Straight Reading from the Library: Unseasonal War by David Englund

This review of Unseasonal War is provided by The Library as part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. David will be awarding a digital copy of Unseasonal War to a randomly drawn commenter at every stop during the tour, so be sure you leave a comment or ask David a question. You can see the other stops by clicking on the tour banner.

READ THE BLURB

Clark Jackson’s travels, for the first time, put him in touch with an intriguing species remarkably human-like. He becomes instantly fascinated with the Fronents and envious of their advanced technology. Striving to befriend them and learn more, his uncontrolled enthusiasm forsakes the use of appropriate caution and suspicion. Could their cold reception be a byproduct of their war with a vile species in this corner of the universe, or something else?

The magnificent splendor of an unexplored galaxy, new species to encounter and the adrenalin rush of space battle feed Clark’s awestruck hunger for exploration and adventure. Unfortunately, the more he learns the more he questions; including the wisdom of his entangled involvement in their war.

Meanwhile, back home in Des Moines, Iowa, Clark attempts to maintain an inconspicuous lifestyle to avoid attracting the attention of a certain relentless federal agency. His girlfriend’s own secret, however, could unravel it all.

**Even though the book is the second book in the series, it IS standalone.

READ THE REVIEW

Clark Jackson has discovered a portal to other worlds in his backyard in the first book of this series and has spent some time getting to know some of the worlds he's encountered while, at the same time, living his daily routine dull life as an accountant in Iowa.

This book is the second in the series and the reader is dropped right into the action. Although the author says it can be read as a standalone, I believe a reader would be much more comfortable with the work if she had more of the background and got to know them a little first.

The story is told in first person from Clark's point of view, and so we get to see and know what he does. There's no backstory to ease you into who these people are and there are times he's switching from place to place without any transition--which got a little confusing.

I did manage to figure out what was going on, although I never felt as connected to the characters as I could have--again, I think, due to the fact that I have not read the first book.

Even with that, though, I became interested enough in the action that I wanted to continue to read the book. I enjoyed learning about the two different races Clark encountered and the lessons he learned in that. The space battle scenes were full of action--and I could actually see this as a movie, filmed from the hero's POV.

There are some surprising developments that I did not see coming, and there's another book coming. I'm interested enough in the series, even with the difficulties caused by not having read the first book, to want to know what happens next. And, I will make sure I've read the first one before that time comes. 3 stars MEET THE AUTHOR

David Englund is a storyteller (science fiction author) and teaches economics at North Dakota State University. His first two titles, Upsetting the Tides and UNSEASONAL WAR are available on Amazon. Camouflaged Encounters is due out in late 2014 and the fourth and fifth books are in progress.

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