Reviews of Xenolith

Quite an enjoyable read. Some of the character development at the beginning felt a little slow, but necessary. Once Frank started on his journey the pace picked up to an enjoyable romp.

I "purchased" this book for $0 mainly to check out this service. I now plan on purchasing the dead-tree version to support the author.

My only problem with this book is the format. I downloaded the Epub version to read on my phone (using Aldiko), and the book was presented as a single, monolithic chapter. This made for long load times and difficult navigation.

A fun read, even though the number of simultaneous storylines can sometimes be a bit overwhelming.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I did have a bit of trouble with remembering the sexes of the warriors based on their names, but by the end had it figured out.

As others have stated, there were a fair number of typos/words transposed, etc., but it didn't keep me from enjoying the book.

I'm really looking forward to the sequel and hope it will be available soon.

Tight writing (especially at the start) and a particularly strong sense of place drew me into this story. Frank’s strength of character, despite his heart problems, carried me through to the end. (4.5/5)

Multiple plotlines and points of view keep the interest high, moving the story forward at all times. (4.5/5)

I only have one quibble and it’s minor. Because I was most vested in Frank’s storyline and finding out what happened to his wife, the ending was left a bit too much up in the air for me. I wanted to know more! With a sequel in the wings, I realise this was probably intentional. :)

Overall, a thoroughly enjoyable read.

Reviewed by Geliza 15 Feb 2010
Years after the disappearance/death of his wife Liz in Belize, middleaged Frank returns to visit her memorial and unwittingly finds himself drawn into a parallel world. At first, unable to understand the situation he grasps at the idea that his wife isn't really dead, but lost somewhere in this alien land and so begins his search for her. Meanwhile in another parallel a completely different adventure story unfolds. Warriors time-travelling between different worlds via the Xenolith portals some wreaking destruction and death, others just trying to escape.

I enjoyed this book, it was as I had expected from the description and it brought back memories of myself as a teenager, dipping into my Dads Astounding SciFi collection. The story was easy to read and moved along fairly swiftly manageing to keep me interested to the end, if this is the end, I suspect that there may be further episodes in the offing. The numerous typos etc did detract somewhat from the enjoyment. I took rather longer than usual to read it due to the fact that this was my first e-book, I'm afraid I found myself longing for the paper page and cardboard spine, so I don't see myself giving up real books in favour of these electronic imitations.

Xenolith is a contemporary speculative fiction e-book I was grateful to receive through the LibraryThing Members Giveaway. Its pivotal concept of travel and warfare across interplanetary rifts is by no means new, though Sparrow brings some nicely original aspects to the idea. There are two distinct story threads, the first of them set in modern Belize, the second on worlds other than ours. Having previously worked in the Belizean rainforest, I enjoyed this setting and the memories the author stirred for me.

As earlier reviewers have commented, the characters in Xenolith at times lacked emotion. There was enough to keep me along for the ride with Frank, our protagonist, but I felt he acted ‘like a normal person should’, rather than as a uniquely motivated individual. I was caught up with some of the otherworldly characters, though I would have liked to witness their feelings more often.

In terms of writing style, the prose of Xenolith is at times refreshing and evocative. At others, however, the language comes across as self-conscious and slightly awkward – which I'm sure will improve as Sparrow's work progresses. There are also typos and other small errors. These are a pet peeve of mine, so I found their presence jarring, where other readers may not be as fazed (erm, neurotic!).

I felt this book would have benefitted from being pared back with tighter editing. That being said, I’m aware that Xenolith is an independent production, rather than something a publishing team of professional copy editors and proofreaders have pored over after the author signed off on the manuscript. It therefore stacks up relatively well to a lot of mass-market offerings you would find in your local bookshop, and very well to the independent e-book market.

I would agree with the author’s comments on their website that Xenolith would be a good, light introduction to the speculative fiction realm for those new to the genre, though it may fall short of satisfying long-term SF&F fans.

True to its title--"Xenolith" unfolds over a time line that takes you to different worlds and different cultures.
Frank Bowen returns to Belize to pay tribute to his wife's death, and becomes kidnapped by a foreign tribe. The story is face paced, lots of conflict.. and keeps you moving forward.
The plot is unpredictably delightful! This is like a Disneyland adventure ride.Well written and fun, fun.
Cant wait for part 2.

This was quite an interesting book. I like the way the two worlds converge. Both intermingled stories drew me in wanting more. I felt so bad for Frank loosing his wife.
The perception of our world as viewed from the others made me see our crazy our world can be at times.
The ending was good, yet I would have liked to read more about Frank's ending.
All in all the book was a good read. The creativity to bring it to life was wonderful. Thank you for the opportunity to read.

This is an interesting kind of Sci-Fi adventure where the people traveling between worlds are developmentally behind us in their home worlds. That made for a nice change from my normal read. My only complaints with the book would be that it didn't have a lot of emotion. People made life changing decisions, others died, battles were fought, all without much excitement. I wish the author would read some John Ringo and David Weber and try to punch up the action a bit. The book also ends quite abruptly. I would have liked about another half hour with Frank as a payoff at the end of the book. That would entice the reader to get the next book in the series to see what else happens.

All in all, I enjoyed the book and would recommend it for people liking adventures

This was an entertaining read that I couldn't put down. The twists and parallel plot-lines added complexity and prevented the story from becoming predictable. My only complaint is that now I have to wait for the next book!