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Sue Ann Bowling

Homecoming Paperback – March 22, 2010

by Sue Ann Bowling (Author)

15 ratings

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During the last Interglacial more than 125,000 years ago, humans hybridized with the R'il'nai and spread across the galaxy to colonize other planets. Although they formed a Confederation, they still depended on the R'il'nai for guidance and protection-not only from the Maungs but from each other.

But only one of the pureblood R'il'nai still lives-Lai, an embittered survivor who mourns his lost human love but is still bound to honor his race's responsibility to the Confederation. Two others possess the potential to change his and the Confederation's future: Snowy, a slave dancer who is frightened of his special powers, and Marna, a healer who survived a planet-wide epidemic on her home world.

All have their own individual loyalties which put them in conflict with one another, but the only way they can summon a future to benefit all is to work together.

Print length

324 pages
Language

English
Publisher

iUniverse
Publication date

March 22, 2010
Dimensions

6 x 0.73 x 9 inches
ISBN-10

1450213154
ISBN-13

978-1450213158
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Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

During the last Interglacial, more than 125,000 years ago, humans hybridized with the R'il'nai and spread across the galaxy to colonize other planets. Although they formed The Confederation, they still depended on the R'il'nai for guidance and protection--not only from the Maungs but from each other.

But only one of the pureblood R'il'nai still lives--Lai, an embittered survivor who mourns his lost human love but still feels bound to honor his race's responsibility to the Confederation. Two others possess the potential to change his and the Confederation's future--Snowy, a young slave dancer who is frightened of his odd powers, and Marna, a healer who survived a planet-wide epidemic on her home world.

All have their own individual loyalties which put them in conflict with one another, but the only way they can reach a future which will benefit all is to work together.

About the Author

Sue Ann Bowling earned a bachelor s degree in physics at Radcliffe/Harvard and a Ph.D. in geophysics from the University of Alaska. After thirty years of teaching, she retired to focus on writing. Bowling has lived in Alaska for forty-five years. Visit her Web site on canine color genetics at http: //bowlingsite.mcf.com/Genetics/Genetics.html."

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ iUniverse (March 22, 2010)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 324 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1450213154
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1450213158
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 15.3 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 0.73 x 9 inches

Customer Reviews:
15 ratings

About the author

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Sue Ann Bowling

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I've spent most of my life as a university professor, with degrees in physics (Harvard), geophysics and atmospheric science (University of Alaska Fairbanks.) I've been writing non-fiction for years, not only professional papers, but a good deal of popular science as well. I wrote the Alaska Science Forum for a while--a column distributed to newspapers, radio stations and magazines throughout Alaska and now available on the Web. (Google it.) I also set up a website on genetics. (http://bowlingsite.mcf.com/Genetics/Genetics.html)

When I retired I began writing fiction, mostly science fiction. I've always been interested in how planets work and how societies work with them, and I've had fun designing planets and their societies. I have to admit I've ignored some physics--plotting becomes just about impossible without simultaneity, which relativity says does not exist on an interstellar scale. So I've set up a universe in which telepathy and teleportation are instantaneous, though they do have to follow the laws of conservation of energy and momentum. Makes for some interesting consequences.

For the back story on the universe I've invented, have a look at my author website--www.sueannbowling.com. Note that Homecoming, although my first published book, is only the first of five I've written. The sequel, Tourist Trap, is set on a planet terraformed from earth during the Pleistocene. Wouldn't you like to be an ecotourist among mammoths, saber-tooth cats and longhorned bison? But it might not be as much fun if your older brother were trying to kill you!

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Desmond Shepherd

Good universe, So-So Story

Reviewed in the United States on February 6, 2011

Verified Purchase

Homecoming follows the story of several characters of different origins. Some of these characters are slaves, some prominent leaders. The book follows the stories of these characters, the choices they make, and the fears they face. All of this takes place many thousands of years after our current time, when an alien race, the R'il'nians, the R'il'noids, and Humans coexist. Intelligent life has spread throughout the galaxy, spanning many planets. The fate of the Confederation, a coalition of many of the planets, is uncertain, as it needs a proper heir for leadership. The current heir is corrupt, unloving, and unkind, and Lai, the father of this heir comes to understand this and the need for a better solution. The R'il'nians and the R'il'noids also have a few special powers that I won't spoil here, but they add a good element to the story.

The Good: One thing about the universe of Homecoming that I really enjoyed was the universe. The author thought it out well and made it very real. The R'il'nians were an alien race who were overcome by a plague called Kharfun. This almost completely obliterated the race. Through crossbreeding with humans, they were able to sustain their race. However, the relationships formed with the two races also led to the acceptance by many of slavery. As I read the book and understood the well-realized universe envisioned by the author, I was impressed. This aspect of the book is what captured my interest the most.

The Bad: The author clearly defines the characters within the book. There is no doubt as to their personality traits, as described by the narrative. So what makes this bad? Despite the good descriptions of the characters, the dialogue between them lacked the same differentiating impact. When every character speaks, I couldn't help but feel like they all spoke in the same manner. Yes, they are different characters, but the demeanor and personality shown in the dialogue made it feel like everyone was the same. If not for the narrative explaining the characters so well, I would have had a very hard time reading this book, because everyone would have seemed like the same person.

The Ugly: All fictional books need a good story. While Homecoming's story has a lot of potential, it fails to deliver. The whole time I read the book, I kept trying to figure out its focus. What was the story the author was trying to tell? Throughout the book, the focus seems to shift. And just when I felt that I understood where it was going, the focus changes. I didn't even understand who the main character in the story was until the very end. And even then, the ending leaves nothing conclusive to help you feel as if this was where everything was leading. It's unfortunate, because with such a well-realized universe, the potential for a very interesting story is there. Instead, a bunch of things happen, and you walk away from the book not completely sure why they mattered.

Overall, I did like reading the book and understanding the universe. Was it a page-turner? No. Was I motivated to finish the book? Yes. But not for the reason I should have been motivated. My interest in the story didn't move me to complete it, but rather my wanting to move on to a new story did.

Reviewed in the United States on September 17, 2011

Verified Purchase

This is one of the best books I've read all year. I'm a little surprised at that, because it's not perfect. A tad too much "telling," especially in descriptions of the world. Character voices that sometimes are too forced or long-winded. The odd moment of confusion at the beginning, when trying to figure out what the world is like and who the people are.

Yet when I reached the last page of "Homecoming," I closed my Kindle with that undeniable sense of satisfaction I only feel when a story has brought me into into its world and made me a part of it. I love when that happens, and it's a rare thing.

Sue Ann Bowling has created a rich, complex world, with a species so long-lived, they are nearly immortal compared with humans. Yet a disease has brought them almost to extinction, and it is only by interbreeding with humans they've been able to survive. Their longevity, esper powers, and compassion make them ideal leaders, and these traits are passed on, in varying amounts, to their cross-bred children. But the world is far from perfect, with some of those children completely lacking in empathy, and with human economies based on slavery.

It's an ugly combination that works well for overall tension, and sets up the initial conflict for the book's protagonist - a young slave named Snowy, who later goes by the name, Roi. Roi's story is a common theme of pauper to prince, but he is so real a character, that I was eagerly turning pages (electronically speaking).

For me, characters make the book, and in this story, there are many great ones. There are so many I like - Roi, his father Lai, his uncle Derick, cousin Coryn, are all real enough to feel like family.

Make no mistake - this story is epic, with many characters and subplots. Get into it for the long haul. There's a second book - "Tourist Trap" - and I'm buying it right away. I can imagine spending many books worth of time in the setting of this world.

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Tee Kay

Fascinating Science Fiction...

Reviewed in the United States on September 20, 2013

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This is a story of a young slave boy, Roi, who might be much more than he'd been taught in his young life. Told sometimes through his eyes, and sometimes through the eyes of of other characters, we slowly begin to understand humanity's struggle in the future, and the struggle of another race of people from beyond Earth--and how their challenges are intertwined.

I was fascinated by the DNA, the biology, and the genetics in the story. The culture--a merging of two very different types of "people", was symbiotic in nature, utilizing each other to survive, and contributing something necessary to the survival of one another.

The story moved at a good pace while covering a lot of ground. Bowling's prose works, with enough description to prove she's a thorough world-builder, but enough telling to not bog down the story with unnecessary detail.

Roi was a likeable character, and through him, we get a glimpse of how a child will adapt his behavior in order to survive in a potentially risky environment.

There are love stories but they aren't central to the book; it never gets mired down in any kind of romance.

Bowling explored the nature of humans, and she very creatively projected the possible variations in nature of beings bred between humans and a nearly immortal race.

She deftly set up the series with Homecoming. I'll read more of this series.

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Top reviews from other countries

eppingstrider

Homecoming is a superb story, a brilliant book

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 18, 2015

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This is an epic tale of space-going aliens who may or may not live compatibly with other space-going aliens, including Humans. R’Ilnians have telepathic, telekinetic, and many other mind-power abilities, some of which are passed on to their crossbred children – crossbreeding with Humans ended up as the only solution to their survival after succumbing to a plague to which humans are immune. Lai, the only remaining purebred R’Ilnian lives a long and busy life – long since they live for centuries, and busy since the role of R’ilnians and R’Ilnoids (crossbreeds with a high percentage of R’ilnian genes) is to arbitrate and manage governance at a planetary level, i.e. they don’t interfere with local disputes, only those issues involving ‘international’ co-operation.

What makes this different from other scifi series with similar ESP aliens is the richness, the level of good science engaged, and the range of it – genetics, medicine, engineering, sociology, psychology, botany, biochemistry, astronomy, physics, environmental management, geology, geophysics… I’d better stop. Ms (Professor) Bowling is a polymath and it shows!

In Homecoming, the first of a planned trilogy, a slave named Snowy has had it drummed into him from birth not to show his ESP talents – but it helps him and his friends out of many of their troubles. Then Snowy gets sick, and in healing him, his owners realise that he shouldn’t be a slave at all. In fact, he turns out to be of high R’Ilnoid parentage. So his life changes, not always for the better as far as he perceives it, but his talents take him in directions few could predict, and he becomes essential to the survival of Lai on a difficult and dangerous assignment. It’s intricate, beautifully entwined, and as rich and sound in its world-building as anything by those masters of story telling, Heinlein, Clarke or even E E ‘Doc’ Smith.

Homecoming is a superb story, a brilliant book, for lovers of people and society, as well as scifi, adventure and life’s rich patterns.