Customer Reviews

Constellation Chronicles: The Lost Civilization of Aries

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Vincent Lowry has created a science fiction book that held my attention from the very start. This is a book for everyone whether they are Sci-Fi lovers or not. The main character is a young boy named Glenn. His passion is trying to figure out if there is life on other planets. Due to the dog eating the dinner he was to fix for his sister and himself he decides to take his sister out to dinner. Something goes flying past their truck and crashes. They turn around to check it out. Imagine his surprise to discover it is a spacecraft. He and his sister venture inside. When they leave a small creature follows them out and stowsaway in his truck. After creating a mess in the kitchen they capture it just as their father returns. When Glenn tries to return the creature to its spacecraft he runs into not only the military, but an alien race that needs his help.

I truly enjoyed this imaginative story. We meet the main character, a shy, awkward teenager named Glenn, while he's giving a talk in school about his favorite subject, the possibility of life on other planets. He gets hassled by a bully and doesn't get to finish his talk. And the day just gets worse: he's late picking up his little sister from school, and when they get home, he finds that the dog ate their dinner. Glenn can't catch a break.

So, despite the ominous storm approaching, he and his sister head to the grocery store. On their way, a huge fiery object shoots by overhead, only thirty feet above their truck. When it crashes nearby, he goes to investigate and finds the unimaginable.

A spacecraft from another planet!

As the fast-paced plot twists and turns, Glenn meets the last few members of a doomed race from another galaxy, joins the battle against an evil space fleet..., and learns his true destiny.

Constellation Chronicles is a fun, exciting and imaginative adventure story. It held my attention to the end and left me wanting more. It is a very creative story with wonderful links to Native Americans, celestial beings, astronomy and of course imaginative fight scenes. I would recommend the book to anyone who likes adventures.

Lowry did a wonderful job with his characters and I especially like the juustovmos mammal named Paako (wonder where I can find one). I will be looking for his next sequel.

Glen Sawyer, fascinated with astronomy and science, is picked on by boys in his high school science class as a nerd, has girlfriend troubles and also carries around emotional baggage concerning the death of his mother and distancing by his father...plus, Glen has to take care of his little sister. In Glen's circle of friends, family and acquaintances, he would not be viewed as anybody's hero. That is, not until a select group of 'visitors' are convinced he is their only hope of survival. Now, they have to convince Glen.

I enjoyed getting to know all the characters in Mr. Lowry's story...human or otherwise. Lowry imaginatively adorns his characters and creatures with emotional and psychological layers allowing the reader to see them as believable and care about their fates.

Normally, I do not read much science-fiction but found this book a fun, quick read. Once started, I wanted to finish it as soon as I could to see how Glen's story would resolve itself. It is also a coming of age story of a young man finally realizing the guilt he feels over his mother's death is unjustifiable. Glen can then move forward and discover his own life has meaning and importance in the greater circle of all those around him. He learns to accept what is past and move on to a brighter future with love and self-assurance.

I recommend "Constellation Chronicles: The Lost Civilization of Aries" to anyone whether they are a science fiction reader or not and look forward to Vincent Lowry's next book in the "Constellation Chronicles" series.

In his first published novel Vince Lowry has shown the ability to hook his reader's interest and keep a high level of excitement and suspense. A very creative sci-fi story with inmaginative characters and a unique plot, it is an easy and enjoyable read. Whether you are a sci-fi fan or not, the story is good and entertaining. The hero is a real and believable young man caught in an unbelievable adventure. The reader will find hinself caught in the adventure also. Lowry has left open the possibility for sequels which is good because I want to know what may happen next. It is a short book,198 pages, and provides a couple of evenings pleasant entertainment. I recommend it to anyone who likes a good story with adventure and suspense.

John Taylor

Nashville TN

Constellation Chronicles: The Lost Civilization of Aries

You know, when I first saw this title I was curious. I checked with my library and unfortunately they didn't have a copy. That was about a year ago.

So recently I was going through my TBR list and realized I still wanted to read this - the reviews were solid, the premise interesting. I've always been a sci-fi/fantasy geek but real sci-fi is getting harder and harder to find. So I splurged and I purchased the e-book and just last night decided to start reading the story.

Almost immediately my concerns about it being a small-name title by an author I'd never heard of vanished. I was sucked into a story about 18 year old Glenn, a boy with girl problems of his own (although very seriously downplayed which was refreshing) and a family with issues of its own.

Then the book took an interesting twist with the arrival of a UFO and what is, quite possibly, the cutest little alien life-form I've ever read about. Sweet, adorable Paako.

Seriously, Paako and her popcorn-eating ways had me eating out of the palm of her hand. The rest of the story was interesting too and I can see my nephew LOVING this book as he approaches the teenage years. Spaceships, alien lifeforms, a prophecy, wars, exploring planets in our solar system (with some really fascinating, educational tidbits thrown in for good measure). This was a teenage boys dream-come-true type of story.

From what I understand there's eleven more books that are due to come out and all I can think is.. okay I waited this long to pick this one up, please don't make me wait another few years! Vincent Lowry has gained a new fan in me.

I am not and never have been a sci-fi fan, but I loved Constellation Chronicles, and I especially loved the furry little Paako. There is plenty of action, plenty of drama, and plenty of conflict. I liked the philosophical ending and felt everything was as it should be. All in all, a good read, and I'm looking forward to the next in the series!

The plotline of creatures from another star system arriving in ours and the result being a war has been used many times, sometimes very poorly and other times quite well. In this case, the last remaining ship of the civilization of a star in the constellation Aries crashes near the town of Rigel, New Mexico. Glenn Sawyer is an eighteen-year-old that has a deep love of space but lately nothing else been going well for him. His presentation on the other planets in the solar system and the possibility of life on them was interrupted and he was embarrassed. Furthermore, he recently went through a disastrous experience with his girlfriend and his dog ate the meat that he and his sister Crissy were going to have for supper.

From this extreme low, Glenn can only go up, but he has no idea how far he is going to go. He takes his sister with him when he goes to the crash site and while they are exploring the interior of the ship they discover a monkey-like creature called Paako. Paako is very intelligent and changes colors according to mood and when Glenn and Crissy leave, Paako secretly follows them home where (s)he makes a mess in the garbage.

When Glenn returns Paako to the ship, he is taken on a dramatic adventure, the creatures from Aries are called the Povars and they were all but wiped out by the Satas. There are many different civilizations in interstellar space and they are all searching for "the Nova", a device so desirable that it is worth waging a war of extermination over but there is no significant explanation of what it is. Thinking that the Povars had "the Nova", the Satas launched a surprise attack against the Povars and continue to search for the last Povar ship.

When the Satas arrive in the vicinity of Earth and demand "the Nova" be turned over to them, Glenn is made ready, pressed into service as a soldier on the Povar side and there is a climactic space battle. There are some major devices of high technology thrown in, for example the Povars posses a device that will stop time for everyone outside the local field around the device. There is no explanation offered for any of the space devices, including the star drive, weapons and teleportation devices.

Given that the plot line is so well worn, the level of interest generated is based on the quality of the writing. In this case it is good, I was willing to accept the lack of any attempt to give a scientific explanation for the level of the technology. What I found disturbing was the vague reference to an ancient human seer called Ramesh that lived in ancient Mesopotamia. It is stated that this is the first book of a series so the purpose of Ramesh may yet be explained. However, in this book alone, Ramesh and the vague references to his mystic power seemed to fill no sensible or critical role.

The book is imaginative and well written. It is a very enjoyable read. I recommend it for everyone not just the science fiction fan.