Title: Rarity from the Hollow
Author: Robert Eggleton
Pub. Date: November 3, 2016
Publisher: Dog Horn Publishing
Formats: Paperback and eBook
Pages: 284
Rarity from the Hollow is adult literary science fiction filled with tragedy, comedy and satire. A Children’s Story. For Adults.
“The most enjoyable science fiction novel I have read in
years.”
—Temple Emmet
Williams, Author, former editor for Reader’s Digest
“Quirky, profane, disturbing… In the space between a few
lines we go from hardscrabble realism to pure sci-fi/fantasy. It’s quite a
trip.”
—
Evelyn Somers, The
Missouri Review
. "…a hillbilly version of Hitchhiker’s Guide
to the Galaxy…what I would have thought impossible; taken serious subjects
like poverty, ignorance, abuse…tongue-in-cheek humor without trivializing
them…profound…a funny book that most sci-fi fans will thoroughly enjoy."
-- Awesome
Indies (Gold Medal)
“…sneaks up
you and, before you know it, you are either laughing like crazy or crying in
despair, but the one thing you won’t be is unmoved…a brilliant writer.” --Readers’
Favorite (Gold Medal)
“Rarity from the Hollow is an original and interesting story
of a backwoods girl who saves the Universe in her fashion. Not for the
prudish.” —Piers Anthony, New York Times
bestselling author
“…Good satire is
hard to find and science fiction satire is even harder to find.” -- The
Baryon Review
"…Brilliant
satires such as this are genius works of literature in the same class as
Orwell’s 'Animal Farm.' I can picture American Lit professors sometime in the
distant future placing this masterpiece on their reading list." -- Marcha’s Two-Cents Worth
Excerpt from Chapter 13, “Mom I’d Like to Introduce You to My Fiancé”
Scene Prologue: At this point in
the story, Lacy Dawn, the protagonist, is twelve years old. An android named
DotCom (his name is a recurring pun throughout the novel) had installed a port
in her upper spine and has been downloading data directly into her brain for
the last several years. His ship is hidden in a cave in the Woods behind the
family’s house in the hollow. His assignment is to train and recruit Lacy Dawn
to save the universe from an imminent threat, but in an earlier chapter readers
learned that he had been recalled by management due to slow performance. In
this scene, DotCom has just returned to Earth and Jenny, Lacy Dawn’s mother,
meets him for the first time.
*****
…..…Jenny (the mother) walked up the hill to Roundabend. She called Lacy
Dawn's name every few yards. Her muddy tennis shoes slipped and slid.
I hear her voice. Why won't she answer me?
“Sounds like she’s talking to someone,” Jenny said to the Woods.
Nobody responded. The trees weren't supposed to since Jenny was no longer a
child. Her former best friends had made no long-term commitment beyond
childhood victimization. They had not agreed to help her deal with domestic
violence in adulthood. She hugged the closest tree.
I will always love you guys.
Jenny quickened her pace, stopped,
and listened for human voices. A few yards later, she stopped
again.
Now it sounds like she’s behind me instead of in front.
Jenny looked to the left of the path.
There ain't no cave Roundabend, but there it is.
She walked toward the entrance. The voices grew louder and she looked inside.
Lacy Dawn sat on a bright orange recliner. Tears streamed down her face.
Jenny ran to her daughter through a cave that didn't exit and into a blue light
that did.
“All right, you mother f**ker!”
“Mom!” Lacy Dawn yelled. “You didn’t say, ‘It’s me’ like you're supposed to (a
traditional announcement mentioned earlier in the story)."
DotCom (the android) sat naked in a lotus position on the floor in front of the
recliner. Jenny covered Lacy Dawn with her body and glared at
him.
"Grrrrr," emanated from Jenny. It was a sound similar to the
one that Brownie (Lacy Dawn's dog) made the entire time the food stamp woman
was at their house. It was a sound that filled the atmosphere with
hate. No one moved. The spaceship’s door slid shut.
“Mommmmmy, I can’t breathe. Get up.”
“You make one move you sonofabitch and I’ll tear your heart out,” Jenny
repositioned to take her weight off Lacy Dawn.
Stay between them.
“Mommy, he’s my friend. More than my friend, we’re going to get married when
I'm old enough -- like when I turn fourteen. He’s my boyfriend -- what you call
it -- my fiancé.”
“You been messin’ with my little girl you pervert!” Jenny readied to
pounce.
“MOM! Take a chill pill! He ain’t been messing with me. He’s a good
person, or whatever. Anyway, he’s not a pervert. You need to just calm down and
get off me.”
Jenny stood up. DotCom stood up. Jenny’s jaw dropped.
He ain't got no private parts, not even a little bump.
“DotCom, I’d like to introduce you to my mommy, Mrs. Jenny Hickman. Mommy, I’d
like to introduce you to my fiancé, DotCom.”
Jenny sat down on the recliner. Her face was less than a foot from DotCom’s
crotch and she stared straight at it. It was smooth, hairless, and odor
free.
“Mrs. Hickman, I apologize for any inconvenience that this misunderstanding has
caused. It is very nice to meet you after having heard so much. You arrived
earlier than expected. I did not have time to properly prepare and receive.
Again, I apologize.”
I will need much more training if I'm ever assigned to a more formal setting
than a cave, such as to the United Nations.
“Come on, Mommy. Give him a hug or something.”
Jenny's left eye twitched.
DotCom put on clothing that Lacy Dawn had bought him at Goodwill. It hung a
little loose until he modified his body. Lacy Dawn hugged her
mother…
…(scene of Dwayne, the father, overheard by those in the spaceship while
talking to himself)… “Besides, the transmitter was part of Daddy’s treatment.
There're a lot of other things that he did to help fix Daddy. DotCom is like a
doctor. You can see that Daddy has gotten better every day. And no, there ain’t
no transmitter in you. DotCom figured you out like a good doctor and the only
things wrong are a lack of opportunity and rotten teeth that poison your body.
You don’t need no transmitter. He just gave you a few shots of ego boost. I
don’t know what medicine that is, but I trust him. You ain't complained since
the shots started -- not even with an upset stomach.”
"He's a doctor?" Jenny asked.
“What's your problem anyway?” Lacy Dawn asked. “I know. You’re
prejudiced. You told me that people have much more in common than they do
that's different -- even if someone is a different color or religion, or from a
different state than us. You told me to try to become friends because sometimes
that person may need a good friend. Now, here you are acting like a butt hole
about my boyfriend. You’re prejudiced because he’s different than us.”
“Honey, he’s not even a person – that’s about as different as a boyfriend can
get,” Jenny said.
“So?”
Mommy's right. Maybe I need a different argument.
A fast clicking sound, a blur of motion, and a familiar smell assaulted
them.
"What's that?" Jenny asked.
She moved to protect her daughter from whatever threat loomed. Brownie, who had
been granted 27 / 7 access to the ship, bounded over the orange recliner,
knocked DotCom to the floor, licked DotCom’s face, and rubbed his head on
Jenny’s leg. He then jumped onto the recliner and lay down. His tail wagged
throughout. Jenny sat down on the recliner beside Brownie and looked at Lacy
Dawn.
“But, you were crying when I first came in. That thing was hurting you.” Jenny
shook her finger at DotCom to emphasize a different argument against him.
“Mommy, I'm so happy that I couldn’t help but cry. My man just came home from
an out-of-state job. I didn't talk to him for a whole year. Before he left, he
told me that he wasn’t even sure if he'd be able to come home. I still don’t
know what happened while he was gone. We ain't had no chance to talk. All I
know is that he's home and I'm sooooo happy.”
“Your man came home from an out-of-state job?” Jenny patted Brownie on his
head, some more and some more….
It's unusual for a man to promise to come back home and ever be seen again.
Brownie likes him and that's a good sign. Maybe she's right about him helping
Dwayne. Something sure did and it wasn’t me. It is a nice living room. They've
been together for a while and I ain't seen a mark on her. That's unusual
too. He ain't got no private parts and that's another good thing. Hell,
if I get in the middle, she’d just run off with him anyway. I'd better
play it smart. I don't want to lose my baby.
“What about his stupid name?” Jenny asked.
“I’ve got a stupid name, too. All the kids at school call me hick because my
last name is Hickman.”
“My name was given to me by my manager a very long time ago. It represents a
respected tradition -- the persistent marketing of that which is not
necessarily the most needed. I spam…,” DotCom said.
They both glared at him.
"Dwayne is sure to be home. I don’t want him to worry. Let’s go,” Jenny
said.
“Okay, Mommy.”
“I love you, DotCom,” Lacy Dawn stepped out the ship’s door, which had slid
open. Brownie and Jenny were right behind her.
“I love you too,” DotCom said.
Lacy Dawn and Jenny held hands and walked down the path toward home. The trees
didn’t smile -- at least not so Jenny would notice. On the other hand, no
living thing obstructed, intruded, or interfered with the rite.
Jenny sang to the Woods, “My little girl’s going to marry a doctor when she
grows up, marry a doctor when she grows up, when she grows up. My little
girl’s going to marry a doctor when she grows up, marry a doctor when she grows
up, when she grows up….”
Excerpts
of Two Book Reviews – Gold Medal Awards
“…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.”
Readers’ Favorite:
“…Full of cranky characters and crazy situations, Rarity
From the Hollow sneaks up you and, before you know it, you are either laughing
like crazy or crying in despair, but the one thing you won’t be is unmoved… Robert
Eggleton is a brilliant writer whose work is better read on several levels. I
appreciated this story on all of them.”
About the author:
Robert
Eggleton has served as a children's advocate in an impoverished state for over
forty years. Locally, he is best known for his nonfiction about children’s
programs and issues, much of which was published by the West Virginia Supreme
Court where he worked from1982 through 1997. Today, he is a retired children's
psychotherapist from the mental health center in Charleston, West Virginia,
where he specialized in helping victims cope with and overcome maltreatment and
other mental health concerns. Rarity from
the Hollow is his debut novel. Its release followed publication of three
short Lacy Dawn Adventures in magazines. Author proceeds support the prevention
of child maltreatment.
Find him here: Lacy Dawn Adventures, Goodreads, Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and LinkedIn
Find him here: Lacy Dawn Adventures, Goodreads, Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and LinkedIn
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