A young man awakens from a long hibernation sleep on-board an eerie and crew-less space shuttle with no memory of who he is or how he ended up on board the 'lost in space' vessel.
When a young woman awakens from hibernation shortly after him and curiously has no previous memories about her past either, the man is forced to solve the mystery of the shuttle, who they both really are and what became of the other crew members who haunt him frequently with ghostly and chilling visions.
The man must also come to terms with his own lonely fate, his possible limited existence and a dangerous physical urge towards his fellow amnesiac female companion.
*May Contain Spoilers*
Seanpaul Thomas takes readers on a journey through space and the unknown with his novel, Alone. I've never read a novel like this before and I really enjoyed it! It was a mix of mystery and science fiction with a twist of murder...
The main character, David, is a very likeable amnesiac who is suffered to solve the mystery surrounding him. Thomas writes David as a dependable companion and readers will discover this when the ship reveals a young woman on board. Readers will have an easy time of connecting with David right from the beginning. Thomas uses reader sympathy to gain trust, though there is a wrench that may quickly break that bond for some readers.
The young woman, Anna, on the other hand, is not a character readers will easily connect to. Thomas again uses the Pathos approach to emotionally tie readers to Anna. However, I found her rather weak and unhelpful throughout the whole mysterious situation. A strong female character would have made the novel's cast more well-rounded.
The plot was well thought out by Thomas. I enjoyed the random twists that he used throughout the novel, landmines waiting for the characters to misstep. These plot twists changed the shuttle's playing field and affected everything and everyone. Even the readers. It was refreshing to be surprised at every chapter, especially the end. Oh, the irony.
I think most science fiction readers will thoroughly enjoy this novel. Thomas uses various writing techniques to gain the trust of the reader before completely surprising them and that makes for a great book.
Rating: 3/5 cups
