Happy Wednesday, Book Loving Fiends!
Once again I am featuring a Book Spotlight on a novel I have not yet read but we should all take a looksie at. Here ya go!
Rarity from the Hollow is adult literary science fiction filled with tragedy, comedy and satire. The content addresses social issues. It’s a children’s story for adults, not for the prudish, fainthearted or easily offended.
Lacy Dawn occupies the body of an eleven year old and sounds like one, but she has evolved under the supervision of Universal Management for hundreds of thousand of years. She is not a typical little girl, and if you think of her as such, you may be shocked.
She lives in a hollow with her worn-out mom, her Iraq War disabled dad, and her mutt Brownie, a dog who’s becoming very skilled at laying fiber optic cable. Lacy Dawn’s android boyfriend, for when she’s old enough to have one, has come to the hollow with a mission. He was sent by the Manager of the Mall on planet Shptiludrp (Shop ’till You Drop) to recruit Lacy Dawn to save the universe from an imminent threat to its economic structure. In exchange, Earth would be designated as a planet that is eligible for continued existence – granted immunity. Will Lacy Dawn’s magic enables her to save the universe, Earth, and, most importantly, her own family?
About the Author:
Robert Eggleton has served as a children's advocate in an
impoverished state for over forty years. He is best known for his investigative
reports about children’s programs, most of which were published by the West
Virginia Supreme Court where he worked from 1982 through 1997, and which also
included publication of models of serving disadvantaged and homeless children
in the community instead of in large institutions, research into foster care
drift involving children bouncing from one home to the next -- never finding a
permanent loving family, and statistical reports on the occurrence and
correlates of child abuse and delinquency. Today, he is a recently retired
children's psychotherapist from the mental health center in Charleston, West Virginia,
where he specialized in helping victims cope with and overcome physical and
sexual abuse, and other mental health concerns. Rarity from the Hollow is his
debut novel and its release followed publication of three short Lacy Dawn
Adventures in magazines: Wingspan Quarterly, Beyond Centauri, and Atomjack
Science Fiction. Author proceeds have been donated to a child abuse prevention
program operated by Children’s Home Society of West Virginia. http://www.childhswv.org/ Robert continues
to write fiction with new adventures based on a protagonist that is a composite
character of children that he met when delivering group therapy services. The
overall theme of his stories remains victimization to empowerment.
Purchase
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Author
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If you gorgeous bibliophiles get a chance to read Rarity in the Hollow, please let me know what you think in the comments!
See you next Wednesday with a new book review!
Comments
This novel is in the process of being republished. The 2016 Amazon links are:
http://www.amazon.com/Rarity-Hollow-Robert-Eggleton-ebook/dp/B017REIA44/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Rarity-From-Hollow-Robert-Eggleton/dp/1907133062
The second edition of Rarity from the Hollow is scheduled for release by Dog Horn Publishing, a traditional small press in Leeds, on September 30, 2016.
Following are a few of the highlights about the novel:
As you know, the novel was found by the editor of Atomjack Science Fiction Magazine to be laugh-out-loud funny in some scenes. Long-time science fiction book critic, Barry Hunter, closed his review, "...good satire is hard to find and science fiction satire is even harder to find." http://thebaryonreview.blogspo......
A former Editor of Reader's Digest found that, "Rarity from the Hollow is the most enjoyable science fiction that I've read in several years." http://warriorpatient.com/blog...
Rarity from the Hollow was referred to as a hillbilly version of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and awarded a Gold Medal by Awesome Indies: "...Tucked between the folds of humor are some profound observations on human nature and modern society that you have to read to appreciate...it's a funny book that most fans of sci-fi will thoroughly enjoy." http://awesomeindies.net/ai-ap......
With respect to the story's treatment of tough social issues, this reviewer said: "If I could, I would give it all the stars in the universe...I was hesitant to accept. I usually do not read or review books that discuss child abuse or domestic violence; however, I was intrigued by the excerpt and decided to give it a shot. I am glad that I took a risk; otherwise, I would have missed out on a fantastic story with a bright, resourceful, and strong protagonist that grabbed my heart and did not let go." http://www.onmykindle.net/2015...
A prominent book reviewer from Bulgaria named Rarity from the Hollow as one of the best five books that he had read in 2015. http://codices.info/2015/12/to...
On January 20, 2016, Rarity from the Hollow was awarded a second Gold Medal by another popular book review site: https://readersfavorite.com/bo....
An Affiliate of Fantasy Fan Federation, an international organization that has been around since the 1940s, posted on Amazon: "The author has created a new narrative format, something Ive never seen before, with a standard third-person narration, interspersed, lightly, with first-person asides. This makes me think of Eugene ONeill’s play Strange Interlude where internal and external dialogue are blended. Rarity from the Hollow begins with some rough stuff, hard to read, involving child neglect and child abuse. But it soon turns the corner to satire, parody, and farce, partaking a little of the whimsical and nonsensical humor of Roger Zelazny or even Ron Goulart...."
"...There is much here worthy of high praise. The relationship between Lacy Dawn and DotCom is brilliant. The sense of each learning from the other and them growing up and together is a delight to read. The descriptions of DotCom's technology and the process of elevating the humans around him again is nicely done. Eggleton reminds me very much of Robert Heinlein at his peak...." http://sfcrowsnest.org.uk/rari......
"...The best thing about ‘Rarity’ is the writing. It feels timeless, classic and mature in a way that would ensure its longevity if more people knew about it. I would even say it could be read in a college setting both for the craft itself and its unique brand of storytelling. The premise was brilliant and brought a distinctive approach to the adult-fairytale/modern-retelling sub-genre..." -- http://tabbyafae.com/rarity-hollow-robert-eggleton/
Thanks again for your beautiful spotlight!