Rights of Use
In the 1960s, Project Blue Book assured America that no aliens visited its amber waves or shining seas.
Thirty years later, Project Black Book knows better and has the flying saucers to prove it, but they still can’t stop extraterrestrial forces from scooping their pick of young women from Earth to host an alien queen.
Sarah Anderson thought that leaving all her friends to move to Pennsylvania was the worst thing ever—until she was kidnapped by body-possessing aliens. Going back to her new home looks better and better, but that’s not one of the options an undercover Air Force general offers. Instead, she can either let his enemies wipe out her mind and use her body for the rest of her life—or let one of his allies share her mind and body.
Swept into a war over bodily consent, Sarah will try anything to not lose herself.
Rights of Use is well written and intriguing from the very beginning. It follows a politician who is willing to do whatever it takes to accomplish his goal regardless of whether or not that is for the greater good. It proceeds to a government organization that is clandestine and largely only succeeds when success is handed to them. Even then they manage to under achieve. There is also the primary protagonist, Sarah, who confronts multiple nightmares and proceeds to face them with courage and determination. Katorin and Vinnet, additional protagonists, give the story dimension and insight as to the motivations of the alien races.
The differing maturity levels of each of the characters aided in giving each one a distinct personality. I appreciated Vinnet's determination to do whatever it takes while keeping true to her personal ethics. It is a difficult balance in protagonists and was well done here. Sarah trying to make the best decision when no good decision exists was agonizing as a reader and I found myself quietly encouraging her to make what I felt to be the right one.
The main plot of the story was an interesting take on the human existence that surprised and delighted me. The tension between the characters made me nervous as to whether or not the right decisions would be and the suspense kept me on the edge of my seat. It also explored the loneliness of the human condition and what integrating with another being might be like.
I believe the author told me her genre is body-possessing space opera, and this story fits that description exceptionally well. However, it does it thoughtfully and explores the concept of consent and autonomy in a unique and thoughtful manner. One of the things I do in my writing is use it to try to understand people and why they do the things they do. My perception is that the author is attempting the same here.
I thoroughly enjoyed this story and look forward to reading more from Shannon Eichorn.
Book 2, Farewell Speech, is also available in your preferred bookstore.
About the Author
Shannon Eichorn's Website
Disclaimer
I have decided to review books that I enjoy. I am an avid reader of fantasy, so most of them will be in that genre. I'm not taking any requests, just reading what catches my eyes. You'll find that most of these are from Indie Authors. The way I figure it, David Eddings, Anne McCaffrey, Alan Dean Foster and Piers Anthony (my favorite authors) already have enough reviews, but Indies could always use a few more.
It is important to note here that while I am a writer, I am doing these reviews as a reader. I also know a number of the authors I will be reviewing. This is not an exchange of reviews, nor have I been solicited by those authors to write the review. If I don't like a book, I won't review it.
All my best,
John H. Carroll
Book 2, Farewell Speech, is also available in your preferred bookstore.
Shannon Eichorn's Website
Shannon Eichorn is a sci-fi writer and engineer whose works include body-possessing aliens, flying saucers, and a secret, underfunded government program.
When told she needed to get a day job to support her writing, she decided the easiest thing to do would be to study aerospace engineering, so she could design real or fictional spaceships. (She has never designed real spacecraft but has worked in supersonic wind tunnels.)
She has a Bachelors in Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering from Case Western Reserve University and a Master of Fine Arts in Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University. She lives near Cleveland, Ohio, with her engineer-of-many-hats spouse and loving tuxedo cat. She comes out of her cave for sci-fi conventions and can otherwise be found on Bluesky, Mastodon, and Tumblr.
Disclaimer
I have decided to review books that I enjoy. I am an avid reader of fantasy, so most of them will be in that genre. I'm not taking any requests, just reading what catches my eyes. You'll find that most of these are from Indie Authors. The way I figure it, David Eddings, Anne McCaffrey, Alan Dean Foster and Piers Anthony (my favorite authors) already have enough reviews, but Indies could always use a few more.
It is important to note here that while I am a writer, I am doing these reviews as a reader. I also know a number of the authors I will be reviewing. This is not an exchange of reviews, nor have I been solicited by those authors to write the review. If I don't like a book, I won't review it.
All my best,
John H. Carroll
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