Rating: 3,75 stars out of 5
Six months have passed since Dillon and Lang crashed into each other on a crowded street in New York City, changing the course of their lives. Now they’re living together as a couple, happy, in love, but not quite ready to say the words out loud.
Dillon is about to embark on a new adventure—opening a private art school housed in the brownstone left to him by his father. Lang… Lang is becoming ever more aware of the futility of his mission: being caretaker to his clan’s future when his clan might not survive the war with an opposing faction.
When a flashbulb outside a nightclub on New Year’s Eve temporarily blinds Dillon, the course of their lives is set to change again. Dillon’s perception of how the world works is going to be forever altered, and Lang will have to decide between his mission and the man who has come to mean more to him than he ever thought possible.
It will be up to both of them to chart a new direction, one that holds the balance between being human and alien. A course that might require sacrifices neither of them is willing to make.
Purple Haze (Aliens in New York #2) by Kelly Jensen is the sequel to Uncommon Ground and for me, a better story. While I enjoyed the first tale, this one contained more information about the aliens, some of their culture and genetics that was lacking in the first story so it felt more well rounded.
It takes place six months after the conclusion of Uncommon Ground so in Purple Haze Dillon and Lang can be considered an established couple. It’s no longer a case of instant love, something I had a problem with in the first story. Here the author continues to build on that new relationship, Lang’s inspection of his feelings about Dillon from his species pov and from the fact that he now “feels” more humanized than Skov after all his years alone on Earth. Which of course, he is also realizing that was never really the case.Others of his world have always been there with their own agenda.
This is a novel crammed full of story threads. Dillon’s continuing adjustment to his new reality, Lang’s stress and issues as he struggles with his new relationship, his mission, and fears abiyt the ongoing galactic drama on Jord, And yes, even more! There’s aliens on Earth and the fear of discovery! Jensen threw everything in the pot on this one.
And it’s absolutely entertaining and suspenseful and fun.
There are still a lot of holes here. We know nothing of Jord other than their sun is dying leaving their world in a perpetual Ice Age so looking for a new world for their people is essential for survival. Also that they are an “engineered species” with clans charged with traditional jobs such as farming which has evolved through the ages but clean certain clans subservient to others.Those seem to be the basics but the gaps of knowledge we need for a solid foundation for their world and species is huge. And not present. That’s really necessary to make a science fiction story come truly alive and a alien culture feel real.
The characters were also likable and easy to connect with, although again, those that were “alien” felt like dressed up humans, lacking an alien mindset that felt believable. While I had so much fun with all the ships, and talky AI’s and such, they had a superficial feel to them. What I loved was Dillon’s Korean mother and grandmother and their warm house. They made every scene they entered just glow with joy and love.
Same for the scenes in the art school that Dillon created with characters the author borrowed from another author’s series (with permission). Since I hadn’t read that author or series, having them there made little to no impression on me other than they seemed nice. Extraneous but nice.
No, there was a whole action filled, suspense element here that worked. The resolution to which also left me with many ore questions as to what happened to certain beings who caused all the problems. Those answers never come. It all gets wrapped up rather too tidely. Sweet but a bit too swiftly for all that went down.
I could be wrong but it seems like this is a 2 book series. That would be a shame because we know so little about the alien cultures and so much is left unresolved about Lang’s people. As for Dillon and Lang? A HFN is how I would consider the ending.
I liked this story and the one before but don’t consider them as strong as Jensen’s other science fiction story, To See The Sun.
If you love science fiction romance, I recommend that one first. Then these.
Cover art is simple and to the point. Still far preferable than that failure of a cover for the first story which looks like a contemporary romance with models that looks nothing like the mcs.
Sales Links: Amazon
Book Details:
Kindle Edition, 191 pages
Published May 10th 2019
ASINB07QW1SGJ7
URL https://www.kellyjensenwrites.com/purple-haze
Series Aliens in New York
What About Lunch? now folded into the first story as an add on
Dillon Lee’s grandfather was a conspiracy theorist. Every summer he’d take Dillon on a tour of New York City while entertaining him with tales of aliens. Fifteen years later, after a phone call from a lawyer, Dillon is carrying his grandfather’s ashes from landmark to landmark, paying a sort of tribute, and trying to figure out what to do with his unexpected legacy. When someone tries to steal the ashes, a guy Dillon has barely met leaps to the rescue, saving the urn and the day.
Rolling Thunder passes by my parents farm every year on their way into the District and my father, a veteran of the Korean war, goes outside and salutes them as they pass by. Our media here in the metropolitan area is full of pictures and videos marking the solemn day of remembrance as flags are put at every grave at Arlington and the crowds swell at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial as well as that of the World War II one nearby. If you have never visited the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, then you have not experienced the power and overwhelming sense of loss that pervades that site. The Wall itself a marker of the high cost of valor and service to our country in the names of the men and women lost reflected back to us. In that black stone reflection, we see the list of names in chronological order and our own reflections, the recipients of their sacrifice. For me, never has a memorial to our dead felt so alive, awash in grief, and sorrow and gratitude.
WELCOME TO THE LAST OF THE GREAT FLYING CITIES
Lieutenant Addison Hunt is proud to serve the Confederation even if he still feels like he’s on the outside looking in. Addison was illegally genetically modified as a child, leaving him burdened with a sense of shame. Emotionally isolated from his fellow crewmen and recovering from injuries from his last job, Addison is happy to have light duty transporting an esteemed diplomat to a peace conference.
Rook
This book starts out with a civil war started by King Taen by appropriating the lands of Lord Mavren, making him an enemy. Really there are huge ideological differences between the two and Mavren speaking out against what they see as issues in their society has lead to this. Lord General Aiomonni is the head of King Taen’s military and Lord Mavren’s previous lover. Mavren becomes King of their own rebel Catalyst forces. The reader is thrown into the mind of a Soldiercaste of the Augment Empire during a battle in which they are captured by the enemy. The Augment are a cybernetic species that need organic tissue for digestion, or a host body to assimilate. They are bipedal, yet insectile. This soldier becomes Nact of Quen and the reader will follow them as they raise up in the Catalyst army after their defection. When Nact and Aiomonni engage in battle beyond the charted galaxy to land on a hostile planet, their only hope of survival lies in cooperation, and maybe more.
In the far reaches of the Kyleri Empire, young Captain Mahnoor travels around the system to escape the cultural pressures to marry. But his infatuation with a handsome imperial pilot leads him into a galactic war.
Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words 