Book Reviews

Book Blurb

Grant Byers was barely surviving. He volunteered to leave Earth so that the government would take care of his family. His parents were religious fanatics, and Grant didn’t want to live a lonely existence to please them. Now that he’s free to be himself, Grant is ready to find a mate.

 

The Sweshian race is dying, and they need humans to procreate. Each human brought to Sweshan is given to a male for one week. If, after that week, the human doesn’t have a positive pregnancy test, he is given to another male.

 

Ael is the deputy commissioner of Sweshan. After losing four potential mates, Ael took his name off the list. One day, without warning, a human is delivered to Ael’s home. He tries to keep Grant at a distance, but he soon realizes that it’s impossible to ignore the young human. Grant is beautiful, smart, and funny, and he’s not afraid to try new things. When Grant is injured, Ael quickly realizes how much he cares for the human—but is it too late? 

 

 

Book Review

In the year 2327, Earth has survived a devastating global war but only barely. Humans now need help if they are ever going to rebuild and have to accept pretty much any aliens and their conditions that come along. Risky, but I guess stupidity leading to almost-extinction has its price. This is the third story in the series and the first set on a water planet called Sweshan. The Sweshians are in mortal peril as well – in their case they have polluted the planet to the point where reproduction is no longer possible, except with genetically altered human men. The rules are very strict to the point of being cruel and both main characters struggle with the consequences.

Grant may have volunteered to be “exported” to an alien plant so that his family has a chance to survive, but he had not quite counted on having only a week to get pregnant. And with a prospective mate who is nice but clearly reluctant to even talk to Grant, his chances of finding a home are very low.

Ael has already lost four potential mates, each one’s loss hurting more than the last, and he is so devastated that he’d rather not even try with his father’s newest attempt to make him bond. He likes Grant, loves his curiosity, and can see them becoming friends. Anything more and Ael is sure he will be emotionally destroyed.

The setting is exotic with amazing descriptions of the underwater world, and Grant and Ael’s very short courtship is fun. Ael doesn’t see it as anything other than being polite, at first. But Grant is so enthusiastic that it becomes more and more difficult for Ael to ignore him. Interesting alien plants and a massive boost of pheromones at a sports event play a significant role in what happens. The suspense as to whether Grant is pregnant or not lasts almost until the end, and these guys are so good together that I was cheering them along all the way.

If you like exploring new worlds in your science fiction, if the idea of a human and an alien finding out how well suited they are to share their lives, and if you’re looking for an entertaining, imaginative read, then you will probably like this novella.

 

 

 

 

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Additional Information

Format	ebook
Length	Novella, 125 pages/34497 words
Heat Level
Publication Date	28-December-2016
Price	$4.99 ebook
Buy Link	http://www.bookstrand.com/book/planet-sweshan