Author Interview – Wesley Britton

 

“The Blind Alien is a story with a highly original concept, fascinating characters, and not-too-subtle but truthful allegories.  Don’t let the sci-fi label or alternate Earth setting fool you–this is a compelling and contemporarily relevant story about race, sex, and social classes.”

–Raymond Benson, Former James Bond novelist and author of the Black Stiletto books

 

Hello everyone, I’m Wesley Britton, author of all sorts of things including the Beta-Earth Chronicles ebook series published by BearManor Media. Book One, The Blind Alien, came out in Sept 2015; book five, The Third Earth, was just published this Nov.

 

Book six, Return to Alpha, is presently in the hands of an editor but the most exciting news I’m announcing here is that, throughout 2017, the series is coming out as paperbacks! This is to meet the demands of readers who prefer their books in the old-fashioned way, and reader requests has much to do with everything I do!

 

The epic opens when Malcolm Renbourn, a young history teacher, walks into an ordinary bank on an ordinary day. Suddenly, he feels excruciating pain. Unexpectedly, he loses his sight and discovers he has been drawn against his will across the multi-verse to a slave-holding country on a parallel earth. He doesn’t understand a single word he hears, but he soon comprehends that he  is the focal point in the quest to end  a plague that kills three out of four male babies their first year on Beta-Earth.

 

Branded state property, he must escape, but where can a blind man in a strange world dominated by desperate scientists run? And on a world where polygamy is the norm, how can Malcolm Renbourn adapt into becoming the husband of five independent wives who never expected to be the mothers of a generation a planet hopes carry the genes that will change everything? And that’s just part of the story.

 

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So the original premise was exploring how an ordinary human can cope on an alien world after going blind—for which I draw from many of my own experiences.  Here’s what just a few reviewers had to say about the debut novel:

 

“An excellent work of new SF that hearkens back to the classics of Asimov and Heinlein. Told from the viewpoint of the different characters, it is a tale of a man from our earth (Alpha) being unwittingly transferred to a parallel earth (Beta) where he must learn to adapt to new cultures, attitudes, languages at the same time as coming to grips with the loss of his sight. Each of the characters are fully developed and well defined and being able to hear their thoughts about each encounter brings a richness to the narratives. Politics, religion, social mores and relationships are all examined from both without and within.”—Dave Massengale, Amazon review

 

“Spymaster and imaginative author, Dr. Wesley Britton has another big hit! His book takes the reader on a compelling journey of an Alpha earthling who has been spirited to planet Beta. Science-fiction, yes, but much more. The book explores science, medicine, commerce, education, spiritual life, family life and sex on an alternative planet which

at times is insightful and hilarious in its comparison to our own Earth. In an ingenious way, Dr. Britton has created a new grammar and vocabulary to continually intrigue the reader. A true winner!” –Bobbi Chertok, Amazon Reviewer

 

Find out more about The Beta-Earth Chronicles at:

http://drwesleybritton.com

 

And keep up with all sorts of entertainment insights and news at:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/295635.Wesley_Britton/blog

 

AudioBook Review – Arisen book 4-6

 

I have been flying through these and there’s no other explanation that I’m really enjoying them. I have been a little nervous as I saw that the last few books aren’t out as audio yet! What am I going to do, I hope they’re soon on their way.

Anyways, the reviews this time were pretty short and sweet, because I really am fascinated with this world.


“Enjoying these :)”

I must admit, I wasn’t sure if I should get all the books, but I did, (now up to book 7) and I’m enjoying them through the whole of the series.

I do think there were a few cringe-worthy mistakes here in regards to the character/story, but I also do think that the authors also gave some convincing reasons as to why those happened. I guess no one is totally infallible and that is what the Special Ops guys are supposed to be.

Still, very entertaining series, 🙂 Thanks for bringing this to my ears and keeping me from going insane at work haha.

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Exodus: Arisen, Book 5 | [Michael Stephen Fuchs, Glynn James]

“Awesome!”

I really hoped we’d follow Sarah and Homer to some extent through this last book and maybe even some of this, but we didn’t.

I did enjoy this a lot, the action was totally intense, will they, won’t they. Just brilliant and totally had me on the edge of my seat. However, that ending, so worth it. This was one of the more exciting parts to this series, at least so far for me. I’m wondering how on earth the authors manage to keep up this level of intensity, but they really do a great job.

RC is also one of the best narrators I’ve listened to, I love his Yorkshire and English accents, yeah maybe not quite what I’m used to as I live here, but they’re pretty realistic. 🙂

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“A little bit of calm”

To say that the last 5 books were just a zillion miles a minute would be putting it mildly, but after the huge battle to save the JFK this was a good time to take a breather, recoup, think things through. See what and how these guys and gals can move forwards.

This doesn’t mean that this part isn’t thrilling, there are some real scary situations for everyone, from the surviving tunnelers, and the ops mission to retrieve the BioForce. It can’t get any harder for these people, but it does, and it still manages to have us on the edge of our seats, everything is riding on these huge tasks to come together and all at the right time. It’s not going to be easy, there are some huge losses and it tests everyone to their utmost ‘give’ up level.

Excellent narration as ever, I am not gonna be happy when this series is over, I’ll have a major book hangover. Well an audiobook hangover….

AudioBook Review – Black Widows

This was a great short Ep and a good introduction to the world created by Michael. I am really interested in more of these, I looked on over to amazon and fingers crossed because there are more!

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Black Widows, Episode 1 | [Michael G. Thomas]

“Great Episode and I am looking for more.”

Overall
Performance
Story

I wasn’t totally sure when I came into this one, so many shorts are just that, part of a larger piece, and I guess this is just that. It shows in the setup and execution. But it’s not a bad thing. I think we get so used to having longer works that we forget the excitement of receiving something as part of a series… so kudos to both writer and narrator for taking this on. It’s well worth the listen and the time to start investing in both narrator and characters.

Story wise, I do think that the all-female cast is really good. It’s not over-done, it’s refreshing because they’re strong and they think. It’s not all about the action.

Of course, I had my fav, and Nancy did a fantastic job of distinguishing between them all even though it was a very short just under 2 hours long…. it was worth investing in and I’m looking forward to more, and will happily follow this new series 🙂 so thank you.

As the author of this review, I received a free copy of this audio, with no requirement to review or endorse. These are my honest thoughts on this story/narration.

AudioBook Review – Arisen Omnibus Edition

First Ever Zombie listen, and wow what a series – I’m now actually on book 7 at the moment, haha, in-between other reviews of course. 🙂

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“First Zombie listen!”

Overall
Performance
Story

I have to admit, I’m a sci fi girl, but I picked this up because I’d some credits to spare and liked that it’s 3 books in one. Bargain.

I liked the read up and being a Brit thought yey, someone who might actually get us a little. I did think that R.C struggled just a little in the first book with the brit accents, but by the time I’d got through to the third, I think he’d really settled into it and I began to enjoy the whole performance.

When the end of the world hits, there’s Britain and by sheer luck managed to batten down the hatches and stay alive….. that is until one of the zombies digs its way out the channel tunnel from France. (and what an ordeal for those still in the tunnel)

I have to say the characters also started out a bit flat. 2D kinda military people who just seemed to get on and do their job no matter what was thrown at them, but by the end of book 3 I’d started to really connect with them all. The military bravado is just that, a huge attempt to just get on with the really crap situations these guys just seemed to keep finding themselves in.

So, top and bottom of it. I enjoyed spending the 15 hours with these die hard characters, so much so I went and bought the rest of the series. And am already on book 5 🙂

Thanks to both narrator and writers, who together made a really good team, and I’m looing forward to seeing how this all plays out.