Blank Slate

by Mark J. McGarry

This is a gripping but thoughtful novel set in quite a special world. McGarry has managed to squeeze something new out of the SF conspiracy thriller. FTL travel, stargates, aliens, a ruined Earth, secret societies and their inevitable conspiracies, artificial intelligence and holographic projection are all here, woven together in a fast-paced tale.

Genres: Science Fiction

287 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published May 1, 1984

Reviews

[Kevin Phyland · Rating 3 out of 5]

When the aliens came and gifted Earth with portals, instant interstellar travel to thousands of planets promised settlement, commerce or just plain tourism, but they work both ways. A malevolent alien species attacks through the portals and devastates Earth and a mad leader subsequently kills off everyone living outside the enclaves during Terminal Night. Earth destroys the portals leaving human settlements isolated. Kearin Seacord (or Nem, or any number of other identities) is a visual artist who also works as a spy and he is sent to the hardscrabble planet Relayer (the slower way) to check on the settlement there (composed of Israelis, Blacks, Basques and Chinese dissidents). When the residents discover the truth about Terminal Night they are enraged and Kearin travels back to Earth with some Relayer representatives who are secretly looking for contact with an underground dissident Jewish organization who may have access to a portal. Mark J. McGarry has given us a complex but confusing tale of racism and human foibles which is hard to track at times. I had to read other reviews to see if I had a handle on the plot. I sorta did.

[James]

This is a gripping but thoughtful novel set in quite a special world. McGarry has managed to squeeze something new out of the SF conspiracy thriller. FTL travel, stargates, aliens, a ruined Earth, secret societies and their inevitable conspiracies, artificial intelligence and holographic projection are all here, woven together in a fast-paced tale.