Heather’s Bookshelf: The Amazon Encounter
Author: John L. DeBoer & Jean Jacques
Released: 03/29/21
Genre: SciFi
“There was no sound, and David couldn’t identify any instrumentation. It appeared the space was completely empty, but then his gaze fell upon a black sphere suspended without visible support about four feet off the floor.”
“The Amazon Encounter” introduces David Levy, a plastic surgeon to the stars who is in the middle of an ugly divorce and seeking refuge with his cousin, Aaron, a pediatrician. David is suddenly swept away from his stay and finds himself in the middle of the Amazon instead.
Soon after arriving, David meets Pagura, an indigenous man concerned about the welfare of the children in his village who are very ill or dying. Pagura reveals that he accidentally brought David to the Amazon and he did so with the help of an alien ship. David asks for help which is provided in the form of supplies and clothes followed by his girlfriend, his cousin and his cousin’s son. Their short time in the amazon result in life changing circumstances for all those involved.
While David and his friends try to figure out their lives after the unprecedented trip to the Amazon, government agencies around the world rush to figure out and get ahold of the alien spacecraft.
Trigger Warning: adult language, violence, attempted rape
Overall, I enjoyed this story and found it different from many of the SciFi novels I have read this year. The pacing was different in that it started out full throttle with much of the action occurring in the first fifth of the tale, but it was carried through by interest in the characters and interactions with the aliens. I found David to be a well rounded protagonist and enjoyed the voices given to many of the other ancillary characters. However, I felt absolutely zero connection to Sandra, the main female character, and found the remaining women in the story to either be annoying or money hungry ex-wives. While I enjoyed the arc of the main protagonist, I thought the storylines of many of the other ancillary characters to be open ended and unfinished by the end of the story. The main storyline did feel complete, though, with a satisfying ending to match.
I received a copy of this story in exchange of a fair and honest review.
OVERALL REVIEW:
A scifi with different pacing and a well developed protagonist. Unfortunately felt a little open ended with some of the ancillary storylines/characters.
Want to learn more about the author?
Check out my interview with John L. DeBoer
Interested in submitting your book for review? Visit my review page for guidelines and submission requirements.
