Review: Interesting concept, but need lots of work.
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 03 28, 2014
DISCLAIMER: This book was given to The Review Board, of which I am a member, in exchange for an honest review. Following, is my honest, unbiased review of The Garden: The Unauthorized Biography of Adam & Eve.~~~~This story is 'The Creation' meets 'Star Trek'. A hybrid of both biblical and sci-fi. In essence this story relates that Adam & Eve are not from planet earth, known to them as Terran (Latin for land & earth), but from the Delii system, and are an advanced species of humanoid aliens that were sent to earth to teach primitive life and lead them into civility with one another.Here you'll find a back story which sort of coincides with ancient human history, but goes even further to divulge the biblical secrets that historians cannot answer by offering them in the way of extraterrestrial intelligence.In all truth I really loved the premise of this book. Being that I am a geek for anything historical, mythological/biblical, or scientific, this story begged to enchant my inner nerd, and did it well.The overall story line was well narrated and the author has a good way of explaining the technological bits within the dialogue.I also loved the use of actual biblical names/terms in the story. It offered more realism. Like their god's name is Jirah, as in Jehovah-Jirah.There was also the implementation of a pyramid on their mother planet in the Delii system. I thought that was really cool.In other words, it was obvious that the author did extensive research.Although I really enjoyed the story, in being objective, I cannot judge the book on storyline alone. That being said, this book has GREAT potential but needs a lot of work. Following I will point out the things that have opportunity for improvement:* The story needs a great deal of editing in syntax. I found lots of punctuation, grammatical and spelling mistakes throughout the entirety of the book.* The very next thing that should be addressed, I believe, is pacing for in many instances the story's pace slows down significantly. It slows down so much, that it causes boredom. If the reader is a person that craves an upbeat, more tantalizing narrative. This may not be their cup of tea.I truly wish that there had been a little more speed and conflict. Because, although the conflict was there, it was not until the end that it was further elaborated on.I also think that having spread out the conflict throughout the entirety of the story, placing a little bit in each chapter, that it may have served as more of hook for readers. Unfortunately, you'll find that all of the conflict was revealed in some dialogue between characters and it was done in a very methodical way, in which a person may quickly lose interest. However, it was not further addressed until the very end.* I think that there may have been way too many characters introduced all at once (the next bullet will explain more).I also think that if all of these characters were absolutely necessary and had to be introduced into the story, that maybe it would've been a better idea to cut the story down into a series/episodes--I mean, it's already cut down into "parts". Each part could've easily been a "next installment".Why do I say this? Because, this would've made it much easier to follow and the reader would've remembered all of the characters. I found myself having to force my brain to remember who which character was and why they were in the story.* Even from the first chapter the reader is introduced not only to Adam and Eve, but to an entire planet of extraterrestrial beings, by name, function and species.I fully understood what the author was doing with that and the best way that I could describe it is by referring you the the movie The Green Lanterns.When Ryan Reynolds lands on the alien planet and is immediately introduced to several different alien species. I'm sure the point was to bring the authenticity of an evolved intelligent race.However for the 'newbie' in sci-fi literature, this could be very confusing. So this is something that the author may want to consider changing or spreading out a little. Or if they must be all introduced right up front, then maybe only provide names for the characters that have a huge impact on the story.* I found that chapter 13 from part 1, in particular, was extremely long and here is why. As I mentioned before, the author incorporates technological speech within dialogue, but it this chapter for example (although there were a few more that I felt the same way about), you'll find that it gets overwhelming somewhat. Like to the point where the reader potentially can get fatigued and in turn become uninterested.I believe that the author should truly consider if ALL of that must be said. Sometimes leaving certain things to the imagination is a better route.* By the end of the story you do find resolution, and it all makes sense, however it did feel sort of anticlimactic. This could be due to the fact that as a whole the story was lethargic in it's pacing, therefore by the time the reader has reached the end they are no longer invested enough to appreciate the ending.Overall The Garden is a story that entices the mind and entertains. With lots of work, this could be a best seller in the geek market.PS: I say that with pride and as a compliment, because I'm a geek and I'd fully buy and keep this book on my shelf if it were improved. It's a story that deserves a revamp and lots of attention.I deeply believe that if The Garden were overhauled, for a lack of a better term, it would be a great read. However, for now, due to all of the things mentioned above, I'm giving it 3 stars.