The Trilisk Ruins (Parker Interstellar Travels Book 1)

A really good read. McCloskey does a great job of introducing you to not one but two completely alien races with hints about at least one other race as well. The UNSF (United Nations Space Force) was handled very well and the main characters grew as the story progressed. I wasn't planing to read beyond the first book but now I must have more. There were no distracting spelling or syntax errors which certainly added to a very interesting story line. McCloskey is a first rate author and I plan to buy and read everything he's written.

McCloskey's ability to describe an environment from an alien perspective made for a great story line. Imagine a culture that communicates with entirely different senses and a really alien value set. Includes good high-tech sci fi. Overall it was a great read. Looking for more.

Some funny moments, a few muddled science explanations, some spelling and grammar errors.

Oh, and the author used the phrase "mind's eye" 17 times.

It was kind of fun and interesting, nothing too deep. And there is alien contact, so extra points for that.
Results: Ok. I wouldn't advise spending much, and I doubt I will read the next installment, but it had it's moments.

I downlaoded The Trillisk Ruins for free and was drawn into McCloskey's universe. It's a straight-forward space adventure in the tradition of Andre Norton, populated with likable anti-heroes and a most unique alien. I'm eager to move on to book two.

The best thing about this book was the explorations into the strange and alien thoughts of Shiny, an explorer and survivor of an alien civilization. I found it very interesting to see how different the author could make Shiny's mental processes.
The narrative had some definite flaws, especially in the beginning. Characters were not very well developed, sometimes dialogue was very inadequate. But, the presentation of the alien ruins was well done, engaging, and after reading the second book in the series, I probably will continue with the third, when it comes out.

I finished the book and have mixed feeling. The series has really good possibilities but needs something, maybe it's grounding of the story line. I feel I've come in at the middle of the movie and just never caught up.

This writer has created a future of aliens beyond belief, I found it very hard to follow. I couldn't stay with the story line and had to stop reading. I'm sure that there are people who would like the authors style.

A Review by, Cathbad

Title: The Trilisk Ruins
Written By: Michael McCloskey
Publisher and Copyright: Michel NcCloskey © 2016 (By
Price: $11.99
Cathbad’s Rating: 3.5 of 10

A Review by, Cathbad

The 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.

Decent adventure yarn, but built no interest in characters or their motivations so won't be reading the next nine books. Supposed to be about interstellar archaeology but there is little about that (try Jack McDevitt's books). Not a waste of time; not memorable.

First novel of a series. Teliesa is an exoarchaeologist hired by a sketchy company that smuggles relics. On an obscure world they find the remains of a facility built by a dead race. And they find a living alien who is really alien. Not your ordinary space opera. Can't wait to start the next book in the series.

Amazing book really!The description of the alien and the respective technologies. look so real. Same can be said about the inter personal relations or the inter species interaction.
Looking forward for the continuation of the saga.
Well done Michael!

The Trilisk Ruins is a classic space adventure story. The story is straight forward, and the characters are easy to understand. Still there is intrege, mystery and suspense that makes you not want to put it down.

The story is good for children because it has the exitment they enjoy with out any gratitous violence, sex, or profanity. There are some adult concepts, but they are not distressing.

At only a dollar in price, the book is well worth taking a chance on today.

Decent adventure yarn, but built no interest in characters or their motivations so won't be reading the next nine books. Supposed to be about interstellar archaeology but there is little about that (try Jack McDevitt's books). Not a waste of time; not memorable.

First novel of a series. Teliesa is an exoarchaeologist hired by a sketchy company that smuggles relics. On an obscure world they find the remains of a facility built by a dead race. And they find a living alien who is really alien. Not your ordinary space opera. Can't wait to start the next book in the series.

Amazing book really!The description of the alien and the respective technologies. look so real. Same can be said about the inter personal relations or the inter species interaction.
Looking forward for the continuation of the saga.
Well done Michael!

The Trilisk Ruins is a classic space adventure story. The story is straight forward, and the characters are easy to understand. Still there is intrege, mystery and suspense that makes you not want to put it down.

The story is good for children because it has the exitment they enjoy with out any gratitous violence, sex, or profanity. There are some adult concepts, but they are not distressing.

At only a dollar in price, the book is well worth taking a chance on today.

This was a fast paced read well written with some novel concepts. Character outlines were sufficient without being over lengthy or boring. I look forward to further explanation of some of the concepts in future books. Thank you

Think Indiana Jones in Outer Space. Most of it sets up the series. Xenoarcheologist rebellious daughter of a UN Space Force starship captain teams up with an ex-military artifact smuggler and an alien creature to find alien artifacts, get rich and save humanity from both the totalitarian UN Space Force and other nasty aliens.

Lots of existential questions, including whether or not they can trust the alien they name Shiny since he/it is utterly "rational" about the tension between cooperation versus competition. A complete absence of emotionally based, retained loyalty means Shiny acts in his own economic self-interest; that of the humans is only coincidental. A bit pretentious but fun.

Needs some editing. The first chapter was difficult and made me think of a teenager writing it.. Almost made me put the book down. Once I got through that, the book got better as it went along. Not the best read but not a waste of time either.

Provides a few interesting perspectives from the aliens point of view. A love story[sort of] and some space battles. A human civilisation that arrived late to the space exploration phase stumbles across artifacts from past civilisations and cordons off access to them. Hints are dropped all over the book about what some of those artifacts can do.

Solid sci fi story. There is a delicate line people tread when they set up some obvious lead ons for the next part in a series. I cannot say whether the author did it well or not but at the very least it felt like a good stopping point for the story. There was a clear ending with lose ends left and promised future interactions.

I am a big reader so this might be my own preference but I did feel that while it was a good stopping point the story felt short. But again, big reader. I hate having to stop reading a story at any point.

Fast-moving space opera tale. No deep science fiction to ponder, but a fun, light read about hostile aliens, quirky aliens, and an adventurous xenoarcheologist. It's like a summer movie, in print. I bought the next in the series, and that's about the best recommendation a reader can give, right?

Always been a big fan of the xenoarchaeologist alien-ruins theme, and this one does not disappoint. As a stand-alone, I'd be disappointed at the abrupt ending, but as the first of a series, I'm definitely onboard, and eagerly awaiting the next installment! Found the ET to be intriguing, and entertaining. Definitely want to see more of him (it?).