Thursday, June 4, 2020

THE SECOND STAR by Alma Alexander Official Blog Tour, Guest Post, and Giveaway



Paperback: 432 pages
Publisher: Crossroad Press (July 1, 2020)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1951510399
ISBN-13: 978-1951510398


Praise for THE SECOND STAR

“Like its cast of returned starfarers, this rich and continually surprising novel is many things at once: a religiously-inflected first contact story; an engaging psychological mystery; a glimpse of the future through the eyes of the past; and a moving tale about the difficulties of homecoming. I highly recommend it. ” —Matt Ruff, author of Set This House in order

"The Second Star is a grandly deep wallow in multiple personality disorder material. Dr. Stella Froud is wonderful as she studies six star-faring humans who come home fractured." —Jennifer Stevenson, author of Walking on Sunshine

The Parada had been lost for almost two hundred years before they recovered the ship, drifting in stygian interstellar darkness, and brought her home again.

But that was not the miracle.

The miracle was that the crew was still alive.

That was also the problem.

Six crew members went out on the Parada, Earth’s first starship. All contact was lost, and the ship vanished for almost two centuries. When the Parada’s successor found the drifting ship and somehow managed to bring it home, the six crew members were not only still alive but barely older, due to the time dilation effects of near-FTL travel. Their return was a miracle – but it could not be revealed to the waiting world. The problem was, six individuals went out to the stars. More than seventy fractured personalities came back.

Psychologist Stella Froud and Jesuit Father Philip Carter were recruited as part of the team assembled to investigate the mystery, and to try and help the Parada’s crew understand their condition and possibly reverse it. What they discovered was a deepening mystery, and very soon they found themselves forced to take sides in a conflict that nobody could have possibly predicted. Their world would never be the same again.


You can purchase The Second Star at the following Retailers:

        



My Review

The Second Star is more than just a Sci-Fi read...Sure, I love this genre and a devoted fan. However, it also includes psychological thrill and mystery.

When the crew of the Parada was found after being lost is space for almost 200 years, so many questions troubled the crew that is handling the most important kept secret...How is this possible? How are they still alive? How has the six most famous space explorers' minds be so complicated? Complicated how you ask?  Each has multiple split personalities that includes different ages and genders each with unique mannerisms and voice.

This is where Dr. Stella Froud comes in. She is brought in, kind of against her will, since she is an expert in this area. However, as she talks with each personality, to get to know them, she understands that they will probably never be the same and will probably remain as prisoners for the rest of their lives.

This story is packed with sci-fi thrill and imagination. As I fell into this story, I couldn't turn the pages fast enough to find out what would happen next. It's full of mystery, twists, and has the perfect amount of magic for a great escape.  It was fun to discover the different and unique personalities right along with Stella.

You Will LOVE this story...adventure...and imagination!!!




Photo Content from Alma Alexander

Alma Alexander is an author whose books include the internationally acclaimed historical fantasy The Secrets of Jin-shei published in 13 language, and its follow-up, Embers of Heaven, set in a fantasy China.

VOYA suggested that her Worldweavers series (Gift of the Unmage, Spellspam, Cybermage, Dawn of Magic) might be just the thing "for readers suffering Harry Potter withdrawal."

Another series, The Were Chronicles (Random, Wolf, Shifter), which dramatically changes the Were world, is about to be republished,

Other fantasies include her haunting and newly republished Midnight at Spanish Gardens, as well as Changer of Days, Wings of Fire, Empress, and a humorous science fiction novel, AbductiCon. She has edited two anthologies, River and Children of a Different Sky.

More on all her books - and links for buying them - can be found under the pull-down menu BOOKS at the top of the page.

Alma Alexander was born on the banks of the Danube in a country that no longer exists, grew up in Africa, and is married to an American she met online. She lives with him and two cats in the cedar woods of the U,S. Pacific Northwest.

Ten Favorite Fantasy Worlds
1.       Middle Earth (by far the first on this list…)
2.      Camelot
3.      Guy Gavriel Kay’s alternate history world inhabited by many novels
4.      Guy Gavriel Kay’s Tigana
5.      Lyonesse (Jack Vance)
6.      Judith Tarr’s alternate history world (“The Dagger and the Cross”, “Alamut”, the Hound and the Falcon trilogy)
7.      Katherine Kurtz’s Deryni universe
8.      C J Cherryh’s Faded Sun universe (slight cheat – it’s science fiction, really, but…)
9.      Anne McCaffrey’s Pern (I have a fondness for dragons)
10.  Narnia (but I DO have some reservations there…)


      

JUNE 1st MONDAY JeanBookNerd INTERVIEW
JUNE 2nd TUESDAY BookHounds INTERVIEW
JUNE 3rd WEDNESDAY Ya It's Lit REVIEW
JUNE 4th THURSDAY Insane About Books REVIEW
JUNE 5th FRIDAY Movies, Shows, & Books TENS LIST
JUNE 6th SATURDAY Crossroad Reviews REVIEW
JUNE 6th SATURDAY Author Kelly Riser TENS LIST
JUNE 7th SUNDAY Casia's Corner REVIEW
JUNE 7th SUNDAY TTC Books and More GUEST POST


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