In Name of Alt, Kevin A Kierstead had brought us a story of an alien, one of the Douze, a crotchety 172-year-old named Altinison Borahamen. Because it is not really a true representation of his name, he has kindly agreed to let us call him Alt, must easier on our tongue. Accompanied by his companion Khan, a very sarcastic but intelligent alien, Alt is ready to show himself. Khan is different from himself, and yet even with his technology, his family cannot tell what or who Khan is. Not able to get home Alt needs some liquids and metals from earth to repair his craft so he can be on his way.
However knowing the human race is very warlike about things they do not understand, he has come up with a plan, a journal of sorts explaining everything thing he knows about his own race as well as those that have lived and visited the planet over the millennia.
Believing that introducing himself in this fashion will make actual contact easier, Alt has had to take a consensus of the other aliens to get approval of this plan. In Alt Kevin has created a real character, with sarcasm and humor. His friend Khan is the perfect foil to their odd relationship, and the interplay is often quite hilarious. Kierstead has used this mode of information to interject and explain sightings from around the world of different aliens. Through it all Alt has information and reasoning for everything. He has taken bits and pieces of alleged sighting in Europe as well and tied them all together with the help of Alt and Khan.
It is often a fun and fascinating look at the UFO sightings of history, and many of the sightings that have gone by the wayside. Through it all Kevin A Kierstead keeps up the pace and reminders of the different ages gone by.
This is a wonderful story, but I had difficulty getting through it. The paragraphs are long and it often reads a little more like a history text, sometimes just a bit dry. I also like to think I have a great vocabulary but found myself stopping to look up words. At first, I thought they were made up and just another part of the story, but surprisingly enough there was meaning. Periodically there were formulas for speed, and parenthathese were used frequently. I found them to be distracting.
These things created distraction for me and made the book much longer to read. However if you are a science fiction buff, and possibly an Art Bell fan, this will be the book for you. It has something for everyone. The beginning and ending were both fast paced and fun, but it bogged down a bit, for me in the middle. Kiersteads descriptions of his aliens are thoughtful and interesting, easy to visualize.
Rating 3/4
This book was received as a free download from the author. All opinions are my own based off my reading and understanding of the informations.
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