Nysol is an alien from the now gone planet of Sharill who, while on a special mission for his people against their enemy the Kisleem, has found himself stranded on Earth. In From Elsewhere Sarah Baethge introduces two alien races and how perceptions can lead to some very interesting situations. This work is something that all ages can read and focuses on relationships and interactions that occur when new people meet each other.

Nysol’s home plant has been destroyed by the hated Kisleem and in order to survive his people act as space pirates, stealing from their rich enemy and using whatever profits they can to pay for living space in other aliens space stations. While on an expedition to steal some ships, Nysol attempts to escape capture by landing on a nearby planet, which happens to be Earth. When he arrives everything is off to a rocky start. First he meets a human named Sean and in an attempt to assimilate into Earth culture, he inadvertently wipes a majority of Sean’s memories. When Sean’s friend and budding writer Lester finds the two men he is confused by Sean’s behavior and takes him to a doctor named Amy, she will become integral to the plot of the story going forward. These three humans initially don’t believe that Nysol is an alien, his people and the Kisleem appear human, and when a Kisleem named Poit comes for him no one is exactly sure who to trust. Tensions are high, alliances shift, and everything is up in the air, especially Sean’s memories in this science fiction work.

From Elsewhere might be about aliens, but it is also a story focused on perceptions and trust. Because of Nysol’s actions initially no one trusts him, but slowly he works to become friends with Sean, Amy, and Lester. Poit also works to build a relationship with these humans and when he explains that Nysol is a pirate perceptions shift again. Throughout the book the humans are trying to figure out who to trust and while the Sharill are initially presented as the good guys and the Kisleem are the bad guys nothing is ever truly as black and white as it appears. You can find From Elsewhere available on a variety of sites including Google Play, iTunes, and Kobo.

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