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Biotech Legacy #1
Stars Rain Down
ASIN B0043M4S6S moved to the more recent edition
Meet Marcus Donovan; astronomer, day dreamer, and smart ass. He was just another researcher in a jumpsuit until he saw something that didn't fit. At the time, it was nothing but a blip on a sensor read-out, an asteroid that wasn't an asteroid, but it became his obsession. He named it Zebra-1, and now he's hurtling through the solar system on a mission to see it in person.
Meanwhile, the Earth has its own visitors. Seven massive vessels appear out of nowhere and rain hell down from orbit, reducing civilization to a pile of ashes and rubble. Our world is conquered before anyone even knows we're under attack.
Enter Jack Hernandez, a search & rescue specialist and true blue everyday hero. After crash-landing in the wasted ruins of China, he links up with the scattered resistance and begins to fight back. Having witnessed the invaders' cruelty first hand, he's driven to do whatever it takes to make them pay in blood.
Neither Jack nor Marcus ever could have predicted it, but humanity's future now depends on them both. One will be bonded to an ancient warship and asked to lead, while the other is imprisoned, tortured and forced to submit; before it's over, they'll each face challenges beyond imagination in a savage war as old as time.
When the stars rain down from the sky, who will rise up to meet them?
Meet Marcus Donovan; astronomer, day dreamer, and smart ass. He was just another researcher in a jumpsuit until he saw something that didn't fit. At the time, it was nothing but a blip on a sensor read-out, an asteroid that wasn't an asteroid, but it became his obsession. He named it Zebra-1, and now he's hurtling through the solar system on a mission to see it in person.
Meanwhile, the Earth has its own visitors. Seven massive vessels appear out of nowhere and rain hell down from orbit, reducing civilization to a pile of ashes and rubble. Our world is conquered before anyone even knows we're under attack.
Enter Jack Hernandez, a search & rescue specialist and true blue everyday hero. After crash-landing in the wasted ruins of China, he links up with the scattered resistance and begins to fight back. Having witnessed the invaders' cruelty first hand, he's driven to do whatever it takes to make them pay in blood.
Neither Jack nor Marcus ever could have predicted it, but humanity's future now depends on them both. One will be bonded to an ancient warship and asked to lead, while the other is imprisoned, tortured and forced to submit; before it's over, they'll each face challenges beyond imagination in a savage war as old as time.
When the stars rain down from the sky, who will rise up to meet them?
508 pages, ebook
First published September 20, 2010
26 people are currently reading
382 people want to read
About the author
Chris J. Randolph
8 books29 followersWriter of high adventure, dark drama, and quirky comedy, set in vibrant worlds that bend the imagination. Proud self-publisher, nerd, video game enthusiast, and Mexican-American.
Originally fabricated in Silicon Valley before being shipped to Rocklin, CA. Now plugged into a general purpose terminal, burning clock-cycles on text and image manipulation.
Looking to reinvent how independent authors share their work, and broaden the marketplace by helping new readers find it.
Originally fabricated in Silicon Valley before being shipped to Rocklin, CA. Now plugged into a general purpose terminal, burning clock-cycles on text and image manipulation.
Looking to reinvent how independent authors share their work, and broaden the marketplace by helping new readers find it.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews
February 17, 2019
Interesting
Normally I would avoid anything to do with aliens or alien invasion but this one held my attention quite well and I found myself enjoying it
Normally I would avoid anything to do with aliens or alien invasion but this one held my attention quite well and I found myself enjoying it
February 17, 2012
First off: Cheers to Chris (friend from high school)! Well done! I'm always impressed when people have such good stories to tell. Where do you get them?!
If I could, I'd probably give this 3.5 stars.
It was quite entertaining, with vivid characters, creative SF concepts, and almost nonstop action. I was pulled right along, and read most of it in a day. I agree with the other reviewers that the end was too abrupt/rushed. I believe there's going to be a sequel, but there were just too many threads left hanging for me to feel that this could stand alone. That said, I'll probably read the sequel!
If I could, I'd probably give this 3.5 stars.
It was quite entertaining, with vivid characters, creative SF concepts, and almost nonstop action. I was pulled right along, and read most of it in a day. I agree with the other reviewers that the end was too abrupt/rushed. I believe there's going to be a sequel, but there were just too many threads left hanging for me to feel that this could stand alone. That said, I'll probably read the sequel!
February 27, 2017
In Randolph’s not too distant future, mankind has established a colony on Mars and developed space travel to a somewhat better level than we have today, but a lot remains the same. In the beginning of the book, we follow Jack Hernandez, search and rescue specialist, as he and his team makes extraordinary humanitarian efforts, and Marcus Donovan, astronomer and problem solver, who has spent years of his life searching for a mysterious object sometimes appearing in the asteroid field beyond Mars.
After getting an extraordinarily clear picture of the object that has been taunting him for so long, Marcus lies his way into an expedition to explore the asteroids. It’s an adventure of a lifetime, the dream of a lifetime, and what awaits him is beyond anything he could have imagined. Oddly enough, there is no response from Earth when the group tries to report.
Meanwhile, Jack has been sent out on an emergency mission, and finds himself in a crashing helicopter. Once on the ground, there is nothing to be seen but dust and debris. The unthinkable has happened; the planet has been invaded, and all our weapons, cities, and technology are gone in the wink of an eye. Jack, who has always been a man of peace, a man living to help others, finds himself fighting not only for his own life, but for the survival of the human race.
Both men find themselves in for more than they ever expected, and in the end, purity of heart, faith, and empathy will decide the fate of both the survivors and the planet itself.
I have been looking forward to this book for quite some time, and I wasn’t disappointed. Randolph paints out believable characters in a captivating and thought-provoking story. The first night reading the book, I kept telling myself, “Just one more chapter.” Of course, one more chapter turned into another one, and one more after that, and I kept reading until my eyes couldn’t stay open any longer.
The ending leaves some questions unanswered, and I’m hoping this means we’ll see a sequel. “Stars Rain Down” is an excellent book by an excellent author!
After getting an extraordinarily clear picture of the object that has been taunting him for so long, Marcus lies his way into an expedition to explore the asteroids. It’s an adventure of a lifetime, the dream of a lifetime, and what awaits him is beyond anything he could have imagined. Oddly enough, there is no response from Earth when the group tries to report.
Meanwhile, Jack has been sent out on an emergency mission, and finds himself in a crashing helicopter. Once on the ground, there is nothing to be seen but dust and debris. The unthinkable has happened; the planet has been invaded, and all our weapons, cities, and technology are gone in the wink of an eye. Jack, who has always been a man of peace, a man living to help others, finds himself fighting not only for his own life, but for the survival of the human race.
Both men find themselves in for more than they ever expected, and in the end, purity of heart, faith, and empathy will decide the fate of both the survivors and the planet itself.
I have been looking forward to this book for quite some time, and I wasn’t disappointed. Randolph paints out believable characters in a captivating and thought-provoking story. The first night reading the book, I kept telling myself, “Just one more chapter.” Of course, one more chapter turned into another one, and one more after that, and I kept reading until my eyes couldn’t stay open any longer.
The ending leaves some questions unanswered, and I’m hoping this means we’ll see a sequel. “Stars Rain Down” is an excellent book by an excellent author!
July 14, 2014
For the most part, this story was really well written with an ambitious plot. The story starts with alien Kai, waking up to a destroyed world and being sent off to warn other planets...Then the story transitions to characters Jack and Marcus, humans living in a futuristic Earth. Jack is an Emergency Rescue worker and Pacifist, while Marcus is an astronomer and astronaut searching the galaxy for a drifting alien vessel... The characters were well thought out. The pacifist must become the war hero and the passive scientist must work to save the world from intergalactic invaders. The action sequences were exciting and devestating. the plot twists: who the invaders are and what they're after, were shocking and dripping with irony. The paths of the main characters Jack and Marcus, ran beside one another but never crossed.
The reason this story avoided the five star hit, was the ending. Don't get me wrong, I liked parts of the ending; I'm a sucker for happy endings...But it was rushed and untidy. In a hurry to bring us the end, the author abandoned detail, and jumped right ahead to vague intentions. Two out of three characters werent clearly dead or alive at the end...And the minor character werent even sure what happened? If you save a planet from complete decimation, wouldnt you tell everyone you'd done it? So if the two missing characters are dead...Why didnt there friends tell the story? If your friend saves the world and dies to do it, wouldnt you want him to be rememebered? so how could no one know the details? Eh.
But if you don't mind slightly obscure endings, don't let the ending stop you from reading this story.
The reason this story avoided the five star hit, was the ending. Don't get me wrong, I liked parts of the ending; I'm a sucker for happy endings...But it was rushed and untidy. In a hurry to bring us the end, the author abandoned detail, and jumped right ahead to vague intentions. Two out of three characters werent clearly dead or alive at the end...And the minor character werent even sure what happened? If you save a planet from complete decimation, wouldnt you tell everyone you'd done it? So if the two missing characters are dead...Why didnt there friends tell the story? If your friend saves the world and dies to do it, wouldnt you want him to be rememebered? so how could no one know the details? Eh.
But if you don't mind slightly obscure endings, don't let the ending stop you from reading this story.
January 14, 2011
I don't much like military SF, which this book approximately is. I was
surprised to find myself fascinated and engaged almost instantly, and staying
up too late to finish it. There's a lot of other SF tropes going on here -- a
lost alien starship in the asteriod belt, a terrible alien invasion that
starts colonizing and alienforming Earth, some very cool biotechnology, an
epic span of history, and some very alien aliens. It's a fairly satisfying
story, with a certain moral twist to it, and a satisfyingly complicated plot.
The writing is good: serious in spots, full of wonder often, with bits of
humor that keep it from being too heavy. It has a very classical feel to it,
reminding me of Clarke's Rendezvous with Rama in spots and many others.
I'd have been happy to pay full price for this book.
surprised to find myself fascinated and engaged almost instantly, and staying
up too late to finish it. There's a lot of other SF tropes going on here -- a
lost alien starship in the asteriod belt, a terrible alien invasion that
starts colonizing and alienforming Earth, some very cool biotechnology, an
epic span of history, and some very alien aliens. It's a fairly satisfying
story, with a certain moral twist to it, and a satisfyingly complicated plot.
The writing is good: serious in spots, full of wonder often, with bits of
humor that keep it from being too heavy. It has a very classical feel to it,
reminding me of Clarke's Rendezvous with Rama in spots and many others.
I'd have been happy to pay full price for this book.
November 20, 2010
Lately I've only been reading books by new authors. I see a review, get curious and want to try it. This is how I found this book too, and it was even better then I dared hope for. I love science fiction, and this book contained everything I could wish for and more. Adventure, Excitement, a bit of Romance, and of course Aliens. It is well written, at times funny, and at times scary. Well worth reading!
November 2, 2014
An epic adventure, and a thought provoking read. Pitting ones own humanity, and sense of right and wrong to the test. I'm looking forward to the next book in this series.
September 18, 2017
Chris Randolph writes a pretty good sci-fi tale, along with the requisite aliens, new technology obtained by man, and the typical conflict between the aliens and mankind.
I judge my science fiction on a modified version of the Baen criteria, where the future technology has to be somewhat believable, if you have aliens they are not too gross and have names you can pronounce, and the overall plot / story lines have to have substance. Randolph hits it on most of these fronts, although I will say there were one heck of a lot of species of aliens.
Without having a spoiler, overall I think the story is pretty good and there is obviously an ending setup for a good sequel - I'd like to see how things play out if there is a sequel as I would buy it. I do think the last third of the book appeared rushed as there really wasn't much follow-up with the Marcus Donovan character as we are left with an unexplained year gap in the events, you go from a fairly moderate pace to rushing through each chapter with one central character, as well as no follow-up with the original bad guys.
I judge my science fiction on a modified version of the Baen criteria, where the future technology has to be somewhat believable, if you have aliens they are not too gross and have names you can pronounce, and the overall plot / story lines have to have substance. Randolph hits it on most of these fronts, although I will say there were one heck of a lot of species of aliens.
Without having a spoiler, overall I think the story is pretty good and there is obviously an ending setup for a good sequel - I'd like to see how things play out if there is a sequel as I would buy it. I do think the last third of the book appeared rushed as there really wasn't much follow-up with the Marcus Donovan character as we are left with an unexplained year gap in the events, you go from a fairly moderate pace to rushing through each chapter with one central character, as well as no follow-up with the original bad guys.
January 1, 2019
Unpredictable and nicely written
I really enjoyed reading this one. I mostly couldn’t predict where it was going (which to me is great). I appreciated the way it flowed. Kind of military, kind of pulpy, helluva a good time. One thing I especially liked was the pacing. Started off good, got more interesting in the middle and by then end it was great. Many times, I feel like authors start out with a great idea or three and that’s enough to get you halfway through and then the story loses steam. Not this one. At 90% of the way through, I was genuinely conflicted as to whom I should be rooting for. That’s a good thing.
I really enjoyed reading this one. I mostly couldn’t predict where it was going (which to me is great). I appreciated the way it flowed. Kind of military, kind of pulpy, helluva a good time. One thing I especially liked was the pacing. Started off good, got more interesting in the middle and by then end it was great. Many times, I feel like authors start out with a great idea or three and that’s enough to get you halfway through and then the story loses steam. Not this one. At 90% of the way through, I was genuinely conflicted as to whom I should be rooting for. That’s a good thing.
July 5, 2017
Some brilliant and seemingly endless species of aliens are the highlight of this fairly standard space opera/invasion story.
April 15, 2020
Opera...
Want to read
July 19, 2020elibrary
August 30, 2012
This book started out, on fire.
Randolph's world building was excellent, the alien concepts intriguing, the politics in the world of the future--believable.
The characters were very well-developed and quite likeable, especially Jack. His greatest strength was also his great weakness. Donovan Marcus was a great character, too. But his storyline that had been so fascinating, sort of vanished in the second half of the book. I think I kept looking for the two main storylines to converge, but they stayed fairly independent of each other.
The pacing was fast, a real page turner...but, as the book neared the end, I started wondering how Randolph could wrap it up quickly enough.
It was abrupt. Not that the ending wasn't good, but it felt rushed, and that was a shame. The author stepped away from the writing style he'd established so well throughout the book --which was good, nice vocabulary, generous descriptions that didn't cross the line into tedious, believable reactions by the characters. All replaced by a hurried ending.
I'd give it 3 and a half, but since I can't, I'm rounding up to four--based on the world-building and, minus the rushed ending, an otherwise great story.
Randolph's world building was excellent, the alien concepts intriguing, the politics in the world of the future--believable.
The characters were very well-developed and quite likeable, especially Jack. His greatest strength was also his great weakness. Donovan Marcus was a great character, too. But his storyline that had been so fascinating, sort of vanished in the second half of the book. I think I kept looking for the two main storylines to converge, but they stayed fairly independent of each other.
The pacing was fast, a real page turner...but, as the book neared the end, I started wondering how Randolph could wrap it up quickly enough.
It was abrupt. Not that the ending wasn't good, but it felt rushed, and that was a shame. The author stepped away from the writing style he'd established so well throughout the book --which was good, nice vocabulary, generous descriptions that didn't cross the line into tedious, believable reactions by the characters. All replaced by a hurried ending.
I'd give it 3 and a half, but since I can't, I'm rounding up to four--based on the world-building and, minus the rushed ending, an otherwise great story.
February 23, 2021
This might have been a candidate for a four, but the author really lost sight of the ball at the end. It almost felt like he did not know how to end it, gave up trying, so just kicked it out the door with this lame version of an ending. In the final quarter of the book he seems to have completely forgotten about the off-world contingent who are just left hanging, and the on-world ending was just so.... contrived and implausible.
First three-quarters were good reading though, too bad about the ending.
First three-quarters were good reading though, too bad about the ending.
March 21, 2014
I really enjoyed this science fiction novel. It was self-published, and there are a few grammatical and spelling errors, but the story was so interesting to me that it didn't irritate me. In general, I like the writing style, and I enjoyed the characters as well. The author bills himself as an author of the "dark drama", but I didn't find this to be dark at all. It might have been about post-apocalyptic Earth, but there was a lot of courage and hope.
July 15, 2014
This is an alien-invasion book, and it was very good. Lots of interesting twists and cool tech and such. I liked the characters and wish more was done with the those who weren't either of the main two guys. In particular, the two most major female characters deserve lots more print time.
I'm looking forward to reading the second book in the set, while waiting for the rest of the installments in Randolph's "Arcana Universalis".
I'm looking forward to reading the second book in the set, while waiting for the rest of the installments in Randolph's "Arcana Universalis".
January 17, 2011
an entertaining read, aspects were very well creative and engaging. It was worth the low price on amazon. But it lacked cohesiveness, spending a lot of time building a story arc and characters for the first portion of the book, and them leaving them completely alone until it was convenient to swoop them in at the end.
July 7, 2016
I'm a little past halfway in this book and it's a good novel, but one that I'm struggling to get back into. As soon as the main characters got used to the ship it started to get boring for me. I like the characters and the descriptions of the aliens, but I've never really been a fan of alien-invasion stories.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 20, 2016
Awesome story
I will tell you the truth. I did not think the story was going to end and feel like it was complete. But to my shock it ended the way I wanted it to. I was totally expecting an ending that was just going to be the start of another book but it ended well. It was a riviting story from start to finish. I would recommend this to my friends
I will tell you the truth. I did not think the story was going to end and feel like it was complete. But to my shock it ended the way I wanted it to. I was totally expecting an ending that was just going to be the start of another book but it ended well. It was a riviting story from start to finish. I would recommend this to my friends
February 13, 2014
A very good read. I couldn't stop reading this on my Kindle for PC. Luckily, I was snowed in for a few days in Atlanta, GA. The action starts on page one and doesn't stop. I couldn't help think "this would make a great movie." So, Mr. Randolph, if Hollywood knocks, don't hesitate to answer the door!
August 9, 2016
Absolutely loved this book: plausible future science, engaging characters, ancient inter-stellar animosities, the resiliency of the human race and planet Earth. Once I started reading this, I couldn't put it down until I clicked onto the last page.
September 9, 2012
Interesting characters and a believable 'end of the world' scenerio make this sci-fi book a great read. Grabbed me immediately and never let go. I'm just using Goodreads to say whether a book was a good read or not ... Stars Rain Down won't disappoint! Promise!
May 3, 2013
It was a pretty hard scifi book but, the story was enthralling. I couldn't wait to see what happened next. It had me pondering what mankind would have thought or done during this "invasion". I would recommend this book to anyone who likes space-like scifi and military.
May 15, 2020
Good story. Kind of spastic, ADD. I like the story arc but there were a few times in the middle that I lost sight of the arc altogether. Kai is amazing. The idea that humans are both the nefrem and the eireki is interesting, but questions remain. Looking forward to the second one.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Want to read
October 2, 2010Been looking for a good sci-fi.
February 1, 2015
I liked it. It ended rather abruptly, and would have liked more, but was impressed and entertained by the amount of material in such a small package. And the material was delicious.
April 4, 2011
The ending was very abrupt, and there were too many lose ends. The writing was good though. It flowed very well from scene to scene.
June 3, 2011
Good book! I think I'll be checking back with Feedbooks from time to time to see if there are other winners like this!
Another "indi book" I got from feedbooks...looking forward to it!
Another "indi book" I got from feedbooks...looking forward to it!
June 14, 2011
Fun end-of-the-world type book, let down by a pretty feeble ending. I don't know if the author was planning for some sequel or just ran out of ideas.
October 18, 2011
Took shot at a true Sci-Fi novel and I was pleasantly surprised with this one.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews