WWW Wednesday (108)

To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…

• What are you currently reading?

• What did you recently finish reading?

• What do you think you’ll read next?

          

01. Currently Reading:
Prophet Wacko by Thomas Leo. A humorous novel about an alien race infiltrating Earth to harvest melotonin.

02. Recently Finished:
Shoveling Snow by Brett Sills. Touching book revolving around three incredibly different characters and how they have the chance to help each other.

03. Reading Next:
Impervious by Heather Letto. After a world war, cities are plagued by illness, referred to as The Beast. But one rebel might have discovered a cure.

Prophet Wacko

Hilarious and flippant sci-fi, tempered by the solemn profundity of the human condition. It features extraterrestrials, bigfoots, and a handful of level-headed humans struggling to make sense of unprecedented circumstances on their home planet. An advanced species of aliens, Xenkonians, pretend to be God. Their purpose? To convince humanity to blissfully accept cranial tubing in order to harvest their melatonin, which just happens to have the same chemical properties as a powerful recreational narcotic, but with even better effect. It also enhances the telepathic ability of the few Xenkonians predisposed to telepathy, including an egomaniac military leader hell-bent on conquering the galaxy.

God is created by exploiting an ancient channeling species, the Hoo'qqai, who have a history of benevolently imitating God to influence and guide less-evolved species throughout the galaxy. The Xenkonians send an avatar in human form to earth, channeled by an elder and somewhat reluctant Hoo'qqai, whose initial mission is to unite humanity's religions, then create a new religious order controlled by the avatar.

But the mission gets sidetracked when the mind of an old Xenkonian mute monk, with a decidedly Zen disposition and a fondness for gambling, finds its way into the avatar's body. The avatar befriends a young atheistic hermit in the mountains of Oregon and the fun begins. Earth will never be the same.

*May Contain Spoilers*

Thomas Leo takes alien invasion to the next (humorous) level with his novel, Prophet Wacko. After aliens discover that the human supply of melatonin is a narcotic for various races, they intend to harvest it from humans by convincing the world that they are gods. 

Wacko is the main character, a human vehicle with two alien species sharing the controls. He's multilingual, very persuasive, honest, and certifiably insane. The story revolves around his mission to Earth so he can convince the world population to blissfully accept their harvesting. Readers won't exactly have an easy time connecting to Wacko, but they will enjoy his energetic attitude and friendly demeanor. 

Arabella, Elgin, and Jelpmittlebong are the three main supporting characters. Arabella is a student of folklore who meets Wacko and is told about the alien plans. She and Elgin team up to save the human population by telling the world what the aliens really want, but sadly not many people listen. Jelpmittlebong is a promising alien who takes the reins of the human controlling charter. He even throws a curve ball to let the humans have a chance at surviving. Readers will love Elgin's quirky banjo playing scientology, Arabella's pursuit of truth, and Jelpmittlebong's forced path. 

Prophet Wacko is a unique novel with bouts of humor. The hardest thing about it is the variety of names. It's difficult to keep the different alien species straight, along with the planets and galaxies. Once the plot picks up the pace, the focus becomes the main character list and in turn, the novel is much easier to understand. One other difficult thing to deal with is the language. It's quite colorful and incredibly blunt making this a novel for adults only. 

Rating: 3/5 Cups

Teaser Tuesday (121)

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers



Prophet Wacko (Kindle (42%)
 - Thomas Leo

Zawt, who by now had taken the time to look over the basic charter objectives stored in the vehicle's memory banks, had the avatar vehicle say, "This vehicle's here to unite the Human race through religious manipulation."

Shoveling Snow

Ben and Caroline barely recognize each other any more. Their once solid relationship now broken and beaten by unfathomable events, leaving only a shell of past promise. When pressure cracks the last vestiges of their bond, Ben hastily leaves their Southern California home, pointing the car east to what he hopes is the edge of the Earth. After driving until he can no further, he settles in the small, coastal town of Swintonport, Maine to lose himself in quiet and anonymity, renting the quaint guesthouse of Maggie and her ten-year-old daughter, Smoof. But when tragedy strikes his landlord’s family, Ben is confronted with a sobering truth reminiscent of the one he left behind.

*May Contain Spoilers*

Brett Sills shares a story of searching for a better place in his novel, Shoveling Snow. After receiving life changing news, Ben escapes California and doesn't stop driving until he hits the coast, searching for a better place in life. Smoof is a ten-year-old girl who has lived in Maine for less than a year. She and her mother left Boston after tragedy struck. Now she is searching for a way to make her mother better. Rose is a new teacher, who settled down in Maine after traveling the globe. She's searching for a better place to build to a relationship with the son she left behind. Life and luck have brought these three strangers together but it's up to them to use this happenstance as a guide to move forward. 

Ben was happy and hopeful. He was excited to see where life would take him. As a painter, he paid the bills and exercised his creativity. But after beginning a not-so-bad life with Caroline, things take a turn for the worse.  Now Ben is cynical. He's also rude, introverted, and completely lost. Readers learn right away that something pushed Ben to escape California. Something horrible. And throughout the novel, readers learn what happened to the love he once shared with Caroline through flashbacks. The first connection with Ben is through curiosity and wonder. As the plot continues and his secrets are revealed, empathy and understanding complete the connection. 

Smoof's mother is sick. Maggie spends most of her time in bed, leaving young Smoof to pay the bills and fend for herself. She has an atrocious attitude, is incredibly blunt while using inappropriate language, and secretly she just wants to be a little girl again. The sadness and unfairness of the situation create the initial bond between Smoof and readers. Her behavior is easily looked over as her world crumbles and she reaches out for any help she can get. 

Rose was young when she had her son, George. That doesn't excuse her leaving him and the father to travel the world. Now he lives a few towns away and she has a stack of letters that she has never mailed. Letters that explain, excuse, admit, and blame. But with her student Smoof, maybe Rose can make a difference. She has to try. Readers will first connect with Rose through her desire to help Smoof, but eventually sympathy and understanding will solidify the connection, even if readers don't agree with Rose's past choices. 

The plot of Shoveling Snow follows Ben across the country, from California to Swintonport, Maine. He moves into the guest house of Smoof and her mother. When Smoof gets into trouble, the school calls and they reach Ben. Thus, he is introduced to Rose. As each character battles their own demons, they find solace and understanding in each other. The entire novel is a heart wrenching story of loss, love, and wrong choices. Though the plot moves slowly, taking its time to reveal each detail, the intrigue lies in the mystery that is the past and the hope that could be the future. I liked that each of the characters were real. They had their flaws and Sills wasn't afraid to flaunt them. Though liking the actual characters took time, for one in particular it took the entire novel, Shoveling Snow breathes hope into finding a better place. Even if that place is the life left behind. 

Rating: 4/5 Cups