The Alien Contract is a book that can be finished in one sitting. I read it for over a week because real life was in the way, but it was easy to pick it up and get into it again.
The story follows the protagonist,
Gary aka The Man, as the PoV switches back and forth between him and the
detectives interviewing him. I like this because readers can see Gary’s
viewpoint and nod along ‘this is what I would do’ ‘this is insane’ ‘oh duck!’
and when it switches to the detectives, their thoughts also represent what most
readers would have in their mind ‘this guy is batshit crazy,’ while pulling a
chair and grabbing a popcorn because the stories are high level nut case but
entertaining at the same time.
Along the way, there are many things that seem unbelievable, especially the way the detectives deal with The Man after he had done a crazy hit on an unkillable cartel member. Gary seems like an unreliable narrator as his stories get weirder, and they go around like a green man on a Roomba.
Alien invasion plot has been done many times before, together with the mysteriousness, cow subplot, and rear-end explorer. Each time, there is a sense of familiarity, and each time, I feel like I know where it is going. Sometimes it’s hard to escape a certain formula, just like my attempt to read a classic romance book, the feeling of reading the same story over and over again can be overwhelming.
Not with Alien Contract.
Yes, it has everything the usual alien story would have, but it’s packed in such a unique and fun way, and the ending is both satisfactory and ties up the loose ends or whatever questions and doubts I had while reading.
It doesn’t take itself too seriously,
in line with the style of Man In Black. It doesn’t try to be subtle. Here is
the green guy with all the classic alien look and gotcha, built-in fleshy
uniform! I almost spit my tea (it sounds way less cool than spitting my coffee,
but that is my life now), reading how Gary deals with them, most times with no
questions asked. Poor carrot nose.
Besides all the light-hearted shenanigans (my light-hearted shenanigans might be different than yours), I think the main idea of the book is intriguing, especially because it alters Gary’s way of thinking from someone who is very stoic. Put himself in someone’s shoes, literally and figuratively.
The timeline is not linear, but it flows smoothly, and there is no point at which I was confused in the book.
This book is fun, entertaining,
fast-paced, and as sharp as extraterrestrial titty twister.
5 of out 5 stars
