Light Years from Home
A Novel
-
-
3.9 • 13 Ratings
-
-
- $14.99
-
- $14.99
Publisher Description
From the New York Times bestselling author of Star Wars: Brotherhood
A Best Of pick and Most Anticipated Sci Fi and Fantasy novel, as selected by Goodreads • Buzzfeed • BookRiot • The Portalist • IO9 • BookBub • SheReads • BiblioLifestyle • Den of Geek • GeekDad
“A rich backstory… a highly satisfying ending… All the stars for Chen's warmhearted space-travel story.” –Kirkus, starred review
Every family has issues. Most can’t blame them on extraterrestrials.
Evie Shao and her sister, Kass, aren’t on speaking terms. Fifteen years ago on a family camping trip, their father and brother vanished. Their dad turned up days later, dehydrated and confused—and convinced he'd been abducted by aliens. Their brother, Jakob, remained missing. The women dealt with it very differently. Kass, suspecting her college-dropout twin simply ran off, became the rock of the family. Evie traded academics to pursue alien conspiracy theories, always looking for Jakob.
When Evie's UFO network uncovers a new event, she goes to investigate. And discovers Jakob is back. He's different—older, stranger, and talking of an intergalactic war—but the tensions between the siblings haven't changed at all. If the family is going to come together to help Jakob, then Kass and Evie are going to have to fix their issues, and fast. Because the FBI is after Jakob, and if their brother is telling the truth, possibly an entire space armada, too.
The perfect combination of action, imagination and heart, Light Years from Home is a touching drama about a challenge as difficult as saving the galaxy: making peace with your family…and yourself.
"With heart and insight...Chen crosses the stakes and imagination of a space opera with the emotional depth and intricacy of a family drama." —Erika Swyler, bestselling author of Light from Other Stars
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Chen (We Could Be Heroes) delivers an emotional blend of space opera and family drama. Fifteen years ago, Jakob Shao joined the war efforts of the alien coalition that abducted him from Earth. Now, dire circumstances force him to return home and face the family left behind. Jakob's disappearance devastated the Shao family, sending sisters Evie and Kassie on divergent paths: Evie spent those 15 years researching possible alien sightings, while Kassie has always believed that Jakob simply ran away—and that Evie has abandoned her responsibilities to chase a delusion. Chen captures both the love and the friction of their sibling relationship when Jakob returns with a cover story about backpacking through Europe, confirming Kassie's theory. An element of doubt creeps in, however, when the FBI shows up wanting to question Jakob as part of a domestic terrorism investigation. Kassie and Evie agree to help, but Evie breaks her promise when given the opportunity to prove that Jakob was abducted. Chen adroitly explores the contradictory emotions typical of sibling dynamics and the holding pattern of familial roles against the distant backdrop of UFO investigation and intergalactic battle. The result is sure to keep readers turning pages.
Customer Reviews
Great Read
Chen is one of my favorite writers. This is a masterpiece. One of my favorite books.