This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Free Book Program, which is open to all readers and is completely free. The author will provide you with a free copy of their book in exchange for an honest review. You and the author will discuss what sites you will post your review to and what kind of copy of the book you would like to receive (eBook, PDF, Word, paperback, etc.). To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email.
This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Donation Program, which was created to help nonprofit and charitable organizations (schools, libraries, convalescent homes, soldier donation programs, etc.) by providing them with free books and to help authors garner more exposure for their work. This author is willing to donate free copies of their book in exchange for reviews (if circumstances allow) and the knowledge that their book is being read and enjoyed. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email. Be sure to tell the author who you are, what organization you are with, how many books you need, how they will be used, and the number of reviews, if any, you would be able to provide.
I want to be a werewolf, no a vampire, no a fairy, no an ancient alien theorist. Well, at least I write about all of those. I am also in love with Giorgio Tsoukalos’s hair and while I'm not saying that it was aliens, it was totally aliens! I study linguistics at UC Davis and live with my new little son, my husband, and two 55lb balls of fluff named Minnie and Daisy.
The original idea for this book started YEARS ago (*ahem* in like 2005) when I read Anne McCaffrey's Freedom Books. There's a line in the beginning of that series about how the main character was captured in the mass abductions in Denver. I wanted to know about those mass abductions and how the survivors of those abductions would deal with being in mass holding pens. My original idea was a series of short stories about the abductions being framed in by the life of the abductees in their holding pens. Then, as I worked on those, I got excellent questions from critique groups: why would such an advanced race need to abduct people as slaves? what happens next?
So... the original abduction stories grew and changed and got added onto, with the introduction of the redskulls and hints that our world was seeded by the redskulls and their queen.
Find more at MelCorbett.com.
Reviewed by Scott Cahan for Readers' Favorite
Taken is Book 1 in the Stories of the Alien Invasion series by Mel Corbett. It’s an imaginative beginning to what looks like an exciting series. The story follows several seemingly unrelated characters as they flee from an alien invasion. The pacing of the story is fast, jumping from one group of characters to the next. The aliens are attacking all over the world, taking human prisoners as they go. Most of the story plays out as a tale of desperate survival with characters running into the wilderness and finding it more and more difficult to find the food and water they need to stay alive. The last third of the book, however, takes an interesting turn into the world of science fiction as some of the characters end up face to face with the aliens.
There is no real conclusion at the end of Taken by Mel Corbett. Rather, it leaves us wanting more with a promise to deliver in Book 2 of the series. Readers who like their stories wrapped up in a shiny bow will likely be disappointed, but I liked the direction that Taken was heading at the end. It definitely left the realm of predictable and took a sharp right turn into the unknown with a twist of an ending that left me guessing. As I’ve already stated, the pacing of the narrative is very fast with a lot happening in a short amount of time. This, to me, was both a plus and a minus. On the plus side, Taken was never boring. On the minus side, I found myself wishing the story would slow down occasionally so that I could learn more about the characters. I’m hoping the author will give us more personal details about some of the characters in Book 2 and beyond. The plot so far has tons of potential. It is an intriguing premise that is well worth following into Book 2 to see what happens next.
