The Fifth Battalion, by Michael Priv, is a unique science fiction thriller, a novel that combines the thrills of science fiction space opera, along with the existential - an insight into the spiritual roots of humanity. Norman, the main character in the novel, discovers that he was once part of a battalion which ended up being condemned to an eternity of imprisonment, the forever dead sentence. Now, with his eyes opened to his past, present and inevitable future, Norman sets out to locate his battalion commander, a man who is being sought after by the prison guards, those guarding Earth, because he represents a threat to them and is setting people free from their sentence. This is a high-octane, high-action, deadly race, with more than plenty of killing and lethal confrontations. The prize is freedom, and failure means remaining prisoners forever. This is good sci-fi with a dose of insightful elucidation, maybe even, who knows, a wake-up call! Good reading.
Review by International Writers Inspiring Change
About Michael Priv
IWIC: Tell us about yourself … Michael: I was born in the Soviet Ukraine, and through dangers and adventures, I arrived to the USA in 1979 and went on to graduate the University of Pittsburgh to become a Construction Engineer. Currently I am a Property Field Adjustor for a major insurance carrier. I live in the San Francisco Bay Area with my wife Olga, and Samantha, the Good Girl, a rescued pit mix. Since 1987 I have been an avid student of Eastern religions. For many years I have been helping people–always free of charge– to eliminate pain, get in control of their body and regain any diminished functions of various internal organs. With equal ease and precision I heal others, whether in person or by long-distance, including people I have never met, which goes a long way in demonstrating our spiritual origins and potential. My writing career started as a hobby in 2008. My first published novel, Friends of Fred, is available on Amazon and elsewhere as an e-book. One of my greatest accomplishments, one which I am proud of having ghost-written, is a romance novel, an experience which I characterize as an “eye-opening adventure and a must for any man.” About a dozen of my short stories, always marked by a lighthearted view of life and a spark of spirituality, have been published on various literary web sites. I am currently working on releasing a collection of short stories, The Roto-Rooter, and a non-fiction research account of 28 religions with the working title Immortality Made Simple, the DIY Guide. I am now presenting my first Sci-Fi novel, The Fifth Battalion, characterized as “a page-turner,” “bright and vivid” as well as “a life-changing guide on spirituality” by the test-readers. Enjoy!
IWIC: What prompted you to write? Michael: I wanted to find a vehicle to bring spirituality into the understanding of people–not religiosity or the subversive pseudo-spirituality of the undead, zombies, vampires and the like, and not some esoteric knowledge applicable to somebody else somewhere far away, but YOU and ME and HIM and HER and THEM, all of us and each of us in particular. At the bottom of all our problems on Earth is that woeful lack of spiritual knowledge and understanding of ourselves. Moreover, there another thing even deeper than that–lack of interest toward the spiritual. The idea with my writing is to whet the appetite of readers and increase that interest toward the spiritual.
IWIC: Is there a message in your books? Michael: Yes. Look beyond the body and the material world which you see.
IWIC: Tell us about your newest book. Michael: The Fifth Battalion is a story about Norman, a gunnery sergeant of an ancient failed invasion of Earth, currently eking a living as a lab technician in San Francisco, who discovers that his peoples’ arch-enemy is using Earth as a prison for their most incorrigible criminals, serving the “forever dead” sentence, and brutally stripped of any awareness of their true spiritual nature. Norman and his love, Linda, must find a way to escape Earth—a mission tried and failed for millennia. The Fifth Battalion is a dynamic, sometimes gory, often humorous action-filled account of the final escape attempt from Earth, a study in valor, loyalty and love – an intense sci-fi thriller.
