Historical Sci-Fi Reading Guides

Historical Sci-Fi Reading Guides tie human history with humanity’s future, and apply the trajectory to our lives. Where will our actions today take us tomorrow?

OldEarth Neb Encounter

Elementary

1 Amin is Neb’s grandson, and his wife, Gizah, is Aram’s daughter. Their families are distantly related, yet they are very different from their parents and grandparents. They want to understand their history better to help their child. Do the people of the past make a difference in today’s world and in the lives of future generations?

2 Zuri is an alien trying to limit the technology connected to his body. What influences have encouraged him to think differently from the other members of his race? Is exposure to new ideas dangerous or advantageous or both? How and why?

3 Using secret powers that he doesn’t understand, Uz has managed to gain a great reputation in his lifetime. How do Neb’s and Uz’s lives correlate? How are they different? Do unseen, secret powers actually exist in real life?

4 Who are some of the most significant characters in the book? Why do you think so?

5 There are several stories being told in the novel, which one did you find most interesting? Why? Do lives intertwine in place and time as shown in the novel?

Secondary

1 Amin is reluctant to ask his father to tell him the stories of past generations. Why? Can family history really affect our present lives? How?

2 Eva faces many challenges personally and as a woman in a male-dominated clan. Is she ever able to make personal choices? How are her opportunities affected by the people around her?

3 Ashkenazi has chosen a safe path in life, hoping to stay clear of problems he can’t control. Does his choice save him from danger? What other decisions might he have made?

4 Seth is considered wise for his years, but he is seriously challenged by dangerous forces. What other qualities did Seth need to protect his people? Can a person remain innocent and battle evil successfully?

5 How does the intertwining subplot involving the alien races add depth to the human drama? Does observing a new culture change the observers so they may no longer fit as comfortably in their old society?

Adult/Book Clubs

1 Who were some of your favorite characters? Why? What part of their personality stood out?

2 Several of the characters make life-changing decisions. Not all the decisions led to good ends, no matter how well-intentioned. Is there an example where good intentions were not enough? What does that say about human interactions?

3 How are the women’s lives different from the men’s? Despite those differences, does everyone still have free will to make personal judgments and decisions?

4 How does retelling the stories of the past change some of the characters? Can knowing the truth about family history make a difference in how the present and the future is perceived?

5 The sci-fi storyline intertwines around the human drama. Could humanity at its worst and best have something important to say to a race of highly developed beings?

Paperback/Journal Reflections

1 Which character did you enjoy reading about? Who did you dislike? Did they remind you of anyone in real life?

2 Despite good intentions, sometimes things worked out poorly for certain characters. Does that make life meaningless? What carried the heroic characters beyond despair when things were not working out well?

3 Few characters attempt to truly understand other characters. Is that true to real life? Can a person honestly understand another? Does the attempt, no matter how imperfect, still have value?

4 How much family history do I know? Do I wish I knew more? How could I find out? Would it be better if I didn’t? Am I brave or wise enough to know the ugly side of family history and not let it direct my future?

5 What might my life say to an alien race if they could see what I have lived through? Would they be impressed? Do I care what anyone else thinks? Should I care?

ReadingGuide.OENebEncounter

OldEarthNebEncounterColoringPagePDF

OldEarth Georgios Encounter

Elementary

1 The novel, OldEarth Georgios Encounter, is set on the island of Patmos. Where is Patmos, and why was it significant in history?

2 Georgios had a mixed heritage, Greek, Roman, and Jewish. Would that have been common in the first century? Why or why not?

3 As a Celtic trader, Seanan has no reason to care about Georgios, yet he does. When learning Seanan’s back story, are plausible reasons for his interest in Georgios revealed? What is one reason?

4 Gutun is a Celtic priest who uses faith in the occult to control his clan. Why did people listen to him? Where did his true power come from?

5 Aliens observing Georgios have their own thoughts on human behavior. Could their judgments be fair, considering they don’t really understand what it is to be human? Might they see what humanity cannot?

Secondary

1 Why does Georgios run away from his grandparents’ home? How do the trials and adventures he goes on change him? Is he a better person for them? How so?

2 Why is Georgios’ relationship with his father so complicated? Several other men shape Georgios’ future. Who are they, and what influence do they have over him?

3 Who is one of the most significant female characters in the novel? Why do you think so?

4 How does faith in God and faith in the occult play out in the novel? Do the different relationships lead to logical ends?

5 Who is your favorite alien character? Why? What sets him or her apart from the rest? 

Adult/Book Clubs

1 There are several complicated relationships in the novel. They all change in some way. What relationship appealed to you the most?

2 Identify some of the greatest dangers facing Georgios. Are they all physical? Can emotional, psychological, or spiritual crises be just as dangerous as physical danger? How?

3 Though father and sons are focused on throughout the novel, do mothers and daughters face the same challenges, or is there an inherent difference in how feminine relationships are portrayed? 

4 Does faith in God or the occult change the trajectory of the story? Does faith in either seem realistic?

5 Who were the most significant alien characters? Did they reveal anything about the human race that humanity might want to seriously consider?

Paperback/Journal Reflections

1 Is there a character in the story you wish you could meet in real life? Who and why?

2 How would I have handled a surprise revelation about my ancestry? Would it make a difference in how I see myself? Do I wish I had a different ancestry? Why?

3 Did any of Georgios’ struggles with his father or father figures in the novel seem especially real to me? Did I relate to the parent-child relationships as the parent or the child? Both?

4 How did the occult aspects of the novel hit me? Did it seem funny, scary, or impossible to take seriously? How does Georgios’ developing faith in God tie into his understanding of fatherhood?

5 Do I ever feel that I am being judged by an alien race and found wanting? How about supernatural assistance? What does faith in the supernatural realm mean to me? Is my faith centered on a particular religion, or is there more to supernatural reality than I can explain or define?

ReadingGuide.OEGeorgiosEncounter

OldEarthGeorgiosEncounterColoringPagePDF

A. K. Frailey Facebook Page

A. K. Frailey LinkedIn Page

A. K. Frailey Goodreads Page

A. K. Frailey Website

A. K. Frailey Blog Page

A. K. Frailey Author Interviews

A. K. Frailey Amazon Author Page

Photo https://pixabay.com/illustrations/mobile-smartphone-app-networks-1087845/

Photo https://pixabay.com/illustrations/library-electronic-ebook-e-book-1666703/

Photo https://pixabay.com/photos/vintage-map-compass-atlas-coins-4896141/