The Upstream Writer: Reader's Review: "The Lost Signal" by J. S. Fernandez Morales

Synopsis from Amazon:

An ancient threat returns to conquer humanity. They ruled the planet once and they will do it again. Humans can't fight this war—not without help.

For years, Dr. Ethan Fawkes has been communicating with a mysterious scientist using an encoded signal, and together, they designed the first spaceship meant for war. But when the government orders Ethan to dismantle it, his collaborator reveals a terrible secret. An army of powerful aliens is about to invade Earth, and humans must rush to prepare a defense or risk losing their freedom forever.

Collaboration with an unlikely ally is humanity’s only chance at survival.

Fiona has no memories of her origins, but somehow, she shares half her DNA with the invaders. For this, she lives a life of scorn and shame amongst humans. When the enemy arrives to enslave her village, will she help the humans who hate her or join the aliens who welcome her? The key to victory lies in the depths of her obscure past. Can she remember her true heritage before it's too late?
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My Review:

This is just one of the books that has been sitting on my TBR for so long that I don’t even remember where I picked it up—a giveaway, a sale, promise of a review copy… who knows? All that matters is that I’ve finally gotten to read it, right?

I’ve recently taken up the pastime of searching for “reaction series” on YouTube to shows I used to watch and enjoy. It’s almost as good as actually being able to share those shows with a friend—and that’s why shows like Stargate SG-1 and The Expanse are so fresh in my mind, and those titles are comparable to this book. I’d forgotten the premise of it by the time I actually started reading it, so I was surprised at the “aliens among us” aspect of it, but any unfamiliarity quickly faded the more I read. By about the third chapter, I was hooked.

The most unique part of this story is the dual storylines—Morales cleverly hides pieces of the time period of both tales, so you don’t know where they are in history (except one is very clearly in modern times) and are definitely left guessing when they might be happening relative to each other until the very last moment when all is revealed. I was convinced right up until the moment of the twist that perhaps the two storylines were happening congruently, and perhaps the characters would converge at some point. Boy was I mistaken, but in the best way possible! Nothing could have prepared me for the answer, but it fit so perfectly when it happened that I wondered how I could have missed all the signs so clearly embedded within the narrative! But you’ll just have to read it to find out what I’m talking about.

The other part that I really enjoyed was all the characters, and the very clear development that went on. The way each character reacts to situations and interacts with others at the beginning is very distinct from the character they become at the end. The back-and-forth between the two plots held my interest well enough, although I do recall a few times when I started skimming a little faster through one storyline because I wanted to finally get to the other one!

The thing that I didn’t quite enjoy so much was, quite frankly, the violence and gore. (There is a content warning on the book’s Amazon listing) Of course, the alien race is presented as a very apex-predatory one, so they’re cruel to each other and especially to the humans. It sets them apart from the humans and you really get the sense that this is a race of creatures entirely foreign to Earth—but all the same, it got quite disturbing at times!

I’m glad I stuck it out, though. The payoff hit beautifully, in terms of rounding things off to a satisfying conclusion. The Lost Signal earns itself a ****4 STAR**** rating, and if you enjoy shows like Stargate SG-1 or space-exploration adventures like The Expanse, and you don’t mind blood and guts and the occasional consumption of humans (by the dominant alien race), then you might like this unique and thrilling story!

Further Reading: (Sci-fi Adventure/Alternate Earth/Amazing World-Building)

Starstruck Saga--S. E. Anderson

-Starstruck

-Alienation

The Children of Dreki--N. R. Tupper
-TYR

-Domechild--Shiv Ramdas

-Speaker of Words--E. G. Stone

The Untamed Series--Madeline Dyer
-Untamed
-Fragmented

The Vemreaux Trilogy--Mary E. Twomey
       -The Way
   -The Truth
   -The Lie

The Red Dog Conspiracy--Patricia Loofbourrow

   -The Jacq of Spades
   -The Queen of Diamonds
   -The Ace of Clubs
   -The King of Hearts