The Oneprince

The Oneprince
by Bill Hand

ISBN-13: 9781448632145 (Trade Paperback)
564 Pages
Pub. Date: June 2009
Publisher: CreateSpace

With the advent of movie versions of The Lord of the Rings, The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, and the Harry Potter books, a new surge in fantasy epics is causing readers to flock to bookstores. But before the hubbub began in recent years, a little gem of a story remains quietly in the wings. That little pearl is a tale of a young boy who doesn’t want to be king, a talking rat and a villain with designs on more than a little piece of the kingdom. Bill Hand has penned into existence a story in the fine tradition of J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis. It is a tale that will cause the reader to laugh and cry as young Quad and Friend Rat venture out in search of the Oneprince, who is the only hope for the kingdom. Look beyond the tale to the Truth behind the legend.

Originally published in 1992 as the first of a two part series, The Oneprince, slowly began to gather a following. But alas the second book would not see the light of print. Through unfortunate circumstances, Thomas Nelson Publishers decided not to negotiate another book deal. As with any good book, success may not be measured in the surge of overnight glories, but in the slow building of readership that last years and years. Failing to find a suitable major publisher to take on the project again, Bill Hand decided to self-publish the complete series in one volume. With the release of the Xlibris edition in 1999 The Oneprince has continued to gather readers from around the planet. Now, with a new publishing format, the story continues to bring excitement to readers everywhere, even a little over a decade later after the first self-published effort. Though this is a little known book, it is well deserved the attention of any true fantasy reader / fan. If you love the richness of Tolkien and Lewis, you will fall in love with the world of The Oneprince. Remember Bill Hand, the future holds many more tales for Quad and Friend Rat.—Steven Fivecats, Editor

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Editor’s Note: We originally published this review back in early 2001 when we had another entity called: Alien Alerts. We’d had wondered if this book had gone out of print again as most of Xlibris’ early books had. It was a great discovery to find out that Bill Hand has brought this wonderful, and yes, classic work, back out for others to enjoy. Readers will not be disappointed in this one. It is truly a classic!!

The Bialien Trilogy

The Bialien Trilogy
by Vlane Carter

ISBN-13: 9780578044545 (Trade Paperback)
684 pages
Pub Date: July 2010
Publisher: VC Imagination Factory

It is 1996 and the US military is quite concerned in regards to a recent UFO sighting. Despite all the press of how the US military has officially retired Operation Blue Book and other such X-Files material and legends, they are in reality very much concerned about these extra terrestrial visitors. Major K. Robinson and his team have been suddenly called to upstate New York to find this mysterious UFO and in doing so, stumble upon 19 year old Jaden who has had contact. Now the chase begins.

Chased through cornfields in the middle of nowhere New York, Jaden suddenly finds himself dogged by military men and equipment that want to very much “catch” him. The mysterious UFO has its own designs on the current situation, teasing the military with its winking in and out of sight. Realizing that this hardcore military commander and his team will do everything in their power to stop Jaden, he enters the alien spaceship. It now become more than a close encounter of the third kind. Jaden’s life will never be the same. Thus the adventures to the stars begins.

Vlane Carter first novel is a huge “tome” of a book. There is lots of action and adventure as our main character, Jaden, meets a host of aliens from across the universe, engages in a host of battles as well as doing some “fun”stuff. There is a lot of “things” in this book to cause the reader to pause and ponder. For the adventurous reader who likes long novels make sure you put this close to the top of your Must Read list.—Steven Fivecats, Editor

Dauntless Homecoming

Dauntless Homecoming
by Peter Koziar

ISBN-13: 978-1453637951 (Trade Paperback)
ASIN: B003Z0D2L6 (Kindle Edition)
484 Pages
Pub Date: July 2010
Publisher: CreateSpace

For most people, going home is an experience wrapped in anticipation of seeing familiar things and places. The anticipation can be almost intoxicating. But for the crew of the interstellar ship, Dauntless, this homecoming isn’t by far what its crew expects.

The Dauntless has returned to Earth, but it is not the Earth that they left. They have returned hundreds of years into their future. The crew now must face a world totally alien compared to the world they left. This homecoming is just the initial step into a longer journey that will change the lives of each individual member of the Dauntless’ crew.

This new Earth had certainly changed. There is one supreme ruler, referred to as The King, who is accompanied by powerful creatures known as the Purnarkat. The crew of the Dauntless must come to grips as to how they will fit into this new society. Not only must they decide who to follow, but everything they have believed is challenged like it has never been challenged before. The ancient struggle of good verses evil still permeates life in this new future world. Will the crew of the Dauntless survive this homecoming?

Peter Koziar’s first novel is an interesting read for those who might be fans of CS Lewis’ Space Trilogy. As with any first novel, and one that is self-published, there are flaws in the narrative that might bog the reader down from time to time, but none the less, this is a fairly good first novel with an intriguing storyline.—Steven Fivecats, Editor