Book Reviews

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 “It is a wonderful piece of speculative fiction, clearly inspired by the grand masters of the genre, Asimov, Clarke and Heinlein..." "…this is dystopian sci-f at its best. Highly recommended.” - Daniel

"If you enjoy science fiction – especially involving space travel in the future – and have ever wondered about the differing opinions on how our universe was created (was it the Big Bang or something else?), I believe you’ll love this book. I recently retired from NASA, after 40+ years, and typically don’t care too much for science fiction books abRead more about review stating Looking for answers to some of the biggest mysteries of our Universe?

out space travel because it’s hard to get excited about fiction when you get to work with real astronauts involved in human space flight every day. But I have to admit that this book kept me interested from start to finish. The hero of the book, Captain Jim Tale, of the interstellar spaceship Evolution, had characteristics that reminded me of a few of the astronauts I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know. He quickly became a very likable character to me. In this story, there are three competing alliances on Earth – the Triumvirate, the Alliance, & the Republic of Islam – and because of conflicts among them, a nuclear war seems inevitable. Powered by Quantum propulsion which keeps the Evolution at a constant hyper speed of roughly 51 times the speed of light, Captain Tale sets out on a journey to find a new home for the human race on an apparently habitable planet 1400 light years away. I especially enjoyed the back and forth banter throughout the book between the captain and his constant sidekick, CASS – a computer-generated persona with highly developed Artificial Intelligence. Following along with Captain Tale on his quest to complete his mission and, at the same time, solve the mysteries of the Universe will make it hard for you to put this book down." Herb B - former NASA 

 "A fast-paced science-fiction novel that intertwines elements of suspense, romance, while tackling some of life's biggest questions, Earth Escape: Odyssey to the Edge of the Universe by Real Laplaine is an engaging, thought-provoking read. We follow our protagonist, Jim Tale, as he embarks on a three-decade long journey into outer space, as the captain of the interstellar ship, the Evolution. Earth's resources are dwindling, and chaos abounds across the planet, thus the need to search for a new world to colonize. Jim is tasked with finding a sister-planet to Earth some 1,400 light years away, where humanity can start anew. Constantly haunted by his wife's death, Jim has to deal with nightmares while asleep, and awake, when he receives news that Earth is on the brink of a nuclear holocaust. His companion, the extremely advanced android, CASS, continuously challenges his beliefs, all while guiding the ship toward its hopeful salvation. While pondering how life came to be, Jim is confronted with an abundance of threats and surprises, including dangerous missions, thrilling space-walks, and encounters with extraterrestrial life.
This high-stakes story takes place in the not-too-distant future, where Earth is a mess, and astronauts and space explorers are given the seemingly impossible task of finding a new planet that mankind can call home. The writing is quick, imaginative, and inventive. Jim Tale is a strong lead character, who is multifaceted and relatable, as he seems like a somewhat ordinary guy who just so happened to land in the position of commanding a spaceship on one of the most important missions ever undertaken. There is a great deal of dialogue in the novel, so a lot of the information and experiences are told through the voices of the main characters, which at times can be enjoyable, but also can somewhat overwhelm during certain scenes. The author is great at world-building, we just wish there was more time spent describing the complex and intriguing settings that keep these voices ingrained in reality, albeit a very sleek, futuristic one, where danger seemingly lurks at every turn." - Red City Review

"Life on earth as we know it has come to a cataclysmic end. Governments run by men playing the game, " my guns are bigger than yours" have finally gone too far. Add to that catastrophe, the 2 major space rocks that have hit and decimated what little remains on this planet ! Disasters abound, tenuous attempts at gaining footholds occur worldwide.
In what was known as the former U.S. , steps survivor Edna Bright, aka Lady V.
Laplaine has taken the possible and made it quite probable. Never did i think that i would read a book with the words existential and dystopian in its blurb, but i love this author and the mechanics and sensitivity of his brain, so i jumped in! The pages few by as i was immersed into this inside -out and upside-down society! TOUCHE' Real!" - Yankeelin

" Astronauts returning from a 16-yr deep-space probe find a different earth than they left. A nuclear war started by North Korea became a prelude to a pair of meteor strikes that left humanity reeling. A woman activist rises to national prominence by blaming the “mine is bigger than yours” machismo of the former world leaders for the nuclear war and failing to prevent the meteor strike with their nuclear weapons. Her solution is to eliminate men from the equation. A virus carried by the meteors that only affects men, who are dying, aids her single gender goal. The female leader of the USA uses the title, “Lady V,” V for Victory over male dominance and oppression. The new society has all the outward appearances of utopia; no military or war, no crime, employment for everyone, and free health care. What could be wrong with that?
The returning men on the astronaut team fulfill Lady V’s every expectation of “men.” The male astronauts resist imprisonment for the crime of being “healthy males.” They escape and encourage other men to join their “Resistance.” But have the male astronauts fallen into a trap, giving Lady V the opportunity to eliminate all men for their hostility and war-like behavior?
The female astronauts come to the rescue in a fun adventure in a tit-for-tat claim-counterclaim of abuse and oppression of one gender by the other. It’s an enjoyable read with lots of humor and stereotypical attitudes express by both genders (Yes, there are only two biological genders.)" - Frank Kelso, author

"WomenEX is like opening a newspaper.
This book calls into question the way our civilization has lived for thousands of years, a certain group of men in power (Usually White) who make all the decisions and when they get old they hand that power and wealth on to their next of kin; thus generations of power and poverty. This book makes us think about those decisions and gives us a clear picture of what the repercussions could be if we don’t began to move in a different direction.
But we also have to consider as a result the changes we do make. The writer shows that sometimes we think we want something but then when we get it, it doesn’t turn out to be as sweet. This tends to happen every 4 years in our political word.
Dystopian is such a perfect word for this book as it is set in a world where a lot of past problems have been solved, but we learn in life that there will always be problems. And that is the direction of this book: a new set of problems.
You feel like you’re reading a history book in the future. Great job by the author Real Laplaine. Stylistically the book has strong prose and at times i felt a little too strong. The writing style benefits readers of Real Lapland’s past books and also devote readers of sci-fi and futuristic works. At times it took me a little longer to fully understand what was going on, but it never swayed my interest. Fantastic piece of work worth reading again. I will be reading more of his works." - N.T.  

"Finding a good read in the universe of self-published books is a prodigious task. In 2011 alone their number reached about 2.7 million titles. The cruel truth about their majority is that they have value only to their authors. And yet, there are a few, which make an enjoyable reading. Thanks to Twitter I have discovered one of them: See Me Not by Real Laplaine, sold on Amazon.com. It is about saving a twelve years old girl, who was sold by her father to a criminal gang, which business is slave prostitution.
Being a work of fiction, See Me Not nonetheless depicts the reality, which is closer to us than we think. And yet, most of us do not see it, as it is beyond the boundaries of our established way of life and notions of permissible.
In spite of the gruesome subject, the reading is not depressing. Written in elegant prose, it is not only about the ills of humanity, but also about hope and optimism which, as the novella suggests, should be part of our lives no matter what.
The story is narrated by an American university student, who is on vacation in India. A local Calcutta friend, in an attempt to surprise the American with an exotic pleasure, takes him to a brothel, where 8-12 years old girls are kept as slave prostitutes.
Before his vacation, the American student knew about the existence of child prostitution, but it was an abstract knowledge about something as remote as another universe. Witnessing it personally though is different. For him it is a psychological shock, the nightmare haunting him day and night. The student decides to do whatever it takes to free the girl he saw in the brothel.
As an author of fiction and non-fiction on the subject matter I consider myself fairly knowledgeable in the field of human trafficking and slave prostitution. Nevertheless, I read See Me Not with interest. Not only had I discovered something new about India and child slavery, but I enjoyed the way the story was told. It is sprinkled with author’s remarks, both witty and elegant, such as this:
“I think that reality is a hotel that everyone needs to check into once in a while.”
Descriptions of sceneries are charming and vivid. That’s how Calcutta emerges in the novella. “The air was tuned with the muted sounds of humanity. The chatter of cooking utensils, the murmur of children and adults speaking from their dwellings and domains, all of it formed a symphony; a background melody, which made me feel more at ease, as I waited there, hunkered in the dark.”
Overall, it is a good thriller." Alex Markman, Author

“The only book that gripped my attention in years, thank you for sharing.” 

“We (my company) are too sponsoring Christel House which is a World Wide organization for orphans to get schooling and high level education so they don’t end up on the street or being trafficked. I did this inspired by your book, so thank you for that and keep up the good work of getting word around.”

"I just finished your book, SEE ME NOT and I must say it is one of your best. Watching you grow as a writer and seeing the background knowledge you acquire before putting a pen to paper is a large part of the pleasure I get from reading your books. Although this is a short novella it is riveting and the reward for reading to a conclusion is gratifying. Thank you for moving me in such a way." 

- J.B. – Ontario, Canada 

" I love this author's work from reading several of his books, and I did not know he had written this one until now, so I of course bought it and read it.
I found the main concepts presented in this story very bold and intriguing, while very intelligently told.
I believe he did a very good job on telling this story, therefore I strongly recommend it.
I think everybody can find not only entertainment in it, but some pretty interesting ideas about life and the universe which, though challenging, are pretty darned logical and eye-opening.
Give it a shot!" - A.D.

"With just the perfect amount of technical and scientific information you dive into a compelling story of what ifs. Funny, with drama and a touch of a love story this book had it all. Thank you Réal for this wonderful opportunity to see life from beyond the grave." April

"I loved the premise of this book, I found the pace good, I liked the story. I think my only drawback would be for a bit more detail, but overall I really enjoyed the story and the possibility of "WHAT IF". No one really knows what did happen, I liked how the author gave some plausible possibilities, that could be true of what happened to her." 

- Frances L.

"Finally a book that gives a different look at Marilyn, and a happy ending that she rightly deserves!!!!!! The only reason I did not give it 5 stars was the science part of the book, it drugged on a little too long. But in all a Great Book!!!! Marilyn fans if only this was true." - D.J.

"READER RADAR ALERT! Real Laplaine is THE most unique author i've ever read and thoroughly enjoyed.....a true wizard of words! In his subtle way he opens your mind and gives the reader an alternative way to see things.
In Dead But Not Gone there is a bit of science involved, but not enough to intrude on the storyline, but instead ,enough to help make the storyline a possiblility ...
There is a solar flare that causes an energy surge. Some kind of parallel time shift happens and odd things are happening all over... a long dead pet re-appears, items from 25 years ago show up..and best of all? A world famous actress is again walking the streets, as confused and lost as the folks who reach out to help her. As her memories awaken and awareness dawns on her,Marilyn Monroe wants the world to know the REAL story, the REAL her. Angered and saddened by the rumors that became facts after her tragically short life, she sets out to write a book to set HER story straight! At the same time scientists are tripping over themselves to explain what happened in space...
SO. Does she get to live a 'normal' life with real love and friends or does the black hole of time take her back? Read the book and let yourself be fascinated."

- Yankeelin