Customer Reviews

The Eyes of Light and Darkness (Daw Book Collectors)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

In a technical sense, this is not a great book. The plot is not really anything new, the book is full of cliches and the dialog is sometimes extremely stilted. The characters often say things that seem utterly contrived, sentences put there just to fill space and the descriptive passages are sometimes less than stellar. At one point, the hero beheads a bad guy and we are treated to this thrilling description: "Pop. Splish." The love story is transparent and predictable, the action is pretty standard Bruce Willis/Ah-nold/Dolf stuff and the book has a thousand little flaws that make it seem amateurish at times.

Now, ready for the weird part? I couldn't put this book down.

I read this book last night in one sitting. The first thirty pages or so are slow, but after that I was hooked. The pace of the book is just right, with the plot development, action and love aspects meshing pretty well. While the story is not all that original, it is told well and with an enjoyable tempo. For every bad thing I mentioned above, there is something about the book to balance it out and, on the whole, the good outweighs the bad.

One of the major checks in the plus column for this book is the introduction of an extremely likeable character (Nis) from an extremely likeable race of aliens. The Fuzzies are sort of an intergalactic everyman. Intelligent, kind, friendly and eager but stopped short of their full potential by forces outside their control. They do their best from day to day but there is always that invisible something holding them back. This is definitely a group of creatures that a lot of us can identify with. I found myself liking and caring about Nis more than I have any book character in quite some time.

The evil aliens in this book are also quite impressive. Powerful, driven and remorseless. An intelligent, technologically-advanced race with only one thing on their mind: conquest. They share (a few too many) characteristics with the Borg of Star Trek fame, but they stand up well on their own merits.

One thing I would like to have seen is a lot more exploration of both alien races. They are introduced and set up very well. We learn enough to really become interested in their motivations and personalities but then they are sort of left out to dry. It's almost as if the author said, "OK, I have created interesting, provocative characters that people will care about but I don't feel like spending any more time on them." After the initial introductions, they become mere plot pieces. The Fuzzies are, however, fleshed out better than the Regnant.

OK, this is a lot more wordy than I intended to be. Let's just say that if you are looking for high literature, this isn't it. If you are looking for a well-paced action/thriller with some good characters, go ahead and read The Eyes of Light and Darkness.

SpaceAce

Overall, kind of an Alien/Borg hybrid villian species against a gallant but tortured human hero and his loyal alien sidekick. I don't mean to make it sound too simple since it is very entertaining. There are some nice subplots about the potential logistical difficulties and high human cost of interstellar travel as well as the integration of humans and an alien species.

I read this book without ever having heard of the author, but when I finished, I began hoping that Ivan Cat would write more. Okay, so the storyline is basic, but some of the concepts, such as the predatory aliens who can possess and control their victims even after several HUNDRED years was pretty scary! I rather enjoyed this one. It makes a good light read.

I agree with everyone who enjoyed the book.when I was finished it was hard to start another book.I finished in 3 days, faster than I've ever read a book of that size before.

It's an easy though sometimes repetitive read. You can visualize a dimly-lit, steamy spaceship and space station. Your standard bug-eyed monsters are in pursuit. Curiously they often seem to give chase rather sluggishly for such big, toothy beasts. And their strategy isn't clear: is it to co-opt human prisoners or eat them for lunch?

The authors have some excellent ideas: The title, for one, though I wish they'd done more with it. The "Fuzzie" hero, Nis, as well as Fuzzie culture and its history. Nis's very long biographical flashback. Earth's "sleeper ships" and the mental consequences of cryogenic interstellar travel. The allegorical figures Madness and Loneliness conversing in chapter epigraphs. And, finally, the authors' valiant effort to create solid, interesting characters on all sides.

But they have some bad ideas, too. A very poor choice of names for the BEM's: "Regnant" for both the individuals and the race, "Plantagenet" for a powerful BEM whose status among the Regnants never seemed very clear. And a colony planet named "Jayvee 9"? Surely the first settlers would rename the place the minute they got off the boat. And exploring wrecked spaceships more than their characters' societies and cultures.

The material calls for a whole series of very interesting novels. Four cultures impact on one another: Earth's, the colony's, the Fuzzies', and the Regnants'. The four cultures are the strong point of the book, and I really wanted to know a lot more about them. But they become background for iron-thewed and steel-willed heroes wading through endless decks steaming with alien ichor and littered with multicultural body parts.

After receiving the book from Amazon, I found myself well engrossed in it and read the first 17 chapters the first day. It took a little over a week before I could get back to it, but found the plot, action and character emotions easy enough to get back into again as though I hadn't put it down at all. I highly recommend this book for any lover of science fiction, adventure and/or combat stories. When the first of Ivan's "mazes" come up, I thought that he was falling into the standard trap of many adventure writers by padding the action with nearly impossible mazes to add excitement and confusion. However, I soon realized that the innards of the sleeper ship and space station were deliberately written as they were to give the reader the EXACT same sense of fear, loss, confusion and solution as the characters. My problem with being able to envision the layout and structure of the ships was INTENDED to put me in the same frame of mind as the characters. I still have difficulty envisioning the malevolent aliens except as horrible looking critters that only Computer Generated Graphics with a good Morph program would be able to create if a movie was made of the book. That thought led to a clue as to where the author probably got the idea of one of his mazes. I think the Botanical Garden on the station was borrowed from an old computer game I played on an Apple II plus back in the early 80's. Even if it wasn't, it made me feel sort of at home and gave an excellent contrast to the steel and rock passageways and compartments of the rest of the station. A very nicely done touch, indeed. I was also pleased that the author knows something about firearms. Many other authors do not take time to research some of the tools and weapons they use in their stories and gross errors spoil it for the reader. Now, if I were collaberating with Ivan on this matter, I would have picked different calibers for his weapons than he did. But the difference would have been insignificant to the non-firearm oriented person. Ivan's selections and potential uses were very well done though such guns do not exist, YET. His vision of future possible development is well within feasible engineering limits. But then, that would just be a personal choice on my part. Possible only because I am not a "Fuzzie". Richard A. Landgraff

This book is an excellent representation of two species, one human, one alien. The plot, with its continual twists and turns and revelations of the alien culture, with some insights into humans as a species, kept me guessing. I am an inveterate end-of-the-book reader, and was delighted when, not only could I not figure out the plot, but the ending itself was tantalizing enough to draw me forward. This is not a typical space opera; there are few shades of black and white, mainly gray. The interaction between the the main human and alien characters is fascinating, and sometimes tragic (I think - I'm still trying to get a handle on the ending). There are a few stereotype characters, but they are usually minor characters who impinge little on the story. The engine driving the plot are intriguing and sometimes thought-provoking. Early in the book, I was afraid I might have a plot somewhat like the movie "Alien" but was relieved to find it was not so. I continue to ponder the ending and plan on re-reading it to find the many parts I am sure I missed. I look forward to their next book.

This book is a TOTAL one-hundred percent Science Fiction Thriller. I've never been so immersed in a Science Fiction book ever! It's a must for readers that crave a scare and that can't stop turning the page until there aren't anymore to turn, cause you'll find yourself losing track of time with this EXCELLENT BOOK!

I read this book a few years ago. The story remains with me to this day both in memory and in my library. it's one book I frequently return to every so often. Ivan Cat has a smooth, consistent revelation to his story. I especially like the comments from Madness and Loneliness at the opening of the chapters. I have been patiently waiting since 1996 for a sequal- hoping Ivan won't disappoint.

I first heard about this book when I received a mass emailing from Ivan telling about his new book. I set the email to the side and forgot about it, until I happened across his book in a store. I purchased it, and am now quite glad I did so.

I highly recommend this fantastic story to everyone.