5 Big Stars for DADDY'S MONEY by Alan Chin

Tuesdays are the days on this blog where I showcase my work. Today, I’d like to share a review of my novel, Daddy’s Money. The reviewer, Bob Lind, writes for Echo Magazine, and is an aficionado of lgbtq literature. 

5 Big Stars for DADDY'S MONEY by Alan Chin

Sayen Homet is a young Muslim man, working his way through Stanford Medical School as best he can. His mother already sacrificed considerably to get him to America, and could not help him pay for school, so Sayen found another way: hooking up with an older man, his secret Sugar Daddy. 

When Sayen meets Campbell Reardon, another med student with whom he feels an instant - and lustful - connection. Campbell is also rich, and is more than willing to support Sayen financially, so he ends his arrangement with the older man. As the young couple continues to date, Sayen is brought to meet Campbell's parents, and learns that his former "Sugar Daddy" is Campbell's father! 

One would think the story ends there, but that's really just the start of the action, as various emotions, prejudices and grudges surface on the part of the young couple, Campbell's father (who is still in love with Sayen himself), Campbell's mother (who doesn't sit well with the news of her husband's affair), and sister Halle (who is pregnant with her Muslim boyfriend's baby.) It's a roller coaster ride, well-written and engaging in the hands of one of my favorite authors. Don't miss it! Five stars out of five.

- Bob Lind, Echo Magazine

The Markets in Valparaiso, Chile

The historic district has a wonderful open market that covers a few city blocks. Wandering though markets is, in my opinion, one of the best ways to experience a culture, which makes it one of my favorite things to do when traveling to a new city or town. 

As you would expect, being a coastal city on the edge of farming country, both the seafood and vegetables were fresh and plentiful.  

Biggest Corn I’ve ever seen.

Hard to see, but this woman is selling plucked chickens and fish.

Rainbow Book Reviews raves about Surviving Immortality

The reviews are coming in for my latest novel, Surviving Immortality, and they are glowing.

Rainbow Book Reviews said, among other wonderful things:

The story is breathtakingly spellbinding, to say the least.

If you like thrillers with a global scale, if you want to watch a family go from peaceful ranchers to the only guys who can save the world (with the help of a few good men), and if you’re looking for a suspenseful read that explores human nature in a mesmerizing story with a surprisingly hopeful ending, then you will probably like this novel as much as I do. I found it emotionally draining yet utterly captivating!

You can read the entire review at:

http://www.rainbowbookreviews.com/book-reviews/surviving-immortality-by-alan-chin-at-dsp-publications

Book Blurb

This is the story of the fountain of youth.

When Kenji Hiroshige discovers a formula that will keep people youthful and healthy for several thousand years, he tells the world he will not divulge his secret until every gun, tank, battleship, and bomb has been destroyed. When the world is free of weapons, everyone can live forever. And then he goes into hiding.

Before he disappears, his son Matt Reece is exposed to the formula. Kenji takes Matt Reece on the run with him, but as they struggle to elude both government agencies and corporations who will do anything to profit from Kenji’s discovery, Matt Reece learns that world peace might not be his father’s only goal. But what can a young man who’s barely stepped foot off his isolated ranch do in the face of something so sinister?

This is the story of human greed and the lust for violence. It’s the story of a world on the brink of destruction, but it’s also a tale of one young man who finds in himself the will, courage, and compassion to stand against the darkness—both outside and within himself.

This is a story of hope.

Book Review

At first glance the title sounds like a contradiction because immortality, by definition, means survival. And maybe it does on a purely physical level for each individual, but for humanity as a whole? It would require entirely different survival strategies than the ones we have developed over the millennia since we stopped living on trees. Immortality, for humans so far, is a philosophical construct. Its consequences, beyond what it might mean for an individual, are hard to imagine – and Alan Chin does a good job of speculating about the effects it might have. Religion might cease to exist since no fear of death means no need for an afterlife so no more funding for any religious organization. The pharmaceutical industry would be gone overnight. The medical profession – wiped out except for a few doctors needed for occasional reapplication of the formula. And what about the threat of overpopulation with everyone surviving? It requires a lot of imagination to think through the effects of immortality on humanity, and Alan Chin has done an amazing job at presenting one possible scenario. He takes a kernel of (unproven but not impossible) science as a catalyst that explains how the formula for immortality is discovered, uses a range of characters to illustrate various possible reactions, and spins a tale that includes murder, secrets, deception, betrayal, and more twists and turns than should be legal in one novel. The resulting story is breathtakingly spellbinding, to say the least.

Matt Reece is only eighteen when the proverbial sh*t hits the fan, has lived on his family’s ranch since he was born, and has been pretty much a recluse for the last two years. Like his father Jessup, he is gay and the bullying in school got so bad after his older brother left two years before the story starts that he has been homeschooled. In no way does any of this prepare him for what is to come – though I would argue that nothing can prepare anyone for having to face immortality, not to mention every single political, military, and religious group on the planet being after you for the secret. Matt Reece feels the burden of responsibility to “do something great” with the gift he has been given, but, at first, he has no idea what that might be. Combined with being on the run and fearing for his life, he faces terror from so many different angles that it’s a miracle he remains sane.

Kenji has invented the immortality formula but he is a shifty character almost from the start. While he seems to have commendable goals – like ending war, poverty, and disease – I did not like his attitude toward his husband, Jessup, and that was before the blackness of his soul emerges. The things he does to achieve what looks like a noble goal expose his ruthless side, and in that sense, he is a perfect incarnation of the principle that “the end justifies the means” which has terrifying consequences for his family and, ultimately, for him.

The story is told from different points of view, revealing a variety of perspectives offered up like puzzle pieces. Nobody knew everything at any point in time, nobody had any sort of control, and most characters were out to save their own behinds. Pretty realistic on any given day, but with the bombshell of immortality affecting everyone’s world view all of a sudden, this was particularly true. Alan Chin does not pull his punches with criticism on religious leaders, multinational corporations, the corruption of governments and politicians worldwide (but particularly in the US), and the military and law enforcement are shown from their worst side as well. As a whole, this novel offers an assessment of the worst side of the human race, and the emergence of the potential of immortality worsens the greed, infighting, and ruthless power-grabbing about a thousandfold. The situation changes the world as we know it to the point where it becomes a postapocalyptic situations where new rules emerge from the rubble that used to be civilization.

Despite the overall darkness shown by exposing humanity at its worst, there are a few flecks of hope and light throughout. Matt Reese is young and naive and seems helpless at first. He suffers both emotionally and physically as Kenji tries to drag him down into the moral abyss that is Kenji’s soul. But there is a stubborn goodness in Matt Reece that gradually grows stronger as he finds his way. Finding love gives him purpose, his family members join him in his fight, and when courage grows out of fear, Matt Reece emerges like a phoenix from the ashes, a very different person than he was before.

If you like thrillers with a global scale, if you want to watch a family go from peaceful ranchers to the only guys who can save the world (with the help of a few good men), and if you’re looking for a suspenseful read that explores human nature in a mesmerizing story with a surprisingly hopeful ending, then you will probably like this novel as much as I do. I found it emotionally draining yet utterly captivating!

DISCLAIMER: Books reviewed on this site were usually provided at no cost by the publisher or author. This book has been provided by DSP Publications for the purpose of a review.

Additional Information

Format	ebook and print
Length	Novel, 446 pages/154331 words
Heat Level
Publication Date	05-June-2018
Price	$6.99 ebook, $19.99 paperback, $19.99 bundle
Buy Link	https://www.dsppublications.com/books/surviving-immortality-by-alan-chin-457-b

The Colorful City of Valparaiso, Chile

The historic district is full of street art. We spent the morning just walking around checking out this colorful city.

Many of the buildings are covered with corrugated metal siding to protect it from the elements, mostly sea air and wind.

Beethoven’s steps. 

I love this pic because of the wall art in the center building. A girl’s upper body is on the right, her feet are on the left. It’s the most wonderful wall art I have seen.

Puerto Varas, Chile

A day going up Osorno. There are over 2,000 volcanoes here in Chile, and about 500 of them are active. We’re in the southern lake area of Chile, just north of Patagonia. Volcan Orsono is a glacier top volcanic mountain and one of the more striking ones in the area.

A view of Orsorno from the lake.

Heading up Orsono.

Our guide Daniel plotting the way.

Hiking above the tree line.

Turquoise blue water here.

Palm Springs Opera in the Park

It was a warm day, mid-nineties, perfect for a music-filled picnic. The program was a bit eclectic this year, calling on several operas and composers I’d never heard of. Still, the music was upbeat as always and the voices were top notch. It was a delightful afternoon. The best part was we got there early enough to set up our chairs in the shade, and as the sun move, we were able to move with it and stay shaded throughout. We ran into a few friends, which always adds to the pleasure. 

Opera in the Park is the crown jewel of the Opera Guild. This was the twenty-first year of the guild producing this even, which included a live orchestra and eight talented singers. But this yearly event is only a small part of what the Opera Guild brings to the Coachella Valley. Their mission is to help ensure the future of the operatic art form. Behind the scenes they are working to ensure that opera can be a part of as many kid’s lives as they can reach with their Opera in the Schools program. Each year over 15,000 students, from kindergarten to grade twelve in the Palm Sperings Unified School District, experience live opera singers singing just inches from their seats by professional singers. BRAVO!

Chiloe Island, Chile

We visited the island of Chiloe, Chile. The island was very charming. Our main goal, however, was to see the penguin colonies.

The ferry crossing to Chiloé.

Packed ferry.

There are hundreds of these small churches around the island. All of them have metal walls.

Inside these churches are pretty stark.

Typical shingled building in the area.

Our hunky guide Daniel. He turned out to be a knowledgeable guide, but he was a terrible driver.  

We had to a boat out to visit the penguin colonies.

 Without a pier, the locals have developed a unique way of getting the tourist into the boats.

Luckily, we didn’t take this particular boat.

One of a dozen penguin colonies. Penguins come back to the same nests every year.

The water is very blue here. The landscape reminded me of northern California.