20 March 2015

BOOK REVIEW: Secret Journey to Planet Serpo: A True Story of Interplanetary Travel

Secret Journey to Planet Serpo: A True Story of Interplanetary TravelSecret Journey to Planet Serpo: A True Story of Interplanetary Travel by Len Kasten
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

On July 16, 1965, a massive alien spacecraft from the Zeta Reticuli star system landed at the Nevada test site north of Las Vegas. Following a plan set in motion by President Kennedy in 1962, the alien visitors known as the Ebens welcomed 12 astronaut-trained military personnel aboard their craft for the 10-month journey to their home planet, Serpo, 39 light-years away. In November 2005, former and current members of the Defense Intelligence Agency - directed by Kennedy to organize the Serpo exchange program - came forward to reveal the operation, including details from the 3,000-page debriefing of the 7 members of the Serpo team who returned after 13 years on the planet. 

Working with the DIA originators of the Serpo project and the diary kept by the expedition's commanding officer, Len Kasten chronicles the complete journey of these cosmic pioneers, including their remarkable stories of life on an alien planet, superluminal space travel, and advanced knowledge of alien technologies. He reveals how the Ebens presented the U.S. with The Yellow Book; - a complete history of the universe recorded holographically, allowing the reader to view actual scenes from pre-history to the present. He explains how the Ebens helped us reverse-engineer their antigravity spacecraft and develop technology to solve our planet-wide energy problems - knowledge still classified. 

Exposing the truth of human-alien interaction and interplanetary travel, Kasten reveals not only that the Ebens have returned to Earth eight times but also that our government continues to have an ongoing relationship with them - a relationship with the potential to advance the human race into the future. 

This is certainly as book of two quite distinct halves; Part One being an enjoyable essay on aspects of the UFO phenomena and it's well known Nazi connections, etc. I actually enjoyed this part of the book, and it certainly provides some good food for thought. There is so much smoke surrounding this issue that there's got to be the fire of truth hidden away in there somewhere, and this part of the book does a nice job of discussing the idea of a grand conspiracy and attempting to convince the reader. However, when we get into Part Two, things change for the worse. I'm not saying that I completely disbelieve the claims of a secret journey to the alien planet Serpo forty light years from Earth, but the book sure doesn't present the case all that effectively. What we have is a poorly written account made up from communications with someone named "Anonymous" who allegedly has access to information about this alleged mission. Large portions of the diary of the mission commander are reproduced that tell the story of the trip to Serpo and the thirteen year stay of a human crew hosted by the aliens. We are also presented with portions of transcripts of presentations to U.S. President Reagan where he is being briefed about the aliens and the missions, etc. Interspersed among the text are silly images of things like the cast of Star Trek, movie posters and numerous references to the movie Close Encounters Of The Third Kind (which is also allegedly based on the same story) and miscellaneous items mentioned in the text such as jeeps and automatic pistols. This all robs the story of credibility, and made it seem to me like a bit of a piss-take, and the text doesn't flow well. I'd really like to say that the book convinced me that there was indeed a secret journey to Serpo and a relationship built with another intelligent species in the Galaxy, but it unfortunately doesn't. I do plan to read Len Kasten's other book The Secret History of Extraterrestrials: Advanced Technology and the Coming New Race to see if he recovers and manages to convince to me what is possibly the biggest and most fantastic story in human history.

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Photo allegedly taken from the surface of the planet Serpo

10 March 2015

BOOK REVIEW: Genesis by W.A. Harbinson

GenesisGenesis by W.A. Harbinson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

GENESIS is a once-in-a-lifetime novel of searing terror and explosive excitement. There is a global conspiracy of such enormity that those who encounter even its outermost fringes are inevitably contaminated. A conspiracy based on incredibly advanced technology of 'Earthly' origin. A conspiracy dedicated to the eventual enslavement and subversion of humanity as we know it. A conspiracy stretching through time - across icy polar wastes and jungle hideouts... into the cold vacuum of space itself. A conspiracy poised to turn life on Earth into a chilling nightmare of living death. Unless... GENESIS is more - much more - than a gripping, frighteningly plausible story. It is the reading experience that will alter the way you look at your world... and your universe!

Every now and then a book like this comes along that I can really get into, get totally engrossed in and I don't want to put it down. I'd read some other reviews (most of which were positive) and it sounded fascinating, being an alternate history sort of story founded in actual events and myth. The story follows a UFO investigator on his search for the truth about UFO sightings and abductions and there are interesting side stories and flashbacks from key characters. What we end up with is a fast-paced adventure across the globe and across time that builds quite an epic story of global conspiracy. As I said, I had trouble putting this one down and I attribute this to the intriguing plot that one could almost imagine being factual. I did struggle a little with some of the dialogue at times which seemed a little odd and just there for the sake of it. However, these pieces were minimal and the book generally flows quite well. One of the best alternate history stories that I've read to date, and it's a good yarn that keeps you hanging in there for the next slice of the story.It's a good yarn that is just the right length to be 'epic' but not too much as to bore or grow tired of. Overall a very good book that I'll happily recommend to anyone who likes a meaty tale with lots of intrigue and mystery.

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