One of the great joys of being an author is when you get a fan letter or a readers review that not just compliments your work, but “gets it” and appreciates those areas of your work you took particular effort with or take particular pride in. Such was the case when this Readers Review appeared last week on the Amazon page for my latest novel, “Traveling in Space”
And it beautifully coincides with Amazon offering the Trade Paperback at an 11% discount down from $14.99 to $13.33. The Kindle version is only 2.99
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5.0 out of 5 stars Traveling In Space rocks! June 21, 2013
By Brian Hart
“I can't remember the last time I enjoyed a book as much as Traveling In Space. The characters, dialog and situations were unique and interesting from start to finish. I have read many, many ‘First Contact’ books and stories over time, but never had read one that had such a fun premise.
The entire story is told strictly from the point of view of the aliens, who come from what they call,The Living World. That does take a bit of getting used to at first, in the way the aliens think and speak, (we are simply called, Otherlife) but isn't that the fun of really good SF, getting you out of your comfortable human zone? The best ones allow an examination of human culture from an otherworldly point of view, making us think long and hard about who we are as a species. Leiva does a great job here, keeping the aliens consistent, and always engaging.
Any SF story is allowed at least one "gimme" and this one is, admittedly, a doozy, but just go with it and enjoy the ride. There is a bit of fantasy element at work here as well, the Living Worlders look exactly like us, except that they are so genetically advanced that they appear extremely beautiful to Earth people.
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| "Holy shit! You're fucking gorgeous!" |
You just have to go with that, and the plusses and minuses of their advancements are explored in full, and are part of the plot.
This is his first SF book, and I was expecting some creaky technology. However I was knocked out by some of the unique ideas, especially the frequent use of the different kinds of ‘bubbles’; very cool indeed. Bubbles are difficult to explain in this short review, but as the story moves along they start to make more sense. It allows Leiva to get around the ‘Treknology’ problem of creating new miraculous devices as the plot gets sticky and harder to resolve.
One of the more interesting parts of the book is how the human culture has a profound effect on the aliens themselves. Again, this can be a clichéd and tired SF concept, but Leiva handles this very well indeed.
Congratulations to Mr. Leiva on a great book!”
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Thanks Mr. Hart! It is deeply appreciated.
Cover and interior illustrations by Todd Cronin
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