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Russell H. Plante is an Engineering Physicist with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Engineering Physics from the University of Maine, a Minor in Electrical Engineering, and post-graduate courses in Business Administration.
With a diverse writing background, he has had two academic solar energy books published by John Wiley and Sons, Inc. and Academic Press (Elsevier) and also four novels. His Young Adult novel, “Journey Home – A Cat’s Tale”, published in 2016, and “A Sense of Purpose”, published in October 2020, received Gold Medal 5 Star Book Review Awards from Literary Titan. His Adult-Visionary political novel, “Beware the Dither Bird”, published in 2018, was an award-winning Finalist in the Best Book Awards sponsored by American Book Fest and also the 2020 Finalist for the Eric Hoffer Montaigne Medal Book Award in the category for the most thought-provoking novel. His fourth novel “The Path Before Me”, published in July of 2021, was written for Middle Grade readers for educators and parents for home and classroom in order to express the concepts of compassion, empathy, and the value of hope to all young readers. It also received a 5 Star Review from Reader’s Favorite. He is currently writing a philosophical Science Fiction novel about our Earth and contact with other civilizations. He resides in the State of Maine with his wife Kathy and seven cats where there’s always a chance of a blizzard during the cold winter months and time to contemplate and create meaningful stories.
Reviewed by K.C. Finn for Readers' Favorite
Beware the Dither Bird is a work of fiction in the contemporary drama subgenre. It is best suited to the adult reading audience for its complex concept and themes and was penned by author and engineering physicist Russell H. Plante. The author brings his expertise to the fore in this thrilling novel as physicist Maxwell Draper and his old college friend Nelson Quip make a series of startling discoveries. Based on real scientific events, this is a tale of political failure and public indifference with transmissions from deep space and the threat of mass extinction on the line.
This is a novel that takes a little while to get into, but once you’re embedded in its core concepts and introduced to the scientific and political background, it’s easy to take it in deeply and have the ideas rattling around in your brain for days after you’ve read it. As such, I found myself totally enthralled with author Russell H. Plante’s chilling vision of an ignorant world poised on the cusp of utter destruction. One of the most standout features for me personally was the clever use of dialogue, both in terms of characterization for the two distinctly different leading roles, but also in the exposition of key plot points and science, which is explained in a very accessible fashion. This makes for a slow-burning sense of dread and trepidation that seeps in and gradually raises the stakes as the plot begins to roll forward in earnest. Overall, I would certainly recommend Beware the Dither Bird for fans of contemporary drama and cautionary tales.
