Ayoh - Shop now
Kindle Unlimited
Unlimited reading. Over 4 million titles. Learn more
Read for Free
OR
$3.99

Promotions apply when you purchase

These promotions will be applied to this item:

Some promotions may be combined; others are not eligible to be combined with other offers. For details, please see the Terms & Conditions associated with these promotions.

Sold by Amazon.com Services LLC.
Read with our free app
You've subscribed to ! We will preorder your items within 24 hours of when they become available. When new books are released, we'll charge your default payment method for the lowest price available during the pre-order period.
Update your device or payment method, cancel individual pre-orders or your subscription at
Your Memberships & Subscriptions
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Follow the author

Stan C. Smith
Follow
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

Diffusion Kindle Edition

by Stan C. Smith (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.2 out of 5 stars 860 ratings

What would you sacrifice to bring to light the greatest discovery in human history?

Quentin Darnell was only a boy when his anthropologist parents were overcome by a professional failure so crushing it led to his father's suicide. Now a schoolteacher, Quentin is looking for answers that can only be found in the wild terrains of Indonesian Papua, where years ago his parents studied an isolated aboriginal tribe.

Quentin leads his wife, son, and six students on a field trip to experience Papua’s pristine tropical forests. When their plane tragically crashes in the wilderness, Quentin becomes trapped in a vicious fight to protect the ones he loves.

Just as resources and hope run out, several mysterious tribesmen appear, bearing a substance with extraordinary healing properties. The material promises to benefit all of humanity. But it’s much more than medicine. It creates creatures unknown to science. And it brings to life what should remain dead—including Quentin’s own son, Addison.

Logic and sanity begin to unravel. Addison speaks a new language. He knows things he shouldn’t. And he’s a killer.

For the others to escape, Quentin must face a decision no parent should have to make.

Read more
Previous slide of product details
  1. Book 1 of 3
    Diffusion
  2. Print length
    298 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Accessibility
    Learn more
  5. Publication date
    July 31, 2015
  6. File size
    2.6 MB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
    Enabled
  9. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
Next slide of product details
Unwell Hydration from Alex Cooper
Hydrate & focus with every sip Shop now

Shop this series

 See full series
There are 3 books in this series.
This option includes 3 books.

Customers also bought or read

Page 1 of 1Start overPage 1 of 1
Previous page
  1. Infusion (Diffusion Book 2)
    Kindle Edition
    $4.99
  2. FOUND
    Kindle Edition
    $0.99
  5. Savage (Diffusion)
    Kindle Edition
    $4.99
  7. Watchers
    Kindle Edition
    $0.00
  11. MAIDEN: A Brethren Space Novel
    Kindle Edition
    $4.99
  22. The Pinocchio Chip
    Kindle Edition
    $2.99
  25. Entropy
    Kindle Edition
    $4.99
Next page
Loading...

Editorial Reviews

Review

Diffusion by Stan C Smith is an exciting adventure novel that rivals Michael Crichton. It is a suspenseful and thrilling story that reaches deep into the jungles of Papua. Once you start reading it, you just can't put it down. It has a geographically and historically accurate science fiction plot, containing characters whose history originates before antiquity. The author's knowledge of the region and the indigenous population is impressive. He has created a remarkable fictional tribe with its own language set in an intense science fiction story. This superbly written novel will thrill science fiction aficionados and adventure readers alike.

- Susan Sewell for Readers' Favorite

From the Author

DIFFUSION is my first novel, a labor of love. This story is strongly influenced by my love for adventure, my experiences in tropical rainforests, my experiences with teenage students, and my background in biology and technology. I have always enjoyed good action-packed stories that fire up my imagination, and my goal is to write novels that I personally would love to read. In that respect, Diffusion is a great success. I hope you like it. too.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B01373CVCQ
  • Accessibility ‏ : ‎ Learn more
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ July 31, 2015
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 2.6 MB
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 298 pages
  • Page Flip ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Book 1 of 3 ‏ : ‎ Diffusion
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.2 out of 5 stars 860 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Stan C. Smith

Stan C. Smith

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Stan C. Smith’s secret formula? Create strange worlds filled with even stranger creatures. Drop in unsuspecting characters. Shake vigorously. Stan lives with his wife Trish deep in the Ozark Forest of Missouri, where creatures are more docile than those in his novels. His goal is to stimulate your sense of wonder, get your heart pounding, and keep you reading late into the night. His books are for anyone who loves adventure, discovery, and mind-bending surprises.

Want a new sci-fi short story every month? Subscribe to Stan’s newsletter.

Customer reviews

4.2 out of 5 stars
860 global ratings

Review this product

Share your thoughts with other customers
Write a customer review

Customers say

Customers find the book's story engaging and thrilling, with well-developed characters and interesting informational tidbits about life science. Moreover, the book receives positive feedback for its anthropological elements, with one customer noting its fantastic science in a traditional natives' world. Additionally, customers describe the book as weird, with one review mentioning amazing creatures, and they consider it a must-read with lots of action. However, the pacing receives mixed reactions from customers.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

Select to learn more

107 customers mention "Story quality"93 positive14 negative

Customers enjoy the story of this book, describing it as a compelling fantasy with an engaging plot that pulls readers in.

"...Thrills and adventure told in league with all the greats; Michael Crichton, James Rollins, Douglas Preston and Lee Childs, you get my meaning...." Read more

"...story." I love the author's "voice" -- he is an exceptional storyteller, with great knowledge of the natural wilderness area where this..." Read more

"...It definitely deserves a five star rating. It has an engaging storyline with a thought-provoking plot that takes you on a wild and exciting ride..." Read more

"Enjoyed the characters and overall unique plot...." Read more

53 customers mention "Readability"53 positive0 negative

Customers find the book highly readable, describing it as a fabulous and entertaining read that must be read by all people.

"...Excellent read with my highest recommendation." Read more

"Great natural setting, believable and well-developed characters to care about, in a situation that spirals from dangerous to mind-bending...." Read more

"...When you read this brilliantly clever book by Stan C. Smith, you will definitely be receiving the thoughts and substances from his remarkable and..." Read more

"...I say I will be reading whatever this guy writes because these books were that good...." Read more

34 customers mention "Enjoyment"34 positive0 negative

Customers find the book engaging and exciting, with lots of action throughout. One customer mentions it's fun to read a story set on Earth.

"...Overall, this novel is a great aventure to experience and question both the positive and negative aspects of modern man...." Read more

"...This is one of the most original, and engaging, books I've read in years. I want to read more by this author!..." Read more

"...with a thought-provoking plot that takes you on a wild and exciting ride through the jungle of New Guinea. This is a book you don't want to miss!" Read more

"...Totally immersive and entertaining with a premise i don't believe I've Ever ran across. I literally just couldn't stop reading...." Read more

26 customers mention "Character development"26 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the well-developed characters in the book, with one customer noting the awesome imagination of the author.

"...The characters are three deminsional and quick to come to life...." Read more

"Great natural setting, believable and well-developed characters to care about, in a situation that spirals from dangerous to mind-bending...." Read more

"...I loved all the characters and felt great sorrow when a few passed away." Read more

"Enjoyed the characters and overall unique plot...." Read more

21 customers mention "Anthropology"21 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the book's anthropological content, with multiple reviews highlighting the interesting informational tidbits of life science, and one customer specifically noting its detailed portrayal of the natural wilderness area.

"...; -- he is an exceptional storyteller, with great knowledge of the natural wilderness area where this story is set...." Read more

"...imagination but will also gain some knowledge and insight about the jungle in Papua New Guinea and the reclusive natives who reside there...." Read more

"...therefore, built in my mind a great picture of the village, forest, natives, and tree kangaroos...." Read more

"An exotic, not fully explored, wilderness location, a fairly recently discovered primitive culture, restless poltical climate, and a group of young..." Read more

9 customers mention "Eerieness"9 positive0 negative

Customers find the book eerie and wild, with one customer noting how it plunges readers into the animals' perspective, while others appreciate the strange magic and creatures with special powers.

"...in my mind a great picture of the village, forest, natives, and tree kangaroos...." Read more

"...author takes you on a journey through a dense jungle and plunges you into the animals and the undiscovered tribe with a mystery so unknown that it..." Read more

"...This book takes you on a wild ride thru the jungle, wildlife, creatures and things...." Read more

"...A little of possible alien race somewhere In the past, animals with special powers and the fountain of youth some natives found and then add in the..." Read more

6 customers mention "Potential"6 positive0 negative

Customers find the book's potential positive, with one review highlighting its incredible technology and another noting its great concept.

"...hands is just begun to be revealed, leads us into an unknown but enticing future. Thank heaven (and Stan C. Smith!) there are sequels! Bravo! Lead on!" Read more

"...Book one just leaves you hanging. Too bad. It had great potential." Read more

"...Exciting and a little eerie and a bit of strange and ultimately hopeful. Now I want to read the rest of the series." Read more

"A great concept but somehow I couldn’t connect. The story is well written and reasonably interesting but somehow I just can’t relate to it." Read more

6 customers mention "Pacing"3 positive3 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the pacing of the book, with some finding it creepy and good, while others describe it as a snoozer with a preposterous premise.

"...The world turns upside down. Intrigue, mystery and even frightening elements will have you turning the pages quickly to find out what force is at..." Read more

"...Plane crash, undiscovered native tribe, weird science fiction sub-text, Darwinian tale was hard to put down." Read more

"Fun, fast paced book about jungle mysteries, monsters, and miracles. Good beach book." Read more

"The strangest book I've ever read .... and I couldn't put it down !!!!!! Whenever I thought I figured something out I found I wasn't even close !!!" Read more

An inventive and pleasant read
5 out of 5 stars
An inventive and pleasant read
This original work is vaguely reminiscent of a mix of Aladdin's genie and the Golden Compass's animal companions. These are the alien computer and the tree kangaroos respectively. These ideas develop inexorably over the course of the three volumes in this series. I highly recommend this series
Hide
Thank you for your feedback
Sorry, there was an error
Sorry we couldn't load the review

Top reviews from the United States

  • L Ensign
    5.0 out of 5 stars Is the question of diffusion about the impact on them... or us?
    Reviewed in the United States on October 2, 2018
    Verified Purchase
    This man is a storyteller above all else regardless of his resume. Thrills and adventure told in league with all the greats; Michael Crichton, James Rollins, Douglas Preston and Lee Childs, you get my meaning.

    The characters are three deminsional and quick to come to life. Smith masterfully captures with great accuracy a region that is mostly inaccessible and inhospitable to modern man, with a finesse that feels effortless. You see and feel the jungle about you; the insects biting your skin, the humid heat that weighs you down, the dense undergrowth beneath a canopy of intermingling limbs and vines, the unquenchable thirst that parches your throat, and the overwhelming fear of the unknown just out of sight.

    Then, when hope is almost lost, indigenous people enter the scene and a new sense of amazement that comes with a sprinkling of fear. They seem to be an ally in that they have a powerful medicine that appears to work miracles. But at what cost?

    Along the journey, a touch of science fiction is tossed into the mix creating questions for the reader. Suspicions of the origins of these people and their miracle medicine begin to develope, raising the already high sense of insecurity and anxiety.

    There are vivid scenes of destruction and death that happen throughout that the reader actually sees. Not sparing any detail, one is forced to confront the unpleasant part of life...death. It's not portrayed to the point of poor taste, it is simply realistic. When a plane crashed into the middle of nowhere, there are bound to be casualties. Ill equipped for their surrounding, they are destined to have mishaps. Again. It's just realistic.

    A shocking point for me was having the question of the integration of this unknown tribe into modern understandings upended and thrown back at the audience. What makes it become a question not of how they will be affected, but rather what effects it will have on modern society?

    Overall, this novel is a great aventure to experience and question both the positive and negative aspects of modern man. I've seen other reviews state this is not a standalone book. And in wanting to know more, that is true. But taken by itself, it does end. There is not a cliffhanger. It is conceivable for one to stop after "Diffusion" and not feel like they've been cheated of half the story. It does end. But it does end in a way that leaves the reader with questions and a desire for more.

    Excellent read with my highest recommendation.
    24 people found this helpful
    Helpful
     Report
  • AJ Norton
    4.0 out of 5 stars Adventure, danger, & the struggle to survive becomes an opportunity to advance the human race -- or destroy it
    Reviewed in the United States on September 26, 2017
    Verified Purchase
    Great natural setting, believable and well-developed characters to care about, in a situation that spirals from dangerous to mind-bending. This is one of the most original, and engaging, books I've read in years. I want to read more by this author! My complaint is that the story is incomplete -- this is (I believe) a trilogy, and now I must buy more books to learn "the rest of the story." I love the author's "voice" -- he is an exceptional storyteller, with great knowledge of the natural wilderness area where this story is set. Flora, fauna and climate -- all the surroundings seem perfectly real, which adds to the shock when totally unexpected things happen. What is the connection between a modern computer game and a tribe of aborigines who live in much the same way as they did thousands of years ago? Is communication possible? Why do the natives refuse to allow anyone to leave? Would cultural diffusion save the world, or destroy it?
    21 people found this helpful
    Helpful
     Report
  • Norma Jeanne
    5.0 out of 5 stars EXCITING! INTRIGUING! CAPTIVATING
    Reviewed in the United States on April 18, 2018
    Verified Purchase
    New Oxford Dictionary: diffusion /dəˈfyo͞oZHən/ I. noun 1. the spreading of something more widely. 2. the action of spreading the light from a light source evenly so as to reduce glare and harsh shadows. 3. [Chemistry] the intermingling of substances by the natural movement of their particles. 4. [Anthropology] the dissemination of elements of culture to another region or people.

    When you read this brilliantly clever book by Stan C. Smith, you will definitely be receiving the thoughts and substances from his remarkable and intriguing imagination and intermingle them with yours. Not only will you be entertained by his extraordinarily fertile imagination but will also gain some knowledge and insight about the jungle in Papua New Guinea and the reclusive natives who reside there. Mr. Smith's fascinating descriptions of the natives' village with their huts high in the trees, but also their dress or lack there of, are accurate and only make the book more fun and interesting. The DIFFUSION of Lamotelokhai isn't up for debate. It's here.

    I loved this book. It definitely deserves a five star rating. It has an engaging storyline with a thought-provoking plot that takes you on a wild and exciting ride through the jungle of New Guinea. This is a book you don't want to miss!
    One person found this helpful
    Helpful
     Report
  • pet doctor
    3.0 out of 5 stars Not a stand alone story
    Reviewed in the United States on June 2, 2019
    Verified Purchase
    A decent premise for a sci-fi story, and the author has a decent writing style. Unfortunately there are a few things that bring the book down. Firstly, this book is so typical of many self published authors in that it ends without a decent conclusion, hoping to force you into buying the following books. I find this annoying and selfish. Secondly, after a while the book became repetitive - it felt like it was being deliberately padded out to satisfy a short novel length, again so the author can justify charging for the next story in the series. Finally, I had a hard time liking most of the characters and found the family very shallow and selfish. In conclusion, not great but not terrible, but i won't be reading further in the series.
    2 people found this helpful
    Helpful
     Report

Top reviews from other countries

  • Rincewind Vimes
    5.0 out of 5 stars A gifted author and an amazing book.
    Reviewed in Canada on September 23, 2020
    Verified Purchase
    Keeping this review brief. I cam across this book by chance. I read the book synopsis before buying and it didn't really interest me...

    And then I read the book.

    WOW. Stan has an amazing ability to draw the reader in RIGHT AWAY. By page 3 I was absolutely hooked, and by the end, I was / am so ready to start book 2! Really, I am excited to read every single book/series that Stan has written.

    BUY/READ THIS BOOK!!!
    Report
  • Jill
    5.0 out of 5 stars Wow
    Reviewed in Australia on January 12, 2019
    Verified Purchase
    What an amazing read. Thoroughly enjoyed this book Unique story line with characters that draw you into their world and I can't wait to read the rest in the series. Setting it in Papua was a master stroke and had me believing the plot was actually possible. Highly recommend .
    Report
  • Erik1843
    5.0 out of 5 stars First contact and inter-species communication - in Papua!
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 23, 2021
    Verified Purchase
    This book includes one of my favourite topics, how would you communicate with an alien intelligence, and comes up with some novel and interesting answers. It is well written, with believable characters and some interesting SF ideas. Although the main characters are mostly from the US, it is set in Papua, and written by someone who has spent time there and researched it well. The main characters are two teachers and some of their students who are on a field trip when their plane crashes. The only non-American character who is fully developed is a British explorer, but the of the lack of depth in the Papuan characters is largely down to the language barrier and their, understandable, reserve around the newcomers. Despite the setting, this is a book about first contact with an extra-terrestrial intelligence, although the true first contact happened thousands of years before the start of the book, when the Papuan villagers first encountered it. The approach to communication is novel and very interesting. The alien entity is called the Lamotelokhai by the Papuans, which means "the end of the World" in their language, for reasons which become obvious later. One of the students, 14 year old Bobby, has an advantage in communicating with the Lamotelokhai because he has been learning the method it uses to establish communications for some time. How this is possible is hinted at in this book and made explicit in the sequels. It still requires work and skill, however, but prevents the Papuans from killing the Americans: they have been waiting for someone who can do this to arrive for thousands of years. The Lamotelokhai has many amazing powers, but the danger of misusing them becomes apparent later in the book. The other character I have not mentioned so far is non-human. It looks like a tree kangaroo, but is a construct which the Papuans asked the Lamotelokhai to make in order to prevent disasters from misusing its powers. The tree kangaroo can communicate with the Papuans via sign language and with the Lamotelokhai via some sort of wireless link. Bobby names it Mbaiso and learns its sign language. Mbaiso is intelligent in its own right and has a character, which also develops in the later books. The Papuan environment is well described, the characters well developed and the writing is very readable and I would highly recommend it. Although several of the characters are teenagers I would not describe it as a 'young adult' novel.
    Report
  • Kim P. NZ
    4.0 out of 5 stars Good Read
    Reviewed in Australia on February 11, 2019
    Verified Purchase
    Not my usual genre - I found this story engaging, well written and interesting from beginning to end. Look forward to reading rest of the series
    Report
  • Emma
    4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting and wasn't what I was expecting.
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 31, 2019
    Verified Purchase
    I enjoyed this book, it reminded me of some of the books written by James Rollins. Interesting and different, I saw it is a multi-book series, I'm not sure I will definitely follow on with the further instalments, but an engaging one off if I don't.
    Report

Report an issue


Does this item contain inappropriate content?
Report
Do you believe that this item violates a copyright?
Report
Does this item contain quality or formatting issues?
Report