Imminent [Paperback]

Michael Kirchhoff (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 6, 2006

The aliens have arrived, and they’ve already been taken to our leaders. The spiritual, pacifist alien race called the Imminent and the reptilian, warlike Zeastians seek to do battle with each other on Earth. To save their home planet from the destruction associated with war, they’ve cut a deal with the United States government to wage their confrontation in the Alaskan wilderness. But these aliens have brought two battles to Earth—one of flesh and one of words—and their true intentions are shrouded in secrecy.

The Imminent and the Zeastians hope to fight without interference, but their fate is unwittingly altered by three humans: Benjamin, a lonely soul who is waiting for life to either get interesting or just end; Armin, a hippie ex-priest whose exotic new girlfriend is significantly scalier than he’s used to; and Sheila, a grieving grandmother whose efforts to understand the circumstances of her granddaughter’s bizarre death could uncover the machinations of an otherworldly political conspiracy.

This inevitable clash of cultures could result in nothing less than the redefinition of existence itself. Hilarious and horrifying, Imminent is a story of murder, philosophy, friendship, and strange dietary preferences.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Michael Kirchhoff has been a professional writer for ten years and lives in Orange County, California. He is busy writing his next novel, a “pre-pre-prequel” to Imminent.

You can find his blog and more information about current and future projects at:
www.imminentfiction.com
or
www.michaelkirchhoff.com

Product Details

• Paperback: 324 pages
• Publisher: iUniverse, Inc. (December 6, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0595411045
• ISBN-13: 978-0595411047
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,596,744 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars A stylistic dark and funny tale about mankind's first contact with aliens, October 1, 2007

By 

Obadiah Crowley (Seattle) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Imminent (Paperback)

There are some strange goings-on on planet earth in this novel but it oddly never seems out of the ordinary when juxtaposed with the common strife of the earthlings and aliens that make their way through this well-prepared tale that marches around the US and a small chunk of Canada. Kirchhoff's style is mostly a swanky mixture of darkness, cool, and stick-in-your-eye fun. But he also strongly touches on lost love which brings out some emotional writing. This can best be demonstrated by acknowledging the name of the 2nd of 3 parts in the novel... A Constantly Prevented Dying. It had a few really cool sci-fi concepts. The 3rd part of the novel gets the appropriate calling card, Dizh--which is a great innovation on teleportation. It also has a nice level of violent action where you can read some audacious descriptions of alien combat. In fact, Kirchhoff takes his poetic license to the extreme at times, best summed up in the word zeastiality. A great first novel.

5.0 out of 5 stars a quirky book, May 1, 2007

By 

Reader Views "Reviews, by readers, for readers" (Austin, Texas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Imminent (Paperback)

Reviewed by Deb Shunamon for Reader Views (4/07)

I had to like this story - my namesake, the street I live on, the cities where my relatives live, and my country are all favorably mentioned. Should you not have the same intimate connections, I can still guarantee that you will find this quirky book to be among the best written, enjoyable, science fiction novels that you have ever read.

The experiences of ordinary humans encountering aliens are presented through incredible characterizations and a great story. Creatures and their traits, situations and the responses to them, are so well-written that there is a tendency for the reader to get too relaxed and neglect the seriousness of having extra-terrestrials nonchalantly staging a battle on Earth. There is a lot of delightful tongue-in-cheek writing resulting in plenty of chuckles, that run alongside a nagging, uneasy feeling which persists until the very not-so-alien, yet alien, end. Why was this book written? Is it an eloquent commentary on humanity? Is it only about small and large scale (as in galactic) individualism vs. conformity, as represented by the Zeastians and Imminents? Or is this simply a marvelous tale about an aging, lonely recluse nurturing misdirected love; a passionate man attempting to define religion; a grieving grandmother with a lot of time on her hands; and huge lizards grumbling about having to assemble Swedish furniture? There is plenty to ponder over.

This is a wonderful book, and I'd love to discuss it with someone. It wasn't a novel that I read quickly to find out what was going to happen next, but where I took frequent stops to ask why I was enjoying myself so much, yet still felt my skin crawling. With its amusing alien words, understandable technology, brilliant characterizations, and great writing, Michael Kirchhoff's "Imminent: A Novel" is an incredibly, intriguing novel.

Received book free of charge.

4.0 out of 5 stars "They're HEERRE!", March 1, 2007

By 

D. Burcal - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Imminent (Paperback)

Sci-fi aficionados are in for a treat with this book. While the basic plot of Imminent has been done before, Kirchoff dresses the story in vivid new clothes, with colorful characters, masterful dialog, and more twists than a plate of linguini. The book is a genuine pleasure to read, and would have rated five stars had it been better edited. (Michael, fire your editor!) Kirchoff is a masterful writer and I look forward to his next book, even though (full disclosure) I'm not a sci-fi aficionado. He's that good.