Lights Above Cass


Young Adult - Sci-Fi
274 Pages
Reviewed on 03/22/2020
Buy on Amazon

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    Book Review

Reviewed by Ruffina Oserio for Readers' Favorite

Lights Above Cass by Marilyn Brokaw Hall is a blend of thriller, military action, and mystery, a story that opens with an intriguing premise - an anomaly spotted from a top-secret military base. Then when an unidentified flying object drops off three women as it hovers over the base, Special Agent in Charge Jesse Finch of the Central Intelligence Agency and the team start on an investigation to uncover the truth about the women and others who have disappeared from a small town called Cass. Can they find out what happened to Rose, the minister’s daughter, Jacqueline, schoolteacher, Eve, the farm girl who is dumb, Molly, the student, and Rita, the Army nurse? Meanwhile, a greater mystery surrounds the self-aware Quantum computer recovered from the crash.

Mystery, suspense and uninterrupted action are among the elements that set this novel apart. Marilyn Brokaw Hall has done an impeccable job with the plot. The twists are plentiful and I enjoyed the way she creates premonitions in the story. The reader has the disturbing feeling that something awful is going to happen, but it is hard to say what it is. The author’s ability to capture strong imagery and to use clear descriptions adds to the enjoyable reading experience. The characters are elaborately developed and with interesting backgrounds. Each is created with flaws that make the reader look forward to how they will behave in moments of conflict. Lights Above Cass is fast-paced and filled with memorable characters. I found myself reading from page to page, looking for answers to the questions that pop out as I read on. A good read from an author who knows how to keep the attention of the reader.

K.C. Finn

Lights Above Cass is a work of science fiction and adventure penned for young adult readers by author Marilyn Brokaw Hall. Combining the science fiction of aliens, abductions and otherworldly technology with modern social justice themes, this novel delivers an intriguing mystery plot and highlights important issues as women go missing and the investigation heats up. Meanwhile, a sentient computer called Lucia awaits the completion of her mission on Earth, and the involvement of the CIA will only cause further complications as they find much sought but hard to swallow answers to the very alien questions which they are asking.

Author Marilyn Brokaw Hall has crafted a multi-genre and multi-layered work that enriches readers in many ways during the reading experience. Part military fiction and part sci-fi mystery in its initial conception, the plot twists and incorporates more and more content as it builds, until we find ourselves questioning society and the way we treat others. It was truly refreshing to see diverse and well-represented women in a science fiction work, particularly in an alien abduction sub-genre. Hall’s women are well thought out and distinctly different from one another, each with their own narrative that we can latch onto and follow toward their fates. A truly excellent plot line and conceptual creation and, overall, I would definitely recommend giving the highly original Lights Above Cass a try. Perhaps especially for those readers who are tired of the same old tropes in their alien sci-fi reads.

Rabia Tanveer

Lights Above Cass by Marilyn Brokaw Hall is a science fiction novel that will be loved by fans of thrillers, drama and, of course, science fiction. Corporal Brett Anderson wasn’t expecting to find a humongous aircraft flying towards their base so he called in Captain Jamal Bryant. They weren’t expecting to find a self-aware Quantum computer called Lucia and two other women beside her. The situation was dire already, but it became even more complicated when they found that women have been missing for some time and it may have something to do with the mystery behind Lucia. What is happening? Where are all these women going and how come a few of them are turning up? Is this really an alien abduction or is it something else? With still many women missing, Captain Jamal Bryant and his investigation team are scrambling to make sense of it all in time.

Lights Above Cass by Marilyn Brokaw Hall was an emotional novel but very entertaining at the same time. The author has done a very good job of handing the abduction and mystery of the missing women at the same time. I enjoyed the atmosphere set from the very beginning and the author only built it up from there. The mystery behind Lucia actually lured me in. I wanted to know what she was doing here and what was her purpose. I didn’t really like Captain Jamal Bryant; he is not an easy character to like but he had a purpose and I think author Marilyn Brokaw Hall used him to his full potential to further the plot. I really enjoyed reading this book!

Lit Amri

"It has been a well-kept secret that alien life is real, not just a taboo subject. It is true that there was a Roswell crash and we have the spacecraft and the preserved dead aliens to prove it. In fact, we have even more than that. And we have decided that we want and need to share this with a select few." Three women appear at a UFO’s landing site near a secret military base and are taken into custody. The CIA launches an investigation to find out about their identities and discover a number of alien abduction cases. Amidst the astonishing discoveries, a self-aware Quantum computer named Lucia, developed from the salvageable parts left from the Roswell crash, is secretly preparing for her ultimate mission; the "final codes" to return home. Lights Above Cass is a sci-fi mystery by Marilyn Brokaw Hall.

Lights Above Cass immediately reminded me of Close Encounters of the Third Kind, a 1977 sci-fi film that I watched several times in the past. Of course, Lights Above Cass is a 'close encounter of the Fourth Kind' in which humans are abducted by a UFO or its occupants. The narrative is straightforward although there's quite a number of subplots or abduction accounts that are connected to each other; characters Rose, Jacqueline, and Molly's backstories become the central point as the plot progresses. The stories of people who were left behind after their love ones’ abduction are melancholic and touching. The intriguing and mysterious series of alien encounters and abductions leads to an ominous truth for humanity, one that serves as an important reminder of how fragile our world is especially in the hands of ignorant people. Overall, a fascinating tale.