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Stan Smith has lived most of his life in the Midwest United States and currently resides in Warrensburg, Missouri. He writes adventure novels that have a generous sprinkling of science fiction. He also writes short stories, and one of his current projects is a collection of unusual speculative stories about love (you can sample these on his website). His novels and stories are about regular people who find themselves caught up in highly unusual situations. They are designed to stimulate your sense of wonder, get your heart pounding, and keep you reading late into the night, with minimal risk of exposure to spelling and punctuation errors. His books are for anyone who loves adventure, discovery, and mind-bending surprises.
Reviewed by Susan Sewell for Readers' Favorite
Diffusion by Stan C Smith is a fascinating and intriguing adventure novel that takes place deep in the jungles of Papua, a province of Indonesia. Quentin and Lindsey are school teachers from Missouri. Together they escort seven of their students, including their son, Addison, and his friend, Bobby, on an expedition to the Central Highlands of Papua. A few hours before their flight's departure from the island, a Papuan uprising occurs and all the tourists are being flown out. The group manages to catch the last small plane leaving the island. As they are flying over uninhabited jungle, the burst of an invisible energy wave travels through the plane, killing the pilot and causing the plane's engines to shut down. With no one to pilot the mangled aircraft, it crashes down into the dense and impenetrable foliage of the jungle. Two of the boys are killed instantly, Addison is unconscious, and two of other students are critically injured.
Hidden by the thick vegetation and forestation over their heads, they are invisible to any possible rescue flights that would be searching for them. While trying to survive the elements and waiting to be rescued, they are taken prisoner at spear-point by a hostile indigenous tribe. Their captors force them deeper into the wilderness, and the group is held against their will in a hut set in the trees far above the ground. Quentin and a few of the students are subjected to a substance that is unknown in the civilized world. Their exposure to it produces astounding results that defy the scope of normal scientific understanding. This substance has the ability to generate preternatural phenomena that can change the world exponentially. Is the world ready for it or is it a mechanism that will bring an end to humanity on the planet?
Diffusion by Stan C Smith is an exciting adventure novel that rivals Michael Crichton. It is a suspenseful and thrilling story that reaches deep into the jungles of Papua. Once you start reading it, you just can't put it down. It has a geographically and historically accurate science fiction plot, containing characters whose history originates before antiquity. The author's knowledge of the region and the indigenous population is impressive. He has created a remarkable fictional tribe with its own language set in an intense science fiction story. This superbly written novel will thrill science fiction aficionados and adventure readers alike.
