The Earthling’s Brother by Earik Beann
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
It all begins when an attractive naked man stumbles into the hotel where Maria works.
It’s very late at night, and with nothing better to do, she engages him in conversation.
Initially thinking he’s high as a kite, she sets him up with some clothes from the Lost and Found and a place to sleep it off. Her hope is that with time, whatever he has gotten into will wear off.
Unfortunately, when her shift ends, he’s still not making any sense. Maybe he needs food.
She takes him with her to a local diner for breakfast. Deeper into the conversation, she finally realizes this man, who she has christened, Sam, may not be of Earth.
After he heals a local homeless man who has been in a wheelchair for years, unable to walk, and gifted him a toilet made of solid gold, others around them begin to take notice.
It just so happens, Sam’s first miracle is performed directly in front of a police station. Not good.
Their first interactions with the police do not go well.
Maria, an immigrant, who it is clear they do not trust, is unable to get them to listen to her. Sam, well, he quickly gets branded a terrorist and all hell breaks loose.
Sam’s alien brother, Mustafa, who happens to look like a purple octopus, joins Maria and Sam as they flee from federal agents and try to save the world from The Authority, an alien power set on terraforming the planet.
If this plot sounds confusing, I assure you, while you reading it, it is not. It all makes total sense.
Just trying to summarize it is difficult, as it is such a wildly creative story.
My favorite aspect was Mustafa. He was so funny! I love him. Him and Sam definitely brought the humor to the narrative.
My only slight critique is that it felt like the ending was rushed. There was quite a bit of build up and the conclusion happened extremely quickly.
This being said, I did enjoy the content of the actual ending. It was cute, like having a little bow tie it all up.
Beann’s writing is compelling. I find his stories read really fast and they are full of action, humor and heart.
If you are looking for a quick, unique, standalone SciFi read, you should definitely give this book a shot. It’s quite enjoyable!
Thank you so much to the author, Earik Beann, for providing me with a copy of this to read and review.
I appreciate it very much!