The Trilisk Ruins (Parker Interstellar Travels)

Xenoartifacts would be fascinating enough without a government and its powerful space force conspiring to keep these items from the general population.There are arguments for keeping artifacts of alien technology safe from people who might be harmed by what they don't understand, but probably the greatest motivation would be vast sums of money for uncovering new technologies.Of course, the large corporations want to maintain their control over this process so they're counting on a system that works in their favor.Naturally this system has developed into a police-state for the United Nations.This story concentrates on a rogue private exploration to uncover Trilisk devices from a long-dead civilization and smuggle them to black market buyers. The Earth is one where virtual reality is taken for granted and cybernetic implants enable people to interact directly with computers that are part of almost everything and everywhere. While this is not a new concept the novel explores some of the implications of this increased capacity to interact with the world making it a very interesting read. Some of the drawbacks to connected living are also illustrated, such as the ability to eavesdrop on others, having a constant record of your experiences subject to review by authorities, and the government's ruthless conduct to prevent cheating that in turn creates back-channels of communication and commerce.One thing that I kept wondering in this story was how could this all happen with such compliant uniformity when humans have presumably spread to many star-systems and planets. At the level of this story there are only hints of insurrection, but in reality I would think that humans would develop their own responses to harsh rules like this quickly, and simply refuse to cooperate with repressive forces.The outlaw artifact smugglers find a site on a newly-discovered planet that offers surprises and danger for their efforts. It becomes a bit confusing for the reader (as it would be for one of the group being trapped in the alien site.) There is an alien being who becomes important, helping the humans as much as they help the alien. This cooperative effort to survive in a hostile environment is probably the best feature of the story, along with the facinating world of cyber-connectivity.Neither of these is really developed in much detail as that would require a much larger book. Instead, we are left with tantalizing visions of a complex future.

A Review by, CathbadTitle: The Trilisk RuinsWritten By: Michael McCloskeyPublisher and Copyright: Michel NcCloskey © 2016 (ByPrice: $11.99Cathbad’s Rating: 3.5 of 10A Review by, CathbadThe Trilisk Ruins The prologue screamed Danger! Danger! At me from the first sentence. Couldn’t the author find some more adjectives to use? I’m sure there’s a few more he missed… isn’t there? Chapter one: Continual usage of superfluous words and descriptions. Getting bored fast. Will I be able to finish this tome? And Mike? We get it – she has an internal computer link. Please stop harping on it. Ok, let’s get the set-up down. Telisa is a xenoarchaeologist. (Another superfluous word, since the xeno part isn’t necessary.) She gets hired by Parker Interstellar Travels for a mission to hunt for Trilisk artifacts. Interestingly, both Telisa and the two company partners (Jack and Thomas) are (according to the dialog and omniscient narration) quite mistrustful, for fear of the UNSF (the military), whom they both have skirted the rules of. Yet, within just a few pages, far more is revealed to each other than best friends might learn of the other’s foibles in years. And Jack told her the company secrets (they smuggle artifacts) moments after meeting her – despite knowing she was the daughter of a USNF Captain’s daughter! The obvious (such as the military advisor’s disinterest in the business aspects of the trip) is too often pointed out.An excerpt: “Excellent. That may help you out with your agility and balance, which are important for many types of combat.” Are we kidding? Who talks like that? This was said after Telisa revealed she had been a “slide dance champion” in school. ~shakes head sadly~ Mike? When Jack stepped up to Magnus and spoke, we already knew it was him speaking. No need for the “Jack Said” at the end. And this goes for the umpteen number of times you use the word “said”. Just saying. There’s really not much to like about this book. The characters are one-dimensional, the storyline’s been done and overdone. Okay, here’s one: It seems well edited; I could find few spelling or grammatical mistakes. Some of the situations and creatures are quite unbelievable. An environment that follows you around?? Automated vehicles so stupid that they run over and kill your boyfriend? Because Category 3 Hurricanes are coming, you have to take vitamins? It also seems the author couldn’t decide if he wanted Telisa to be a strong female character, or just another of the myriad of weak females needing a man (Magnus) to survive. A military Captain letting a ship escape, even knowing the alien they want may be inside, A weapons targeting system that doesn’t work… because of sound? In space? Sad to say, even the ending loses. It was rather… boring. Oddly, after the epilogue, the author states that the story continues in The Trilisk AI. Hmm. If that’s true, then he also failed to use the ending – or at least the epilogue – to set up the next part. I actually hate giving bad reviews, but with all the advertising the author has done, he must expect reviews? I give this novel a rating of 3.5 out of 10.

Unfortunately, there is very little world building in this book. We get some scanty insight into the USF which appears to now be running the world. How it came about, what restrictions there are etc, are not explored or explained. We only know that the heroine railed at not being able to explore alien artifacts freely. At one point, however, there is a hint that examining the Trilisk (obviously a form of alien) artifacts can have serious and presumably dangerous side effects. Maybe that will come out in subsequent books.The commencement of the book seemed quite unreal. Within a couple of pages, our heroine, the daughter of a respected USF officer, although she has bad relationship with him, decides to become a smuggler, just so she can examine alien artifacts. It did not ring that true to me, but it did kick start the book into its main plot line.My biggest concern was that the ending just happened. There was no sense of closure or completeness when it came to an end. The heroine and her lover just disappeared and the USF apparently could not follow them, although it had managed to do so earlier. We have no explanation as to how it was done in the first place, nor why it could not happen at the end. Loose ends make for a frustrating read.The ending made it quite clear that there has to be subsequent books to come. At this point, I would be minded to read the next one so long as it is not too expensive.

Good, fast read with a bitter afterflavor prompted by the human society. The author brilliantly shows the coming "LINK" society and shows the constant trend of government to overregulate. The obvious is that society needs more "Freedoms", especially from intrusion. Yes, this is chaos, but at least it is NOT "Chaos under benevolent mismanagement leading to totally dystopia". Bravo! The alien is exactly that and actually accomplishes more "Alien contact" than the humans. I wish the author had handled more than two smuggler characterizations at one time. Still, the dystopian human society is enough to make you retch. Thanks, Harry!

This is the first Amazon.com based book review I have written. The reason is that this is the first book I wanted to review.I am a Principle Engineer living on the east coast and I can easily relate to Michael's use of future technology. The story isvery original and engrossing. I have purchased the complete Triligy (Trilisk #1,#2 and #3) as I am confident that all three bookswill be great. One special element in the story grabbed me and that is what developes between a certain alien being that the maincharacters encounter. I wont spoil the book by explaining further but rest assured its incredible and unique.I feel good about recommending this book to any SiFi lover and as well anyone who likes a technical mystery.