Lacy Dawn lives in poverty. To me, she appears to be a troubled child because of her home life. Her father beats her mother, and she is surrounded by abuse of all kinds. Her best friend is dead, but they still talk to each other. During playground time at school, all the other kids come to Lacy for advice and for her healing touch.
Lacy Dawn talks to the trees. That isn’t unusual in itself, but the trees talk back to her.
Lacy has a boyfriend. His name is DotCom, and he is an alien robot. He tells Lacy that it is up to her to save the world.
I had such high hopes for this story, but I was disappointed. Lacy’s life was difficult at best, and DotCom promises that it will get better. It does get better, but it also gets rather silly.
Since eleven-year-old Lacy is living in an abusive home situation, I can understand why she asks DotCom if he wants to see her panties. But even as her situation improves, she continues asking him the same question. It is refreshing when she tells DotCom they won’t have sex until after they are married, but with the lifestyle of Lacy’s family, I don’t feel that this fits her character very well.
Lacy’s mission is to save the world, but why is not revealed to us until she and her family have gone on many shopping sprees at an alien mall. When the reason she has to save the world was finally revealed, I wasn’t sure whether to laugh or take it seriously. Of course, this is a children’s story for adults.
An author’s imagination should never be limited in the books he or she writes, but when the imaginings are put on paper, they should make sense and not be so far-fetched that one is tempted to quit reading. However far the author’s imagination goes, he should be able to make the ones reading the book believe that it is actually happening.
For instance, look at the Harry Potter series. Do I believe that stuff actually happened? No, but when reading the books, I was sucked into Harry Potter’s world and it became real to me. The stuff that happened to Lacy Dawn, except for the situation she was living in at the beginning of the book, never became real to me.
Before I was too far into the book, it became hard to read. There was too much jumping from one person’s head to another. It became confusing for me until I figured out what the author was doing, but even after I figured it out, I still had to backtrack to see who was thinking what. But the author was consistent in this style and never wavered from it. This is a plus.
Would I recommend this book? For some, it may prove to be a great read. Piers Anthony has made a crazy amount of money from the books he has written, but I do not enjoy his writing at all. So, even though I didn’t completely enjoy this book, I’m sure there are plenty who will.
I was sent a copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review. If you would like your own copy of this book, I have provided an Amazon link below.
Amazon Link: Rarity From the Hollow
Favorite Sentences:
Everybody has issues and tissues.
Knowing everything doesn’t mean that a person has a true answer to an actual question.
One of these days, he won’t be able to hit me or Mommy no more.
Grandma said that girls get pregnant by its seat covers.
Maybe it’s not supposed to be a kid’s job to fix her parents or the universe.
New Words Learned:
creasy – an old-time staple southern food in the mustard family which used to be foraged wild, but are now cultivated and are similar in taste to watercress
quadraphonic – of, noting, or pertaining to the recording and reproduction of sound over four separate transmission or direct reproduction channels instead of the customary two of the stereo system
About the Author:
Robert Eggleton has served as a children’s advocate in an impoverished state for over forty years. He is best known for his investigative reports about children’s programs, most of which were published by the West Virginia Supreme Court where he worked from 1982 through 1997. Today, he is a recently retired children’s psychotherapist from the mental health center in Charleston, West Virginia, where he specialized in helping victims cope with and overcome physical and sexual abuse, and other mental health concerns.
Rarity from the Hollow is his debut novel, and its release followed publication of three short Lacy Dawn Adventures in magazines: Wingspan Quarterly, Beyond Centauri, and Atomjack Science Fiction. Author proceeds have been donated to a child abuse prevention program operated by Children’s Home Society of West Virginia. Robert continues to write fiction with new adventures based on a protagonist that is a composite character of children that he met when delivering group therapy services. The overall theme of his stories remains victimization to empowerment.
Rarity from the Hollow has a new website: https://www.hostingauthors.com/books/RarityfromtheHollow
The 2018 Edition of Rarity from the Hollow Paperback is now on Amazon: https://amzn.to/2LfzP84. It is also available for Any eReader: https://bit.ly/2KNJkI2 Proceeds help abused children.
Hi Lisa,
Happy Holidays! I hope that you’re doing okay. After Christmas, the publisher is going to make the next deposit of author proceeds from the Rarity from the Hollow project into the nonprofit agency’s account for the prevention of child maltreatment. Millions of American children will spend this holiday in temporary shelters. A lot more world-wide are likely to spend their respective “holidays” in worse conditions. Having once been the director of emergency children’s shelters in West Virginia, it is still heartbreaking to think about children not having a “real” family during Christmas. I remember the faces, the smiles and thank yous for the presents from staff, but….
I also wanted you to know that the novel received a very cool review by Amazing Stories Magazine. This is my tweet: “Amusing at times, shocking at others, a touching and somehow wonderful SFF read.” Full review by Amazing Stories Magazine: http://bit.ly/2kbsAlV On Sale for Christmas: http://amzn.to/2lF5BPS Proceeds help maltreated children: http://www.childhswv.org
Thanks again for the review. I just shared the link to it again on social media.
Take care,
Robert
https://twitter.com/roberteggleton1
https://www.amazon.com/Rarity-Hollow-Robert-Eggleton/dp/190713395X/
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Rarity-Hollow-Robert-Eggleton/dp/1907133062
For a limited time, the eBook version of the final edition is on sale for $2.99 and the Paperback is on sale for $16.99. https://www.amazon.com/Rarity-Hollow-Robert-Eggleton /dp/190713395X/ Author proceeds contribute to the prevention of child maltreatment: http://www.childhswv.org/
The 2016 edition of Rarity from the Hollow was released on November 3, 2016: http://www.lulu.com/shop/robert-eggleton/rarity-from-the-hollow/paperback/product-22910478.html. The eBook version was released on December 5, 2016: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B017REIA44/ref=tsm_1_fb_lk.
Thanks again for the review of Rarity from the Hollow, an adult literary science fiction novel. A lot has happened since the post and I decided to update you and your readers.
The novel is currently in the process of being republished by Dog Horn Publishing, a traditional small press in Leeds. The 2016 Amazon link is: http://www.amazon.com/Rarity-Hollow-Robert-Eggleton-ebook/dp/B017REIA44
Following are some of the highlights about the novel since we last communicated:
As you know, the novel was found by the editor of Atomjack Science Fiction Magazine to be laugh-out-loud funny in some scenes. Long-time science fiction book critic, Barry Hunter, closed his review, “…good satire is hard to find and science fiction satire is even harder to find.” http://thebaryonreview.blogspo……
A former Editor of Reader’s Digest found that, “Rarity from the Hollow is the most enjoyable science fiction that I’ve read in several years.” http://warriorpatient.com/blog…
Rarity from the Hollow was referred to as a hillbilly version of Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and awarded a Gold Medal by Awesome Indies: “…Tucked between the folds of humor are some profound observations on human nature and modern society that you have to read to appreciate…it’s a funny book that most fans of sci-fi will thoroughly enjoy.” http://awesomeindies.net/ai-ap……
With respect to the story’s treatment of tough social issues, this reviewer said: “If I could, I would give it all the stars in the universe…I was hesitant to accept. I usually do not read or review books that discuss child abuse or domestic violence; however, I was intrigued by the excerpt and decided to give it a shot. I am glad that I took a risk; otherwise, I would have missed out on a fantastic story with a bright, resourceful, and strong protagonist that grabbed my heart and did not let go.” http://www.onmykindle.net/2015…
A prominent book reviewer from Bulgaria named Rarity from the Hollow as one of the best five books that he had read in 2015. http://codices.info/2015/12/to…
On January 20, 2016, Rarity from the Hollow was awarded a second Gold Medal by another popular book review site: https://readersfavorite.com/bo….
An Affiliate of Fantasy Fan Federation, an international organization that has been around since the 1940s, posted on Amazon: “The author has created a new narrative format, something Ive never seen before, with a standard third-person narration, interspersed, lightly, with first-person asides. This makes me think of Eugene ONeills play Strange Interlude where internal and external dialogue are blended. Rarity from the Hollow begins with some rough stuff, hard to read, involving child neglect and child abuse. But it soon turns the corner to satire, parody, and farce, partaking a little of the whimsical and nonsensical humor of Roger Zelazny or even Ron Goulart….”
“…There is much here worthy of high praise. The relationship between Lacy Dawn and DotCom is brilliant. The sense of each learning from the other and them growing up and together is a delight to read. The descriptions of DotCom’s technology and the process of elevating the humans around him again is nicely done. Eggleton reminds me very much of Robert Heinlein at his peak….” http://sfcrowsnest.org.uk/rari……
Rarity from the Hollow has now appeared on over one-hundred blogs or magazines worldwide, in twenty-two different countries including all over the U.S. and the U.K., Finland, Mexico, Bulgaria, Belgium, South Africa, Croatia, Uruguay, India, Taiwan, Australia, Nigeria, Egypt, Malaysia, Canada, Vietnam, Portugal, The Netherlands, Sweden, and Israel. The project has grown into a world-wide movement to sensitize people about child maltreatment through a satiric and comical science fiction adventure.
Thanks again for your review!
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Excerpt of Rarity from the Hollow and Upcoming Review
“Robert Eggleton brings us a story about a sweet and young girl – Lacy Dawn – whose maturity, wit, and goodwill weave an entertaining story to gently reminder us of many core values.” http://reviews.flylef.com/2015/09/rarity-from-hallow.html#gpluscomments
http://www.amazon.com/Rarity-Hollow-Robert-Eggleton-ebook/dp/B017REIA44