I met Anthony Vicino though his blog, One Lazy Robot. He writes perceptive and funny and helpful posts about the art of writing and also reviews of current movies and books in the sci-fi genre, most of them hysterical. I look forward to his posts and am frequently surprised by them.
He also writes sci fi books and I love this genre, especially when it offers great concepts and a little humor, along with serious pathos. This is Anthony’s novella, Parallel. It begins with two wonderful characters, the super intelligent Hari and Gerald, long-time friends who accidently tear a hole in time and place. Then he takes the reader to the world of the Lenoreans. Here aliens have advanced millennia beyond humans in technology and mental ability, but suffer the same problems of limited resources – in this case, an energy source that is needed to save their world.
When Hari and Gerald’s rift appears, Ryol is sent to investigate it on behalf of the Alliance to which her planet belongs. Ryol’s meeting with Hari and Gerald is comedic and wonderful. Unfortunately, she is followed to Earth by the insect- and war-like Gaesians, who want the energy source for themselves. The Gaesians plan to use it as leverage in their struggle with the Lenoreans, who want to evict them from the Alliance because of their belicosity. Their presence promises the destruction of Earth, and Ryol has to decide which word she will save – her own or ours.
I raced through this novella and was wanting more when it came to the end: more about Keepers and Healers and First Engineers, the alien society, their technology and their world alliance. A novella doesn’t give the author much time to develop his or her characters, but Mr. Vicino did a cracking job. He gave me a tantalizing taste of a future world, and I hope Parallel leads to a full length novel.
About the author: According to his biography on Amazon, Anthony writes Science Fiction and Fantasy in Oakland, CA where it never rains unless he has to ride his bike someplace. When he isn’t sitting in front of a computer screen contemplating the thousand different ways his character can escape the asylum with nothing but a fork, a shoelace, some chutzpah, and a lot of snark, he is no doubt out climbing a rock in the Sierra Mountains. If not there, you may find him in the ocean, pretending to surf.
You can find Parallel at
Anthony’s blog is:
http://onelazyrobotblog.com
Noelle, you like all genres! I’m afraid I find fantasy and science fiction tough to get through, although this novella sounds great 🙂
It’s a short read, goes quickly. You should give it a try.
Both, the novella and the author sound riotous! I’m taking note.
His posts are very enjoyable! He’s young and lively!
Fun review! I happen to like good sci fi…and fantasy. I’ll definitely go over and visit Anthony’s blog. Thanks!
I know you’ll like his posts – they are lively and irreverent.