Good but with some editing would be better
3 out of 5 stars
Lucan used to work the Alliance but now he just enjoys his days working with artifacts that are set to go to the museum. He likes physical things. He still wears an old analog watch and jeans. But, one day he is asked to help out a greater cause and to help search for a lost friend.
I read a lot of short stories, I know that they are an incredible way to get a story out there without bogging readers down with tons and tons of words. A good short story has enough backstory to make the reader understand why we are following a specific character. It also has some action or interaction within. And finally, it is a breeze to read and makes a reader feel something (granted, not all short stories can accomplish this last one).
This book failed a little bit of all three. I’m not saying that it was a bad book, quite the contrary. I still enjoyed it even though there were some flaws. My complaint is two-sided. The book. Felt. Choppy. The sentence structure was short and repetitive. (Sentences would end like “… in the days with the alliance. The alliance was…”)
Since I’m a big audiobook fan, I usually try to read in a characters voice in my head, but I found it hard to like Lucan when everything that happened was choppy and repetitive. The second side of my complaint is that this book could use some editing. There were a few errors that happen in the course of writing a book, and then there were actual missing words in sentences. It needed or needs a good editor to help clean it up. I’m not a grammar nazi, but I know when things are wrong or out of place.
I honestly think that my review of this book would jump from a 3 to a 4 if it was edited well. A good editor can really help the author bring out exactly what she as hoping to show with this short story.
Needless to say, this book was still good. The story was interesting and gave me a feeling of “what’s next” when I finished (which I what I think she was trying to accomplish).
I was given a copy of this book in exchange for an honest and unbiased opinion.
Lucan is an ex-employee of the Alliance. The Alliance is a worldwide governing framework with centralized leadership. Lucan was a political negotiator and a respected one but soon becomes redundant in the alliance and settles into the role of an artifact examiner at the digital appraisal center to forget everything and begin a new journey. Lucan would soon be entrusted with yet another new assignment by his previous manager from the alliance – Mamoru who ranks very high in the Alliance. He is also intrigued by commander gray – a respected missions specialist and advanced machine handler of the space research arm of the Alliance. He will have to open his mind to new possibilities in search of something important to Commander gray, the alliance and himself.
About The Author:
Monisha Menon was born in Mumbai, India, to South Indian parents, grew up partly in Mumbai and Madras. She studied physics for a year and then moved on to engineering school.
Her love for reading began at an early age but she finally self-published the Age of the alliance: Lucan recently and her dream is to continue writing and sharing her love for science and books.
