Colony Earth is Book 1 of the Alterran Legacy Series In ancient human history, an explosion of knowledge of agriculture, building, and steel weapons occurred suddenly, without explanation, and the human population prospered and grew into civilization. According to clay tablets found at ancient cities of Sumeria, the cities were founded by “those who came from the skies,” who dwelt there and gave knowledge to the citizens. The tablets reveal that “those who came from the skies” had lived on Earth far longer than the age of Sumeria. The principal leaders of “those who came from the skies” were half-brothers Enlil and Enki, who reported to their father, Anu, who ruled on their home world. The beginning books of this series serve as a prequel to the decision of this race to take an active interest in managing the development of humankind, and imagines why an advanced, technological society could have been governed by a small ruling family, while weaving in ancient mythology and recent geological discoveries. Anne MacCaffrey's Dragonriders of Pern details the effects of an advanced civilization that loses its technological edge due to nature's unstoppable force. Jean Auel's Clan of the Cave Bear offers details of the Upper Paleolithic era. In Colony Earth , Regina Joseph blends the two worlds of science fiction and anthropology in an enjoyable tale that attempts to explain how humankind exploded in knowledge after the last Ice Age. High in technical credibility, this story will captivate fans who appreciate the complexities of building--and then destroying--a believable utopia. Clarion Review First-place, Gold winner of the 2012 eLit Award for Science Fiction/Fantasy I'm fascinated by how civilization began. Archeologists trace human roots back hundreds of thousands of years, yet we only know much about the last ten thousand years or so. What did those people do and how did they live? Were there flourishing civilization that perished? And what made civilization blossom with agriculture across the ancient world at about 12,000 b.c.e.? Little is known about our ancestors outside of tales labeled as mere mythology. Those tales from around the globe have amazing similarities. And then of course there are those pesky pyramids that defy explanation. One of the oldest documented civilizations is that of Sumeria, located near present day Iraq. Recently translated Sumerian tablets report that each city was nurtured by the "ones who came from the stars." Yes, ancient aliens. With them, civilization flourished in the sophisticated cities. Although the starmen's technology was highly advanced, politically they seem backward--they were ruled by a father and his two sons. En.Lil, the primary son governing Earth, was in appearance an adolescent. If this story has any truth, how could that be? My answer is through rejuvenation. Many of our current social, political, and technological trends might conceivably lead to a global rule by a single family. And humans are always yearning to explore the universe. If we find a planet with primitive hominid life, what will we do? Like a forensic investigator, I interpreted their world from the morality they taught to shape the mesopotamian civilizations. And so, I constructed the world of The Alterran Legacy Series. My first installment, Colony Earth, was released in October 2012, and it won the first place 2012 global eLit Award in science fiction/fantasy. This volume imagines why they were here and decided to stay. The second installment, Khamlok, was released in March 2013, and it describes their first attempt at nurturing civilization, as well as why they changed course in Sumeria. After all, an advanced civilization doesn't go to primitives on another planet and just decide to erect high mud brick walls with a central ziggurat unless they were learning lessons from past experience. The third in the series, Resurrection, is nearing publication, and it deals with the consequences to En.Lil of his decisions on Earth. It also follows one of the most well known Sumerian "myths", or is it historical fact? I am writing the concluding volume, Redemption. Reviewed by Barbara Garcia for Readers' Favorite: Colony Earth by Regina M. Joseph is an expertly woven tale of the interactions of the inhabitants of the planet Alterra and "primitive" people of Earth. For the Alterrans, Earth has become an attractive alternative for desperately needed resources as their planet's core begins to slowly cool. Traveling through a portal to Earth, they carry on research, experiments, and gold mining. En.Lil, a named successor to the leadership of Alterra when his time comes, finds himself, as well as numerous researchers, support personnel, and guardsmen stranded on Earth after the portal they'd been coming through for ages has to be shut down due to sudden limited power sources after a catastrophic event on their home planet. Realizing the portal may never be activated again, En.Lil must take