The Journey


Young Adult - Sci-Fi
549 Pages
Reviewed on 03/18/2023
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Author Biography

Kathy Porter grew up in Endicott, New York, the birthplace of IBM and only a short distance from where one of her favorite TV series creators, Rod Serling, was raised. Kathy's lifelong interest in science fiction ignited when her father, a science teacher, showed her craters on the moon and taught her about the constellations. She grew up watching science fiction movies and TV shows. Ray Bradbury's Martian Chronicles was her first delve into a science fiction novel, and she has been hooked ever since.

"I think I was born telling stories," Kathy explained during a recent interview. "As second to the oldest of seven children, the girls all slept in one bedroom. I loved making up bedtime stories with an eerie edge to frighten my sisters: tales about fairies, leprechauns, and aliens.

"The concept of the Gray Guardians Series initially came to me in a dream that lingered in my mind for hours. Finally, I told my husband about it over coffee and explained that if it were a book, I would love to read it. He said, 'If you want to read it, you have to write it.' With his encouragement and support, Earth's Ultimate Conflict came to fruition. That's how the Gray Guardians Series began."

Science fiction fans of all ages applaud the appearance of this bold new voice for the genre.



    Book Review

Reviewed by K.C. Finn for Readers' Favorite

The Journey is a work in the science fiction, adventure, and interpersonal drama subgenres. It can be enjoyed by mature young adults and adult readers alike and is penned by Kathy Porter. In the third novel in the Gray Guardians book series, we pick up the adventure where Escape From Nuur left off, finding ourselves post-war with Amanda Hartman, the child of a Gray surrogate parent. Amanda hears things in her mind, channeling the mental communications of others, and she reports a potentially devastating conversation to the President of the United Pyramid City of Nuur, Rosa De Angelo. The Ja seems to think that conflict is far from over, and ignoring the trouble brewing beneath the surface could lead to the destruction of everything that the different species have built together to form a fragile peace.

Kathy Porter offers a novel that works on many levels, from its interesting and intricately-plotted political drama across different nations and species to the individual struggles of abducted people searching for meaning, their loved ones, and a new kind of survival after such struggles. I enjoyed the multi-perspective element of the work, where we travel with the omniscient Porter to different locations to see all the different aspects of this science-fiction conspiracy, mystery, and war story coming together. The dialogue is also incredibly well used for exposition and explanation of the plot without the need for extensive prose, making the reading experience feel faster and sharper. Overall, The Journey is an exhilarating must-read for existing series fans. I’d recommend the whole series to fans of inventive and deeply involved science fiction with all the emotive space opera elements one could want.