Tainted Trail (Ukiah Oregon, Book 2) [Mass Market Paperback]

Wen Spencer (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 4, 2002

Half-man, half-alien Ukiah Oregon is tracking a missing woman when he discovers he may actually be the long-lost "Magic Boy"-who vanished back in 1933.

"Murder, aliens, and a feral child turned detective...thoroughly entertaining SF mystery." (Locus)

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

The sequel to Alien Taste (2001) sends Ukiah Oregon off on the trail of Alicia Kraynak, the niece of his partner Max's best friend. What appears to be an ordinary disappearance quickly turns out to involve alien invaders, the Ontongard (somewhat like the Borg of Star Trek: The Next Generation), and one of Ukiah's earlier selves, the feral Wild Boy of the Oregon wilderness. These contingencies immediately put Ukiah on his mettle, for he is actually the only fertile offspring of a rebel faction of the Ontongard that has been struggling for centuries to save Earth from universal infection and conversion into another conquered group-mind of the "orthodox" Ontongard. The battle against evil aliens is action-packed though relatively unsurprising, but Spencer's skillful characterizations, vividly drawn settings, and comic exploitation of Ukiah's deceptively youthful, highly buff looks make the romp high light entertainment. Fortunately, this isn't likely to be Ukiah's farewell performance. Roland Green
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Roc (June 4, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451458877
• ISBN-13: 978-0451458872
• Product Dimensions: 6.4 x 4.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #668,584 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #21 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Science Fiction > Series

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ukiah Oregon is Back!, September 30, 2002

By 

Silmarwen (Huntington Beach, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Tainted Trail (Ukiah Oregon, Book 2) (Mass Market Paperback)

Tainted Trail is the sequel to Alien Taste and continues the adventures of Ukiah Oregon. When Alicia, a close friend, goes missing in Oregon, Max and Ukiah fly out to try and find her. They quickly discover that Alicia's disappearance is a kidnapping and begin a race against the clock. In their search for her, Ukiah finds out that he may be the legendary Wolf Boy that was lost in 1933. He tries to contact the Kicking Deers, who wrote the original newspaper article and offered a reward for information on Magic Boy, but they think he is another fraud and refuse to speak with him. Meanwhile, Max begins to fall in love with Sam, a private investigator whose ex-husband refuses to believe the marriage is over, and discovers that there have been many unexplained deaths in the area. Is there a link between Alicia and the other deaths? How are the Kicking Deers involved? What is Ukiah going to do with his "father" Rennie when he comes out to protect him? Another great mystery featuring Ukiah Oregon.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I got very attached to Spencer's characters in Alien Taste and was excited to see them again in this book. Ukiah is a fascinating combination of innocence and deadly skills. Readers will enjoy learning more about Ukiah as he slowly discovers who and what he is. It was also great to learn more about Rennie, Ukiah's main Pack contact, and his past. Max Bennett finds a love interest this time and starts to come alive again after his first wife's death. Sam is the object of his affections and I look forward to learning more about her because she is one tough lady. I did miss Indigo and Kittaning in this book, though, as they were back in Pittsburgh.

Wen Spencer has a nice, smooth writing style that reads very quickly and easily. She has a great plot that keeps you glued to this book and many subplots that add to, rather than detract from, this book as a whole. For those of you who haven't read Alien Taste, I highly recommend that you do (because I like to read series in order), but, if you haven't, you can read this book and understand everything because Spencer gives nice synopses throughout. However, it does not detract or bore those readers who already know what she is talking about. Tainted Trail has lovely characterization, nice descriptive details, an exciting plot line - in short, this book has it all!

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Another entertaining, enjoyable book about Ukiah Oregon, September 5, 2002

By 

David Brukman (USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Tainted Trail (Ukiah Oregon, Book 2) (Mass Market Paperback)

In this sequel to _Alien Taste_, Ukiah Oregon, his friends and assorted "family" are involved in tracing another disappearance. This time, the missing, possibly kidnapped person is a close friend. The action takes place in Oregon, a place where as a young boy Ukiah was found by his adopted parents. The search is not only for the missing woman, but also for the missing memories of Ukiah's youth.

As in the previous book, the author creates a combination of appealing characters and involving plot. The beginning of the book is rather slow, but is effective in building anxiety for the missing woman. The adventure accelerates, and sustains a high level of suspense to the end. There are elements of humor, wonder and romance sprinkled throughout. While a little of the humor is a bit forced, many lines are so well integrated that one breaks out into laughter involuntarily.

This is science fiction, and inventive one at that. But the main attraction of the novel are the interesting characters and their interaction.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another excellent Ukiah book, February 13, 2003

By 

K. Newman "krazykmcd" (London, UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Tainted Trail (Ukiah Oregon, Book 2) (Mass Market Paperback)

Ukiah Oregon and his PI investigative partner Max are back, picking up the action a couple of months after 'Alien Taste' finished. Although the events of Alien Taste are synopsised at various points in Tainted Trail, I highly recommend that you read Alien Taste first, both for the background to this the second book, and because it is such an original, well conceived and executed tale in itself.

Spencer continues this excellence in Tainted Trail. Ukiah and Max have come to Oregon to investigate the disappearance of the niece of colleague Kraynak, who is also known to them as she used to work for the agency. Ukiah, with his tracking abilities down to the cellular level, is quickly on the trail. As usual, that's where things start getting interesting. FBI, sheriff, family, Ontongard, Pack, and the recovery of a few more memories. It's great. Twists, turns, unanticipated events - as before, the reader learns with Ukiah as he finds out as much about himself as he does the case he is working on.

Ukiah maturing - he's still somewhat of an innocent, but he is becoming more aware of light and dark, and shades of grey. Even Max, always heroic to Ukiah, causes him moments of disquiet here. But the essence of Ukiah is the same - someone who loves fiercely and loyally, and must protect those he loves at all costs. And even those that are Pack come to respect that element in him. I missed some of the characters in Alien Taste, especially Indigo who had to 'stay at home and mind the child' (urgh! Considering Indigo's steely strength I have to say I didn't like this passive role for her, but this is a very mild niggle). But meeting Magic Boy's family more than made up for it, and Max's own secondary story was excellent. Once again, in an author that clearly knows the seedy side of life, I really enjoyed that although bad things happened to good people, for those I really cared about Ukiah was eventually able to make it right - this time with help from Jared. Ukiah really is a true hero, overcoming the odds and fighting for what he sees as right. I enjoyed this book every bit as much as the first one, and am looking forward with great anticipation to reading the next (Bitter Waters).