3.5
Light Years from Home
ByPublisher Description
From the New York Times bestselling author of Star Wars: Brotherhood
A Best Of pick and Most Anticipated Sci Fi and Fantasy novel, as selected by Goodreads • Buzzfeed • BookRiot • The Portalist • IO9 • BookBub • SheReads • BiblioLifestyle • Den of Geek • GeekDad
“A rich backstory… a highly satisfying ending… All the stars for Chen's warmhearted space-travel story.” –Kirkus, starred review
Every family has issues. Most can’t blame them on extraterrestrials.
Evie Shao and her sister, Kass, aren’t on speaking terms. Fifteen years ago on a family camping trip, their father and brother vanished. Their dad turned up days later, dehydrated and confused—and convinced he'd been abducted by aliens. Their brother, Jakob, remained missing. The women dealt with it very differently. Kass, suspecting her college-dropout twin simply ran off, became the rock of the family. Evie traded academics to pursue alien conspiracy theories, always looking for Jakob.
When Evie's UFO network uncovers a new event, she goes to investigate. And discovers Jakob is back. He's different—older, stranger, and talking of an intergalactic war—but the tensions between the siblings haven't changed at all. If the family is going to come together to help Jakob, then Kass and Evie are going to have to fix their issues, and fast. Because the FBI is after Jakob, and if their brother is telling the truth, possibly an entire space armada, too.
The perfect combination of action, imagination and heart, Light Years from Home is a touching drama about a challenge as difficult as saving the galaxy: making peace with your family…and yourself.
"With heart and insight...Chen crosses the stakes and imagination of a space opera with the emotional depth and intricacy of a family drama." —Erika Swyler, bestselling author of Light from Other Stars
A Best Of pick and Most Anticipated Sci Fi and Fantasy novel, as selected by Goodreads • Buzzfeed • BookRiot • The Portalist • IO9 • BookBub • SheReads • BiblioLifestyle • Den of Geek • GeekDad
“A rich backstory… a highly satisfying ending… All the stars for Chen's warmhearted space-travel story.” –Kirkus, starred review
Every family has issues. Most can’t blame them on extraterrestrials.
Evie Shao and her sister, Kass, aren’t on speaking terms. Fifteen years ago on a family camping trip, their father and brother vanished. Their dad turned up days later, dehydrated and confused—and convinced he'd been abducted by aliens. Their brother, Jakob, remained missing. The women dealt with it very differently. Kass, suspecting her college-dropout twin simply ran off, became the rock of the family. Evie traded academics to pursue alien conspiracy theories, always looking for Jakob.
When Evie's UFO network uncovers a new event, she goes to investigate. And discovers Jakob is back. He's different—older, stranger, and talking of an intergalactic war—but the tensions between the siblings haven't changed at all. If the family is going to come together to help Jakob, then Kass and Evie are going to have to fix their issues, and fast. Because the FBI is after Jakob, and if their brother is telling the truth, possibly an entire space armada, too.
The perfect combination of action, imagination and heart, Light Years from Home is a touching drama about a challenge as difficult as saving the galaxy: making peace with your family…and yourself.
"With heart and insight...Chen crosses the stakes and imagination of a space opera with the emotional depth and intricacy of a family drama." —Erika Swyler, bestselling author of Light from Other Stars
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3.5
Phee
Created about 1 month agoShare
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“The premise of the story was lovely to start with, and I loved the twists and turns it took us through. The characters were purposeful and each had a clear role to play in the narrative, and the family chaos felt real and relatable. My only judgement that bumps this to 4 stars is that the flashback scenes were occasionally confusing, since it felt like the author was trying to build a 'This Is Us' type book with his writing for a lot of those scenes, when simplicity seemed like a better answer to accomplish what I think he was going for. Overall, I relate most to the Asian representation and look forward to reading more from Mike Chen!”Ninki
Created 2 months agoShare
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“Pretty interesting book - I liked how there was a really long confusing angle as to whether Jakob was insane or not! I also liked the blending of a trope with an analysis of humans
It was really nice to have their Mum come back for a while, felt warm and fuzzy
I personally would have enjoyed more alien things, but I guess we are seeing the unusual side of the people left behind when humans go to join alien wars. Wish Kassie hadn’t cheated, felt like a cheap play to explain the drama - felt a bit out of line with a character like that, and I also didn't love how depressing the tone was at times and bleak - was a bit of a stressful read.
I liked the interplay of psychology, addiction, gaming etc - Overall I’d definitely recommend!”
Avikus
Created 3 months agoShare
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“A family drama with a sci-fi approach. Very poignant. Enjoyed the family approach to a sci-fi situation.”Stevie Sloan
Created 4 months agoShare
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About Mike Chen
Mike Chen is the New York Times bestselling author of Star Wars: Brotherhood, Here and Now and Then, Light Years From Home, and other novels. He has covered geek culture for sites such as Nerdist, Tor.com, and StarTrek.com, and in a different life, covered the NHL. A member of SFWA, Mike lives in the Bay Area with his wife, daughter, and many rescue animals. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram: @mikechenwriter
Other books by Mike Chen
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