Book Tour #15 ♥ Fluency | Review

Fluency
Jennifer Foehner Wells

Publisher: Blue Bedlam Books (June 18, 2014)

Genre: Science Fiction

Purchase: Amazon 

Source: Review Copy was sent free of charge via Virtual Book Author Tours. 

Synopsis: NASA discovered the alien ship lurking in the asteroid belt in the 1960s. They kept the Target under intense surveillance for decades, letting the public believe they were exploring the solar system, while they worked feverishly to refine the technology needed to reach it. The ship itself remained silent, drifting. Dr. Jane Holloway is content documenting nearly-extinct languages and had never contemplated becoming an astronaut. But when NASA recruits her to join a team of military scientists for an expedition to the Target, it’s an adventure she can’t refuse. The ship isn’t vacant, as they presumed. A disembodied voice rumbles inside Jane’s head, "You are home."  Jane fights the growing doubts of her colleagues as she attempts to decipher what the alien wants from her. As the derelict ship devolves into chaos and the crew gets cut off from their escape route, Jane must decide if she can trust the alien’s help to survive.

•  I did like the concept of Fluency, it is rather cliche though. The idea of astronauts exploring space and discovering aliens is amazing. The novel is quite engaging yet creepy at the same time, it's more of a thriller though. The start of it was intriguing, and I did want to know what happens next. It's about an NASA mission that sends modern astronauts to gain more knowledge about an alien spacecraft. 

• Fluency has characters that are a bit stereotypical - I liked Dr. Jane Holloway and hers special abilities, but I felt she was considered "better" than everyone else. I would have liked more character development and growth throughout the novel.

• It's not a hardcore science fiction novel, but more on the moderate side. It doesn't use much technology as I would have liked it to. The world-building plot was fantastic, and I did enjoyed it the most. I liked reading about their adventures, I could literally imagine what was happening. Overall, it is a good read and it's a nice attempt of science fiction - I liked the concept and the plot of the novel. The ending was left hanging though, I'm guessing there might be a sequel for this novel? The mission was left incomplete, so I would rate this novel three butterflies.

"Jane lifted her chin and forced herself to put resolve in her voice. These things had to be reiterated. “Once the hatch is open, follow my lead. They may look or act very strange and we have to be okay with that. Stay calm. Remember your training. No sudden movements, no loud sounds—no matter what happens. Hands open, at your sides. Do not react. I’ll do the talking.”

Walsh nodded once. “Compton, let’s send another transmission to Houston.”

Compton’s voice came back steady over the speakers resting against her ears. “Channel is open to Houston, Commander.”

“Houston. Providence. We’ve successfully docked with Target. Three of four ZTS-clamps are functional and holding. The fourth could not lock. We’re about to open the hatch.” Walsh paused and seemed, for a moment, to be struggling.

Jane felt a burst of sympathy for him. She was certain he was feeling pressure to say something profound. He’d had months to think of what to say, but maybe none of it sounded appropriate to him now that the moment was actually here.

“Compton, activate the hatch’s video feed.”

“Video feed transmitting, Commander.”

Walsh grabbed a handhold and pivoted to look at the camera behind them. “We’ll do our best to make humanity proud,” he said firmly, then swung back around and smoothly unlocked the outer door. He braced himself against the footholds and handholds placed strategically for this purpose, and, with Bergen’s help, swung open the hatch. Then, he and Bergen pushed back, assuming positions behind her with Varma and Ron Gibbs, the electrical engineering mission specialist. Compton alone remained in the cockpit.

They were crammed in a short tube between the two craft, illuminated only by their suit lights. The two vehicles were so well joined that all that was visible was a curving line around the circumference where they touched. The Target was mere inches away, its metallic surface pockmarked, each dimple dulled by the smoky sheen of space dust. Was it textured by design, as a result of its journey, or by battle?

Blood rushed in Jane’s ears. She noticed a humming or buzzing in her head, barely perceptible at first. The pitch started as a soft, low clamor, climbed slowly, then crescendoed in a high-pitched, frenzied crash that would have knocked her down if she’d been holding herself upright against gravity. As it was, she just floated there with one hand gripping a hand-hold, bewildered.

Was that panic, fear, or… what? She darted a glance back. Bergen wasn’t smiling anymore. Walsh stared straight ahead and didn’t meet her gaze.

Minutes went by. Nothing happened. Had they come all this way for nothing? Were they being snubbed at the door? Still, they waited. No one spoke.

She felt drowsy. Thoughts burbled slowly through her brain, not quite reaching their logical conclusions. How long had they waited? Jane’s eyes drifted shut and she jerked, sending herself spinning. She scrambled to make it look like it was intentional.

Bergen extended an arm toward her, his brow furrowed. “Steady, Doc.”

She wrapped her fingers around his arm and squeezed. She knew he couldn’t actually feel it, but that didn’t seem to matter.

She heard a rumbling, metallic creak and righted herself quickly. What had appeared to be a solid wall parted into seven or eight subdivided, swirling pieces, retracting before she could count them. A momentary, faint puff of atmosphere blew her body back a few inches, but her grip on the handhold stabilized her. Inky blackness extended before her, with no hint of anything visible, no sound.

“They have a flair for the dramatic, I’ll give them that,” Bergen muttered.

She should have shushed him, reminded him of his training, but she was held captive, breathlessly waiting for something to happen.

One tiny light flickered to life above her head, just inside the opening, casting a pale, greenish glow. She watched, transfixed, as another one came on just beyond it, then another and another. The small lights slowly brightened, one by one, beckoning down a long corridor.

She gasped involuntarily. So much space. She wanted to run through that space like she’d run over beaches and fields and forest floors as a child. That was her first thought. Fast upon it came her second.

There was no one there."

Shukran for reading this! Leave your blog links in the comments & I'll be sure to check them out & follow :) Stay in tuned pretty creatures.. 

“Never forget what you are, for surely the world will not. Make it your strength. Then it can never be your weakness.” —George R.R. Martin 

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