Alien Velocity by Robert Appleton
Alien Velocity by Robert Appleton Original Title: Charlie Runs Rings Around the Earth Series: Cosmic Sparks #1 Publisher: Carina Press Published Date: March 26th 2012 Format: ebook, 162 pages My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Goodreads Summary:
Charlie Thorpe-Campbell is the greatest RAM-runner the world has ever seen--and he knows it. On the verge of retirement from the sport, he is defending his title as champion of the annual orbital race one final time when he's suddenly hurtling away into deep space. Charlie's unscheduled voyage through a wormhole ends with a crash-landing on a most unusual planet, with scores of spacecraft from all corners of the universe in orbit. Seeking help, he heads toward what appears to be civilization, unaware of the horrors waiting for him there... Once inside the great, orb-covered city, Charlie is thrust into intergalactic competition by a bloodthirsty alien race. When he discovers he can use his unique abilities to save not only himself, but the entire galaxy, will he face up to the challenge--or run from it?
I have never read the original version of Alien Velocity so I did not know what changed in this book.
I think the story was slow-paced at first, then, as it reaches the climax, the pace increases. The story became more interesting and catchy, that I flipped through the pages in one sitting. The adventures were absolutely thrilling. Negatives? There was too much profanities and that really ticks me off. Charlie sounded very immature despite his age. Since everything was told from his perspective, at some points I get really annoyed and listening to his thoughts was very frustrating. I also didn't understand the plot, the setting of the story and what Charlie’s career actually is. At first, I thought Charlie was a pro and alien runner from one alien planet that runs laps around another planet. Other time, I thought he was a racer that runs laps around the planets in the galaxy in his spaceship. I didn’t know where ‘running’ comes in then. Another thing was the use of big words. I mean, I know Alien Velocity is a sci-fi and focused mainly on the galaxy, spaceships and suchlike, but honestly, all those flowery stuffs confused me. Details were also not properly explained. Only later in the book did I finally understand the author’s writing style. On the plus side, however, I really loved the plot. It was original, unique and addicting. The excitement builds up (dramatically, i might add) as the story went on. In contrast to the statement above, the setting was also very fascinating and intriguing in its some way. I admit, the beginning was a bit too slow and there wasn’t much happening other than Charlie being mighty annoying. Yet somehow it worked perfectly: that fact made Charlie’s change later in the book even more obvious. Personally, I love Sorcha’s part in the story. Even though her appearances were brief, I could tell how much she cared for Charlie and vice versa. It was also mentioned that she stayed by Charlie’s side for a long time, which proved how strong she is. Alien Velocity is addicting in a way. It’s not exactly the kind of book that I normally would pick up. However, it is the adventure and obstacles that Charlie faced that made it very hard to put down. Overall, Alien Velocity is a fascinating read which I would recommend to (hardcore) sci-fi lovers. Great read! View all my reviews