- Publisher: Windstream Publishing Company
- Publication date: February 1, 2016
- Length: 189 pages
- ISBN: 978-0-9643926-6-3
- ASIN: B017KRJ66E
- Author: Richard Botelho
Reason For Existence by Richard Botelho tells the tale of David Jordan, an extraterrestrial who appears human other than the unusual sparkles in his eyes. He is a very successful entrepreneur living on the West Coast of the USA as the world seems to be spiraling out of control. Multiple international conflicts threaten to escalate into nuclear war, and a hostile race of Nazi-like aliens is trying to spark a bio-weapon release to destroy humanity.
David went to college with the current UN Secretary General, Nicholas Straka. Straka does not know he is an alien, but he approaches David and asks for his help in diffusing the global crises. This begins David’s search for answers which leads him to talk to several ‘experts’ in different fields who give him their perspectives on the underlying causes of humanity’s disconnections and problems which have led to the current set of crises.
Most of the book is taken up with the protagonist going from one specialist to another, and receiving their thoughts on the causes of the crises, but nothing is really accomplished by any of these lectures. There are some interesting thoughts presented, but none of it would actually help in diffusing any of the major immediate issues that the world is facing. The book seems to be an excuse for the author to present his ideas on the origins of human conflict, but it really does nothing to drive the plot forward in this particular story. After going from one expert to another for most of the book, there is secret society that provides the deus ex machina resolution, and David Jordan learns a powerful lesson about the true value of humanity and human emotion.
It is listed as a ‘thriller’ but even though the world is on the brink of destruction, there is surprisingly little thrills in the story. Even still, it did hold my interest fairly well. The little lectures were interesting, even if they did little to advance the plot. The ending was sweet and heartening in its own way. This is not a great book, but it is not a bad book either. I can’t say you should run out and purchase it immediately, but if you run across it in the aisles of your local library like I did, you could do worse than to ponder your “Reason For Existence“.
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A better science fiction story with potential societal collapse, but without the aliens…
Plastivore by Matt Truxaw
