Invasion

By Jon S. Lewis

He didn't ask to be a hero, but now all that stands between us and chaos . . . is Colt.

Colt McAlister was having the summer of his life. He spent his days surfing and his nights playing guitar on the beach with friends. He even met a girl and got his first car. But everything changes when his parents are killed in a freak accident.

He's forced to leave his old life behind and move to Arizona with his grandfather. The only person he knows at the new high school is a childhood friend named Dani. And Oz, a guy he's sure he's never met but who is strangely familiar.

But what if his parents' death wasn't an accident? His mother, an investigative reporter, was going to expose a secret mind-control program run by one of the world's largest companies. Before she could release the story, what if agents from Trident Biotech made sure she couldn't go public?

Vowing to uncover truth, Colt is drawn into a secret world of aliens, shapeshifters, flying motorcycles, and invisible getaways.

The invasion has begun.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Thomas Nelson
• Release date: Nov 14, 2011
• ISBN: 9781401685096

Book preview

Reviews for Invasion

[kw50197 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A light, fun read with likable characters.

[bailschris · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I love books that are like this. That hold so much promise for the future of the series and yet keep the reader wanting for more. The author has completed a well-written novel and well fleshed out characters that capture the reader from the beginning. It starts out in the middle of the action which enchanting in so many ways. Often when books have a lull in the first chapter or two, it loses readers almost immediately and so I was happy to see that this wasn't the case at all. The plot is very interesting, entwining a lot of qualities and items that fascinate a lot of people which only makes it that much more interesting. I really liked this book.
Colt was a character that I wasn't too sure about in the beginning as I was trying to grasp how his character would be in this story. His voice as a character grew a lot within the first chapter and I began to really like him as a character. I felt like I could relate to his original feeling about monsters because he really wasn't too certain about it at first, which is something that I could truthfully relate to. I feel like I would claim that there is no way possible for this to happen. Yet after he is introduced and acquainted to the idea, he seems to flourish in the situation, proving that he is not only knowledgeable about things but also that he is a strong fighter. In that chapter he proved to be more than a surfer and continues to throughout the story. But sadly he forgets everything that occurs and all that remains is a vague ideal of everything he did. That certainly didn't make his life any easier though once everything begins to get worse.
I found Danielle to be an adorable character. She was the type of friend that Colt needed with out all the emotional complication that comes with most friendships in this genre of literature. It is good that she is there when he faces the loss that no one wants to experience, for sure. They have been friends since they were toddlers, so I suppose that isn't any surprise. Once problems begin to arise though, she proves to be more than just a friend. She proves to be an expert hacker, just the type of person that Colt needs. I liked her character a lot. 
Oz is the type of character I think I would have expected to be the main character, simply because of his background. He is the son of the leader of C.H.A.O.S. which makes him the type of person that could either help or hinder the plot as well as the organization. However, he proves to be a worthwhile friend to Colt and perhaps something more for another main character. He is flirty and sarcastic, something that makes his scenes even more entertaining. He was pretty awesome.
It's a good book, so definitely check it out and see if it's the type of book you would like to read! 
**This book was received from the publisher via NetGalley. None of the review was influenced by the author or the publisher. This is a completely original review. The thoughts and feelings of the reviewer are entirely her own and have no ties to the publisher.**

[carolvanbrocklin · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A little creepy for kids but still an OK read.

[herdingcats_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

When Colt McAlister is 16 years old, his whole world changes. He is attacked by something large and tentacled while surfboarding, and then when he gets home from the hospital, he learns that his parents have died in a car accident. After moving in with his grandfather, Colt learns that it was not an accident that killed his parents, the aliens from his favorite comic books exist and are trying to take over the world, and it may be up to him to stop them. Together with his computer hacker friend Danielle, and OZ, whose father is the head of C.H.A.O.S, Colt tries to stop the evil Trident company, which is really run by aliens who want to take over the world, kill off the humans and live here themselves. There are jet packs, flying motorcycles and red-eyed, computer controlled assassins. This is a fast paced thriller and is the first book in the C.H.A.O.S. trilogy. I got this book for free to review from Booksneeze. I think it is a fantastic book and I look forward to reading the other two books in the series!

[jwitt33 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is the first book of a trilogy and I really enjoyed reading it! C.H.A.O.S. is a government agency that has been around since before WWI to deal with and stop the invasion of Earth by aliens. Colt McAlister is a typical California teen until his parents are killed in a car accident and he is sent to live with his grandfather in Arizona. It is there that he learns that the aliens and government agents from his favorite comic book, “The Phantom Flyer and the agents from CHAOS”, really exist, and his family is smack dab in the middle of it. Colt, with the help of his friends Danielle and Oz, set out to find the person responsible for killing his parents, and possibly bring down Trident Industries in the process. There is so much action in this book that I read it in one day! The kids in the book are very likable and the book reads very quickly. I really liked this book and I'm looking forward to reading the second book in the series, Alienation :D

[nicola26 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Before I got this book, I read the Kindle sample and really loved it. I was completely drawn in by the fast paced writing and just had to know what was going to happen next! So I got the rest of the book and was pretty interested in reading it. While it was good, it wasn't good the whole way through.

I really enjoyed the first half. I loved getting to know Colt and watching him slowly learn things and figure out what was going on. The writing makes it very easy to read and it's quite exciting. It was fascinating getting all the information about the hidden world and I thought Colt was an incredibly strong character, especially considering everything he was going through personally! This book is full of brave and no-nonsense characters.

It slowed down for me a bit though- ironically, it slowed for me as the action sped up! I'm just not into lots of action so that didn't manage to hold my attention very well. Not really a fault with the book- just a preference I have as a reader! So some people will definitely enjoy the action but it just wasn't for me. It picked up again as it was ending though and I very much enjoyed the last pages and they made be eager to pick up the next book.

Overall, Invasion is an action packed, thrilling light read full of well developed characters and I will be reading the sequel as I definitely want to know what happens next.

[phh333 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

It was an okay book. Not too much character development. Lots of action, but nothing sustained.

[pacey1927 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I enjoyed this book. It read quickly and I enjoyed the comic book type drawings of the characters and creatures in the novel. The story was entertaining and relatively unique. The story is about a 16 year old named Colt whose parents pass away and he goes to live with his grandfather who happens to be an old war hero called the "Phantom Flyer". The Phantom Flyer was actually a comic book hero and his true existence was more of a myth. Colt's grandfather as the Phantom Flyer fought against the Nazis in World War II. In Colt's era there are mysterious happenings and rumors of paranormal happenings. Can Colt and his friends Oz and Danielle find out what really happened to his parents?.What I enjoyed? Besides the cool drawings, I liked the many unique creatures written into this book. I loved the beginning of the book where Colt goes to the mysterious military headquarters and is evaluated for duty with the C.H.A.O.S team. (Center Headquarters Against the Occult and Supernatural). I thought sidekick Oz was absolutely adorable and by his description I completely picture him as a Taylor Lautner lookalike. Danielle is has some Hermoine Granger in her. She is smart and sensible and kind of holds the trio together.What I didn't like as much? First of all I was disappointed because the enjoyable opening scenes in where Colt is introduced to a world of paranormal activity and his evaluation for duty ended up having nothing much to do with the remainder of the tale. In fact they erased his memory at the end of that experience. It was an annoying plot device. I also thought that the pieces of the plot could have been linked better. Sometimes the characters would realize something but the readers aren't cohesively let in on what they know. It was confusing sometimes.Still this was a pretty fun read. It is far from a favorite but I think 13 year old boys would probably love this book. I have the second book to read for review and that will determine whether I want to stick around for the final installment.

[mbels_2 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I've become quite a fan of young adult literature lately. The fast-pace of most of the stories in this genre are appealing to me. Invasion (A C.H.A.O.S.) was not quite as gripping as I had hoped, but it was still a fun read. The character development of Colt, the main character, was a little lacking, and while I understood Colt to be sad about his parents death, he certainly didn't spend much time dwelling on their demise. I would have liked to understand a bit more about what Colt was thinking and/or feeling in the bizarre situations that he found himself in, but I doubt a young reader would be as picky as I am.

[liscarey · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Sixteen-year-old Colt McAlister is living the dream in San Diego, surfing by day and playing guitar with his friends by night, when his parents are killed in a freak car accident. The youngest of eight, several of his older brothers offer him a home, but recognizing the demands they face with their own young families, he chooses instead to join his Grandpa McAlister in Phoenix, AZ. The only person he knows at his new high school is Danielle Salazar, a childhood friend, but he quickly meets and becomes friends with Oz Romero--whom he's sure he's never met before but who seems oddly familiar.

This is a fast-paced and mostly tightly plotted novel, so it's not long before we know there's something fishy about the accident that killed Colt's parents--and about Trident, the company that his investigative journalist mother was investigating. We also learn that Colt's grandpa has a fascinating history of his own: A World War II veteran, he's believed to be the basis of the comic book superhero the Phantom Flyer, who played a key role in defeating the Nazis' alien reptilian allies...did I forget to mention that? Yes, it seems there are gateways between our world and others, and some pretty startling beings have come through them, including the reptilian Thule, who want to wipe us out and take Earth for themselves.

So when Colt overhears his grandpa and Sen. Bishop discussing the fact that his parents' accident wasn't exactly an accident, and he and his friends decide to investigate, it doesn't take long before they're in very hot water. Trident is controlled by the Thule, the reptilian invaders behind the Nazis, and is the major threat that the secret government agency, the Central Headquarters Against the Occult and Supernatural, a.k.a. CHAOS, exists to fight. Colt, Dani, and Oz quickly find out just how much of a beating they can take and keep on ticking, and how tough, smart, and resourceful they can be when their own and the world's survival depends on it.

I really did enjoy this book. It's a solid young adult science fiction novel, firmly in the camp of the "Heinlein juveniles" of cherished memory (and still available in your local library and bookstore, by the way.) It does have a couple of oddities and weaknesses, though. One is that, although the female characters are in fact presented as tough, smart, and resourceful, it certainly appears that there are no female CHAOS agents. This seems terribly unlikely, and maybe the next novel in the sequence will reveal that that appearance is not correct. The other problem is an annoying plot hole. We're told that the biochips that make it possible for Trident to control unwitting sleeper agents, and which cause their eyes to glow red when the chip is activated, were invented in the past few years by a minor character whom we do meet. Unfortunately, we're also told that the Thule and Nazis were using the same control technology during WWII. Can't have it both ways!

But those are minor issues, and this is a solid, enjoyable YA science fiction novel.

I received a free electronic galley of this book from the publisher via NetGalley.

[turningpages2011 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I had a REALLY hard time getting into this book. I couldn't get past the 14th chapter. I was looking forward to reading this book as it is different then what I normally read. The story unfolds too slowly for me and had characters that were hard to relate to because they were so far from reality. I usually enjoy young adult books, but this book didn't capture me like I was expecting. Maybe later down the road I will try to pick it up and read it again. I have been trying to read this book for a month and can't get myself to read more then a chapter at a time.