Review of Offworld by Robin Parrish

Something is wrong with the world.

It's July 4, 2033 and Commander Christopher Burke and his crew have just returned to Earth from the first manned mission to Mars - only to find humanity missing. They've been away for more than two years and now it appears everyone, everywhere, is offworld.

Months prior to their return strange happenings occur around the globe - a T-Rex stomps out of a cave in France and vanishes, Flamingos turn from pink to blue and back again in a Denver zoo, a lake in New Zealand appears then disappears.

Then, humanity vanishes. Burke and his three crew mates are thrust into a new mission: to discover who or what is behind the disappearance of ten billion people.

~*~

This is the premise behind the latest novel by Robin Parrish, also the author of the Dominion Trilogy. Parrish is a competent author - a solid story teller, character developer, and vivid "imagineer." He blends elements of science fiction, superhero action, and fantasy into a contemporary fiction typical of what's currently on the shelves at your local B&N. (Think M. Night Shyamalan meets The X-Files meets The Avengers.) Offworld competes nicely with other titles by name brand authors and I'm betting that with his next novel he will make the jump from the Religious Fiction section (where I found him at my local big box) to the regular shelves (where, btw, Jeffrey Overstreet and Donita K. Paul recently moved).

However, Parrish has a few plotting dangers to watch out for, in my opinion. The first one has to do with the theme itself. People disappearing? Yawn. The idea didn't grab me. I'd read On the Beach (a classic), I avoided Left Out or Get Behind or whatever (not a classic), and I hate dream stories ("and then I woke up"). So I was a bit skeptical going in. Don't get me wrong, I liked the book. I'm happy to report (non-spoiler alert) that the plot has nothing to do with nuclear weapons, the rapture, or cannabis. And although not terribly original nor completely satisfying, the mystery revealed in the somewhat longish denouement at least tied the story together.

Another weakness (again, imo, as I'm sure some readers love this part) is the action sequences. Some parts read like a beat-em-up-smash-em-up car chase that might translate well on film but had me skimming during what was supposed to drive the final climax of the story. When I find myself flipping to the explanation (give me the reveal already!) then that's a sure sign I've lost interest. I'm usually a word by word reader and I measure the quality of the story on how many times I start skimming. Offworld lost me on only two or three occasions, so that translates to pretty good overall.

The author's strength is character driven stories - good people with angst set in compelling situations with enough reality based conflict to give the fantastical elements of the story their appeal. I like spec fic but I like good characters and story telling best. And Parrish delivers. This is a clean, non-religious but spiritually themed novel by a writer who happens to be a Christian rather than a writer trying to spin a 'Christian' novel.

Recommended read if you like this style.
Rated 7 of 10.

OFFWORLD Book Tour Day 2 of 3

Watch the book trailer:




By the way...
I have two copies of Robin Parrish's new book, Offworld to give away. It's a science fiction novel (Bethany House, 2009) that I've agreed to blog about, and so they sent me a couple copies. One may be yours!

Here's how to win your free book...
1. Leave a comment HERE with your name and blog.
2. Link to that post in your blog, announcing this contest.
3. Watch for Friday's announcement here to see if you're a winner.

Giveaway: OFFWORLD by Robin Parrish

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing
Offworld by Robin Parrish (Bethany House July 1, 2009)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:


Robin Parrish had two great ambitions in his life: to have a family, and to be a published novelist. In March of 2005, he proposed to his future wife the same week he signed his first book contract with Bethany House Publishers. They contracted him for the rights to not only that first book, Relentless -- but two sequels including Fearless and Merciless. A trilogy that unfolded in the consecutive summers of 2006, 2007, and 2008.

Robin Parrish is a journalist who's written about pop culture for more than a decade. Currently he serves as Senior Editor at XZOOSIA.com, a community portal that fuses social networking with magazine-style features about entertainment and culture. He and his wife, Karen and son live in North Carolina.



ABOUT THE BOOK

"Every Person on This Planet Has Disappeared."

Commander Christopher Burke and his crew are humanity's greatest explorers. They've finished their mission on the red dirt of Mars and now they just want to get back to Earth. To see friends, family, and loved ones. To be home. But even with communication to ground control cut and a perilous landing, nothing could prepare the crew for what they discover when they step foot back on planet Earth.

Everyone...everywhere...is gone.

It's not a dream. It's not a trick. Now Burke and his team have one mission:find out who or what is behind the disappearance of all mankind.

If you would like to read the first chapter of Offworld, go here.

I'll review Offworld tomorrow, but if you want to win a free copy of the book, go here!

Need Help With A Giveaway

You're Attention Please...

I have two copies of Robin Parrish's new book, Offworld - one to review and one to give away. It's a science fiction novel (Bethany House, 2009) that I've agreed to blog about, and so they sent me an extra copy. Maybe I have yours!

My dilemma is that I'm not sure what type of contest I should run in order to...

1. Generate more traffic! (yes, it's ultimately about that, lol)
2. Encourage readers to check out the book. (it's called marketing)
and 3. Mail this book to you.

Any ideas?

While you wait for inspiration...
+ Here's a review from The Christian Manifesto.
+ And an interview with Robin from Profess.
+ Oh, and here is my 1, 2, 3-part Q&A with the author about his novel Fearless.

Narrative Fiction - Day 1

Started a new class, Narrative Fiction.

First day we were assigned Joseph Conrad's novella Heart of Darkness. This was my first exposure to Conrad (author of Lord Jim, which we were supposed to have read in high school, but I doubt I did, lol).

The story takes the reader to "darkest Africa" (of the late 1800s) and exposes for examination the heart and soul of both Marlow, the story teller, and Kurtz, an ivory merchant. The novella is a commentary on the mercenary nature of colonialism and how society then (and today) is not that far removed from the "savage" ways of primeval man.

Here's what I mean regarding this mindset. Marlow states:

"They were conquerors, and for that you want only brute force - nothing to boast of, when you have it, since your strength is just an accident arising from the weakness of others. They grabbed what they could get for the sake of what was to be got. It was just robbery with violence, aggravated murder on a great scale, and men going at it blind - as is very proper for those who tackle darkness. The conquest of the earth, which mostly means the taking it away from those who have a different complexion or slightly flatter noses than ourselves, is not a pretty thing when you look into it too much. What redeems it is the idea only. An idea at the back of it; not a sentimental pretense but an idea; and an unselfish belief in the idea - something you can set up, and bow down before, and offer a sacrifice to...."

Kurtz embraced this idea fully, but in the end (after a detailed but sometimes plodding narrative - Conrad is a sloooow read, imo), looking into the abyss of death, could only cry out, "The horror! The horror!" Which gave rise to the equally famous line, "Mistah Kurtz - he dead" (used as an epigraph by T.S. Eliot in his poem, "The Hollow Men").

Another interesting tidbit is that this story gave inspiration to the film Apocalypse Now. At any rate, Heart of Darkness is a good, if somewhat laborious, read. Thumbs up if you find yourself with an open weekend.

The Black Tower by Louis Bayard

Finished The Black Tower by Louis Bayard, a historical mystery set in 1818 Paris and involving the lost Dauphin of France, Louis-Charles (who would have been Louis XVII if Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette hadn't lost their heads in the revolution). The novel also features the historical François Vidocq, a former criminal who became France's first Director of Security and one of the first detectives of the modern era.

The writing is good - 1st person present, which is difficult to pull off but Bayard does quite well with snappy (and often humorously vulgar) dialog, flashbacks, a diary, correspondence, and fast-paced narrative. Got a little long in the middle, as modern novels often do, but the denouement was satisfying. Bit of an anti-religious bias (Bayard writes for Salon after all), but again, it's something many modern novels stumble over. Too bad, decreases their shelf life.

New Book to Review - Transforming Realities

UPDATE Aug 10: Read my review here.

Just received my review copy of R.L. Copple's new book, Transforming Realities (cover art by E.J. Mickels). This novel is a followup to his collection of 5 short stories in novella form, Infinite Realities (published by Double-Edged Publishing).

I'll be commenting on it soon, but until then, check out this review:
+ Splashdown Reviews
+ Plus, here's my take of Infinite Realities at SFReader.com.

But wait, there's more...
Want a taste of R.L. Copple's style? Some of his short stories appear in the pages of ResAliens here:
+ The Battle (super flash fiction)
+ Space Talk (sci-fi flash fiction)
+ For nonfiction, read Copple's essay on Fantasy and Christianity.

BTW, R.L. Copple produces Ray Gun Radio, a podcast production of Ray Gun Revival.