Signals

The Exploration Chronicles #1

by Kevin D. Randle

Signals kicks off an exciting series of novels by Air Force Reserve captain and UFO authority Kevin D. Randle that takes us through the future evolution of man and machine, in which the search for intelligent life becomes the catalyst of our dreams-and the stars, our destination.

In New Mexico, devices monitoring the desert skies pick up faint but unmistakable sounds.

SIGNALS

Coming from a mere fifty light years away and headed toward Earth. But will the approaching beings be friendly? As Earth struggles toward a unified response, and panic spreads, the signals grow ever clearer, ever closer. We are about to meet our neighbors...

Genres: Science Fiction

272 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

Ufologist and historic fiction & science fiction writer.

Within the UFO community he is often regarded as one of the preeminent experts on the reported crash of a UFO near Roswell, New Mexico in July 1947.

A professional writer with more than 80 books to his credit, Randle is perhaps best known for his books about UFOs and the Roswell story.

Reviews

[B. Barron · Rating 1 out of 5]

Picked this one up at the Dollar General.
The science is sketchy, the premise illogical (converting a erector-set space station into a spacecraft? Give me a break, which is what would happen to the space station the moment any major force, such as thrust, was applied), the aliens FTL anemic (first signal was detected 50 LY away, which means it was 50 years ago! The next signal was 30 LY away, yet the older signal reached earth BEFORE this one! If they really were travelling FTL we wouldn’t know it until they arrived as they would beat their Light-Speed Signals!), and the characters straight out of central casting.
Don’t bother. The writing style isn’t horrible, but the science behind it left me colder than the dark side of the Moon.

[Booklover · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a terrific start to a terrific fun series the Exploration chronicle A book just be really good to keep me updated reading in the middle of the night.

[Anthony Marchese · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found some of the characters slightly interesting, but the logic and science made no sense. the travel time for the aliens doesn't add up.
I was also confused by the time period. the first half sounds like present day then suddenly we're in a long established mars colony.
It looked like my kind of book but did not deliver.
I made it through the sequel since I'd already bought all 3. But I can't force myself to pick up the third one.

[Carlos Eliseo Ortiz · Rating 3 out of 5]

As other science-fiction novels that deal with first-contact scenarios, Randle's book presents the constant friction between the eager to find and the eager to battle (scientists vs. military), and space travel as the best sign of intelligence a species could possess:

I don’t think we have anything to fear. They recognize us as an artificial ship and know that it means we are intelligent. Otherwise, we couldn’t be here.” Pg. 235

[Ralph McEwen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book and will continue to read the series. Yet the plotting and overly ambitious characters were annoying and if the troubles they caused were at all possible it says very sad things about the human race.

[Tedi Kohinke · Rating 2 out of 5]

Needs work on transitions (see esp. chapters 15 to 16), but I enjoyed the story.