Lightning Days (Paperback)

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Editorial Reviews

Review

Award-Winning Finalist in the Fantasy/Science Fiction category of the Best Books 2006 National Book Awards -- USABookNews

Product Description

There's a mystery in the caves of Afghanistan...

British Special Agent Josh Cassidy knows there is no such thing as a routine mission when he is sent to accompany an ill-prepared band of reservists on a hastily prepared mission into the heart of Afghanistan. The mysterious heat source that showed up on the military satellites could be just about anything, but nobody is prepared to find a group of refugees from an alternate universe: a group of intelligent, NEANDERTHAL refugees.

Sophia and her people have shifted universes for years, trying to keep ahead of the vicious race of Sauroids that is intent on exterminating the Thals. Now the long-running battle has come to our universe, and Josh Cassidy is the only man who stands between the Sauroids and the total annihilation of everyone on the planet Earth.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 332 pages
• Publisher: Swimming Kangaroo Books (July 25, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1934041106
• ISBN-13: 978-1934041109
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,367,859 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Lightning Days, July 18, 2007

By	Tami Brady "Whole Health Therapist" (Calgary, Canada) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Archaeologists have told us that Neanderthals have been extinct for thirty thousand years. It is also believed that Neanderthals were quite primitive and never really developed any cities or advanced technology. But everything we ever thought about Neanderthals was completely wrong.

A group of British soldiers (mostly weekenders) is sent on a mission into the Afghan desert. The men have absolutely no idea what they are supposed to be looking for but soon find themselves in a life or death situation that will determine the fate of the earth. It would seem that Neanderthals had been surviving through "shifting". Certain members of the Thals had the unique ability to transport themselves into alternate earth realities and live peacefully with the indigenous life forms. This process worked fine until the Thals met a civilization called the Sauroids who decided that shifting was disrespectful to their God. The Sauroids decided that the only course of action was to get rid of all of the alternate earths (including our Earth) except their own.

I thoroughly enjoyed Lightening Days. So much speculation has been made about Neanderthals that it is nice to see a book that uses that potential and lack of solid data to create a great science fiction novel. I also thought that the type of technology used by the Thals fit well into the story making it more believable while creatively providing background information on the Thals' history.

5.0 out of 5 stars Lightning strikes, March 5, 2007

By	Richard Jones "people pay me to write" (Charlotte) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

More than thirty thousand years ago, mankind was not alone on the planet Earth. No, it's not science fiction, but reality. Homo sapiens shared the planet with Homo neanderthalis, otherwise known as Neanderthals. Short and stocky, with a pronounced ridge of bone over they eyes and with receding chins, Neanderthals have captured the imagination of people ever since this subset of the human family was discovered. For at least sixty thousand years, Neanderthals competed with Homo sapiens -- us -- for food and living space. It was a competition the Neanderthals didn't win. Eventually, they went extinct.

Or, as we find out in Colin Harvey's fantastic novel, Lightning Days, they might just have left. In the mountains of Afghanistan, British -- sort of -- spy Josh Cassidy leads untrained soldiers into a warren of tunnels searching for the unknown. They found it in the form of hundreds of modern day Neanderthals (Thals) on the run from the gestalt-mind Sauroid race, which is out to extinguish every timeline but their own.

Harvey does a fantastic job of weaving together disparate threads as our world comes under attack from both the Sauroids and the very laws of physics themselves. This is a book that I could not put down. I had to know what happened next.

4.0 out of 5 stars Captures you, February 9, 2007

By	Reader Views "www.readerviews.com" (Austin, Texas) - See all my reviews

Reviewed by Nicole LeBoeuf for Reader Views (1/07)

Colin Harvey has reportedly been writing since the young age of nine. His experience shows in "Lightning Days," as it was a finalist in the Fantasy and Science Fiction category of the Best Books in 2006 National Book Awards.

In the novel, Colin Harvey brings his imaginative ideas into the light of the "multiverse." Although I don't usually read science fiction, and I began with the mind of a skeptic, I became entranced by Harvey's out-of-this world ideas. British Special Agent Josh Cassidy, leading his mix of British and American troops along with a gathering of Neanderthals from another world, fights alien invaders to save Earth.

Once you learn the characters of the book and get accustomed to the ever-changing setting, it is easy to fall into the complex world of Josh Cassidy. It begins with a journey into the heart of Afghanistan to investigate a mysterious heat source where he and his force find intelligent refugee Neanderthals hiding in the caves. They have shifted from other universes with the hope of escaping the race of amphibian Sauroids. The lizard-like beings have pursued them through many worlds trying to exterminate their race. Agent Cassidy and his crew are taken in by a Neanderthal named Sophia and it is from her that they learn about their plight. Cassidy, along with the recent American arrivals, decide to join the crusade to save the lives of the Thals and everyone on Earth.

"Lightning Days" is an action-packed science fiction novel that draws you in slowly and then captures you in one quick rush, holding you there until the dramatic conclusion. I would recommend it to any fan of science fiction, but it should not be limited to those who enjoy such a genre. Harvey's imaginative ideas would be fascinating to anyone with an open mind and time to spend reading an enthralling book.