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Resurrection
Five thousand years ago, the Kinley built a ship capable of traveling faster than light. It carried a group of scientists to a small, distant planet - a primitive place called Earth. Its mission was peaceful observation. But when the ship was destroyed, the Kinley crew found themselves stranded in ancient Egypt, participants in the pageant of life in the time of the Pharaohs. They buried remnants of their technology deep beneath the desert and sent a last desperate message home….
Five thousand years later, the Kinley homeworld hovers on the brink of extinction. An enemy that nearly obliterated their race has risen again - now with the ability to destroy them for good. A lone Kinley soldier named Pruit is sent on a desperate mission: to follow the ancient beacon back to Earth and recover the secrets to faster-than-light travel. It is their last hope. Technology that once allowed them to cross vast reaches of space might allow them to outrun their enemies and find a safe world to call their own. But Pruit’s mission will be harder than she can imagine. Her quest will draw her enemies after her and will awaken ancient foes on Earth. As she gets closer to what she seeks, she will find each adversary willing to risk everything to stop her, each hoping to steal the knowledge for themselves.The rivals will meet in modern-day Egypt and their struggle will alter the fate of worlds.
©2012 Arwen Elys Dayton (P)2012 Brilliance Audio, Inc.
Five thousand years later, the Kinley homeworld hovers on the brink of extinction. An enemy that nearly obliterated their race has risen again - now with the ability to destroy them for good. A lone Kinley soldier named Pruit is sent on a desperate mission: to follow the ancient beacon back to Earth and recover the secrets to faster-than-light travel. It is their last hope. Technology that once allowed them to cross vast reaches of space might allow them to outrun their enemies and find a safe world to call their own. But Pruit’s mission will be harder than she can imagine. Her quest will draw her enemies after her and will awaken ancient foes on Earth. As she gets closer to what she seeks, she will find each adversary willing to risk everything to stop her, each hoping to steal the knowledge for themselves.The rivals will meet in modern-day Egypt and their struggle will alter the fate of worlds.
©2012 Arwen Elys Dayton (P)2012 Brilliance Audio, Inc.
384 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published June 1, 2001
337 people are currently reading
1437 people want to read
About the author
Arwen Elys Dayton
9 books691 followersArwen Elys Dayton is best known for her 2012 novel Resurrection and the YA Seeker trilogy. She began her career as a teenage staff writer at a foundation that produced Peabody Award-winning educational shows for PBS. Soon afterward, she began writing novels.
She spends months doing research for her stories. Her explorations have taken her around the world to places like the Great Pyramid (which she explored by flashlight when researching Resurrection), Hong Kong and its many islands, lots of ruined castles in Scotland, and the cold cities around the Baltic Sea. She enjoys creating complete worlds inhabited by characters who charm, frustrate or inspire.
Arwen lives with her husband and their three children on the West Coast of the United States. You can visit her at arwenelysdayton.com and follow @arwenelysdayton on Instagram, or reach her by email at arwenelysdayton@gmail.com.
She is represented by Jodi Reamer at Writers House.
She spends months doing research for her stories. Her explorations have taken her around the world to places like the Great Pyramid (which she explored by flashlight when researching Resurrection), Hong Kong and its many islands, lots of ruined castles in Scotland, and the cold cities around the Baltic Sea. She enjoys creating complete worlds inhabited by characters who charm, frustrate or inspire.
Arwen lives with her husband and their three children on the West Coast of the United States. You can visit her at arwenelysdayton.com and follow @arwenelysdayton on Instagram, or reach her by email at arwenelysdayton@gmail.com.
She is represented by Jodi Reamer at Writers House.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 211 reviews
February 18, 2012
It's a rare combination: sci-fi meets Egyptology.
"Resurrection" starts by introducing its heroine, Pruit Pax, as she awakens from a form of hibernation. She and her partner, Niks, are on a years-long journey from their home planet, Herrod, to Earth in search of the remains of a former expedition. Their race - humans, same as you and I - is at war with a race of true aliens, and Pruit has to find technology from that previous group of explorers so her people (the Kinley) can survive. Her arrival on Earth is complicated, of course, and it's only with the help of her technology and an American dilettante named Eddie that she has any hope of succeeding.
Interspersed throughout Pruit's story are flashbacks of that first Kinley expedition, one intended to catalog the life on Earth that's so similar to life on their home planet. The crew members, who take names based on their roles in the mission, touch down in ancient Egypt. Through a combination of coincidence, bad luck and bad timing, the crew's captain is mistaken for the Egyptian god Osiris and their ship is lost.
As events in both time periods unfold, we learn how ancient Egypt managed to create such magnificently complex architectural feats as the great pyramids, how the Kinley - or some of them, anyway - survived being stranded on Earth, and how Pruit can save her race from the fate it faces.
That seems far more complex when I try to sum it up than it did when I read it, so don't let that put you off.
The sci-fi angle - in particular, the Kinley technology - is nicely done. Their planet, which is a nuclear wasteland, lacks mineable metals, so their technology has evolved around biological mediums. The beds in which the travelers hibernate are an excellent example:
"There was a shift in the fluid, and in a moment she could feel it draining away. It slid off of her face, and now she could see Niks more clearly. The plantglass retracted from the top of the crib, and she felt the brush of air from the ship. It seemed too cold. All over her body, bloodarms and feedarms were gently releasing her and moving back into the wombwalls of the crib, leaving no trace on her of their presence. A reedy breatharm withdrew from her throat, and she gagged."
(Those beds, by the way, are the direct cause of one of the most heart-wrenching and credible character deaths I've ever read.)
The tie-in with ancient Egypt is entertaining, though I kept expecting that subplot to meet up with the main story again. About halfway through, the crew in ancient Egypt does take action that has significant repercussions on the future team, but then the storyline keeps going. It has its own resolution, but that culmination has no bearing on the main story. (Unless I missed something? I don't think I did, but the book was well-written enough that it's certainly possible.)
Dayton didn't leave much room for a sequel at the end, which is a shame, but hopefully she'll keep writing books in this vein.
"Resurrection" starts by introducing its heroine, Pruit Pax, as she awakens from a form of hibernation. She and her partner, Niks, are on a years-long journey from their home planet, Herrod, to Earth in search of the remains of a former expedition. Their race - humans, same as you and I - is at war with a race of true aliens, and Pruit has to find technology from that previous group of explorers so her people (the Kinley) can survive. Her arrival on Earth is complicated, of course, and it's only with the help of her technology and an American dilettante named Eddie that she has any hope of succeeding.
Interspersed throughout Pruit's story are flashbacks of that first Kinley expedition, one intended to catalog the life on Earth that's so similar to life on their home planet. The crew members, who take names based on their roles in the mission, touch down in ancient Egypt. Through a combination of coincidence, bad luck and bad timing, the crew's captain is mistaken for the Egyptian god Osiris and their ship is lost.
As events in both time periods unfold, we learn how ancient Egypt managed to create such magnificently complex architectural feats as the great pyramids, how the Kinley - or some of them, anyway - survived being stranded on Earth, and how Pruit can save her race from the fate it faces.
That seems far more complex when I try to sum it up than it did when I read it, so don't let that put you off.
The sci-fi angle - in particular, the Kinley technology - is nicely done. Their planet, which is a nuclear wasteland, lacks mineable metals, so their technology has evolved around biological mediums. The beds in which the travelers hibernate are an excellent example:
"There was a shift in the fluid, and in a moment she could feel it draining away. It slid off of her face, and now she could see Niks more clearly. The plantglass retracted from the top of the crib, and she felt the brush of air from the ship. It seemed too cold. All over her body, bloodarms and feedarms were gently releasing her and moving back into the wombwalls of the crib, leaving no trace on her of their presence. A reedy breatharm withdrew from her throat, and she gagged."
(Those beds, by the way, are the direct cause of one of the most heart-wrenching and credible character deaths I've ever read.)
The tie-in with ancient Egypt is entertaining, though I kept expecting that subplot to meet up with the main story again. About halfway through, the crew in ancient Egypt does take action that has significant repercussions on the future team, but then the storyline keeps going. It has its own resolution, but that culmination has no bearing on the main story. (Unless I missed something? I don't think I did, but the book was well-written enough that it's certainly possible.)
Dayton didn't leave much room for a sequel at the end, which is a shame, but hopefully she'll keep writing books in this vein.
May 24, 2020
4.5*
Somehow I found myself diving back into this entertaining ‘thriller’. Drayton combines science fiction with Egyptology in a very likeable adventure.
The Kinley have been at war for generations with the Lucien, each trying to annihilate the other, and very nearly succeeding. Pruit Pax is sent to Earth in a last ditch effort to save her race by finding the ‘lost’ technology of faster than light travel her ancestors had thousand of years earlier, just before the onset of fighting, when they sent an expedition to find out more about their shared biology with humans.
The narration divides itself between the present and the past, relating the journey of that first Kinley mission to Earth, landing in ancient Egypt and becoming stranded there, as well as the present with both Pruit and her nemesis vying to get their hands on the data.
Drayton obviously shares some of my interests :O) and the result is so much fun! I’ll admit that this tale is not without fault: some of her choices were ‘naive’, or simplistic, shall we say. On the other hand however, she created a compelling story full of action. My favourite aspects were the thought-provoking technology - the Kinley developed biology to a fascinating extent since their world doesn’t have any metals, and the narrative in ancient Egypt, where both ‘races’ influence each other in fascinating ways. And of course, that old evil of ‘total power totally corrupts’. Well, and avarice too.
Not perfect by any means but I like it too much to care about the weaker bits :O)
Somehow I found myself diving back into this entertaining ‘thriller’. Drayton combines science fiction with Egyptology in a very likeable adventure.
The Kinley have been at war for generations with the Lucien, each trying to annihilate the other, and very nearly succeeding. Pruit Pax is sent to Earth in a last ditch effort to save her race by finding the ‘lost’ technology of faster than light travel her ancestors had thousand of years earlier, just before the onset of fighting, when they sent an expedition to find out more about their shared biology with humans.
The narration divides itself between the present and the past, relating the journey of that first Kinley mission to Earth, landing in ancient Egypt and becoming stranded there, as well as the present with both Pruit and her nemesis vying to get their hands on the data.
Drayton obviously shares some of my interests :O) and the result is so much fun! I’ll admit that this tale is not without fault: some of her choices were ‘naive’, or simplistic, shall we say. On the other hand however, she created a compelling story full of action. My favourite aspects were the thought-provoking technology - the Kinley developed biology to a fascinating extent since their world doesn’t have any metals, and the narrative in ancient Egypt, where both ‘races’ influence each other in fascinating ways. And of course, that old evil of ‘total power totally corrupts’. Well, and avarice too.
Not perfect by any means but I like it too much to care about the weaker bits :O)
April 26, 2012
This story will earn and keep your attention: One thing that annoys me about some authors is how they drone on about peripheral, irrelevant details that have nothing to do with the story. With such authors you have this vague sense that they're just showing off -- "Oh, look at how many adjectives I know! Look how I just made a cool metaphor!" and you're tempted to skip ahead but you're not sure if you might be missing something important. Not this author! There are beautiful metaphors and engaging descriptions, don't get me wrong... but they're well-placed and they don't keep the story from moving at a perfect pace. And it's a fun, positively enjoyable story at that. I thoroughly recommend this book and I hope the author will do us a favor and write more!
April 28, 2013
Cold picked this book and was quiet surprised. I liked the descriptions of the two protagonists. She made them very alien and very alien to each other. The way they live and understand the world conflicts at a fundamental level. She sets up a really interesting point of view conflict. Since neither party is inherently evil, she makes you feel empathetic to both parties.
The descriptions of how she envisions future technology is creative. I always enjoy writers who have interesting takes on how technology evolves. She definitely views technology as being more personal and organic.
While the pyramids are sort of a tired science fiction tool, she does not over sell it. It is an interesting reflection of her characters. The ancient technologically advanced characters seem almost dehumanized by their technology like stone. Their less technologically advanced descendents seem more human and organic. Different ways for evolution to go.
Her antagonist characters were a bit uncomfortably evil for my taste. I definitely wanted bad things to happen to them in the end.
The descriptions of how she envisions future technology is creative. I always enjoy writers who have interesting takes on how technology evolves. She definitely views technology as being more personal and organic.
While the pyramids are sort of a tired science fiction tool, she does not over sell it. It is an interesting reflection of her characters. The ancient technologically advanced characters seem almost dehumanized by their technology like stone. Their less technologically advanced descendents seem more human and organic. Different ways for evolution to go.
Her antagonist characters were a bit uncomfortably evil for my taste. I definitely wanted bad things to happen to them in the end.
August 28, 2012
Deeply subpar. I picked up this book on a whim, having found it on the top-rated in SF list on Amazon. If I had glanced at the full spectrum of reviews and ratings, I would have avoided it and saved some time.
The prose is the most obvious issue. Dayton is simply not a particularly proficient writer. If she has a love of the language - and it is not clear from this novel that she does - that love does not translate into any actual talent.
Characterization is by and large also very flawed, although the character of Pruit is likable and sufficiently realistic to draw sympathy from the reader. She kept me involved with the book. The 'villains', however, are either 'noble alien' tropes or so ridiculously overwrought and evocative of Snidley Whiplash as to make themselves utterly hackneyed. It is almost as though Dayton was trying to generate caricatures of popular speculative tropes and inadvertently forgot to let the rest of us in on the joke.
Arbitrary plot devices, inappropriate segues, disjointedly varied points of view, and a general lack of finesse are also present in this flawed work. However I find the greatest issue with this novel is that it simply fails to entertain. The story is, frankly, predictable. I will avoid spoilers, but when a seemingly major character is killed off early on, the reader will find he or she predicted that character's death prior to their introduction. Most of the characters are unappealing, with the exception noted above. The romance is stultified and unrealistic. The conjectures are old, poorly thought-out, or insipid.
In summary, avoid this book. I hope Dayton manages better on her third go 'round.
The prose is the most obvious issue. Dayton is simply not a particularly proficient writer. If she has a love of the language - and it is not clear from this novel that she does - that love does not translate into any actual talent.
Characterization is by and large also very flawed, although the character of Pruit is likable and sufficiently realistic to draw sympathy from the reader. She kept me involved with the book. The 'villains', however, are either 'noble alien' tropes or so ridiculously overwrought and evocative of Snidley Whiplash as to make themselves utterly hackneyed. It is almost as though Dayton was trying to generate caricatures of popular speculative tropes and inadvertently forgot to let the rest of us in on the joke.
Arbitrary plot devices, inappropriate segues, disjointedly varied points of view, and a general lack of finesse are also present in this flawed work. However I find the greatest issue with this novel is that it simply fails to entertain. The story is, frankly, predictable. I will avoid spoilers, but when a seemingly major character is killed off early on, the reader will find he or she predicted that character's death prior to their introduction. Most of the characters are unappealing, with the exception noted above. The romance is stultified and unrealistic. The conjectures are old, poorly thought-out, or insipid.
In summary, avoid this book. I hope Dayton manages better on her third go 'round.
August 25, 2016
This was shaping up to be a pretty good sci-fi novel - until it turned into a fantasy novel with a really disappointing ending. The premise - an alien visit to Earth many years ago is the key to saving one alien faction in a modern-day war many light-years away - was interesting, and the writing was solid. Sadly, the whole plot ended up hingeing on a magical, telepathic mind-meld and it turns out reincarnation is real - blowing away all credibility as a sci-fi story and leaving me shaking my head in bitter disappointment. Any novel that calls itself science fiction and then resolves the plot by waving a magic wand and pulling a rabbit out of a hat is a waste of time. It gets 2 stars because the writing and the characters were good. If it had not had such a disappointing ending, it would have deserved 4. Why don't writers of this stuff say up-front that it's fantasy so I can avoid it?
February 20, 2012
Good. Not as good as sausage and cheese. Felt a bit amateurish, like the author had to spell out what people were feeling instead of letting the story and characters speak for themselves.
August 30, 2017
Another great "read and listen for free" book. Love this narrator, and especially loved the story of how these people influenced ancient Egypt. Well, fictionally at least, but I've always had my suspicions... ;)
August 4, 2016
While I was admittedly dubious about reading a book by an author named Arwen, the book still sounded interesting and had an intriguing cover. Also, I was delighted to find it was a standalone novel and not part of a series, so I ignored the author's name and checked the book out as my Kindle Prime lending library choice for this month.
What was especially fun about this book is that it combined science fiction with all the trappings of "aliens" (though some are human) and space travel, with events taking place in ancient Egypt thousands of years ago. I remember reading books years ago conjecturing how aliens built the ancient pyramids and taught the Egyptians various technologies and hence were worshiped as gods. I vaguely remember seeing pictures of tomb drawings where the authors were looking at the shapes of some of the drawings and turning them into spacecraft.
This book incorporates some of these sorts of conjectures into the story and mixes it in with characters that I came to like (for the most part...at least one of the characters wasn't too friendly!) I also enjoyed reading about the technology of the "Kinley," the humans not from Earth. They didn't have much metal on their world, so their technology developed from non-metal materials. The spirituality of another race called the Lucian caught my interest as well, and I would have liked to know more about their society than the book revealed.
Both time and character perspective jumped around a lot, especially at the beginning. One chapter will start out as 4 years ago, another as present day, and yet another during ancient time in Egypt. The chapters were also pretty short, so it seemed that just when I was getting to know a character better, I was already being moved over to another one. The time jumping seemed to settle during the second part of the book, so it wasn't quite as jarring. Also, it became easier once I was familiar with all of the characters.
Overall, the book was fairly light and fun to read, which is something that I currently needed, so it did exactly what I needed it to do.
What was especially fun about this book is that it combined science fiction with all the trappings of "aliens" (though some are human) and space travel, with events taking place in ancient Egypt thousands of years ago. I remember reading books years ago conjecturing how aliens built the ancient pyramids and taught the Egyptians various technologies and hence were worshiped as gods. I vaguely remember seeing pictures of tomb drawings where the authors were looking at the shapes of some of the drawings and turning them into spacecraft.
This book incorporates some of these sorts of conjectures into the story and mixes it in with characters that I came to like (for the most part...at least one of the characters wasn't too friendly!) I also enjoyed reading about the technology of the "Kinley," the humans not from Earth. They didn't have much metal on their world, so their technology developed from non-metal materials. The spirituality of another race called the Lucian caught my interest as well, and I would have liked to know more about their society than the book revealed.
Both time and character perspective jumped around a lot, especially at the beginning. One chapter will start out as 4 years ago, another as present day, and yet another during ancient time in Egypt. The chapters were also pretty short, so it seemed that just when I was getting to know a character better, I was already being moved over to another one. The time jumping seemed to settle during the second part of the book, so it wasn't quite as jarring. Also, it became easier once I was familiar with all of the characters.
Overall, the book was fairly light and fun to read, which is something that I currently needed, so it did exactly what I needed it to do.
February 14, 2012
I forget how I got recommend this book (maybe Goodreads?), but after some hard core classics, felt it was time to have some mental candy floss, and enjoy some pulp sci-fi.
The basic story of this book was very good, and the way that it fed back into Earth's history was nice. In many ways the history part was used like Dan Brown - take factoids that you can not dispute, but then wrap a story around them, that you know is wrong, but cannot put your finger on where it is wrong.
Never the less, it was a fun, addictive read - and was easy to get into. It was interesting that it was a lady Sci-Fi writer, and maybe because of this, there was less tedious technical explanation about how things work, but more social and spiritual side of things. This made a refreshing change to the normally male dominated genre.
It faded a little at the end, although the end was satisfactory from a story telling point. But all in all an easy read with a nice story. Not sure it will last the test of time, but it works for now.
The basic story of this book was very good, and the way that it fed back into Earth's history was nice. In many ways the history part was used like Dan Brown - take factoids that you can not dispute, but then wrap a story around them, that you know is wrong, but cannot put your finger on where it is wrong.
Never the less, it was a fun, addictive read - and was easy to get into. It was interesting that it was a lady Sci-Fi writer, and maybe because of this, there was less tedious technical explanation about how things work, but more social and spiritual side of things. This made a refreshing change to the normally male dominated genre.
It faded a little at the end, although the end was satisfactory from a story telling point. But all in all an easy read with a nice story. Not sure it will last the test of time, but it works for now.
June 24, 2020
It's a joy to find good science fiction, and this qualifies.
The Lucien race has plans to annihilate the Kinley a humanoid race responsible for severe damage to their world. What the Lucien doesn't realize is that the Kinley now live under domes because their world is uninhabitable. Many have died from the radiation resulting from Lucien bombs.
Much of the Kinley technology was destroyed, so a ship with two young soldiers travel to earth in the hope of finding the remains of the first mission to Earth and the technology they no longer have access to.
We have the opportunity to experience that first mission and their successes and failures from the past, as well as the urgent quest for the future of the Kinley race. The author offers some interesting possibilities for Egypt's pyramids as beacons and tributes to the gods who came to earth from the sky.
Enjoy! I did.
The Lucien race has plans to annihilate the Kinley a humanoid race responsible for severe damage to their world. What the Lucien doesn't realize is that the Kinley now live under domes because their world is uninhabitable. Many have died from the radiation resulting from Lucien bombs.
Much of the Kinley technology was destroyed, so a ship with two young soldiers travel to earth in the hope of finding the remains of the first mission to Earth and the technology they no longer have access to.
We have the opportunity to experience that first mission and their successes and failures from the past, as well as the urgent quest for the future of the Kinley race. The author offers some interesting possibilities for Egypt's pyramids as beacons and tributes to the gods who came to earth from the sky.
Enjoy! I did.
August 19, 2020
This was so much fun. It felt like a movie novelization: not a lot of internals, tons of action, a rapid romance, endless drama, just enough science to keep it feeling real. The downside, of course, is that I am now mad there is not a movie.
I loved the way she integrated the aliens into ancient egypt and still managed to make the story take place in the present.
I loved the way she integrated the aliens into ancient egypt and still managed to make the story take place in the present.
Read
February 23, 2024Really good sci fi book
February 17, 2017
I got this book on a whim. It was recommended by amazon.com due to something I purchased and/or put into my wishlist. I went into it thinking if nothing else it was cheap and I like Sci-Fi, and Ancient Egyptian myth. I was pleasantly surprised. In fact, I quite like the story.
It follows three civilizations:
The Kinley: Who are on the brink of annihilation. They were nuclear attacked by another world and are about to be attacked again. They have a technology heavily based in biology as they do not have much metals on their home world. About 5000 years ago they were technologically advanced. Could travel faster than light, medical and other advances you would expect from a sci-fi book. They sent a survey team to Earth during the ancient Egyptian time, when Pyramids were being built. Through a series of unfortunate events the survey team gets stranded at the same time the home world has been attacked. The crew must adapt and survive, leading some to portray themselves as ancient Gods to the natives.
The Lucien: A bug like species (Yes another sci-fi book with bug aliens as the enemy) bent on the total destruction of the Kinley race. We don't get too much from them, only a couple characters we see through the series. They were an interesting bad guy to say the least.
Humans (Earthlings): That's Us! we get to see us as naive natives during the time of the ancient survey teams time on Earth, and then at the present day when we meet our protagonist who is trying to uncover the secrets of the Survey Team and what happened to them.
It was a fun read. I hope the author will write a sequel to this.
Rating: ★★★★☆
1st Read: 14 December 2013
2nd Read: 23 November 2016
It follows three civilizations:
The Kinley: Who are on the brink of annihilation. They were nuclear attacked by another world and are about to be attacked again. They have a technology heavily based in biology as they do not have much metals on their home world. About 5000 years ago they were technologically advanced. Could travel faster than light, medical and other advances you would expect from a sci-fi book. They sent a survey team to Earth during the ancient Egyptian time, when Pyramids were being built. Through a series of unfortunate events the survey team gets stranded at the same time the home world has been attacked. The crew must adapt and survive, leading some to portray themselves as ancient Gods to the natives.
The Lucien: A bug like species (Yes another sci-fi book with bug aliens as the enemy) bent on the total destruction of the Kinley race. We don't get too much from them, only a couple characters we see through the series. They were an interesting bad guy to say the least.
Humans (Earthlings): That's Us! we get to see us as naive natives during the time of the ancient survey teams time on Earth, and then at the present day when we meet our protagonist who is trying to uncover the secrets of the Survey Team and what happened to them.
It was a fun read. I hope the author will write a sequel to this.
Rating: ★★★★☆
1st Read: 14 December 2013
2nd Read: 23 November 2016
June 26, 2012
I did think the writing in Resurrection was amateurish and didn't flow smoothly. Ordinarily that would completely turn me off to a book, but I actually enjoyed this story quite a lot. I have a difficult time with sci-fi that introduces entire new species and cultures without having a frame of reference to place them in, so having much of the action occur on Earth kept me interested. Although I am not an "ancient alien" believer, I did enjoy the way the author incorporated some of those myths into her plot. The actions of some of the characters were unrealistic as written. I didn't believe, for example, that the Captain and his wife were so terrible they could have done what they did towards the end of the book. It just didn't jibe with how they were written. This isn't a book that one can examine too closely. It was an enjoyable read, but none of its themes were fully explored. For instance, in the story, reincarnation is real for the Kinley. They have memories of past lives. However, the author does not elaborate on why humans of Earth do not have such experiences. As the Kinley are human... it doesn't make sense that reincarnation would only be true for them. This is definitely worth reading though and I wouldn't mind reading future works from this author.
September 15, 2012
If you're at all familiar with the work on an ancient Egypt by John Anthony West, you're likely to enjoy this work of speculative fiction as much as I did.
Present-tense science fiction like you'll find in Ressurection seems like a greater writing challenge than futuristic, far-out fare such as Dune or Star Wars, but I'd put this title in that league. I enjoyed the characters and their relationships, and the believable technologies from other worlds kept the story rolling along without feeling too much like heavy handed deus ex machina.
I'll definitely be looking for more from this author. (though I can't help but wonder if her parents were really that cool, or if her name is just a nod from another Tolkien fan!)
September 11, 2012
This book has some great concepts woven into a strong sci-fi plot. But, unfortunately, the book is largely plot driven - and the writing doesn't move very fast. Slow pacing in a plot driven book can become maddeningly boring... In a great book, the challenge is always to put it down long enough to get anything else done. With Resurrection, the challenge was remembering to get back to it.
This was a disappointment, especially since the story held so much potential. And then the reviews only built expectations higher. I'd suggest passing on this one.
This was a disappointment, especially since the story held so much potential. And then the reviews only built expectations higher. I'd suggest passing on this one.
October 22, 2015
Such a good premise, and so poorly done. It took half the book to even get the story started. The only character I connected with was Jean-Claude, a relatively minor character. The first death is kind of a reverse of Chekhov's gun - instead of setting something up as deadly, the character just died followed by an "Oh yeah, did I mention that might be deadly?" Same thing with the villain, who seemed to be added as an afterthought. All that being said, I was leaning toward upping this to two stars, because some of the action was engaging, but then the ending erased what had been gained.
June 26, 2021
When I started this book, my immediate thought was "I forgot to notice – ANOTHER Sci-fi!", followed immediately by "I'm not sure I'm ready for this…" Fortunately, I decided to give it a chance. I very much enjoyed the book! I found the going back and forth between times somewhat annoying and confusing at first, but the time references at the beginnings of chapters were helpful and necessary. And I really liked the combination and understanding between societies in the end. It ended up as a real upper, but it definitely had its dark spots, also. Excellent book!
March 4, 2012
Read this only because it was the #2 downloaded Kindle novel that week, and it was 99 cents. While it had a decent idea for a story, it wasn't all that good. The characters were dull and forgettable. There was a decent tie in to ancient Egyptian culture with the original Kinley expedition, but while it made sense, it was boring.
The ending was extremely predictable and lacked any real dramatic resolution. Everything just falls into place.
3/5 because I am feeling generous today
The ending was extremely predictable and lacked any real dramatic resolution. Everything just falls into place.
3/5 because I am feeling generous today
March 14, 2012
Resurrection
by Arwen Elys Dayton (Goodreads Author)
3.43 · rating details · 100 ratings · 28 reviews
2600 B.C....The first ship built by the Kinley race capable of travelling faster than the speed of light, the Champion is sent to explore a tiny blue planet called Earth. But the Champion's first mission would also be its last....
Present Day...The Kinley race is nearly extinct, wiped out by a warlike race called the Lucien. Their only hope for survival lies in the technolo...
March 10, 2012
I really enjoyed this one. The author did an excellent job of character development, plotting and maintaining and escalation of conflict that keeps the reader wanting more right to the very end. A few editing errors were found, but for an independently published book, it was very well done. Definitely recommended.
December 26, 2012
This is a science fiction tale that brings an interplanetary conflict onto Earth's doorstep--circa 2600 BC. I liked how author Dayton connected alien doings with early human history, and how she brought this conflict into the present day. If she publishes more fiction--especially space opera--I will read it.
February 26, 2012
I really enjoyed the beginning of this book. The ending fell flat: too neatly wrapped up and a bit forced. Some bits of the storyline were never well explained. I just wish there was a bit more to the whole book!
March 19, 2013
Fun to read. A kinda-pulpy sci fi novel (which is always a good thing). Though I don't believe in Ancient Aliens I really enjoy books about them, it seems. :-) And I'm a sucker for most anything set in ancient Egypt.
August 7, 2023
Found a copy of this in the wild of a used bookstore. Its cover art immediately grabbed the heartstrings of my egyptology-and-scifi-obsessed 90s-childhood heart. If i had read this then I definitely would have been obsessed. Now, though, with the weight of maturity upon me, I can rate this a solid, “Ehhh…it’s alright.”
As I said, the ideas are nifty. Who doesnt love SciFi Egypt? Dayton writes in a very pulpy, fast, cinematic tone, playing fast and loose with POV. It makes this more of a Clive Cussler-esque beach read than a thoughtful work of speculative fiction. But thats fine, there’s absolutely a time and place for that, one of which is sitting reading in my backyard on a summer afternoon.
No, my main issue with the book is that its really three books crammed into one. Theres themes and plots of “Space Opera War of Empires,” “International Spy Thriller,” and “Ancient Aliens First Contact” all tripping over and tangled in with each other, leaving very little room for each to breathe. Its not so much that the narrative time jumps excessively, but that the narrative within each time jump doesnt really inform the narrative of the each of the others. What i mean is that normally (or at least ideally) an author chooses to jump into a parallel narrative because a piece of information will be revealed there that has relevance to and provides new understanding of the other narrative(s) for the reader. In this case, though, it feels more like Dayton wrote three different story plots separately and then shuffled them in together like a stack of cards. One narrative might *mention* something about the other narratives but its never in a way which is particularly insightful. Worst of all, at the end, a bunch of stuff is suddenly revealed in the mainline narrative which feels like Dayton wrote it in to resolve plot holes rather than wrap up a holistically-constructed plot. Such revels could have been woven in much more smoothly, perhaps with another pass at another draft.
Speaking of drafts, the weirdest thing about this book is that Dayton seems to be retconning its very existence. This book was first written and published in 2001 by Roc (an imprint of Penguin Books). I know that because that is the information printed in the physical book i am physically holding in my physical hands. However, apparently at some point Roc’s contract for the book expired and Dayton republished with Amazon’s 47 North as an e-book in 2012. Which…is fine, that sort of thing happens in publishing all the time, not a big deal. But Daytons wikipedia page makes no mention of this and pretends this book was first written in 2012. Which makes no sense cause the spy-thriller aspects are clearly supposed to be “modern day” but no one in those segments uses cell phones or basic internet research.
In the long run, it doesn’t matter, Dayton can massage her writing resume however she wants, i just think its odd.
As I said, the ideas are nifty. Who doesnt love SciFi Egypt? Dayton writes in a very pulpy, fast, cinematic tone, playing fast and loose with POV. It makes this more of a Clive Cussler-esque beach read than a thoughtful work of speculative fiction. But thats fine, there’s absolutely a time and place for that, one of which is sitting reading in my backyard on a summer afternoon.
No, my main issue with the book is that its really three books crammed into one. Theres themes and plots of “Space Opera War of Empires,” “International Spy Thriller,” and “Ancient Aliens First Contact” all tripping over and tangled in with each other, leaving very little room for each to breathe. Its not so much that the narrative time jumps excessively, but that the narrative within each time jump doesnt really inform the narrative of the each of the others. What i mean is that normally (or at least ideally) an author chooses to jump into a parallel narrative because a piece of information will be revealed there that has relevance to and provides new understanding of the other narrative(s) for the reader. In this case, though, it feels more like Dayton wrote three different story plots separately and then shuffled them in together like a stack of cards. One narrative might *mention* something about the other narratives but its never in a way which is particularly insightful. Worst of all, at the end, a bunch of stuff is suddenly revealed in the mainline narrative which feels like Dayton wrote it in to resolve plot holes rather than wrap up a holistically-constructed plot. Such revels could have been woven in much more smoothly, perhaps with another pass at another draft.
Speaking of drafts, the weirdest thing about this book is that Dayton seems to be retconning its very existence. This book was first written and published in 2001 by Roc (an imprint of Penguin Books). I know that because that is the information printed in the physical book i am physically holding in my physical hands. However, apparently at some point Roc’s contract for the book expired and Dayton republished with Amazon’s 47 North as an e-book in 2012. Which…is fine, that sort of thing happens in publishing all the time, not a big deal. But Daytons wikipedia page makes no mention of this and pretends this book was first written in 2012. Which makes no sense cause the spy-thriller aspects are clearly supposed to be “modern day” but no one in those segments uses cell phones or basic internet research.
In the long run, it doesn’t matter, Dayton can massage her writing resume however she wants, i just think its odd.
September 23, 2017
A refreshingly original story
A nice combination of alien interaction with ancient Earth and the impact over 5,000 years.
A vicious war between 2 worlds 8 light years from earth has both worlds sending missions to earth to recover the technology for faster than light speed space travel.
About 5,000 years ago, an exploratory mission to earth using this faster than light speed technology lost their ship in an earthquake and were never able to return home. Intermingling with the inhabitants of ancient Egypt, they established lives for themselves and became gods to the Egyptians, with the mission Captain becoming the god Osiris.
Meanwhile, the war on their home planet has resulted in the total loss of the faster than light speed technology. When they realize their enemy is planning an attack to finally exterminate them, they realize that they need to recover the lost technology in order to escape extermination.
The story then tells how the rival missions arrive on earth and go about finding the technology while keeping each other from getting it.
I found it a good read, with some originality. Sowing together the cultural success of ancient Egypt with the alien visitors was quite clever..
A nice combination of alien interaction with ancient Earth and the impact over 5,000 years.
A vicious war between 2 worlds 8 light years from earth has both worlds sending missions to earth to recover the technology for faster than light speed space travel.
About 5,000 years ago, an exploratory mission to earth using this faster than light speed technology lost their ship in an earthquake and were never able to return home. Intermingling with the inhabitants of ancient Egypt, they established lives for themselves and became gods to the Egyptians, with the mission Captain becoming the god Osiris.
Meanwhile, the war on their home planet has resulted in the total loss of the faster than light speed technology. When they realize their enemy is planning an attack to finally exterminate them, they realize that they need to recover the lost technology in order to escape extermination.
The story then tells how the rival missions arrive on earth and go about finding the technology while keeping each other from getting it.
I found it a good read, with some originality. Sowing together the cultural success of ancient Egypt with the alien visitors was quite clever..
May 23, 2020
A good “stand alone” book.
I looked at the cover of this book, saw pyramids and crystals and thought "von Daniken meets stargate". Despite this, I thought I'd give it a go, and it turned out to be a well written and well thought out story.
5000 years ago a survey team from another human world came to Earth and landed in Egypt. Their home world was for all intents and purposes destroyed in their absence and a string of unfortunate events left them stranded on earth.
5000 years later, the people left on their home planet desperately need the technology that allowed the survey team to get to earth at faster than light speed. So they send their own team to retrieve it....things get interesting on earth from that point onwards.
This is just a brief outline and does not do the story justice, you'd have to read it to see what I mean. But, if you enjoy stargate you may enjoy this new twist on ancient history.
I looked at the cover of this book, saw pyramids and crystals and thought "von Daniken meets stargate". Despite this, I thought I'd give it a go, and it turned out to be a well written and well thought out story.
5000 years ago a survey team from another human world came to Earth and landed in Egypt. Their home world was for all intents and purposes destroyed in their absence and a string of unfortunate events left them stranded on earth.
5000 years later, the people left on their home planet desperately need the technology that allowed the survey team to get to earth at faster than light speed. So they send their own team to retrieve it....things get interesting on earth from that point onwards.
This is just a brief outline and does not do the story justice, you'd have to read it to see what I mean. But, if you enjoy stargate you may enjoy this new twist on ancient history.
November 29, 2023
A very interesting take on the history of Ancient Egypt
I am incredibly fond of reading about Ancient Egypt and had been looking for books that mix Sci-fi and Ancient Egyptian history. I gave up after a while of finding nothing but crackpot theories and poorly formed ideas. This one has changed that. I would love to see a movie adaptation. It was very well thought out, obviously researched, and well written. I truly enjoyed it. Though, I could have done without the romance and perpetual attraction between characters. Hence, my 4 star rating. Nonetheless, I would recommend this book to anyone who loves Ancient Egypt and Sci-fi.
I am incredibly fond of reading about Ancient Egypt and had been looking for books that mix Sci-fi and Ancient Egyptian history. I gave up after a while of finding nothing but crackpot theories and poorly formed ideas. This one has changed that. I would love to see a movie adaptation. It was very well thought out, obviously researched, and well written. I truly enjoyed it. Though, I could have done without the romance and perpetual attraction between characters. Hence, my 4 star rating. Nonetheless, I would recommend this book to anyone who loves Ancient Egypt and Sci-fi.
November 27, 2018
Great sci-fi
In a desperate bid to save their war-ravaged planet, two humanoid aliens travel to Earth searching for lost tech from 5,000 years ago. Unbeknownst to them, they are being tracked by the alien species that wants to annihilate the humans. Back on Earth, a rich slacker decides to fund and go on an archeological dig in Egypt. The narrative shifts from the ancient aliens, the reptilian aliens, the humanoid aliens, and the slacker. It's a fast-packed, well-written and interesting.
In a desperate bid to save their war-ravaged planet, two humanoid aliens travel to Earth searching for lost tech from 5,000 years ago. Unbeknownst to them, they are being tracked by the alien species that wants to annihilate the humans. Back on Earth, a rich slacker decides to fund and go on an archeological dig in Egypt. The narrative shifts from the ancient aliens, the reptilian aliens, the humanoid aliens, and the slacker. It's a fast-packed, well-written and interesting.
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