Alien Taste (Ukiah Oregon, Book 1) (Mass Market Paperback)

~ (Author) "It was going to storm soon..." (more)
Key Phrases: remote key, wake the sleepers, wolf boy, Agent Zheng, Janet Haze, Mom Jo (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Living with wolves as a child gave tracker Ukiah Oregon a heightened sense of smell and taste. Or so he thought-until he crossed paths with a criminal gang known as the Pack. Now, Ukiah is about to discover just how much he has in common with the Pack: a bond of blood, brotherhood...and destiny.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Roc; First Thus edition (July 10, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451458370
• ISBN-13: 978-0451458377
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (59 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #356,860 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

• This is item 1 in The Ukiah Oregon Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Unique and fascinating!, August 19, 2001

By	Dawn M. Smoker (Mechanicsburg, PA USA) - See all my reviews

Set in the Pittsburgh, Pa area in the near future, this book is the story of the foundling, Ukiah Oregon. He was found caught in a humane wolf trap, appearing to be a young child, naked and gnawing on a rabbit. The woman who found him desparately wanted a child, and took him home to Pennsylvania with her.

Time has passed and Ukiah is now assumed to be 21 and is the partner of Max, a private investigator with a sad past of his own. Ukiah is an extraordinary tracker and has made a name for himself by finding missing persons. So the police call him in on a mysterious murder that turns out to be much more than it seems.

I don't want to give away any of the twists and turns of this fascinating book, but I will at least tell you that Ukiah finds out that his past is much more strange than he ever thought.

Great characters, interesting and well-fleshed out. His father-figure, Max; the mysterious biker gang, Ukiah's two Moms, and Ukiah's girl, tough-talking FBI agent Indigo Zheng--they are all just wonderful. And there is a conspiracy that any X-Files fan will love.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ukiah? Oregon? Right on!!, March 8, 2004

By	J. Stinson "dragonflykelly" (Klamath Falls, OR) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I will admit, I picked this book up because the main character is named after a tiny town in my home State. I laughed out loud. People stared. I could not believe that an author had chosen such a name, but then...I read the backs of the first three books and they screamed READ me!!

The premise is crazy and some times you have to slow down to let it all sink in. I think Wen Spencer is coo-koo, but in a good way. The imagination is a wonderful thing and you can make a story anything you want it to be if you can make it believable.

Ms. Spencer has made Ukiah, his past and his abilities likable and lovable. Ukiah is a private investigator/tracker and with Max his partner/friend/mentor/father figure and his extended family the Pack you are in for a wild ride and a stretch for what you thought was possible. Spencer weaves a tight story, great characters and infinate imagination into every page.

All I can say is, if you are reading this review, buy the books, you won't regret it.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Original science fiction idea and a lot of fun, July 19, 2001

By	Aimee "reader extraordinaire" (Athens, GA USA) - See all my reviews

This was a wonderful, thoroughly enjoyable book. Ukiah Oregon was abandoned as a child and raised by a pack of wolves. Discovered and adopted by humans at the approximate age of 12, he has grown to be a part of human life. He now works as a tracker for a private investigator, a finder of lost children. But he still has no idea of his true parentage, no idea who they were or why they abandoned him.

The novel opens with his latest case -- a missing woman who attacks Ukiah when he finds her, forcing him to kill her in self-defense. This brings him to the attention of both the FBI and a group known as the Pack, a biker gang that is more than they seem. And, from this point on, things get *really* weird.

I loved this book. It was great fun to read; it kept me glued to the edge of my seat, always wanting to know what happens next. The characters, especially Ukiah and Max, were well-drawn, complex, three-dimensional human beings; the villains were scary and evil without being cartoonish. I cared about these caracters; I really wanted the heros to win and the bad guys to be defeated. I was swept up in their lives. The plot was complex and fascinating; it kept me guessing. I don't want to give anything away, so I won't tell you how it turns out, but I will say this: this book eventually involves aliens. And the aliens are really original. Their method of reproduction, the way their memory works -- all of it is new and interesting.

If I had one complaint, it would be that I thought the romance was rushed. Ukiah's love interest is a strong, fascinating woman, but the two of them seem to fall in love almost at first sight. I wanted the relationship to develop a little more slowly and fully -- but that's a very minor quibble. It didn't detract from my enjoyment of the book at all.

Overall, I loved this book. It was well-written and compulsively readable. I will be on the lookout for anything else this author chooses to write!