Checkmating Aliens (Planet Keepers, 1) (Bk. 1) [Paperback]

Soma Vira (Author)

Book Description

Series: Planet Keepers, 1 | Publication Date: June 1996

The earth's land area has been depleted and humans are living on islands. From an alien planet comes a scientist equipped to reverse the land erosion. But an alien underground faction has corrupted the emissary, and ordered him to use his device as a Doomsday weapon. It's all complicated by the existence of alien children among the earthlings.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Planet Keepers is a series of four novels that tell a complex tale of espionage and doom on a future earth. It seems that our planet has become so ravaged by -- what else? -- the evils of man and his greed, that most of the planet is underwater. Into this arena comes an otherworldly organization called JALANGA ("Join And Laugh At Noah's Great Ark"), whose members have acquired the monopoly to manufacture islands on which life is more comfortable than on the main land that is still above the surface of water.

One of the Jalangan's, the one sent to save earth, decides to take matters into his own hands when he realizes that the machine he was given by his planet's scientists to restore earth's land area can be used to force the human world into submission under his leadership. It now falls to the rest of JALANGA, and their allies, to bring this renegade leader back into line.

A parallel story line deals with the world of theater, where the most popular play of all time, "Spider's Stratagem," is interrupted by the murder of it's star. Or at least we think it is the star who is killed: it may very well be the understudy, and the Powers That Be would benefit greatly if the public believed that Pia, one of the biggest stars in the universe, was in fact dead.

Add to all this the fact that we are seven days away from the end of the millennium, and the universe shuts down for this seven days to celebrate. Each of these three story lines, and countless other minor ones, have characters that overlap and cross over, weaving a very tight, very complicated stream of plots.

One of the most wonderful things about these stories is the wide-eyed wonder which Vira approaches science fiction with. There is an innocence, a newness to these books that are reminiscent of days when the genre was more than cautionary tales of weird, self-indulgent works too intent upon showing you just how clever they are.

There is also a very ambitious scope to these works. Countless elements are brought into play from hugely different areas, and for the most part the alchemy works.

There is a great deal of originality in the ideas presented here, and they are presented well. Vira obviously has a huge imagination, and her work is every bit as entertaining as it attempts to be. -- James Bickers-Sea of Tranquility, Vol. 2. No. 2, March 1997

From the Publisher

This first novel by sci-fi writer Soma Vira takes the reader into new world's they won't every want to leave. Full of suspense and adventure you will hold your breath until the very last page.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 229 pages
• Publisher: Space Link Books (June 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0964605716
• ISBN-13: 978-0964605718
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,254,315 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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