From Neil Buchanan, Starburst Magazine 7 out of 10 Stars
There’s an innocence to Serpentauria that proves hard to resist. It is at once an entertaining and engaging story full of intrigue and betrayal, but there’s also a powerful message about species extinction that’s difficult to ignore. Serpentauria serves as an excellent gateway for children into the problems facing nature and also manages to remain a fine adventure to boot.
Serpentauria is more than just a novel, it also represents the dreams of author Erik Daniel Shein who hopes through his entertainment company, Arkwatch, to one day build a real earth Genomic zoological sanctuary, a true Noah’s arc if you will, that will house the D.N.A seeds and animal/plant life for future generations.
Serpentauria does unfortunately stumble in places; there are a number of grammatical nits that while not distracting from the narrative, pop up a little too often. Certain chapters resonate with drama while others labour under the narrative. As a whole, the writing is strong, but there are places where a final edit, perhaps its conversion through the various eBook formats, could have catapulted the book from good to great. Luckily, it doesn’t derail the novel’s central themes and the writing is strong enough to engross the reader sufficiently all the way through to a thought provoking climax.
Since its release, Serpentauria has gained quite the following, with even talk of a possible movie in the works. One thing’s for sure, Sepentauria looks set to make a big name for itself in the years to come.
This was an excellent read, the first I’ve read from these authors. A blend of South American mythology and present-day science fiction, this well wrought novel combines believable characters with a dazzling display of science and technology. And if the human characters aren’t enough, wait until you meet some of the fascinating creatures woven into the dense jungle of plot twist and mystery Serpentauria has to offer. As entertaining and fast-paced as this book is, there’s also a strong underlying message that brings to light many of our important societal and ecological issues in the world today. The first installment in its series, Serpentauria did an excellent job of laying the groundwork for future books while still providing an entertaining read, start to finish. As an avid science fiction reader, I took a walk on the wild side with this highly entertaining ‘tail.’
