Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Surprising New Spin on the Subject of UFOs from the legendary Jacques Vallee, December 27, 2007
Fast-paced, clever, insightful, and profound -- Jacques Vallee's new book "Strategem" is all this and more. The story of a man's attempt to get to the bottom of a mind-blowing but tragic event deep in the Amazon delta that tears his only son from him soon points to a government conspiracy of silence and misdirection. Mark Harris, the head of an innovative Silicon Valley technology company is the man who, in a quest to find answers to the fate of his son, must use a strategem riffing off a surprising feature of his comapny's latest technology to help him peel back the layers that cover some of the deeper recesses of the black world of government secrets -- and beyond. A counterplot hatched by Mark and his friends soon turns the government's hunters into the unwitting hunted. What Mark and his friends uncover thanks to their strategem is more than they had bargained for, as it leads them to discover a new twist in the nature of unexplained aerial phenomena(UFOs). Vallee, widely respected for his series of thought-provoking non-fiction books on UFOs seen from a scientist's perspective, has in his first attempt at fiction written a compelling story based on a novel idea that may in the end prove to be more truth than fiction.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Vallee is one of the most original thinkers in UFOlogy, January 4, 2008
Jacques Vallee has written some of the most fascinating books on the subject of peculiar phenomena. He is a highly-acclaimed scientist and contributed much in the early days of computer development. He is intimately familiar with big business, academia, and government. He is also an impeccable and wholesome writer. As a UFOlogist, he had a close working relationship with Allen Hynek during the US Air Force "Bluebook" investigation and beyond. Steven Spielberg based a character in "Close Encounters" on Vallee, and is also quoted on the jacket of "Stratagem" in praise of one of Vallee's earlier works.
Vallee's latest offering to the field he has long since refrained from publicly participating draws on many themes of his early works. Vallee describes the world of every paranoiacs worst fears, with conspiracy and cover-up, in a tale of loss, loss, and regain. Toward UFOlogy, he suggests the need for a devised stratagem. Vallee has occasionally been criticized for his willingness to perceive the phenomena in obscure ways, and in this book he presents scenarios of ways in which researchers could do just that. He does not deride the possibility of dimensions of life beyond human understanding, such as near death experiences or unknown technologies, but does not offer much hope for the overall situation either.
A trip to the Amazon leaves a man's son missing after an "uncorrelated target" or "unidentified submersible object" obliterates their boat to bits. The book draws out the man's search for the truth of the incident, through a labyrinth of deceitful investment corporations, government agencies, and misguided countryfolk. Whether Vallee is retelling a story from his own knowledge or experience of actual events is unknown, but their are certainly aspects of the characters and story that reflect his own interests and circles. Perhaps some aspects of the truth can only be told in veiled forms such as fiction.
If you've a casual interest in UFOlogy, check this book out. If you've a serious interest, locate all of Vallee's books. One of Vallee's most recent books, "Forbidden Science", is a series of journal entries from his earliest days of researching UFOs. You'll find the same eagerness to learn and see new perspectives and non-conformity that you'll find in "Stratagem". There will be less adrenaline-action in that book, but the same man with a passion for the unconventional.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Gripping, thought provoking and enjoyable., August 4, 2009
I developed an interest in unusual phenomena as a child, and in particular the UFO phenomenon. That amounted to basically collecting newspaper clippings of sightings, and reading a few of the books that were available at that time (Donald Keyhoe, Frank Scully, etc.). Then, in my early teens, I came upon Jacques Vallee's `Anatomy of a Phenomenon'. It opened up a whole new level of perspective on UFOs. After Vallee's second book, `Challenge to Science', I became a big fan of the author. His pioneering efforts to apply real science to understanding the enigma, as well as the breath and depth of his knowledge, left an indelible impression upon my impressionable mind. Since then, I have read all of his UFO-related books (and even one of his non-UFO books on computer networking), awaiting each one with great anticipation. Of course, I read many, many other authors as well, but Vallee was, and continues to be, preeminent in the field (with all due respect and admiration for the late J. Allen Hynek, James McDonald, John Keel and others).
As those familiar with Vallee know, his views on the nature of the phenomenon began to drift away from the more conventional, `nuts-and-bolts' flying saucers of extraterrestrial origin (ETH) and towards a more metaphysical, if ill-defined, orientation. In his seminal work `Passport to Magonia', Vallee left the reader with an enigmatic but tantalizing bit of speculation: "Perhaps what we search for is no more than a dream that, becoming part of our lives, never existed in reality. We cannot be sure that we study something real, because we do not know what reality is..."
Vallee continued to develop his ideas, culminating in his highly recommended trilogy, `Dimensions', `Confrontations' and `Revelations' (reportedly his last works on the topic as an active UFO researcher). In `Revelations', Vallee began to crystallize his thinking, stating that the "genuine UFO phenomenon...is associated with a form of nonhuman consciousness that manipulates space and time in ways we do not understand." While he doesn't completely discount the notion that this "nonhuman intelligence" may be from some other planet, he observes that "if there is a form of life and consciousness that operates on properties of space-time we have not yet discovered, then it does not have to be extraterrestrial. It could come from anyplace and any time..."
`Stratagem', while a fictional novel, is clearly an effort by Vallee to develop his ideas to conclusion. In that regard, it's much like his previous novel, `Fastwalker'. It's speculative, but presents the author's view on the origin of the phenomenon (or at least one possible origin) as an expression of his many years of empirical research.
The story centers around the high-powered Mark Harris, a financial whiz who becomes head of a high tech firm on the verge of unveiling a promising new technology, his long-time friend and business colleague (and through whose eyes the story is told), Robert, and Mark's son Ricky. One the verge of an IPO, the pressure requires Mark to take a vacation in Brazil with his son, with Robert invited to join. There, in the Amazon basin, the three of them experience an event that forever changes their lives, which ultimately sets in motion Harris' `Stratagem' to uncover the truth behind their incredible experience.
As a novel, it's a gripping account taken from the annals of UFO literature: the shocking and profound personal experience, the frustration and anguish of trying to extract answers from the military, politicians and supposed `experts', only to face derision, obfuscation and, ultimately, the realization that no one really has any answers (an important element of the book), the damaging effect on one's life and the resolve to carry on the search for answers. The story moves briskly, and fleshes out the main characters sufficiently to allow the reader to empathize with their plight. I sat down with the book and read it straight through, anxious to begin each new chapter. While somewhat less complex than `Fastwalker', it provided the same sense of excitement and anticipation found in that earlier work.
Vallee has skillfully incorporated elements of real life UFO facts, such as the Paul Bennewitz case, the Robertson Panel and more. He uses the story to call out the `true believers', skeptics and, most significantly (and critically), mainstream science. For those familiar with the subject, such inclusions help build the foundation for the unexpected but satisfying conclusion.
Assuming that Vallee in fact offers his ultimate take on the nature of the UFO phenomenon in the guise of a fictional novel, the question arises: does his conclusion make sense? Could his fictionalized hypothesis really be that elusive answer he's long hinted at? For this reader, the answer is an emphatic `yes'. While it does present a mind-blowing idea that some may have trouble conceptualizing, it is a logical extrapolation of the ideas he has been developing for many years. If he has uncovered the truth, it would provide rationality and logic to the many seemingly absurd aspects of this enigma.
`Stratagem' is recommended for both those interested in the UFO mystery as well as those who just enjoy a though provoking read.
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