Title: Red Dot

Author: Eugene Linn

Genre: Science Fiction

Publication Date: October 29, 2015

Summary

(from Goodreads)

An extraterrestrial craft will enter Earth’s orbit on October 16, 2022—forty-four days from now. The question is: will there be any humans left when the aliens arrive?

NASA scientist Claire Montague is a single mother in her thirties who’s leading a special team near Washington, DC, assigned to handle the approaching spaceship and report their findings to President Al Douthart.

News of the impending ET encounter spreads after a tumultuous National Security Council meeting, causing social, economic, and political upheaval around the world. Just as governments are beginning to calm the chaos of their countries, thousands of unexplained red dots appear on the ground all over the globe.

As the countdown continues, Claire and her colleagues struggle to make sense of the mysterious dots and determine what the extraterrestrials’ plan is once they arrive on Earth. But as the questions go unanswered and global tensions erupt into violence, President Douthart wonders who will be more harmful in the end—humans or aliens?

Red Dot is a thought-provoking sci-fi thriller complete with a remarkable cast of characters and an intriguing portrayal of alien life. Expect the unexpected and you’ll still be surprised.

 

My Review

I received a free ecopy of this book for an honest review.

Red Dot is not only good science fiction, but it really makes you think. What if we knew that an alien ship was headed for Earth? How would everyone around the world react? Unfortunately, Eugene Linn is probably spot on. Of course, there would be reactions from one extreme to the other, as he portrays in this story. There is no way that anyone knows whether the aliens are on a peaceful mission or intend us harm. It doesn’t matter that they say they mean us no harm.

There were a lot of characters in this book and, although they weren’t as developed as they could have been, I got a good sense of the varying reactions that would occur to the knowledge of aliens on their way. 

I really liked the reason for the red dots as well as the ending. I won’t say any more than that because I don’t want to give anything away. I definitely recommend Red Dot and I hope to see more from this author.

Available on Amazon.

 

About the Author

Eugene Linn graduated from Washburn University in Topeka, Kansas, with a bachelor’s degree in English literature, before he joined the US Army. 

After studying Chinese Mandarin at the Defense Language Institute, Linn went on to serve as a Chinese language voice intercept operator. Upon leaving the armed forces, he attended the University of Kansas, where he earned a bachelor’s in journalism and a master’s in East Asian studies, with a focus on Chinese language and politics. 

Linn went on to become a freelance reporter, working out of Hong Kong for UPI, Business China, Asian Business, and numerous others. Some of his specific writing assignments have included an annual report on China’s government social insurance system for Watson Wyatt Worldwide consulting and special contributor articles on China stocks for equities.com. 

Linn now lives with his wife in the Philippines, writing novels and editing academic papers.