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It Was All In Brawl
The Visitors follow two shapeshifting aliens observing Earth, who are horrified by what they see and travel back in time to try and intervene and save humanity. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
I wanted to write a story about my pet Dax. Aa the story evolved and I added Ptoni the Pteranodon my brain wandered off on a tangent and I decided to follow the anti-religion direction.
Your characters are diverse: two alien shapeshifters, a Maine Coon, an Adelie penguin, a cow, and even a Pteranodon, all working together. What was your approach to writing the interactions between characters?
It was an all in brawl. Each scene is written fly on the wall and the characters pretty much write themselves.
Is there any moral or idea that you hope readers take away from the story?
As Ptoni says in the closing chapters “Religion Your time is up.”
Will there be a follow-up novel to this story? If so, what aspects of the story will the next book cover?
Clearing my desk of two new books. (Adult Fiction – very adult concepts) and then I’ll enjoy the fun of ” The Visitors Book 2. It will take a critical look at religion, but it will be from a different angle.
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The Visitors
A few years from now, Earth faces total annihilation, unless two determined aliens can rewrite its fate. Bjorn and Zorn, shapeshifting observers of our troubled planet, are horrified by what they see. Determined to save humanity from itself, they leap back through time to intervene. Their unlikely allies? A ragtag band of cynical animals: Dax, a chicken-nugget-loving Maine Coon; Penelope, an irreverent Adélie penguin; Florence, a thoughtful cow; and Ptoni, a prehistoric Pteranodon with attitude. Saving the world is serious business, but with this crew, chaos comes laced with comedy.
The Visitors by Andrew Cahill-Lloyd targets a young adult audience, though its wit and inventiveness easily appeal to older readers as well. Fans of Artemis Fowl will recognize the quick pacing and mischievous tone, while admirers of Douglas Adams or Terry Pratchett will find familiar notes of absurdity and satire.
Cahill-Lloyd excels at weaving eccentric characters and outrageous scenarios into a cohesive, fast-moving narrative. Beneath the laughter, however, pulse weightier themes, homophobia, racism, and the perils of blind faith. These serious undertones are handled deftly, introduced with humor and humanity rather than heaviness.
Each brisk chapter feels like an episode from a gleefully bizarre television series. The jokes land fast, the dialogue crackles, and amid the hilarity, flashes of insight remind us what’s at stake. Bjorn and Zorn’s advanced technology allows for wild journeys through time and space, yet it also highlights a sobering truth: humans, given such power, might not use it for good.
For all its zany energy, The Visitors is more than intergalactic farce. It’s sharp, funny, and oddly poignant, a whirlwind of wit and wonder that never overstays its welcome. Cahill-Lloyd writes with the kind of gleeful abandon that invites readers to laugh, think, and maybe cringe a little at their own species.
Pages: 264 | ASIN : B0FS6Y7YDK
Cynical Political Players
The Visitors follows a man on the run at a settlement orbiting Mars who winds up involved with a mysterious box and an extraterrestrial. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
The original idea is from a dream. After I woke up, I jotted down notes and went from there. I’ve read too much Sci-Fi about fighting aliens. I wanted to get away from that.
I find the world you created in this novel brimming with possibilities. Where did the inspiration for the setting come from and how did it change as you were writing?
We’re now at the steep part of the exponential technology curve (assuming a valid single metric), and the only limit, outside of political/cultural reaction, is our imagination. I have to credit video games like Bioware’s Mass Effect series, Bethesda’s Fallout series, and Starfield. The idea of cooperative, if not always benign, aliens is very appealing.
As the writing progressed, I had excellent advice from my editor, Clete Smith, who kept me on track (I have a tendency to wander). He vetted story element plausibility, character relevance, and interaction. The idea of convergent evolution is handy for introducing aliens similar to us. While they are much more advanced in science and technology (they would have to be, to have gotten to Sol System), they too may still retain atavistic traits from their distant evolutionary past. The critical difference is they are no longer slaves to those traits.
For the foreseeable future, vast interstellar distances will restrict humanity to our solar system. In time, and with major breakthroughs in physics, this may change. At present, it seems at best a distant possibility. So here we are, colonizing the Sol system, for good or ill. After the moon comes Mars. And after that, who knows? But we’ll not likely go to Alpha Centauri any time soon.
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
Humanity has come a long way since the times of witch burnings and flat-earth nonsense. But we still have a long way to go. Cynical political players continue manipulating poorly educated people, convincing them that science is an evil plot or a hoax. Some believe we will never move past callousness and compulsive violence, but I can’t accept that. We are currently in an age where the mindless acquisition of money and power dominates the aspirations of too many people. It’s necessary to move beyond that.
Will there be a follow-up novel to this story? If so, what aspects of the story will the next book cover?
That depends on how much interest readers show in The Visitors. While I enjoy writing for its own sake, editing and publishing are expensive and time-consuming, and I don’t want to waste my time. Ideas for a sequel have occurred to me. One is having the main characters from The Visitors involved in recolonization efforts on Earth. That story would have less touchy-feely and a lot more action, but it’s not clear yet where it would go beyond that. I’ve read enjoyable books whose sequels flopped miserably, so I am hesitant.
Author Links: GoodReads | Amazon
The Visitors
Logan Rhodes arrives at Ellis Habitat, a human settlement orbiting Mars, intending to attend a meeting but quickly finds himself on the run from the Marsh Corporation. His desperate quest for refuge on the station leads him to a mysterious lab where he encounters Avala. Simultaneously, workers from the Alpha Zubrin Corporation, conducting a mining operation on an asteroid, discover a potential extraterrestrial intruder who leaves behind a puzzling hexagonal box. As Logan, Avala, and her sidekick, Rapunzel, join forces, their mission brings them into contact with both the enigmatic box and representatives from Alpha Zubrin Corporation. They soon realize that their meeting is no coincidence; they are destined to play a crucial role in the future of humanity and an extraterrestrial civilization.
Richard Ganns’ The Visitors is a captivating sci-fi novel set in the twenty-third century, where humanity has successfully colonized space and saved Earth from the brink of destruction. The novel grabs the reader’s attention from the outset with a crisp and engaging writing style that is both easy to read and highly entertaining. The infusion of humor and action-packed fight scenes enhances the overall experience. Ganns excels not only in plot development but also in crafting dynamic dialogue that reflects the distinct personalities of his characters. The dialogue is lively and engaging, far from a monotonous exposition.
A standout element of The Visitors is its underlying theme of hope and optimism. Ganns explores a future where humanity avoids catastrophic destruction, turning space into an endless source of adventure rather than an escape route. This optimistic perspective is refreshing and thought-provoking.
The potential for a sequel is palpable, leaving readers eagerly anticipating the next installment. The Visitors is thoroughly entertaining and keeps readers engaged throughout, with the intriguing interactions with aliens sparking curiosity and a desire for even more exploration in future books. Richard Ganns promises a few hours of riveting entertainment with a blend of excitement, humor, and a hopeful vision of the future.
Pages: 224 | ANIS : B0CMJQKC15
The Visitors
The Visitors by Andrew Cahill-Lloyd is the charming story of two aliens from the planet Aeon, Bjorn, and Zorn, who are tasked to observe Earth. The pair watches as the religious wars on the planet lead it to destroy itself. They are soon charged with the task of going back in time to try to save Earth from itself by revealing proof of alien existence to humans to prove there are bigger things out there. Teaming up with animals from around the world, they set their plan in motion to save man. Will their endeavors be fruitful in enlightening mankind, or have they caused bigger problems?
This was a sweet read that was out of this world. It was fun seeing the misadventures these aliens and animals get themselves into, and I feel kids would enjoy its wacky cast of characters. I love a good romp through time and space, and this filled that niche perfectly. This piece had good heartwarming messages I think a lot of people need to hear in this day and age. The humor in this book balanced out the heavier topics and made this an enjoyable rescue mission that didn’t take itself too seriously. I mean, who doesn’t love a well-placed fart joke when you’re trying to save the world.
I did feel the flow of the book needed some work. I felt it was too fast-paced, and you really didn’t have time to marinate on each revelation before you raced off to the next one. I wished the descriptions had been fleshed out a little bit more in some areas; I couldn’t get a good image in my head at times. The character’s personalities, however, shone through and kept me smiling and laughing.
The Visitors is a gripping children’s science fiction novel filled with aliens and animals. I highly recommend this book if you love a good adventure through time and space. Its fun characters, heartwarming messages, and humor make this an entertaining story.
Pages: 206 | ISBN : 1398490334
LITERARY TITAN 