An ancient threat returns to conquer humanity. They ruled the planet once and they will do it again. Humans can’t fight this war—not without help.
For years, Dr. Ethan Fawkes has been communicating with a mysterious scientist using an encoded signal, and together, they designed the first spaceship meant for war. But when the government orders Ethan to dismantle it, his collaborator reveals a … collaborator reveals a terrible secret. An army of powerful aliens is about to invade Earth, and humans must rush to prepare a defense or risk losing their freedom forever.
Collaboration with an unlikely ally is humanity’s only chance at survival.
Fiona has no memories of her origins, but somehow, she shares half her DNA with the invaders. For this, she lives a life of scorn and shame amongst humans. When the enemy arrives to enslave her village, will she help the humans who hate her or join the aliens who welcome her? The key to victory lies in the depths of her obscure past. Can she remember her true heritage before it’s too late?
The Lost Signal is the first book in the Slaves of Zisaida trilogy: a riveting Science Fantasy saga about our galaxy’s war for survival against an intergalactic threat. If you’re a fan of Stargate, The Atlantis Gene, and Battlestar Galactica, get on this thrill ride. Come for the Space Force, stay for the aliens.
Content Warning:
Suicide, graphic violence, torture and deaths.
more
I received a free ARC from the Discovery platform in exchange for review consideration.
Characterization varies a lot in this book. Some characters are fleshed-out and interesting while some are walking stereotypes, some are idiots but intended to be smart while others are assholes but intended to be heroic. Special mention goes to the Okinawa Six – who believe Bill almost immediately and want to get ready for a war against aliens without a shred of proof that he’s telling the truth – and to Ralph – a condescending, selfish jerk who turns on Fiona repeatedly and treats her like crap. These are the kind of characters that make me want to side with the villains.
There are two timelines and the existence of one gives away the end of the other right from the start. The first timeline focuses on an alien establishing contact with US soldiers to convince them that his own species, the Uruklu, is about to invade and that they need the help of the rest of the world. This is not a smart plan as America is the world’s bad guy after committing genocide and nearly wiping out Japan. I know this can sound weird, but there are other countries besides the US as well as other space agencies.In the other timeline, the human village where Fiona lives is attacked by the aliens, who enslave the humans. Fiona gets the privilege of living with the aliens, which allows her to gather information on them. Despite her efforts to help the humans escape, they routinely mistrust and mistreat her for being part alien. That leads to terrible decisions on both parts that don’t end in disaster because someone always conveniently changes their mind at the last second.The two timelines are connected. I’m not sure if it’s supposed to be a twist because it’s so obvious.
The world-building is weak and unoriginal. The Uruklu enslaved the humans at the orders of the Creators (another alien species), so they can obtain zisaida, a very valuable element that’s apparently the seed of life, but it’s never explained how it’s used. They use human slave labor to extract it from mines because a species that mastered intergalactic travel somehow doesn’t have robots capable of doing that. It’s inefficient and they only make it worse by constantly killing and beating slaves. It’s like they don’t want to be productive.The Creators have thin bodies, elongated heads, grey skin, and deep black eyes, so, you know, the grey alien cliché. Both Uruklu and humans were created by them from an ape-like ancestor, but Uruklus aren’t even mammals. However, they’re very human-like and the females have the “general shape of a woman”, which makes no sense in not-mammals. The Uruklu all look pretty much the same: grey skin, grey eyes, and black not-hair. It’s not like humans (as well as other species) have an infinite variety of looks. Despite taking an entire planet, the Uruklu have one single language and culture. There’s science fail, history fail, and linguistics fail (you expect me to believe people a thousand years apart speak the same English?). It’s careless and half-assed, and it’s an insult to the readers.
The Lost Signal is bland and not particulièrement entertaining. The few compelling characters don’t make up for the rest of the cast, the basic plot, or the world that didn’t get two minutes of thought.
In this sci-fi thriller, we see two different plotlines converge. The first is that of a group of military personnel who are trying to prepare Earth for an oncoming alien invasion. The other point of view is that of a little girl who is half human and half alien. When the aliens finally do invade, she finds herself at a crossroads of which side to defend.
This was a good, suspenseful book. Plenty of action and suspense to keep me sucked in. Characterization was done pretty well, especially with Fiona. The worldbuilding was also done particularly well.
Narration was okay for the most part though there were some background noises and other audio issues.
This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review.
This book captured me immediately and kept me reading with a compelling story and wonderful characters. I have been a fan of this author and now even more so! I love this so much I purchased (pre-ordered) the second book already. Can not wait for it to come out.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I really enjoyed this book. It’s a very easy read, and before you know it you’ll be on the last page and eagerly wanting the next book. When I first began the book, I wondered how the two storylines would converge. Indeed, they did so in a very clever manner, I had no idea where this was all going and that is so unlike me.
The undercurrents between the characters are very well done e.g. the tension between Fiona (a human/alien hybrid) and Kurugar (an Urukulu leader) burns through the page. However, theirs is a very odd relationship as he calls her hybrid and puts her down. There’s more to this than meets the eye. There’s always violence involved with Kurugar, particularly when Fiona’s so-called ‘brother’ has anything to do with it, as Kurugar sees how much she’s in love with her brother. (It’s not incest by the way, nor is there any physical or sexual contact. The story will make sense when you read it, as Fiona has no memory of where she came from.)
It’s well-written, well thought-out, very entertaining, and you’ll zoom through the pages easily. I would like to know more about the backstory of the Okinawa Six, but I’m sure the author has that in hand. I can’t wait to see where this series leads. I look forward to reading a lot more from this author in the future.
I chose this book from a larger selection, which I then voluntarily read and honestly reviewed. All opinions are my own.