ARIA Trilogy by Geoff Nelder

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ARIA Trilogy!

ARIA TRILOGY BY GEOFF NELDERDownload

ARIA: Left Luggage by Geoff Nelder.

ARIA Trilogy Book 1.

Winner -2012 P&E Best Science Fiction and Fantasy Novel

This is where The Andromeda Strain meets Memento…

When an alien suitcase is found in space, a pandemic virus plagues Earth. Ryder Nape must gather survivors to escape an apocalyptic extinction of the human race.

ARIA: Alien Retrograde Infectious Amnesia

Today, Jack caught a bug at work. He catches a bus home. By the time he disembarks, all the other passengers and the driver have fuzzy heads. Jack has caught an amnesia plague, and it’s infectious. No cure.

Imagine the ramifications:

The passengers arrive home, infecting family; some shop en route gifting everyone they meet with the disease. The bus driver receives more passengers giving them change for last week’s prices and today’s amnesia. Some passengers work at the power plant, the water treatment works, the hospital, fire station. Dystopian chaos in weeks.

One man, Ryder Nape, knew about the case found in space and realizes it’s been opened, but can he persuade friends to barricade themselves in a secluded valley, hiding from the released amnesia bug? The survivors find love, hope and thoughts of revenge in their heroic struggle against the apocalypse.

ARIA: Left Luggage is a well-written novel with the pace and suspense of a video game (BioShock immediately comes to mind). The balance between character development and plot progression is managed smoothly, along with the thematics, which take the reader through a series of all-too-believable scenarios, chillingly showing how easy it would be for an advanced group of aliens to undermine the human race and have us destroy one another, without the need for any additional weapons or warfare. By Magdelena Ball

“Geoff Nelder inhabits Science Fiction the way other people inhabit their clothes.” By Jon Courtenay Grimwood

“Geoff Nelder’s ARIA has the right stuff. He makes us ask the most important question in science fiction–the one about the true limits of personal responsibility.” By Brad Linaweaver

Robert J. Sawyer calls ARIA a “fascinating project.”

“ARIA has an intriguing premise, and is written in a very accessible style.” By Mike Resnick

5 Stars: ARIA Has Its Roots In Italian Meaning Air

Let me answer the first question that came to my mind when the book ‘ARIA: Left Luggage’ arrived. The word ARIA has its roots in Italian meaning air.

Science Fiction as a genre literally is in a world of its own because human beings are obsessed with how to destroy or alter all of humanity by a single threat. It is rare that we find an author who can approach this kind of fiction from a new perspective, but Geoff Nelder has a truly unique concept.

As the first chapter begins the reader is introduced to Nelder’s large cast of characters like Vlad, Jena, Dan, Abdul and Antonio. His quantity of characters almost overwhelms the reader at first, but each has a role to play in this ordeal. The variety of solid, believable interpersonal relationships like the between Ryder Nape and his fiancée Teresa are essential as the world is threatened with massive memory loss by an alien virus. ARIA begs the intriguing question that as people lose their memories what is so important to their lives, they must make a note of it to read when they wake up each morning?

The year is 2015 and there is never a dull moment as the reader joins the crew of “the shuttle, Marimar, in orbit approaching the International Space Station” and follows the science at the Dryden Space Laboratories at Edwards Air Force Base in California and the NASA Goddard Labs in Maryland. Travels to London and to the Anafon Valley in North Wales. Follow the viral repercussions to the Chester Zoo in UK, Moraine Lake in the Canadian Rocky Mountains and to Banff National Park in Canada.

The author caused this reader to ask how the world would handle such a virus if brought back to Earth from an exploratory mission, who on earth might be immune, and what secrets could NASA and WHO be keeping from us? That is what good science fiction does. It captures the readers’ imagination and takes us to places that we believe are impossible, but somewhere in the dark corners of our minds we recognize that there is a slim probability.

ARIA: Left Luggage by Geoff Nelder (volume one in the ARIA series) is a science fiction, action filled fiction that has already won the coveted Preditors & Editors Readers Poll for best science Fiction novel of 2012. Please consider purchasing and reading the whole ARIA series (available at Amazon).

Editorial Review (Book Marketing Global Network).

Review by Mark Fine, Author Of The Zebra Affaire: 5.0 out of 5 Stars. Would Make a Great Movie! Compelling and provocative Story! Reviewed in the United States on February 19, 2015. Verified Purchase. A mysterious out-of-this-world suitcase found wedged on the International Space Station triggers a viral catastrophe of apocalyptic end-of-days proportions on the humans habitants on the earth below. Unlike the typical B-movie type scenarios of less sophisticated science fiction, “ARIA Left Luggage” avoids the gratuitous and the obvious–sparing the reader passages about seamy bodily fluids and dismembered limbs. Hence, I really enjoyed this book because it added such intelligence and integrity to the genre, without sacrificing drama and body count.

The fact that the alien contagion was manifested as rapidly overwhelming amnesia–is so relevant to this baby boomer generation that’s facing an epidemic of real-world diseases that impair memory and cognitive functions, such as Alzheimer. By tapping into our collective fears in this regard, Nelder certainly had my attention.

The author ably describes the consequences of losing one’s mind by describing acute scenarios; a pilot en route over the Atlantic loses his way, with tragic consequences, when he forgets the flights final destination. It was truly frightening to witness, through the author’s eyes, how civil society can so rapidly deteriorate back into the Stone Age as humanities memories fade to naught.

My personal interpretation of Geoff Nelder’s Sci-Fi allegory is a near-future modern-day twist on the Dark Ages or Middle Ages–a period devoid of inspiration and culture possible due to famine and disease including the dreaded “Black Death” (Bubonic plague); it began at the fall of the Roman Empire and ended at beginning of Italian Renaissance – The Age of Discovery. Possibly the Italian doctor featured in the story triggered this thought, as well as the choice of “ARIA” being Italian for “Air” as the acronym for the virus.

This is a cerebral, thoroughly researched, and most enjoyable. The characters are vividly rendered, with their flaws and smarts displayed for all to see, making them memorable. For me it took only a minimal suspension of disbelief, and the plot felt thoroughly plausible. Just substitute ARIA for another earthbound airborne virus, accelerated throughout humanity due to population density, easy accesses to transcontinental travel, unrestricted borders, and the potential transmission speed of the disease would be like no other time in history.

As for those interested in survivalist prepping, but with an intelligent scientific / medical twist, ARIA promises to be a satisfying read. For those fans of science fiction, here you will find an immediacy and relevance (note the recent Ebola scare) that will trigger within you all the “it-came-from-outer-space” drama and tension you’d ever desire. Character-driven and a diverse cast, plus the compelling plot, suggests ARIA: Left Luggage has the makings of a fine motion picture.

Review by Tim: 5.0 out of 5 Stars>Excellent, End of World. Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 23, 2017. Verified Purchase. If you are going to write a story about an end of world apocalyptic scenario, you are going to have to do it well to compete with all the other similarly themed stuff out there. Even better, if you are able, you have to tell it in a different way and with something that makes it stands out, an original twist would hinder things.

Fortunately, Geoff Nelder manages this with his science fiction novel, ARIA Lost Luggage. Pack your bags, button up your coat it is the end of the world time again, but this time there is an original premise that works in a manner that sets the story apart from others, and is chilling too, clawing away at the mind as the implications start to sink in.

When a small object is found on the International Space station it causes a lot of international consternation, interest grows as it becomes apparent that the object, possibly a receptacle of some kind appears to be of alien origin.

Despite all the procedures in place, the box is opened in less than perfect conditions and some form of infection is released onto the world. Bit by bit, day by day it eats away at the memories of the people infected and it spreads very quickly.

It is a subject matter that can be compared to real medical conditions, something that Nelder does not shy away from, but it is a lot more than that as he delves into the issues and delivers on an excellent scale. He does not take the easy root and just give us a single path, put offers a multi-perspective tale. From generalized, a look as the population as a whole begins to lose more and more of their memories, the way society starts to erode, unravel and ultimately, collapse. To POV characters who are suffering from the memory loss, how they struggle to cope and how some come up with ways to try to remind themselves each day. To those who have managed to remain isolated, struggling to survive and understand what is going on. To the odd case where someone might seem to be immune to the infection.

Of course, all the great ideas in the world can dribble away if they are not presented well, and here Nelder comes into his own. He tells the tale with flare and passion, giving the reader great characters to latch onto, to sympathize with as they, or those they know start to drift away, regressing to childhood as time passes.

In some ways it feels as though there is a surfer trying to surf a tidal wave, just that the task before our characters is too great, an ongoing disaster that cannot be looked away from.

In fact, one of the strengths of the novel is the way it pushes the aliens into the background, they are the plot device that have set the story in motion, but we know little and see even less of them. This works as it leaves a very ambiguous feel to what they have done. Is it on purpose? Is it an attack? Were they trying to communicate, and it went wrong? Was it a gift that backfired? There is no way of knowing.

And then a second box appears. When opened… well that would be a spoiler, but things get more complicated and a totally different threat begins to insinuate itself…

The book ends on a cliff-hanger, but it is a concept that has been well developed and delivered impeccably. Well worth the read, and undoubtedly, I’ll get around to reading the sequel.

Review by Dragon63: 5.0 out of 5 Stars. An interesting case. Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 12, 2014. Verified Purchase. A strange metal case is found outside the ISS – after it is transported to a US base, the case is opened, releasing an infection that causes increasing memory loss. After a week, those infected have lost a year of their lives. As the disease spreads across the world, civilization starts to break down… Yes, we’re in end of the world territory here. If you’ve read The Death of Grass or Lucifer’s Hammer then you may assume you know what’s in store. But this apocalypse is unlike anything you’ll have seen before; when our own memories are playing traitor, the world becomes an extraordinarily scary place. The book is set a year ahead. our world is bound together with electronic communications (which can be persuaded to keep working even when the world has gone to hell), so the author gives us not just one group of survivors but a number of groups, in contact by email and video, who are struggling to preserve their memories and evade infection.

The characters are well-presented, interesting, and believable. The effects of the virus are logically thought out. The book takes place over a period of about six months; it does not dwell on the horrors outside the survivors’ enclaves, leaving those scenes mostly to the imagination. A few other faces appear and then vanish early on, hinting at the enormity of the disaster, but the core groups of survivors are the heart of the story.

The most obvious gap in the novel’s structure is any suggestion of the efforts being made to find a cure for the plague – the author mentions that there is something in the bloodstreams of those infected, but does not hint at steps being taken to fight it. Instead, he introduces a different occurrence to push the narrative forward – I won’t spoil the story by revealing what that involves. Suffice it to say that after a slow mid-section, the novel picks up the pace again in the later chapters – but does not reach a conclusion. By the end of the book, the core characters have made significant decisions, but the results of those choices are the subject of the next book in the trilogy…

I enjoyed book one of ARIA – it is well written, properly proof-read, intelligent and different from all the other end of the world scenarios I have seen before.

Review by Mrs. G. Hobson: 5.0 out of 5 Stars. Never to be forgotten. Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 9, 2012. Verified Purchase. It must be incredibly difficult to come up with a unique and yet believable storyline for a Science Fiction novel. It appears that Geoff Nelder has done precisely that. The plot is simple and yet mind-blowing.

A simple-looking case planted by aliens on an orbiting space station makes the story of the Trojan Horse look like a mere nursery tale. The whole human race is threatened, not by hordes of odd-looking space creatures as seen on certain TV dramas, but by an unseen virus — Alien Retrograde Infectious Amnesia — that invades the brain as soon as contact is made. But there is nothing to indicate contamination, that is, until it is obvious that memory is being eaten away at an alarming rate. No one appears to be immune. With no cure, it does not take long for ARIA to become the gravest mankind issue the world, as we know it, has ever been faced with.

I know what it is like to have a loved one suffer from Dementia. It is a cruel disease and heartbreaking for all concerned. But to have the whole population in various stages of rapid amnesia — aggression, mounting diseases, starvation, bodies stinking in the streets and everything in a state of chaos and horror — is a dreaded nightmare from which there is no awakening… or so it seems. But all is not lost — YET.

Our heroes and heroines, highly believable characters who have, so far, escaped contamination are yet to make their mark in world history. Dare we hope the alien force will relent and deliver relief before the END? Or must we put our faith in human resourcefulness?

An unusual, mind-blowing read. I look forward to the second book of the trilogy.

Review by Amazon Customer: 5.0 out of 5 Stars. Always check the vehicle you are travelling in. Reviewed in Australia on February 12, 2023. Verified Purchase. Geoff never disappoints, and this is a perfect example of what not to do when you find something attached to your vehicle, be it in space…never bring it back to Earth…but no one listens, and no one remembers. Loved it.

Product Details:
Paperback: ‎284 Pages
Publisher: ‎Logical-Lust (August 1, 2012)
Language: ‎English
Science Fiction (Action and Adventure)
Science Fiction (Alien Invasion)
Science Fiction (First Contact)
Science Fiction (Medical Fiction)
Science Fiction (Post-Apocalyptic)
Science Fiction (Space Exploration)

Amazon Print:
https://www.amazon.com/ARIA-Left-Luggage-Geoff–Nelder/dp/1905091958/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

Kindle:
https://www.amazon.com/ARIA-Luggage-Trilogy-Human-Remember-ebook/dp/B008RADGYC/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

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ARIA: Returning Left Luggage by Geoff Nelder.

ARIA Trilogy Book 2: Humanity On the Edge of Extinction.

They wiped out most of Humanity in a split second of universal time.

It’s the apocalypse. It’s the extinction of mankind.

The Andromeda Strain meets Memento…

Meet the aliens who came from some deep space universe and brought a pandemic of infectious amnesia to Earth with their “left luggage.” In this gripping ARIA sequel, Returning Left Luggage, the alien invaders ignore the remaining human survivors or enslave them. Will the disparate last survivors form an alliance? The aliens, however, don’t bargain on encountering the psychotic Dr Antonio Menzies, and when he discovers how to use their telepathic-controlled gadgets, odd things happen.

Meanwhile, Ryder Nape – a survivor who escaped the infection – and his isolation group is in the South Pacific facing an invasion of amnesiacs. In France, a bunch of uninfected students discover the truth behind the aliens and their spreading, unkillable bindweed. The survivors’ passion for survival and dystopian experience drive them towards revenge, but can they win against such a strange foe? Can they make a first strike count? The destiny of the human race may be in their hands.

ARIA: Alien Retrograde Infectious Amnesia

Without our memories, who are we?

“ARIA is a well-written novel with the pace and suspense of a video game (BioShock immediately comes to mind). The balance between character development and plot progression is managed smoothly, along with the thematics, which take the reader through a series of all-too-believable scenarios, chillingly showing how easy it would be for an advanced group of aliens to undermine the human race and have us destroy one another, without the need for any additional weapons or warfare.” By Magdelena Ball

“Geoff Nelder inhabits Science Fiction the way other people inhabit their clothes.” By Jon Courtenay Grimwood

“Geoff Nelder’s ARIA has the right stuff. He makes us ask the most important question in science fiction–the one about the true limits of personal responsibility.” By Brad Linaweaver

Robert J. Sawyer calls ARIA a “fascinating project.”

“ARIA has an intriguing premise, and is written in a very accessible style.” By Mike Resnick

Review by Ulla H: 5.0 out of 5 Stars. Original and mind-boggling! Reviewed in the United States on June 24, 2015. Years ago, I couldn’t get enough of Isaac Asimov’s Foundation books. After that I spent years reading thrillers and suspense. Recently, I was quite excited to hear about The ARIA Trilogy by Geoff Nelder and felt it was time to read a science fiction book again. I’d heard quite a lot about the first book so I decided to get the second book “ARIA: Returning Left Luggage.”

This science fiction series has a truly unique concept dealing with how Alien Retrograde Infectious Amnesia effects society around the world. Aliens needing the world for their own purpose, decided to clean it up. They released an unavoidable, highly contagious space virus that over a short period of time robbed most people on the planet of their memories, and rendered them helpless and dying.

In this second installment of Aria, small groups of people, still not infected, realize the danger they’re in and flee to isolated areas in different parts of the world. Nelder’s characters are real, human and beautifully flawed. Even Dr. Antonio, to a hesitant degree. I love the dialogue. It’s witty and fun. The writing is great. You come to rote for some individuals as they struggle to survive in their new reality. It’s a fascinating and truly terrifying story. A second space virus released by the aliens stop the memory loss in the people who get in contact with it, but for some it brings other problems. More of that in the third installment, I imagine (hope).

This book made me a science fiction fan all over again. I really recommend it!

Review by Colm Herron: 5.0 out of 5 Stars. This gem of a book. Reviewed in the United States on September 7, 2016. Here is a modern dystopia formed in the mind of author Geoff Nelder, science fiction writer extraordinaire. It follows on his first book of the trilogy ARIA and tells what happens after the apocalypse of mass memory loss on earth. To give away much would be unforgivable so I’ll confine myself to saying that the cure that comes from space to stop this global amnesia appears to be worse than the sickness itself.

The scenario is as confusing and terrifying as what is now happening in Syria where global powers work with and against each other to pursue their own agendas and nobody knows for sure who’s for what. Except here in Returning Left Luggage there is hilarity to leaven the nightmare. And it is this hilarity that makes Nelder’s novel more than just a remarkable piece of sci-fi. For at the drop of a master’s hat he is able to make me laugh out loud even as I squirm.

POSTSCRIPT: Geoff Nelder uses the acronym ARIA for Alien Retrograde Infectious Amnesia which is what is brought to earth by evil aliens. But the more I read Returning Left Luggage the more I wondered if Nelder had more than memory loss in mind. For one of the most famous arias in history is Haydn’s The Creation in which Satan and his followers build a palace called Pandemonium. And diabolical pandemonium is what runs amok in this gem of a book.

Review by Paul Goodspeed: 5.0 out of 5 Stars. ARIA II. Reviewed in the United States on October 21, 2013. This is a superb novel of the post-apocalyptic genre. In this case the apocalypse arrived in the form of an alien suitcase which, when opened, released an extraordinarily infectious strain of retrograde amnesia — causing a loss of one year of memory, working backward, each week — which infected almost everyone on earth, except small clumps of survivors in widely-separated locales.

This all happened in Volume I of the trilogy, but it isn’t necessary to have read Volume I to thoroughly enjoy Volume II. There’s a one-paragraph synopsis at the beginning which tells the reader how we got to where Volume II starts. That having been said, I would go back and read Volume I if I hadn’t already — reading them in reverse order wouldn’t detract from the interest of Volume I.

Mr. Nelder has, in my view, surpassed his own excellent previous novels with this one. He has continued the saga of the very interesting characters he created in Volume I, with a few new twists. One of the strong points of Mr. Nelder’s work is his dialogue, and that is true here — there’s plenty of dialogue, and it’s witty and snarky and fun.

The basic premise of the trilogy — the retrograde amnesia — is very clever, and Mr. Nelder has thought through how it would impact the earth and what its consequences would be, overall and as to specific individuals.

I don’t know when the final volume of the trilogy will come out, but when it does it will be at the top of my reading list.

Review by Martin Lamberti: 5.0 out of 5 Stars. ARIA II, Returning Left Luggage, and you thought the airlines were bad! Reviewed in the United States on June 21, 2013. In ARIA II, the plot thickens, of course. This is expected from an excellent author like Geoff Nelder. Aside from the aliens we have several groups of earthlings working together, (for the most part), but each with their own agenda seeking to save the people of earth, or dominate it on their own, or with each other’s help? Or, possibly with the help of renegade aliens who are, after all, not necessarily in conformance with their own alien “elders.” Apparently, earth’s atmosphere and soil are advantageous to the production of alien super cannabis. Following the plots and fates of the Earthlings will keep you guessing, and Dr. Antonio will make you want to scream. or applaud? Author Geoff Nelder continues to present plausible ideas as he presents insight into the alien mindset. “ARIA 2 Returning Left Luggage” Just as the first book in the ARIA series deals with Alien Retrograde Infectious Amnesia and it’s effect on society. Truly frightening!

Review by Amazon Customer: 5.0 out of 5 Stars. Aria Trilogy. Reviewed in Australia on January 20, 2023. Verified Purchase. Geoff does SCIFI takes you on this amazing thought-provoking adventure; this one encompasses worldwide amnesia. Subtle idiosyncrasies of such a pandemic make the past three years in lockdown interesting. I did pause as Carnarvon, WA Au, was mentioned and for Australia to make it into mainstream SCIFI! Geoff, you made my day.

Review by L. Sengul: 5.0 out of 5 Stars. A must read of apocalyptic and Sci-fi fans! Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 22, 2015. Verified Purchase. I thoroughly enjoyed reading ARIA, the idea that a virus introduced by Aliens that cause us to lose our memories is very terrifying and the urge to eradicate it is inspired by reading through different character perspectives and the ending has left me wanting to the read the last book in the ARIA Series. A must read of apocalyptic, sci-fi fans!

Review by DJW: 5.0 out of 5 Stars. The suspense continues. Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 6, 2013. Verified Purchase. The trilogy contains all the fundamental ingredients of top-class science fiction. The basic concept of alien infectious amnesia spreading throughout the world and bringing with it the collapse of society as we know it is fascinating enough but Geoff Nelder blends it with the foibles of human beings and the careful manipulation of up to date scientific and computer understanding. A gripping read!

Product Details:
Paperback: ‎282 Pages
Publisher: LL-Publications; 1st Edition (June 1, 2013)
Language: ‎English
Science Fiction (Action and Adventure)
Science Fiction (Alien Invasion)
Science Fiction (First Contact)
Science Fiction (Medical Fiction)
Science Fiction (Post-Apocalyptic)
Science Fiction (Space Exploration)

Amazon Print:
https://www.amazon.com/Aria-Returning-Left-Luggage-Trilogy/dp/095747265X/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

Kindle:
https://www.amazon.com/ARIA-Returning-Luggage-Humanity-Extinction-ebook/dp/B00D7TW2D4/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

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ARIA: Abandoned Luggage by Geoff Nelder.

ARIA Trilogy Book 3.

In 2015, a case found in the struts of the International Space Station is brought to Earth. It releases a virus giving people amnesia. They lose their memory at the rate of a years worth every week. No one is immune. Infectious amnesia is unheard of. Industry breaks down as people forget where they work and how to perform their duties. People die as they forget their medication, and production ceases along with food, water supply, and energy. A few small groups realise what is happening in time and find isolated refuges. Ryder Nape takes a group to a secluded Welsh valley where safety from the virus is possible. Biologists call the virus ARIA: Alien Retrograde Infectious Amnesia.

In this conclusion to the trilogy, Dr. Antonio Menzies arrives on Zadok. The ARIA-3 bomb had reached there two days previously, causing havoc. Surviving Zadokians consider a mass-migration to Earth to escape the effects of ARIA-3. Antonio’s madness grows, and he makes disturbing discoveries in their laboratories.

Meanwhile, Ryder’s group is now on a Pacific Island. His relationship with Jena is unstable and others have coruscating infatuations in tune with the increasingly desperate situation. When their island becomes unsustainable, and the alien-Earth hybrid weed gets out of control, where should they go?

What was the Zadokians’ real purpose with the ARIA viruses, and how does it all end?

“ARIA mingles the most optimistic calculations from the Drake Equation with a distopian outcome, creating a read that is as intriguing as it is fun.” By Magdalena Ball, owner of Compulsive Reader

“If you like your scifi offbeat, original, and backed by science, you’re going to love ARIA.” By Kenyon Charboneaux, editor and writing tutor at Eros & Rust

“ARIA: a smart, entertaining gem.” By Dr. Ira Nayman, author of the Transdimensional Authority Series

Review by AQ: 5.0 out of 5 Stars. Move over Edgar Rice Burroughs… Reviewed in the United States on June 15, 2017. Verified Purchase. Move over John Carter and the Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Mars stories. The Zadokians have it way over the Barsoomians, with their telepathic abilities and multi-millennia existence just four light years from Earth. Geoff Nelder weaves a fantastic sci-fi tale that suspends disbelief and keeps the pages turning at lightspeed. He interjects enough real science to glue things together while playing with outrageous possibilities when aliens interfere with (or help?) the human population on planet Earth. Five stars for this third book of the ARIA trilogy.

Review by Amazon Customer: 5.0 out of 5 Stars. Superb Read. Reviewed in the United States on June 20, 2017. I’ve been a follower of Geoff Nelder’s writing for many years now, and each time I get one of his books I know that I’m not going to be disappointed. I’m also a big fan of Lit-RPG and post apocalyptical, so the ARIA (Alien Retrograde Infectious Amnesia) books certainly hit that right on the nose. There’s also opportunities for a game here, with his characters struggling to survive and fight off the plague infested remnants of civilization.

As for infectious amnesia, what a brilliant idea! Kind of scary though, imagine getting on a bus to go to work and forgetting not only where that is but where you live and who your family are. In this final tome Dr Antonio Menzies arrives on Zadok, where surviving Zadokians are considering mass migration to Earth, to escape the effects of the Aria-3 bomb. Yet back on Earth things are getting desperate for our heroes too. The island they retreated too is becoming unsustainable and the hybrid weed gets out of control.

This is a wonderful Lit-RPG tale and the only complaint I have is that there’s only three books. Any chance of a fourth one, Mr. Nelder?

Review by Paul Goodspeed: 5.0 out of 5 Stars. The Best of the Trilogy. Reviewed in the United States on September 28, 2014. I very much enjoyed the first two books of the ARIA trilogy, so I was looking forward to reading the third. I wasn’t disappointed. In my judgment Abandoned Luggage is the best of the three, and a fitting end to the trilogy. This is post-apocalyptic sci-fi at its best.

Like the first two books, Abandoned Luggage proceeds by switching among several closely-related story lines with different sets of characters, each character and each group interesting in its own way. One thing that I especially liked was that the character I found most interesting in the earlier books, Antonio, played a more major role in this volume. Also, an interesting and enjoyable new character, called Spec-5, joins the cast for this book.

Abandoned Luggage, again like the first two books, is characterized by Mr. Nelder’s superb ability to write dialogue, and his delightfully imaginative treatment of such diverse topics as telepathic communication with aliens and a new earth-threatening scourge arising from the plant world.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys science fiction, whether or not he or she has read the first two of the trilogy. It’s certainly more fun when one has, but Abandoned Luggage includes a synopsis of the first two books that provides a sufficient starting point for this concluding volume.

Review by Scouser32: 5.0 out of 5 Stars. Best of the three. Reviewed in the United States on August 17, 2014. Loved this Aria storyline from start to this new finish. Loved Manuel best, how he went from cocky educator in book 1 to depression with amnesia then found new women to share survival and now on a new planet! Loved the new planet – how strange and loved the intelligent mice DNA bird. Hey I misspelt and to DNA and it kind of works. This is the best of the 3 books. Ace. Want another one. Do an Adams and have 4 books in your trilogy.

Product Details:
Paperback: ‎254 Pages
Publisher: ‎LL-Publications; 1st Edition (July 1, 2014)
Language: ‎English
Science Fiction (Action and Adventure)
Science Fiction (Alien Invasion)
Science Fiction (First Contact)
Science Fiction (Medical Fiction)
Science Fiction (Post-Apocalyptic)
Science Fiction (Space Exploration)

Amazon Print:
https://www.amazon.com/ARIA-Abandoned-Luggage-Three-Trilogy/dp/0990565505/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

Kindle:
https://www.amazon.com/ARIA-Abandoned-Luggage-Three-Trilogy-ebook/dp/B00LMNE9JW/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

Ratings:
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About The Author: Geoff Nelder is a freelance writer living in Chester, UK.

A former high school teacher of geography and information technology, he has had non-fiction books published on microclimates in the UK along with several articles in academic journals such as Weather, Geographical Magazine and the Times Educational Supplement. Geoff is a part-time journalist contributing humorous travel accounts to Cycling World.

He has had short stories published and won a commendation for a story in the Ron Hubbard Writers of the Future Competition. He won first prize in the Cafe Doom short story competition in 2005. Besides his 2005 released humour novel, Escaping Reality, published by Brambling Books, he won an award for mystery thriller, Hot Air, to be published by a Dutch Arts Academy in 2009, and a Science Fiction block buster, Left Luggage is in the hands of an agent. Double Dragon Publishing published Geoff’s Exit, Pursued by a Bee science fiction in 2008.

Geoff is an editor for Adventure Books of Seattle, co-editor of Escape Velocity – a print and ezine magazine of science fact and fiction. He has been a freelance editor of novels and short stories for several years. Geoff is the 2009 sort-fiction judge for the Whittaker Prize.

Additional Books:

Best of British Science Fiction 2020 Jul 27, 2021 by Donna Scott, M. R. Carey, Lavie Tidhar, Anne Charnock, Liz Williams, Ian Watson, RB Kelley, Eric Brown, Ida Keogh, Neil Williamson
M is for Monster Oct 27, 2010 by Ian Woodhead, Serenity Banks, David Youngquist, Simon Unsworth, Geoff Nelder, Kate Jonez, Zach Black, John Prescott, Ash Krafton, Adrian Chamberlin
CROOKED TALES: Deception & Revenge in 14 Short Stories Sep 1, 2016 by Mark Fine, Pamela Crane, Traci Sanders, Elizabeth Horton-Newton, Joseph Mark Brewer, Keith Dixon, Eric J. Gates, Geoff Nelder, Anita Kovacevic, Michelle Medhat
Once Upon A Scream Feb 7, 2022 by Dorothy Davies, Dan Allen, Rie Sheridan Rose, Brooke MacKenzie, Stuart Holland, David Turnbull, Gina Easton, Liam Spinage, Jason R Frei, Geoff Nelder
SFerics 2017 Oct 22, 2017 by Rosie Oliver, Roz Clarke
The Horror Zine Magazine Summer 2017 May 2, 2017 by Jeani Rector, Vitaly S. Alexius, Peter Ferguson Swarr, Liz McAdams, Ariana Carlson, katie Marie, David Subacchi, Teresa Frazee, Edmund Stone, James Ward Kirk
The Horror Magazine Spring 2020 Feb 4, 2020 by Jeani Rector, Jeffrey Genung, Kristen Houghton, Harrison Kim, Richard Dawkinson, Juan Perez, Stephanie Smith, Lori Lopez, Kim Vincent, Sana Amber
The Horror Zine Magazine Spring 2016 Nov 14, 2015 by Charles E.J. Moulton, John T. Biggs, Timothy Wilkie, Geoff Nelder, John C. Adams, Sebastian Crow, Kristen Houghton, Frank Schury, Larry Hinkle, Jeani Rector
Personal Bests Journal Issue 1 Aug 6, 2020 by David Gardiner Editor
Twisted Tails IX: Wunderkind Jan 27, 2016 by J. Richard Jacobs
Twisted Tails VIII: Para-abnormal Jan 20, 2016 by J. Richard Jacobs
Shrieks and Shivers from the Horror Zine Jan 6, 2015 by William F. Nolan, Ray Garton, Elizabeth Massie, Lisa Morton, Joe McKInney, Tim Waggoner, Martin Rose, Jeani Rector, Bentley Little
100 Stories for Queensland May 3, 2011 by Jodi Cleghorn, Kate Eltham
Monk Punk Apr 19, 2011 by A.J. French, D. Harlan Wilson, Dean M. Drinkel, Geoff Nelder, Adrian Chamberlin, John R. Fultz, William Meikle, R. B. Payne, Sean T. M. Stiennon, Zach Black