The Homecoming by J. Scott Coatsworth #LGBT #Review

Sam reviews ‘The Homecoming’ by J. Scott Coatsworth. Published by Less Than Three Press, LLC on July 27th, 2015 and is 71 pages long.

This book was provided free of charge by the author for an honest review.

Why I Read This:  This weeks theme is ‘Pick For Me’ author week. The Homecoming by J. Scott Coatsworth is the book that was chosen for me by Eloreen. After reading the synopsis I realized this would be an original storyline but one I would most likely enjoy.  I love both the scifi genre and shape shifters.

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Synopsis:

When his own world is destroyed, Aldiss and his crew barely manage to escape, leaving friends and lovers behind. What was meant to be an exploratory trip back to the home world turns into a mad dash for survival.

When they awaken from stasis on Earth, which was abandoned by humanity five centuries before, they must quickly learn about their new home. While exploring the region around the ship, Aldiss meets Hari, a shape-changer, whose people harbor secrets that might cost the crew their lives.

*****

 

 

 

 

 

 

Aldiss is from Antana, a place far from earth. He is planning a mission back to Earth that his grandfather died trying to reach. Unfortunately, before Antana and his crew had it all planned out they have to escape at a moment’s notice. Antana ends up destroyed, leaving everyone dead but the four of them that made it to the Sapphire in time.

When Aldiss lands on Earth, what he expected and what is reality are two different things.  He only knows he will do anything in order to survive the unknown. This is where he sees a wolf, who not only can become a ‘two-legged’  but also saves Aldiss’s life more than once. There are many twists that come to life but one thing Aldiss and Hari can’t deny is the attraction they have to each other.

Homecoming is different than any book I have read before. I had a little trouble getting into it at first but It isn’t due to the author’s writing. I believe it has to do with how much info is given in a small amount of words. The characters and scenes were vividly detailed. I enjoyed how the author intertwined shifters with the science fiction genre.

If you like a short story with an original plot and world-building, then this story is highly recommended for you.

8/10 Pots of Gold

Amazon, B&N, ARe, Less Than Three Press

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Scott is the admin for the Queer Sci Fi site. He has been writing since elementary school, when he and won a University of Arizona writing contest in 4th grade for his first sci fi story (with illustrations!). He finished his first novel in his mid twenties, but after seeing it rejected by ten publishers, he gave up on writing for a while.

Over the ensuing years, he came back to it periodically, but it never stuck. Then one day, he was complaining to Mark, his husband, early last year about how he had been derailed yet again by the death of a family member, and Mark said to him “the only one stopping you from writing is you.”

Since then, Scott has gone back to writing in a big way, selling more than a dozen stories – some new, some that he had started years before. He’s embarking on two new sci fi trilogies, and also runs Queer Sci Fi, a group of readers and writers of gay sci fi, fantasy, paranormal and horror fiction.

Scott sold his first story, a magical realism short called “The Bear at the Bar”, to Dreamspinner for the “A Taste of Honey” anthology (Dreamspinner, Amazon), which came out in August 2014. He has since had a novella “Between the Lines” published by DSP, and has another coming out in June. “Flames” will be part of the marriage equality anthology “A More Perfect Union”, and is the story he is most proud of to date.

AUTHOR LINKS

Website & Blog: https://www.jscottcoatsworth.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jscottcoatsworth

Twitter: https://mobile.twitter.com/jscoatsworth

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