From Publishers Weekly
This weird novel of alien contact from Stoker-winner Hoffman (A Fistful of Sky) careens like a pinball among the bumpers of science fiction, young adult literature and softcore porn. Soon after just-barely-adolescent Kaslin and his family join the human colony on the planet Chuudoku, Kaslin falls into the clutches of an alien tribe. Kaslin's life has had little to recommend it—his father's a deadbeat, his mother's a workaholic and he's frequently beaten up, poisoned and mocked by Histly, the physically augmented daughter of one of the richest men on the planet—so he throws himself into living his dream of first contact. The aliens are endlessly curious about human bodies, leading Kaslin to bizarre erotic couplings first with his captors and then with Histly. Despite the smooth prose, this teen-oriented fable may strike many readers as fan fiction for a nonexistent canon. (Oct.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Booklist
*Starred Review* New to the planet Chuudoku, Kaslin is running from Histly, whom he couldn't keep his eyes off when he first saw her in his midteen edsection--he goes for the arrogant, athletic type, unfortunately--because her response to his interest has been to torment him with her augmentations (physical enhancements, such as fingertip injection needles, that you can have if you can pay). He ducks into a cave whose slippery floor sends him sliding underground. She follows, but before he finds her, he has learned words to harden, soften, and light the cave's rock, and he has freed some three-eyed creatures from the cavern walls. The creatures strip him, depilate him (it's a thrill), and turn his skin translucent white. They don't go that far with Histly, instead imprisoning her in the cave-stuff, which, it turns out, is also edible and comes in many delectable flavors, provided it's Kaslin eating it, or, later on, passing it to Histly via liplock. First contact with aliens has been made, with implications that are barely hinted at before the last page. Hoffman is both a successful YA novelist and an adult sf novelist who prefers teenage protagonists. Kaslin--and Histly, for that matter--are vibrant creations, their psychology utterly credible for smart adolescents. That the book ends with everything but Kaslin and Histly's relationship up in the air may indicate merely that Hoffman knew when she had achieved perfection. Ray Olson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Review
"A rapid read that still resonates with themes of alienation, sexuality, and the meaning of maturity." —Fantasy Magazine
"This short novel is a sharp portrait of aliens remaking humans they meet from the inside out." —The Denver Post
"Fast moving, entertaining, and indecorous enough for a PG-17 rating...capable of stimulating the intellect as well as the senses." —Locus
"Gonzo in the best sense.... A short, sharp shock, delivering plenty for the money." —SciFi.com/Sci Fi Weekly
"Touches of Ray Bradbury.... A fascinating read." —SFCrowsnest
"Dreamlike and often horrific...Any reader, young or not, will be rooting for that resolution." —The Eugene Weekly
Book Description
This psychologically complex science-fiction novel focuses on a sensitive adolescent making the difficult transition from childhood into adolescent sexuality and adult society. A boy, fleeing a bullying classmate, inadvertently makes first contact with a race of aliens who live beneath the surface of his planet. Exploring such subjects as the dynamics of dysfunctional families and human society's greed-based political system, the book has eerie psychological undercurrents and tells an emotionally compelling and surprisingly sensual story.
About the Author
Nina Kiriki Hoffman is the bestselling author of A Fistful of Sky, A Red Heart of Memories, A Stir of Bones, Past the Size of Dreaming, The Silent Strength of Stones, The Thread That Binds the Bones, and Time Travelers, Ghosts, and Other Visitors. She lives in Eugene, Oregon.
