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Book Review: The Band From Another World (Alien Survival Guide #3) by Kevin Garone

cover art for The Band from Another World by Kevin Garone

The Band From Another World (Alien Survival Guide #3), by Kevin Garone

Temor Press, 2026 (pre-order out September 8)

ISBN: 9798991328470

Available: Hardcover, paperback, ebook edition

Buy: Amazon.com | Bookshop.org

 

 

The teenaged scallywags of Kevin Garone’s Alien Survival Guide series return for their third (and unfortunately, final) adventure, and like the last two, this doesn’t disappoint. This series should not be missed by young readers (and young-at-heart adults), and it deserves recognition in its genre for how good it is.

 

The team of Marv, Jace, Kenji, Nora, and their new member, Liv (code name: Alien Lover) manage to get into trouble in the first few pages while investigating an abandoned cabin in the woods. There they find instruments that somehow enable them to play better than the band Dream Theatre, which leads to possession and a homing signal, which leads to a school battle of the bands… and in the end, finally resolves whether Marv’s unshaking belief in alien invaders was justified, or a delusional waste of time.

 

As with the previous volumes, these work so well because, as much as they are adventure stories for young readers, Garone manages to throw in some pretty heartfelt material from time to time that adult readers are sure to appreciate. The conversation between Marv and Liv later in the book is a prime example. It’s about finding your big interest when young, and how kids just want something that makes them stand out and be unique from the other kids, even if it is something silly, such as preparing for alien invasions. The conversation is a good example of using simple, straightforward writing to convey some pretty heady ideas. Young readers will relate, and it will certainly make adult readers think back. Didn’t we all have something we wanted to be our own thing, that no one else had?

 

Although there is some touching material, at heart this is a thrill ride of aliens vs. humans, and the author keeps the story moving at a quick pace, right up to the final page of the story, as mankind will finally be saved, or ended. It’s worth noting that the author has always shown an ability to introduce new characters as good as the originals in each book, which helps keep the story from getting predictable, and this is no exception. In the last book it was Kenji, the flame-wielding maniac; this time it’s alien-obsessed Liz, an utterly charming character. Where Marv’s take on potential aliens resembles the mentality of Independence Day or Mars Attacks, Liv is from the Close Encounters of the Third Kind school of thought, that aliens must be benevolent. Her character is an excellent contrast to Marv, and together they learn something important: you can be friends, even if some of your ideas are diametrically opposed, a lesson adults in this day would do well to remember.

 

Bottom line is, this series is a fantastic trilogy of YA fiction, and the final volume proves to be a fitting capstone to the series. Keep an eye out for what the author writes next, he’s very good and worth noticing. Definitely recommended!

 

 

Reviewed by Murray Samuelson

 

 

Posted on August 18, 2026 by , Reply

Book Review: The Empire of the Moon and Stars and Other Stories by Simon Bleaken

cover art for Empire of the Moon and Stars and Other Stories by Simon Bleaken

The Empire of the Moon and Stars and Other Stories by Simon Bleaken
Independently published, 2025
ISBN 979-8343998535
Available: Paperback, Kindle edition
Buy:  Bookshop.org | Amazon.com

 

The Empire of the Moon and Stars is an interesting mix between horror and science fiction, independently published by a writer who is definitely worth watching – and reading.

 

The title story “The Empire of the Moon” is a fine example of what I mentioned above, namely an extremely disquieting mix of horror and science fiction. Another standout is “Anarred Asylum”, a very dark story where madness and supernatural merge. Admittedly, suspension of disbelief is hard to maintain throughout the whole tale: however, it remains a powerful journey into horror. “Ocean Song” is yet another strong, quite horrific piece, revolving around the invasion of deadly parasites coming from the sea.

 

I won’t even try to describe what happens in “A World Behind Glass”. It will suffice to say that it has all the features of a nightmare, where anything bad can happen and no explanations are required.

 

“Final Words” is an atmospheric piece, revisiting the secrets surrounding the elusive Robert Chambers book, The King in Yellow, while “The Breath of the God” is a claustrophobic example of “archaeological” horror.

 

The final section of the volume, called “Echoes of the Future”, is extremely oriented toward science fiction. Readers looking for an author who can write both horror and science fiction will want to check this collection of stories out.

 

 

Reviewed by Mario Guslandi

Posted on December 17, 2025 by , Reply

Book Review: Lichtenberg by Tom O’Connell

cover art for Lichtenberg by Tom O'Connell

Lichtenberg by Tom O’Connell

Temple Dark Books, 2025

ISBN: 9781068250736

Available: Hardcover, Kindle edition

Buy: Amazon.com  | Temple Dark Books

 

Lichtenberg is a grim, bleak dystopian tale that keeps the reader interested throughout, because it always maintains a flicker of hope throughout the novel.  For the readers out there that enjoyed books like Cormac McCarthy’s The Road, this should be a perfect read.   The book is written in the present tense from the perspective of Riven, a soldier in the Corps, the group tasked with protecting the City of Raidon from the Ramasites. Raidon is one of the remaining bastions of civilization, and all inhabitants have one fear: that the Ramasites, humans trying to survive outside the city, will one day band together and destroy it.  No matter that none of the city’s inhabitants remember the time before whatever calamity happened, it’s just what they have been told, and it’s what the historical archives tell them.

 

The job of the Corps, a loosely disciplined army of troops that love violence, is simple: patrol the countryside, and kill anyone they find.  Men, women, children– all are a threat, and must be eliminated.   The plot centers on Riven, and the doubts he starts having with the validity of the mission of the Corps, which of course is its only reason for existence.  The narrative is really more about Riven and how he sees things.  That’s why the first-person present tense (a style I normally loathe) actually works for this book.  It lets the reader get into Riven’s head in an immersive and immediate way. A significant amount of the writing concerns Riven’s thoughts and feelings regarding the Corps and what they do.  It’s a fairly in-depth character study, and it is well done.  The story doesn’t provide any information from before Riven’s time, or after it, since he is the focal point of the story.  This is one of the few times I have read a book written in this style that actually works, since too many books written in the present tense come off like bad movie scripts.

 

This is not just a detailed psychological novel: there are plenty of things happening in the story, more than enough to keep the pages flipping.  The interactions between the Corps and Ramasites provide a good deal of the action, as well as some of the basis for Riven’s discontent.  There are violent gun battles that show the inhumanity of the Corps members, and some of the training that takes place inside the walls of Raidon helps explain how the soldiers became what they are.  When you are raised on violence, you are likely to do the same to others, as they demonstrate on the Ramasites.  It all builds to a very satisfying conclusion that hits with a bang, and Riven’s fate is quite dramatic: it would look incredible on the silver screen.  The only thing I didn’t understand was the brief epilogue chapter, The way the book ended before that was perfect as it was: open ended, but with hope for the future.   In closing, definitely a good one, and worth checking out. Recommended.

 

 

Reviewed by Murray Samuelson

Posted on December 5, 2025 by , Reply
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