Book Review: CRYSTAL DECEPTION by Doug J Cooper + Giveaway

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Imagine a not-too-distant future where an enormous alien ship has taken up a silent orbit around our Earth, where the threat of annihilation has driven the global community to band together into the Union of Nations, and where AI (artificial intelligence) has advanced to unheard of levels.

What do you have? The set-up for Crystal Deception by Doug J Cooper.

Before you go all Mr. Data on me, let’s be clear: it’s not that kind of AI. Think of a sentient Hope Diamond with the intelligence of a thousand PhD’s connected to every single digital feed on the planet.

Still, he does talk, his name is Criss, and if you ever wondered about the POV of a crystal, then read the book.

Like most good science fiction, the clever element of Cooper’s work is his ability to extrapolate existing entities into his storyline. Take the Defense Specialists Agency (DSA), a CIA-like corps of Bond characters complete with job titles such as “improviser,” “ghost,” and “toymaker.”

From a technical standpoint, the book was well-edited with nary a misspelling or misplaced comma in its entire 400 pages. The plot lines were well-drawn and tied up neatly at the end. The one element I quibbled with was the pacing at the beginning of the story. Yes, set-up needs to happen, but as a reader I wanted to feel the kind of tension in the storyline that would make me turn the page. Now.

Never fear, by the time they get into space, this problem is a speck in the rearview mirror. Crystal Deception is chock-full of interesting characters, space travel, gun play, aliens and even a little romance on the side. Well done, Doug and Criss. I look forward to the sequel.

Oh, and here's a link to the GIVEAWAY.

David Bruns is a speculative fiction writer from Minnesota.  His latest novel, IRRADIANCE, the first book in The Dream Guild Chronicles, is available HERE.

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