Title: Beyond Providence
Author: Lawrence Burk
Publisher: Book – Art Press Solutions
ISBN: 78-1-4028-9462
Pages: 222
Genre: Science Fiction
Reviewed by: Jennifer Weiss
Hollywood Book Reviews
Beyond Providence by author Lawrence Burk is the third book of the ‘Alien Within’ series. The book is set in the year 2034, which happens to be sixteen years after the year Hope was born. Hope was one of the major characters that I really loved. Like previous books in the series, the reader is met with suspense, drama, action and a thrilling storyline that makes reading an exciting experience. I immediately fell in love with Jack and Hope when I started reading the first chapter. Celebrating one’s sixteenth birthday is one of the major events in one’s life. I was impressed that Jack knew just how important this was to Hope, and planned to surprise her. I enjoyed the cordial conversation they had later on. The two also related well, which was admirable.
Hope was not just any other character, being born with the DNA of her parents and an alien entity was something that made her one of a kind. She was special, smart, and appeared superior. I am greatly impressed with intelligent characters and that is one of the reasons I enjoyed reading about Hope from the start to the end of the book. Hope being a hybrid made her cool, as I wanted to read more about her and enjoyed following her throughout the events of the story.
I held my breath when reading about the comet Providence. I pictured how it would pass through earth and what the effects of the passing, or even a collision, if it happened, would cause a lot of confusion. The author is very creative bringing in credible events from a science fiction perspective; I have to give it to him for how detailed his storyline was. The author’s words made me visualize a wide variety of things. I imagined what could become of the world we live in today if all the things he mentioned could happen. For a moment, I pictured what would happen if our Earth underwent changes after every a few thousand years because of differences in the celestial balance.
I could not help but marvel at how the author arrived at naming the protagonist Hope. With every crazy thing that happened, Hope appeared hopeless at some point because she could not stop the mess which seemed imminent on Earth. Even with all the power and a distinctive personality, Hope felt challenged with the carnage; how ironical. I, however, felt encouraged that she wanted to populate the Earth again after the apocalypse. Hope was my hero for wanting to create a stronger version of humans so as to fight the alien virus.
Reading Beyond Providence will make readers appreciate into the science fiction genre even more. Burk is brilliant with his words. Every character had a role; which was either to protect or destroy what was good on Earth. I enjoy reading books which make me more imaginative. I absolutely enjoyed reading Beyond Providence and recommend it to any avid reader who loves excellent works of fiction.