Review by NightingaleSong -- Heaven and Earth
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NightingaleSong
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Review by NightingaleSong -- Heaven and Earth
[Following is a volunteer review of "Heaven and Earth" by Arturo Riojas.]
3 out of 4 stars
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Humanity’s health and safety is in jeopardy. The novel Heaven and Earth centers around a group of extra-terrestrials that humans refer to as the ‘teachers’. They had been around spurring the technology and societal growth of humanity from the beginning. They themselves are a higher civilization called the Treretumiums. These beings periodically check up on the progress of humanity. In the most recent expedition, they were not happy with what they saw. Humanity was poisoning themselves, primarily with foods high in cadmium.
Human beings are also quite concerned with this recent problem, or some of them anyway. Those that work in the field of cadmium poisoning, space exploration, and other somewhat unrelated fields, are called to a meeting held by the DHS. None of these groups know why this meeting is being held. Two of the groups there find they have something in common: Olga, who works with space exploration, and Dr. Welch, who works with the plight of cadmium poisoning (the CDC). Both share similar views about the dangers of cadmium filled foods. Olga finds herself in trouble with the DHS for failure to give information. She and her friend Gavilán are forced to flee from them, hoping to later meet with Dr. Welch and his a associate Sam.
These seemingly unrelated plots come together as three Treretumiums make contact with Olga and Gavilán. Nivla, the leader of the trio, asks for help in recovering the body of his brother, who crashed on earth years before. The two agree to help them, connecting with Dr. Welch and Sam, and making their way to Area 51. As Homeland Security races to find them, they dig further into the past of the Treretumiums, as well as their own personal problems. Between finding the body, solving humanity’s Cadmium problem, and helping the Treretumiums with their own invasion, the group is propelled onward towards a conclusion none of them were expecting.
My favorite piece of this book was the unique interchange of human and Treretumium problems. The story greatly represented the wisdom of two different races and I enjoyed their dialogue. Gavilán’s personality and comedic charm and Olga’s wise reasoning made their dialogue especially engaging. My least favorite part of this story is how slowly it moves. I like fast paced books and although I enjoy intricate descriptions, this novel spends more time on scientific descriptions than scenic or character descriptions. Overall, it was an excellent albeit slow book, and I would read it again.
I greatly enjoyed this book, but I would not give it 4 out of 4 stars. I give it a 3 out of 4 stars for the following reasons: not everyone will enjoy it as it has a high emphasis on science and much less on fiction. Much of the book is taken up by scientific facts regarding the problem at hand. The plot moves very slowly. However, if you are someone who enjoys environmental problems and hearing various facts and solutions about them, this is the book for you! I would not give it a two because it has excellent writing, little errors, and exceptional representation for Native Americans. The characters are well developed and interesting. There is a mix of comedy with scientific ideas. The author does an excellent job of taking a new spin on the idea of aliens interacting with humanity and the ending was not something I expected. There was also very good character developement for even minor characters. I strongly recommend this book for any science lover.
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Heaven and Earth
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3 out of 4 stars
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Humanity’s health and safety is in jeopardy. The novel Heaven and Earth centers around a group of extra-terrestrials that humans refer to as the ‘teachers’. They had been around spurring the technology and societal growth of humanity from the beginning. They themselves are a higher civilization called the Treretumiums. These beings periodically check up on the progress of humanity. In the most recent expedition, they were not happy with what they saw. Humanity was poisoning themselves, primarily with foods high in cadmium.
Human beings are also quite concerned with this recent problem, or some of them anyway. Those that work in the field of cadmium poisoning, space exploration, and other somewhat unrelated fields, are called to a meeting held by the DHS. None of these groups know why this meeting is being held. Two of the groups there find they have something in common: Olga, who works with space exploration, and Dr. Welch, who works with the plight of cadmium poisoning (the CDC). Both share similar views about the dangers of cadmium filled foods. Olga finds herself in trouble with the DHS for failure to give information. She and her friend Gavilán are forced to flee from them, hoping to later meet with Dr. Welch and his a associate Sam.
These seemingly unrelated plots come together as three Treretumiums make contact with Olga and Gavilán. Nivla, the leader of the trio, asks for help in recovering the body of his brother, who crashed on earth years before. The two agree to help them, connecting with Dr. Welch and Sam, and making their way to Area 51. As Homeland Security races to find them, they dig further into the past of the Treretumiums, as well as their own personal problems. Between finding the body, solving humanity’s Cadmium problem, and helping the Treretumiums with their own invasion, the group is propelled onward towards a conclusion none of them were expecting.
My favorite piece of this book was the unique interchange of human and Treretumium problems. The story greatly represented the wisdom of two different races and I enjoyed their dialogue. Gavilán’s personality and comedic charm and Olga’s wise reasoning made their dialogue especially engaging. My least favorite part of this story is how slowly it moves. I like fast paced books and although I enjoy intricate descriptions, this novel spends more time on scientific descriptions than scenic or character descriptions. Overall, it was an excellent albeit slow book, and I would read it again.
I greatly enjoyed this book, but I would not give it 4 out of 4 stars. I give it a 3 out of 4 stars for the following reasons: not everyone will enjoy it as it has a high emphasis on science and much less on fiction. Much of the book is taken up by scientific facts regarding the problem at hand. The plot moves very slowly. However, if you are someone who enjoys environmental problems and hearing various facts and solutions about them, this is the book for you! I would not give it a two because it has excellent writing, little errors, and exceptional representation for Native Americans. The characters are well developed and interesting. There is a mix of comedy with scientific ideas. The author does an excellent job of taking a new spin on the idea of aliens interacting with humanity and the ending was not something I expected. There was also very good character developement for even minor characters. I strongly recommend this book for any science lover.
******
Heaven and Earth
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
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Latest Review: "Heaven and Earth" by Arturo Riojas
