The Alien Effect
Raised on the Jovian moon Varok, Shawne longs to return to Earth and help her devastated home planet build a new civilization—one that can thrive for millennia. When she and her “mini alien invasion” set up a school in California, they face unexpected lessons of their own, unaware of the long-term consequences of their collision with life on Earth.
The sequel to Nautilus silver medalist The Webs of Varok and third in Cary Neeper's Archives of Varok series, The Alien Effect joins the travels of an unlikely alien family across an alternate 21st Century Earth.
Paperback, hardcover and e-book editions are available through your local bookstore (via Ingram POD or Espresso Book Machine) and at online booksellers including:
| 6x9" trade paperback | Hardcover with jacket | E-book editions |
By turns wondrous, wise, witty, tense and gripping—all in service of a heartfelt environmental polemic. The Alien Effect is an auspicious new entry in this daring series that refuses to stick with easy answers or safe issues related to humankind's ecological crisis. As with the other parts in the series, this latest installment finds just the right balance between candid political commentary and a tale appropriate for both adult and young-adult readers.
—Frank Kaminski, book reviewer for resilience.org
From the book
Nidok showed up and boarded the Lurlial as if he owned it. Fearing his exo-skeleton might crack, he had padded himself against the extra g’s of launch with an odd assortment of scraps no doubt gleaned from the ruins near his home cave.
Conn’s eyes dropped open to fill his face when Nidok approached him in the flight deck. His mind was an unreadable mix—thoroughly surprised, angry and delighted. “Orram,” he croaked, “who let this disposable insect into the ship? What does he think he is—the first ahlork in space?”
“Right, Kaehl Lips,” Nidok said. His gargling reverberations shook the edible moss lining on the ship’s inner walls. “I am Aen Naran (Specialist) Nidok, First Space Ahlork.”
Free preview chapter
- Chapter 1: Two Messages (PDF, 304KB)