Review: Rarity from the Hollow by Robert Eggleton
Title: Rarity from the Hollow
Author: Robert Eggleton
Publisher: Dog Horn Publishing
Published: March 11th, 2012
Rating: 4/5
Wow! In the book description on Amazon it quotes, ‘Imagine Wizard of Oz and Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy smashed together and taking place in a hollow in the hills of West Virginia.’ —Adicus Ryan Garton, Editor, AtomJack
What a totally different story, touching on so many issues prevalent in communities today but in a way that makes it more like a science fiction adventure whilst still acknowledging the traumatic impact on the lives of those concerned. The author’s first hand knowledge of people who have suffered in real life is utilised throughout the story, making the unbelievable credible and the strategies used to deny reality for the abused like Lacy Dawn, somehow ‘normal’ behaviour. Lacy Dawn’s life is grim, her abuse by the person who should love and protect her is horrific but she has her own android protector, DotCom . . . sorry, no more spoilers! The characters throughout the story are well developed and complex.
The writing style is engaging but can obviously be somewhat dark. There are some humorous episodes but there’s also horror. There’s abuse but there’s also love. There’s humans and there are aliens. There are some beautiful things and some ugly. The whole thing is a story of contrasts and opposites. It definitely isn’t light or bed time reading, not if you take in what I think the messages in it are. The descriptions of events and emotions are vivid and very easy to relate to, even when you’d rather not! Told from the point of view of eleven year old Lacy Dawn this is definitely not a children’s book.
I think one quote from the book sums up a lot of the story: “I guess sometimes a person becomes what he pretends to be. I pretended that I had a good reason to be mad and I was. Then, I pretended that I wasn’t mad and somehow it went away.” You just have to decide what being mad means and if it applies to you or not! The imagination of this author and his writing style is incredible. The fact that he is also donating all the author proceeds from sales to a local to him charity raising funds to help prevent child abuse is yet another great reason for buying this unique novel. So if you fancy reading a science fiction novel with a young heroine being helped to save the world whilst she needs saving from abuse, a story with humour and darkness and plenty of twists and turns this could be just the book for you!
The author provided a copy of this novel for me to read in exchange for this, my honest review.
This book is available from a variety of sources including
http://www.lulu.com/shop/robert-eggleton/rarity-from-the-hollow/paperback/product-22910478.html
http://www.doghornpublishing.com/wordpress/books/rarity-from-the-hollow
June 2016: Robert Eggleton has kindly answered my questions and provided more information about the charity which he supports to help prevent child abuse in a special post on this blog which you can read here.
October 2017: Book cover and buy links updated.
splashesintobooks 
Great review!
As a book reviewer, you picked a wonderful line to quote as it applies to helping many victims of child abuse. Anger can be counterproductive when working to empower victims. Anger, sure it’s easy to feel and to express, but it may be impotent and could backfire as a strategy, if one really want to help, to have an impact.
So often, the abuse is a symptom, a dysfunction. The kids know it, feel it, like Lacy Dawn, the protagonist in this story who demanded that her own parents be “fixed” first before she would even consider saving the universe. In real life, the children often love their abusive caregivers, and, in their own way, the abusive caregivers also love their children. Sure, the adults are ********’s so easy to despise….
Lacy Dawn got extra special help in this story to fulfill her destiny. I hope that readers of my story will become increasingly sensitize to the issue and want to contribute to the prevention of child abuse / exploitation all over our planet. You are the extra special help that real-life children need.
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Thank you for your lovely comments. I also hope that child abuse and exploitation can be prevented and admire your efforts in striving to achieve this. Everyone needs to join in protecting our children and helping them have a secure, safe future to thrive in.
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Excerpt of 11-6-15 Book Review that Awarded Rarity from the Hollow a Gold Medal:
“…a hillbilly version of Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, only instead of the earth being destroyed to make way for a hyperspace bypass, Lacy Dawn must…The author has managed to do what I would have thought impossible; taken serious subjects like poverty, ignorance, abuse, and written about them with tongue-in-cheek humor without trivializing them…Eggleton sucks you into the Hollow, dunks you in the creek, rolls you in the mud, and splays you in the sun to dry off. Tucked between the folds of humor are some profound observations on human nature and modern society that you have to read to appreciate…it’s a funny book that most sci-fi fans will thoroughly enjoy. I give it four and a half stars.”
Rarity from the Hollow: “…profound…funny …sci-fi….”
http://awesomeindies.net/ai-approved-review-of-rarity-from-the-holly-by-robert-eggleton/
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Hi,
Thanks again for the great review of Rarity from the Hollow. I’m writing to update you and your readers about progress.
Something about this novel has now appeared on over eighty blogs or magazines worldwide, in seventeen different countries including all over the U.S. and the U.K., Finland, Mexico, Bulgaria, Belgium, South Africa, Croatia, Uruguay, India, Taiwan, Australia, Nigeria, Egypt, Malaysia, Canada, and Vietnam.
Since we last talked, the book’s cover was changed a little to emphasize that it is a children’s story for adults, and the Amazon link has changed as the publisher works toward republication in 2016: http://www.amazon.com/Rarity-Hollow-Robert-Eggleton-ebook/dp/B017REIA44
Following are some of the highlights about the novel since we last communicated:
As you know, the novel was found by the editor of Atomjack Science Fiction Magazine to be laugh-out-loud funny in some scenes. Long-time science fiction book critic, Barry Hunter, closed his review, “…good satire is hard to find and science fiction satire is even harder to find.” http://thebaryonreview.blogspot.com/search?updated-min=2012-01-01T0… A former Editor of Reader’s Digest found that, “Rarity from the Hollow is the most enjoyable science fiction that I’ve read in several years.” http://warriorpatient.com/blog/?p=58
I told you about Rarity from the Hollow having been referred to as a hillbilly version of Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and awarded a Gold Medal by Awesome Indies. With respect to the story’s treatment of tough social issues, this reviewer said: “If I could, I would give it all the stars in the universe…I was hesitant to accept. I usually do not read or review books that discuss child abuse or domestic violence; however, I was intrigued by the excerpt and decided to give it a shot. I am glad that I took a risk; otherwise, I would have missed out on a fantastic story with a bright, resourceful, and strong protagonist that grabbed my heart and did not let go.” http://www.onmykindle.net/2015/11/rarity-from-hollow.html
A prominent book reviewer from Bulgaria named Rarity from the Hollow as one of the best five books that he had read in 2015. http://codices.info/2015/12/top-5-for-2015-ventsi/ On January 20, 2016, Rarity from the Hollow was awarded a second Gold Medal by another popular book review site: https://readersfavorite.com/book-review/rarity-from-the-hollow.
An Affiliate of Fantasy Fan Federation, an international organization that has been around since the 1940s, posted on Amazon: “The author has created a new narrative format, something Ive never seen before, with a standard third-person narration, interspersed, lightly, with first-person asides. This makes me think of Eugene ONeills play Strange Interlude where internal and external dialogue are blended. Rarity from the Hollow begins with some rough stuff, hard to read, involving child neglect and child abuse. But it soon turns the corner to satire, parody, and farce, partaking a little of the whimsical and nonsensical humor of Roger Zelazny or even Ron Goulart….”
“…There is much here worthy of high praise. The relationship between Lacy Dawn and DotCom is brilliant. The sense of each learning from the other and them growing up and together is a delight to read. The descriptions of DotCom’s technology and the process of elevating the humans around him again is nicely done. Eggleton reminds me very much of Robert Heinlein at his peak….” http://sfcrowsnest.org.uk/rarity-from-the-hollow-by-robert-eggleton…
And, the link between this novel and child abuse prevention was recently shared by a very kind book blogger: http://www.lindseywinsemius.com/blog/writing-for-a-cause-robert-eggletons-story
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Thank you for the update, Robert – I’ve reflected the changed url links by amending them in the original post. So glad to read of your growing world wide fame, too, and hope your work continues to help prevent child abuse.
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Thanks for the support. More than anything else, I believe that the interest of book reviewers in this project demonstrates that child maltreatment is an international issue of utmost concern.
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Pingback: Author Interview: Robert Eggleton | splashesintobooks
The final version of Rarity from the Hollow was released to Amazon on December 5, 2016: http://amzn.to/2lF5BPS
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For a limited period, the eBook version of Rarity from the Hollow is on sale for $2.99 and the Paperback is on sale for $16.99. https://www.amazon.com/Rarity-Hollow-Robert-Eggleton/dp/190713395X/ Author proceeds contribute to the prevention of child maltreatment: http://www.childhswv.org/.
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Happy Holidays! I hope that you’re doing okay. After Christmas, the publisher is going to make the next deposit of author proceeds from the Rarity from the Hollow project into the nonprofit agency’s account for the prevention of child maltreatment. Millions of American children will spend this holiday in temporary shelters. A lot more world-wide are likely to spend their respective “holidays” in worse conditions. Having once been the director of emergency children’s shelters in West Virginia, it is still heartbreaking to think about children not having a “real” family during Christmas. I remember the faces, the smiles and thank yous for the presents from staff, but….
I also wanted you to know that the novel received a very cool review by Amazing Stories Magazine. This is my tweet: “Amusing at times, shocking at others, a touching and somehow wonderful SFF read.” Full review by Amazing Stories Magazine: http://bit.ly/2kbsAlV On Sale for Christmas: http://amzn.to/2lF5BPS Proceeds help maltreated children: http://www.childhswv.org
Thanks again for your review. I just shared the link to it again on social media.
Take care,
Robert
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The 2018 Edition of Rarity from the Hollow Paperback is now on Amazon: https://amzn.to/2LfzP84. It is also available for Any eReader: https://bit.ly/2KNJkI2 Proceeds help abused children.
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Rarity from the Hollow has a new website: https://www.hostingauthors.com/books/RarityfromtheHollow
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Thank you for the update!
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