Human by Choice [Paperback]

Travis S Taylor (Author), Darrell Bain (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 15, 2009

Best-selling science fiction print author Travis S. "Doc Travis" Taylor and best-selling ebook author Darrell Bain have combined talents to produce a new science fiction thriller. Several alien lifeboats make it to earth in widely separated spots after their interstellar spaceship malfunctions. One of the aliens comes down near the home of Kyle Leverson, a former army intelligence officer and now a widowed science journalist. The aliens think they can never go home but they are able to convert their bodies into duplicates of human beings over a period of time. Kyle helps the alien during the process as it becomes a human female, yet retains its previous knowledge and abilities, including a powerful perceptive sense unlike anything known to humans. What Kyle doesn't realize is that the alien intends to become a human female in every aspect, with him as the teacher. How does one instruct an alien from a wildly different culture in every characteristic of human behavior, including sex? It's a chore far harder than Kyle Leverson ever imagined, especially since he and his alien guest have to contend with the other aliens, who are being instructed (or in a couple of cases, captured and abused) by different groups of people in several other nations. Their outlook on what it means to be human is different from Kyle's and the results will be evident when the aliens have to fight each other, even though they've never done such things before. Fortunately for Kyle, his alien is a fast learner. But it also becomes such a compatible and beautiful human female that he finds himself falling in love. A truly thoughtful and sophisticated science fiction novel, by Travis S. Taylor, the author of Warp Speed, The Quantum Connection and Von Neuman's War (in collaboration with John Ringo) and Darrell Bain, the multiple award-winning author of Alien Infection, Strange Valley, Savage Survival and The Melanin Apocalypse.

Product Details

• Paperback: 244 pages
• Publisher: Paladin Timeless Books (August 15, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1606190474
• ISBN-13: 978-1606190470
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #737,593 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars better if longer, October 6, 2009

By 

Philip D. Long (clay center, kansas USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Human by Choice (Paperback)

This is a sci-fi book that takes many chances and could have failed on many levels, but didn't.
The premise is that a retired army man has a lifeboat from a failed interstellor liner deposit an alien in his back yard. here it takes off into left field. The non humanoid alien evolves itself into a playboy playmate who then falls in love with the human. Unbelievable sounding but written in a believable manner.
The story then becomes an exciting chase to round up the other suvivors while fighting off Russian Mafia, Arab terrorists, rogue CIA agents with the help of the US government. The stolid aliens are from a ancient race who respond to human society like a starving hound to a bowl of alpo.
My only real complant is that it is about 50 pages too short. The final sections are rushed and would benifiet from expansion. Buy the book, don't let my inept review put you off from a good book. It is just very hard too catorgorize.

16 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not recommended, February 22, 2010

By 

Olin - See all my reviews

This review is from: Human by Choice (Paperback)

This was a disappointing book. Although the ideas were nothing novel, if done well it could a been a good read. Other reviews have outlined the story. Among my main problems was it seem like too much of a rush/causal writing job. Too much happened too quickly, especially at the end where it almost seemed like the writer was tired of the story (or had a deadline) and just STOPPED in the last few pages. Another hundred pages just fleshing out the characters and story would have been a major improvement. Among other problems: the lead character accepting the alien so quickly, an alien that just "happens" to change into a beautiful woman who can't wait to have sex the the hero (written for 14 year old boys?), evil government agencies, and just about no suspense as to where the story was going. I would only recommend this book if you have a plane ride and have nothing else to read. Otherwise there are hundreds of better books available.

10 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Aliens Among Us, February 14, 2010

By 

Arthur W. Jordin (Smyrna, GA USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Human by Choice (Paperback)

Human By Choice (2008) is a standalone SF novel. It is set in the near future after an alien starship capsizes in the vicinity of Earth.

In this novel, Kyle Leverson is a science writer living in Arkansas. He is a former warrant officer in Military Intelligence who had been retired for his combat wounds. He has lost his twin brother and his pregnant wife recently and is very depressed over these losses.

Jeri is an alien from the wrecked starship. She managed to get out of the ship in a lifepod, but it also sustained damage.

In this story, The lifepod fails just above the trees on Kyle's land. It knocks limbs off the trees and digs into the ground. Kyle hears the crash and goes out to investigate. As he watches, the lifepod starts to disintegrate.

Kyle finds an alien within the rapidly vanishing lifepod. He drags the alien out of the craft, but its legs also begin to disintegrate. Once it is free of the pod, Kyle carries the alien within the house.

Two cases follow the alien into the house. One opens and a tentacle protrudes. It starts dividing until the smallest limbs are too small to see. Two of the limb complexes cover the stumps on its legs.

As the missing pieces are regenerated, the alien scans the room and looks at Kyle. He speaks his name and hears the term "Cresperian" in return. Then they discover that he had spoken his name, but the alien had replied with the species name. Along the way, he discovers that she is female and he names her "Jeri".

Then Kyle introduces her to the internet. Since Jeri doesn't sleep, she reads books and accesses web sites whenever he is not available. She learns basic English within a day and becomes proficient within a week. Naturally, there are still holes in her knowledge, but she has eidetic memory and high intelligence, so she learns fast.

Jeri doesn't stay alien. She has a special perceptive sense that can manipulate things at the molecular and -- with additional effort -- the atomic level. She can use this sense to control her own body and turns it into that of a human woman. This takes several weeks, so she learns other things during that time, including karate and shooting.

Naturally they fall in love with each other and get married. They fool the local sheriff and even the FBI, so Kyle assumes that they can just settle into matrimony. Jeri learns a bit more about being human every day.

Then the outside world come looking for an alien. They usually ignore Jeri, who is obviously just a woman. So they are often quite surprised when she takes advantage of their ignorance.

This tale reinforces Kyle's thoughts about assumptions. The newcomers searching for Jeri are a surprise to him. He interrogates prisoners and finds that classified information about the aliens is being leaked by two Congressmen. Kyle starts calling in favors.

Kyle is mostly atheistic and Jeri's culture has proven that God is not possible. Then something like religious belief raises its head and they have to rethink this proof. This new belief system is much like that in The Science Behind the Secret.

This novel is just a little too pat. It rushes too much at the end. Maybe it should have been padded more to drag things out.

Just suspend your disbelief and read the book. Then consider the possibility of a sequel. Enjoy!

Highly recommended for Taylor & Bain fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of armed combat, alien psychology, and a bewitching young human by choice.

-Arthur W. Jordin