjoyed it but will stop with this series.
Profile Image for Meenaz Lodhi.
1,048 reviews97 followers
April 3, 2018
A catching plot with many questions answered! This second book is thoroughly captivating, with an excellent character development and exciting twists and turns. Fast paced and intriguing!
Profile Image for BooksandBacon.
316 reviews41 followers
April 7, 2018
Great so far!!!

Loving the series so far, can't wait for the last of the trilogy. Already pre-ordered release date June this year.
5 reviews
September 9, 2019
40 years on

After 40 years of not reading I picked up a book 12 months ago (2018) I found this trilogy on Amazon and enjoyed the first two. Time to start number 3. 😀
Profile Image for You All Everybody.
55 reviews
May 12, 2023
Another nice, smooth, easy read. Way more going on than Book 1, I liked this one a lot better. Xucha's character really progressed which is what I had hoped for!
19 reviews
October 12, 2023
good read

Spoke with considerable daughter than I expected. I look forward to book number three And hope for more books of this type
Profile Image for David Wright.
393 reviews4 followers
August 30, 2018
This sequel far surpasses it's predecessor, and I loved that!
Following on from the events in the Auriga project, things are getting gradually worse, not just for the people on the far away planet but for Eliana and Amon too.
This time there are more sabotage events, more strange encounters with the god of sacrifices and a lot more travelling between worlds. This truly opens up the storyline and answers a lot of questions that were raised in book 1. The relationship between tribe members is pushed to the limits by events occurring throughout the story, as is the relationship between Amon and Eliana too.
There are surprising discoveries and some great insights into the history of the new planet and how things came to be. As with the first book, the contrast between past and future is superbly done and the Sci-Fi element is more pronounced this time around, revealing a fascinating source of the gods strength. This is packed with so much it's hard to mention something without it being a spoiler...
I'm really looking forward to book 3.
1,250 reviews6 followers
January 22, 2018
Great plot development - I really enjoyed this book.
Wow. A great sequel to the previous novel - it could be read alone but I would thoroughly recommend reading the first book before this one.
The author cleverly introduces new places for the action - a base on the moon as well as more places on the 'other' planet, and Mayan ruins on Earth. Our two villains continue being difficult, we are introduced to more subsidiary characters, and the plot zooms along nicely.
I preferred this slightly to the first book, perhaps because I already knew the main places and protagonists, but also because I felt there was more going on and more action. The ending was good - not a cliffhanger as such (which I do hate in novels), but nicely setting things up for the next book.
Profile Image for Koffe.
737 reviews20 followers
Read
February 5, 2019
DNF what trash.

While it had an okay first book this is looking more and more like a rip-off of StarGate SG1. You have the Archeologist, the people from ancient earth that can't understand the modern language. We even have a freaking pyramid and demonic aliens (a.k.a Goa'uld just a different name here). The author even went so far as to rip off one of the episodes where the goa'uld opens the stargate to earth here the ancient aliens opens the Translocator to earth. I mean wtf dude lazy writing and almost copy right infringement right there. It's 1 thing to have some similar ideas as the StarGate series but to rip off basically everything and just change a few minor things and then think ppl will be too dumb to notice it.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews