Customer Reviews

Imminent

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

When I first read the description, I wasn't sure whether to expect a serious sci fi story or something more farcical and irreverent like the Hitchhiker's guide to the Galaxy. Turns out that the book has a somewhat serious storyline with interesting concepts and sometimes hilarious, sometimes insightful social commentary. There are extremely funny parts, not over-the-top slapstick stuff, but just great situations and lines. At it's heart though, I think Imminent is less about sci-fi gadgetry or comedy and more about how the different human and alien characters react when thrown together in the context of these very odd circumstances.

Great characters and a very enjoyable read from cover to cover, highly recommended.