Prodigal by Jody Wallace (Maelstrom Chronicles #3)
Released: September 5, 2016
Sci-Fi/Interracial Romance
Entangled
Reviewed by Mandi
Prodigal is book three in this sci-fi series and I will admit I was a little lost at the beginning – but it does settle down. I was lost with the sci-fi terms and the world building. But the simple fact of the book is – bad aliens (dark blob shade creatures) have invaded Earth creating an apocalypse. Humans plus good aliens, called the Shipborn are trying to fight back.
“Okay, so, the good aliens. Dr. Sarah is one of them, and you’ll meet her tomorrow. Well, they’re humans—some of them—from another galaxy. They have a sentient spaceship and that’s why they’re the Shipborn. They go around killing monsters from another dimension. It’s, like, their purpose in life. The bad aliens—the monsters—invaded our planet, and it was getting better, but now it’s getting worse again because the monsters are showing up where they aren’t supposed to be.”
Our hero is Claire, and she is the sheriff of a territory called Camp Chanute. She is in charge and doesn’t take crap from anyone. Keeping the people who live in her territory safe is a full-time job and she doesn’t have time for distractions. So when a silver object, about 40 feet long is discovered, they are not sure what to do. Even more interesting, a naked man makes his way out of this object. And everyone knows who he is.
Our hero’s name is Adam Alsing, but he has amnesia and has no idea who he is our who anyone is. Missing for the past two years, he was a hotshot Hollywood actor when the apocalypse hit. I don’t want to give too much more away as to why he went missing because that plays out slowly in the story – but there is definitely more to him than just being an actor (which he doesn’t even remember). Claire is not amused to discover who this naked man is:
“What’s your name?”
At last he raised his head to look at her.
Sea-green eyes in a perfectly chiseled face pierced her like the laser beam had pierced the silver UO. Through and through. She felt that gaze in her brain, her gut, and her knees. It zinged with energy. Heat flushed her skin but then dribbled away as recognition struck her.
She knew that face.
Everybody on the planet knew that face.
“I don’t know how I got here,” he said. “I don’t know what my name is.”
Claire swallowed the hard knot of anger that had risen at the very sight of him. “I know what it is.” She released the coat and took a hasty step away from this man, this man who everyone knew was dead. “Your name is Adam Alsing, and you’re a fucking idiot.”
Adding to his confusion, he starts to realize that he has more strength than the other people he has encountered. Interesting indeed.
Claire wants Adam to be tested by her doctors and kept out of public view until they can decide what to do with him. He is a notorious figure, and Claire is unsure how the public will react to him – or how he will react when he learns what happened those two years ago. Oh – they also have to continue to fight the bad aliens who have come to destroy them all.
My first thought when I read this book is how witty Adam is. He made me smile and laugh when he tries to navigate an apocalyptic world with zero memories. He finds himself saying these cheesy lines to women, which happens to be old dialogue from his movies, but he doesn’t know why he keeps saying it. He is found naked, and there are some amusing scenes with him walking around with his butt showing.
As I said, it’s a little confusing at first since I had not read the previous two books which I assume set up the world in more detail. I also thought the book slowed down a bit in the middle, but overall it’s a fun read. It’s not horribly heavy on the sci-fi – the conflict comes more from Adam and whether people can trust him and Claire walking the line of being a sheriff and keeping her territory safe. There are alien attacks, but the sci-fi language isn’t overdone in this, which I liked.
Adam really has the hots for Claire, and she is much more hesitant – which fits her personality. She is strong and serious – she plays well off his more sarcastic nature.
I’m glad I read this – a fun romance plus bonus alien fights.
Grade: B
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