- Cawdron, Peter.
Little Green Men.
Los Gatos, CA: Smashwords, 2013.
ISBN 978-1-301-76672-7.
-
The author is rapidly emerging as the contemporary grandmaster
of the first contact novel. Unlike his earlier
Anomaly (December 2011) and
Xenophobia (August 2013),
this novel is set not in near-future Earth but rather three centuries
from now, when an exploration team has landed on a cryogenic
planet 23 light years from the solar system in search of volatiles to
refuel their ship in orbit. Science officer Michaels believes he's
discovered the first instance of extraterrestrial life, after
centuries of searching hundreds of star systems and thousands
of planets in vain. While extremophile microbes are a humble
form of life, discovering that life originated independently
on another world would forever change humanity's view
of its place in the universe.
Michaels and his assistant collect a sample to analyse back
at the ship and are returning to their scout craft when,
without warning, they are attacked, with the assistant
gravely wounded. The apparent attackers are just fast-moving
shadows, scattering when Michaels lights a flare. Upon
getting back to the ship with the assistant barely clinging
to life, Michaels has a disturbing conversation with the
ship's doctor which causes him to suspect that there have
been other mysterious incidents.
Another scouting party reports discovering a derelict
freighter which appears nowhere in the registry of ships
lost in the region, and when exploring it, are confronted
with hostile opposition in about the least probable form
you might imagine finding on a planet at 88° K.
I suppose it isn't a spoiler if I refer you to the title
of the book.
The crew are forced to confront what is simultaneously
a dire threat to their lives, a profound scientific
discovery, and a deep mystery which just doesn't
make any sense. First contact just wasn't supposed
to be anything like this, and it's up to Michaels and the
crew to save their skins and figure out what is going
on. The answer will amaze you.
The author dedicates this book as a tribute to
Philip K. Dick,
and this is a story worthy of the master. In the acknowledgements,
he cites
Michael Crichton
among those who have influenced his work. As with Crichton's novels,
this is a story where the screenplay just writes itself. This
would make a superb movie and, given the claustrophobic settings
and small cast of characters, wouldn't require a huge budget to
make.
This book is presently available only in electronic form for the
Kindle as cited above.
September 2013 