Alien Empire, by Anthony Gillis, is an interesting read that disappoints in only one way.

Alien Empire: The Story

The central character is history professor, Haral Karden, who specializes in first contacts between cultures.  When a fleet of alien ships appears at the edge of the solar system, heading inward, he is included in a group of leaders who are assembled to greet them.

Upon their arrival, the ambassador for The Elders; an ancient, spacefaring race,  tells the world of The Galactic Protectorate, where hundreds of thousands of worlds enjoy peace, plenty and prosperity.  He invites them to join this union of worlds and offers to share amazing Elder technology that will provide cheap clean power, improved manufacturing and brotherhood among the nations.

Politicians attempt to use the event to bolster their own power.  Much of the populace embraces the invitation.  Professor Karden asks himself, “What do they want in return.”

Together with a quirky pair of scientists, a manufacturing mogul, and a linguist, Karden answers that question, along with the related concern of “What happens if we decline?” and unwittingly set themselves up as leaders of a revolt.

The Characters

The story is highly imaginative and the characters are unique and heartwarmingly humorous at times.  They are all compelling and endearing.  Quite a few more are added as the story unfolds, but somehow they all remain individual and memorable.

Technical

The story is well told.  The writing is crisp and fast paced.  There are a few surprises along the way, and it holds the reader’s attention well.  Although this is a military adventure with a great deal of destruction and death in the telling, the author does not turn it into a gore-fest, I appreciate that.  There are also a couple of love interests, but they remain low-key: romantic but not smutty, so this is a book acceptable for all ages and dispositions.

My only gripe and the reason this book didn’t get 5 stars is that the editing is terrible.  I lost count of the times where I found a word missing, or extraneous, or the wrong word.  Obviously chaff left after the passage was rewritten and never looked at again.  A final editorial pass before tossing it “out there” would have made this a 5 star read.