The Russians are Coming
Lily Alex
Publish America, 2002

Interesting Read: Recommended

When 'The Russians' Vera Grach and Gleb Merkulov, Vlad Lapin and his wife Nina and daughter Larisa as well as Marina Alexsandrova arrive, folks in town are a bit unsure of what they may want or what their own reaction to them should be. Before long Marina finds a job at the local college where she is an assistant to a married professor. David Van Stein and his wife Megan are parents of two young children. Vera develops a friendship with policeman Jeff Menard, Gleb returns and dies at the hands of another in Moscow and scientist Vlad spends Halloween evening trying to figure out the properties found in the bowl of lollipops his wife set out for little Trick-or-Treaters. Townspeople become disenchanted with professor Van Stein when they believe him to engage in an affair with Marina. Nina's mother Alla comes to visit from Russia and before long she and a local gentleman are drawn to one another. Bill only realizes the depth of his feelings after Alla returns to Russia. He soon follows. The book ends with Vlad and Nina preparing for the birth of their second child.

In "The Russians Are Coming" Lily Alex has produced an interesting glimpse into the lives of a group of common folks who move to a new area and begin to carve out lives for themselves. As with most of us while the lives of the six are dissimilar they cling to one another because of their ethnic tie. The various relationships described by writer Alex in "The Russians Are Coming" evolve much as is found in real life. Old relationships die, new ones are formed. Romance is lost under the skillful pen of writer Alex and is found again on the pages of "The Russians Are Coming".

The book "The Russians Are Coming" is written in the delightful Alex technique, Writer Alex is Russian by birth, English is her second language and the book "The Russians Are Coming" embodies the best of both. From the opening lines "The Russians Are Coming" is set in the student's laboratory where we find Professor Stein speaking into a cell phone to the last paragraphs when we are told more Russians are coming writer Alex crafts an energetic tale filled with dynamic characters, intrigue and upbeat settings. Characters are fully fleshed, dialogue is potent, action maintains a steady forward clip.

A good book for a quiet even "The Russians Are Coming" is an enjoyable read.

Lost on Earth
Lily Alex
Greatunpublished.com, 2000

Entertaining Read: Highly Recommended

Appearing as a respectable businessman bored, forty two year old Robert Noirson must follow the rules of society when he attends a charity event helping to fund a Catholic run orphanage.

Chapter 1: part 1 begins with the meeting between orphaned Mary and Noirson. Mary is quick to understand that despite her misgivings she must accept the ministrations of Noirson. After all he is wealthy and can do much for the orphanage. If angered he can do them much harm. She must consider the other residents over her own feelings.

Chapter 2 leads to Scandal while Chapter 3 brings us a terrifying canine bent on destruction of religious figures who hope to persuade Mary to take a good look at Robert Noirson the man who is now her husband. Chapter 4 shows us a kidnapping and in Chapter 5 we read of Love and Punishments. Mary learns that what may bring pleasure at one point may only be punishment at another. Chapters 6 and 7 bring The Discovery and The Ordeals in which Mary and her husband live apart and Mary bears a child.

Part 2: The Loss opens with Chapter 1 At Home. Mary and the seventeen year old twins she is mothering live with a lamed Robert Noirson. Chapters 2: Work, Life, Rest and 3: Bats and Viruses add a little more to our understanding of these characters. Chapters 4: Truth, 5: Love and Fight and 6: A fork in the Road carry us forward to the inevitable Conclusion. Five years later when Mary and her four year old son attend the funeral of her divorced husband Robert Noirson his new wife is less than delighted. It was Angie who found Robert laying dead and clutching a picture of Mary to his chest.

Writer Lily Alex asks the question 'Can angels fall in love and act like ordinary people?' Then she sets out to show that yes, they very well may do exactly that. In Lost on Earth writer Alex takes an fascinating theorem and carries the reader on a rollicking roller coaster of excitement, turbulence, action packed and at times brutal events, outrage, and powerful language.

Lost on Earth paints a phantasm centered on affection and ruination in which phenomenon and conduct are interwoven. This is a book in which all supplication is answered, every transgression is soon punished. Devotion is woven throughout the tale with not even death capable of destroying the bond.

The format of chapters presents a series of interwoven short stories each of which is capable of standing alone. Alex' writing is hard hitting, well thought out, and filled with plausible dialogue. Given the pretext of the work the situations are fiduciary and frightening in their stark reality.

English is not this writer's first language; Writer Alex does an admirable job with the genre, the format and the prose.

This tale of fallen angels Lost on Earth is not for everyone. Those who are not willing to question and/or blindly accept religious dogma will most likely not like the book. For those who do like a well written text based on a fascinating notion within Christendom; Lost on Earth is a must read.