A decent read for science fiction enthusiasts, but it may not resonate with everyone.
While Cast Under an Alien Sun offers an intriguing premise and detailed world-building, its execution left me sleepy.
I 
don’t know, maybe it’s because I’ve lived for half a century, have read a lot of books, and have seen a ton of movies, but this book was a huge disappointment. Much like the uninspired info I provided above, this book left me feeling like a deflated balloon, flat and lifeless. Damn, that sounds harsh, but I read the whole thing and that’s how I felt at the end.
You know the premise, so this isn’t a spoiler. Just picture your most boring male friend and imagine he was put on an “alien” planet and then tells you the story – in the most boring way possible. Do you really need or want to know what the bathrooms habits were like? The bathroom habits of astronauts is interesting and amusing – this was not.
Spoiler – He’s not on an “alien” planet, he’s just on a different human planet. In all practicality, it is a twin to Earth, and society is comparable to our colonial, pre-electricity times. BORING. This ain’t Planet of the Apes! Now that was an interesting and compelling story. This book tried to be that TV show but missed by a thousand boring country miles.
All the main character mentions – in passing – is that it is similar to Earth, but not Earth. Ok, great, then tell me how it is different. Show me something interesting about this planet!
If I went to a different planet and nothing was different than home, I would be so disappointed to have gotten stuck in the same crappy political and militarily driven society as I left. Just shoot me now.
I’ve taken history class – this book couldn’t even make history interesting. There are a crapload of Sci-Fi books that make science fun and interesting and downright cool. Girls love smart guys (especially if they read). You’re welcome for the PSA.
Sure, as other reviewers have said, people fantasize about going back in time and bringing whatever knowledge you have and using that advantage to create a better life. Blah, blah, blah. That’s great if you actually do something cool and not just do the same thing over again. Have I made my repetitive point? Ok, I’ll stop now.
Not once did the main character even try to find out why this planet had humans on it.
The cover is a total fake out and fails the first rule of writing – make a promise to the reader and keep it! The cover looks exciting, stuff is happening, there is some sort of battle going on and planes are crashing. Wow, great. Let’s go. Then splat. A big old nothing. Nothing interesting happens after the 2nd chapter.
If you’re young and didn’t pay attention in school, or like repetitive history lessons, give it a read. You might like it. You’re allowed.
Like the plane the main character is on at the beginning of this book, this story was a crash and burn.
See, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows for BCB Club reads. And I don’t care if the rest of the series is better (I read the reviews). If you don’t grab us from book one, we’re done. We don’t have to be hooked like a trout on opening day, but we have to be curious enough to want to see if it gets better. Cast Under and Alien Sun failed that test. We just didn’t care enough to read more.
So why two stars and not one or zero? If you like this sort of story, you may enjoy it. That’s not my goal here. This review is how I felt about the book. The writing is fine, I just found it boring and I didn’t really care about any of the characters. In my opinion, it needs work and the editor let this author down by releasing it as-is. It could have been a lot better.
