Brother Termite [Hardcover]

Patricia Anthony (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1993

With an alien in the White House, life is never dull in the United States, in a fast-paced novel of future political intrigue. By the author of Cold Allies. Tour.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

By cleverly spinning an intricate plot that draws on tabloid tales of UFOs, alien abductions and conspiracy theories, the author of Cold Allies has created an occasionally farcical but essentially poignant story. An alien race called the Cousins have for decades lived openly on Earth, working in posts at the highest levels of government and industry--ostensibly for humanity's betterment. Actually, the Cousins are completing the implementation of an ominous secret agenda using mind control, covert assassinations and concealed genetic experiments to create human-Cousin hybrids. White House chief of staff Reen is a Cousin who is finding his loyalties increasingly divided between his duty to his own species and his growing attachment to humans, particularly to the sometimes senile, sometimes sly U.S. president and also to the CIA director who happens to be the mother of Reen's own hybrid daughter. Amid increasing domestic unrest, Reen becomes involved in the investigation of mysterious Cousin kidnappings, uncovering complex power bargains and hidden betrayals that could cost both Cousins and humans their fragile futures. With incisive political satire and canny observations, Anthony adroitly inverts the SF cliche by telling the story from the aliens' point of view. And though their tactics are unjustifiable, the Cousins are still sympathetic characters with a moving plight. This tense, often disturbing book is a difficult, but rewarding read.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews

Another near-future venture in aliens-among-us realism, from the author of the highly impressive Cold Allies (1992). Gray-skinned, long-lived, humanoid, hive-minded aliens- -``Cousins''--have secretly been controlling the US since Eisenhower signed a deal with them in 1948 (among other things, they helped assassinate JFK at Hoover's behest). Fifty years from now, First Cousin Brother Reen is White House chief of staff; President Womack--thanks to the Cousins' medical expertise, he's been in office for half a century--is on strike, pretending to be senile, refusing to cooperate. CIA director Marian Cole and FBI chief William Hopkins are feuding openly, while Reen himself can no longer rely on his Brother Conscience, Tali, who is conspiring with the Sleep Master to replace Reen. Seeking advantage, Hopkins has allied himself with Tali, while Cole experiments on kidnapped Cousins in a search for a lethal chemical. Tali, meanwhile, threatens to use the Cousins' doomsday weapon--a virus that will render humanity sterile. Reen's greatest problem is that the Cousins themselves are genetically moribund (only a tiny, and decreasing, proportion of them are intelligent), so he has been attempting a fusion of human and Cousin genes--his own and Marian Cole's--that might produce a race capable of long-term survival. All this barely skirts the fringes of an enthralling plot in which, layer by layer, Anthony exposes the tragicomic but ultimately pitiless human-alien confrontation. Chilling, memorable work, with splendid characters and utterly convincing aliens, set forth with unstoppable narrative momentum. -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 250 pages
• Publisher: Harcourt Childrens Books (J); 1st edition (October 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0151144222
• ISBN-13: 978-0151144228
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,509,119 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A brilliantly subversive science fiction novel..., February 9, 1999

By 

Scott C. Carr, [e-mail] (The Flying Saucer Gazette) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Brother Termite (Paperback)

Brother Termite, by Patricia Anthony...

Are politics, culture, and humanity mutually exclusive ideals? Is genocide a necessary evil? Is love a self-defeating genetic side effect? These are a few of the questions that Patricia Anthony poses in her brilliantly subversive novel, Brother Termite.

With breathtaking precision, and awesome subtlety, Patricia Anthony achieves the almost unthinkable; set fifty years in the future in a world where aliens walk freely among us, and seen through the eyes of an extraterrestrial Chief-of-Staff working in the White House, she tells a story of global proportions, and yet manages to keep intact all of the mystery, eeriness, and uncertainty that surrounds the modern UFO phenomenon. And at the same time, her story holds true to virtually all of the folklore and mythology of the contemporary UFO culture. Anthony has done much more than just passionately researched her topic, she has extrapolated upon it, philosophized it, and weaved it into a fascinating and provoking narrative.

A novel of alien menace, flying saucers and underground bases, abductions and political intrigue, Brother Termite introduces us to a future that is both abysmally bleak, and at the same time full of hope. We are taken on a futile, yet somehow inspirational journey, and given a first hand look at the tremendous gears turning in Washington, out of sight, far beyond Middle American perception, beyond the common man's control. It is this particular theme, which we find the most innovative, the most horrific, and the most appealing. The fact that the common man is so far removed from the plot, so unaware of the political, Earth-changing, apocalyptic events that surround him and determine his very future. Anthony cleverly turns the tried and true "Everyman" theme on its ear; instead of imbuing a "common man" with heroic qualities, and thrusting him into the thick of predicament, she does the reverse. Anthony's characters are all larger than life, all heroes in their own rights; U.S. President Jeff Womack, alien Chief-of Staff Reen, FBI Director William Hopkins, and even the spirit of JFK. But as the story progresses, we begin to see their humanity, their commonality, exposed. One by one, Anthony's characters fall victim to their own humanistic natures, their own souls. One by one, we see each of these larger than life heroes transformed into Everyman.

I highly recommend Brother Termite, not only for those involved in the UFO community, or even the science fiction community, but for anyone with a passion for the dramatic; anyone who seeks the answers to philosophical questions of the heart; or harbors a love of political espionage, or seeks to know what goes on behind the closed doors of the White House; anyone who loves a good mystery, a good thriller, or a good romance. Brother Termite weaves all of these various sub-genres and ideals flawlessly, seamlessly into an imaginative and engaging satire of a world we thought we knew, a world that some of us may have even suspected.

I also recommend the novel for those who are interested in the UFO culture and phenomenon. Remarkably Brother Termite holds true to practically all of the mysteries, beliefs, theories, eccentricities, sensationalism and popular history of the UFO enigma. And perhaps even more remarkably, Brother Termite approaches the field with more intelligence and thoughtfulness than much of the non-fiction which has been published, of late. While we are certainly not espousing any hidden truth, or predictive qualities to the work, we do feel that Anthony has approached her topic, in a creative, literary sense, with more level-headed common sense, and comprehension, than many of the scholars, investigators and researchers currently working in the field. She has brought to the phenomenon a much needed breath of fresh air and introspection. Isn't that what art is all about?

Masterfully, Anthony combines questions of metaphoric, philosophical, and hypothetical natures in a way that leaves us questioning not her story, but ourselves, and our world. Are we alone here on earth? If not, then what? In creating a world where we are not the only sentient, intelligent race on the planet, Anthony shows us all the more what it means to be human. Is it possible to both love and hate at the same time? Is it possible to commit an act that is at once both good and evil? Patricia Anthony shows us inarguably that the answer is yes, as she not only defines, but portrays, true ambivalence.

-Scott C. Carr
Editor "The Flying Saucer Gazette"

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A grandiose, breath-taking, bleak novel, September 5, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Brother Termite (Paperback)

Great. It's 20 years I read Sf, maybe even more, but this was really something. Out of alien abduction/Roswell/etc. trash Anthony made a wonderful novel, a good read (once you start you simply cannot stop, not matter what you should do instead of reading) halfway between inspired Sf and well-crafted detective story. And what is really brilliant is the idea that yes, there is a conspiracy, but it's humans who are plotting against aliens--maybe.

Do not miss this one. You won't regret the bucks you're going to spend. Wonderful dialogues, great plot, and a lot of action in a rather small space--the White House. You'll learn things about Eisenhower, JFK and Edgar J. Hoover you never suspected...

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very nice, October 13, 1998

By 

dsrussell "greyhater" (Corona, CA. United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Brother Termite (Paperback)

This is the first Patricia Anthony novel I have read, but certainly won't be my last. Whether you are a UFO buff or not, it is likely that you are familiar with the `Greys' (little alien creatures purportedly from Zeta 2 Reticuli). Certainly, Whitley Strieber has gained much attention in his novels delving into alien abductions (Communion was made into a movie).

In `Brother Termite', Anthony explores a fictional account of an extraterrestrial alien society (`Greys') who have infiltrated to the highest levels of government, and indeed, are the power behind the government (believe me, many people `out there' believe this has already happened to a certain degree;-). What follows is more of a political thriller than science fiction, but it works nicely on both accounts.

Anthony goes inside the alien mind and culture, and presents a fascinating look into the `hive', their strengths and weaknesses. At stake is not only our government as we know it, but the human race as well. Quickly paced and well thought out, I hope it finds a place on your book shelf. Between 1 and 10, `Brother Termite' gets a 7.