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Alien Whispers

Alien Whispers: Conflict and Communion is the long-awaited third installment in the Milijun series by science fiction writer Clayton Graham. It is a century after the events that shook Laura and her son Jason´s world, when aliens appearing out of the blue and abducted them with mysterious intentions.

Laura returns to planet Earth to figure out what happened to her long-lost husband. Backed by her son Jason, now the leader of a longstanding alien organization, she soon realizes that things are not as they once were.

Earth has been taken over by a tyrannical regime—the oppressive Tellurians—with a power-hungry leader seeking world dominion. Humans and their alien allies find themselves oppressed by the current regime with no access to weapons, and their communications closely monitored. In addition, something strange is stirring on the moon where another alien group is actively preparing to take advantage of Earth’s precarious situation. Laura finds herself facing not only the Tellurian Empire but also the aliens preying on humankind from the shadows. Will she overcome these dangerous enemies, or will she succumb to whatever fate they have prepared for Earth and the universe?

Author Clayton Graham’s worldbuilding is absolutely incredible. Set 250 years in the future, the author had to imagine a world with futuristic problems and what it took to get to that point. Surprisingly enough, while intergalactic and alien elements are integrated into our future, many of our present-day issues are still on these characters´ minds. In terms of the writing, this is a steady, fast-paced novel: one event is followed after the other without dwelling on a single situation. This by no means signifies that it’s sloppily written; on the contrary, the author leaves no stone unturned and is incredibly detailed in his descriptions.

The plot is thoroughly engaging, and while it is the third installment in the series, it is a standalone novel, which means that you can read it easily enough without having read the previous books. I would, however, recommend looking through the rest of the series to get a better view of the characters´ growth and history. I highly recommend this book for its great world and storyboarding.

Alien Whispers: Conflict and Communion (Milijun Book 3) is perfect for anyone looking for a thrilling read, but especially for die-hard sci-fi fans who will undoubtedly thoroughly enjoy this hidden gem.

Pages: 466 | ASIN : B0BBLGWS1S

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Looking for Life: A Collection of Science Fiction Short Stories

Looking for Life: A Collection of Science Fiction short stories by [Clayton Graham]

Looking for Life by Clayton Graham is an enthralling collection of science fiction short stories. They’re fast-paced adventurous intergalactic romps that are by turn, nail-biting and hilarious. Without giving too much away, my favorites definitely included the title tale and somewhat doom-filled (in the best way!) “Looking for Life” and the oddly philosophical “The Comedian” Nearly all of the seventeen stories have a twist at the end that was either thought-provoking or made me laugh.

Clayton Graham has a wonderful way of storytelling: he’s not a wax-lyrical author. He writes in a manner that is concise and gripping without giving too much away. And even though there is very little slow-burn element to the stories, he manages to structure the dialogue and action in such a way that it’s hard to put down any of the stories. The characters are limited by their own flaws and very realistic- making them oddly endearing. Surprisingly enough, even the plots are realistic- which is a commendable feat for any science fiction story. I suppose this is a combination of the author’s prowess and the way the stories depict alien life rooted in the same everyday realities as human life.

There’s definitely an element of dark humor throughout, lending to a somewhat philosophical theme to all the stories. I felt pleasantly detached and chin-scratchy after finishing the stories. There’s basically every conceivable sci-fi plot from deep space conspiracies to Artificial Intelligence to alien invasions- all of them unique and immersive.

It’s often the case with short stories that some of them are duds. Surprisingly enough, I didn’t find myself feeling like any of the seventeen didn’t belong or were disappointing. Some of them I definitely enjoyed more than others, but they’re all individual gems.

I’d recommend this to not only science-fiction fans, but also anyone who enjoys a solid action-adventure romp. It’s a fun ride that kept me entertained without asking too much of my time and keeping all of my attention.

Pages: 202 | ASIN: B08DLK6PMS

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