Living With Aliens

by John DeChancie

Thirteen-year-old Drew could not be happier with his alien friends, Zorg and Flez, who help raise his IQ, find him a girl-friend, and travel to Mars, until the ornery Blog comes to arrest them for treason. Original.

Genres: Science Fiction, Young Adult, Childrens, Fantasy, Fiction

183 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published April 1, 1995

About the author

From his website:
John DeChancie is the author of over two dozen books, fiction and nonfiction, and has written for periodicals as widely varied as Penthouse and Cult Movies. His novels in the science fiction and fantasy genres have been attracting a wide readership for more than fifteen years, and over a million copies of his books have seen print, many in foreign languages.

John's first work was Starrigger (Berkley/Ace ,1984), followed by Red Limit Freeway (1985) and Paradox Alley (1987), completing the Skyway Trilogy, one of the most imaginative, mind-expanding series in science fiction. Beloved of SF readers around the world, the trilogy has become a cult classic. It is no exaggeration to say that the trilogy has found a place in the hearts of readers along with the works of Heinlein, Asimov, and Clarke. Jerry Pournelle, co-author with Larry Niven of the classics The Mote in God's Eye and Lucifer's Hammer, has compared the series to the best of A. E. van Vogt, and better written. The convoluted plot takes the reader on a mind-bending journey to the end of the universe and back.

His humorous fantasy series, beginning with Castle Perilous, became a best seller for Berkley/Ace. William Morrow published MagicNet, which Booklist said was "a welcome sigh of comic relief ... shamelessly droll, literate, and thoroughly entertaining. Magicnet is the fantasy genre's whimsical answer to Neuromancer." He has also written in the horror genre. His short fiction has appeared in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction and in numerous original anthologies, the latest of which is Spell Fantastic. His story collection, Other States of Being, was recently published by Pulpless.com, Inc., an online and print-on-demand publisher.

He currently lives in Los Angeles and is at work writing novels, articles, short stories, and screenplays. His latest book was the short story collection THE LITTLE GRAY BOOK OF ALIEN STORIES published by Borderlands Press. John's most recent short story publication was in the original anthology SPACE CADETS, edited by Mike Resnick and published by LAcon IV, the 64th World Science Fiction Convention. The book was published in both limited and trade hardback editions. The book is available here . He has just completed a mystery novel and information on this new book (something different from anything he has ever written) is forthcoming. He will also have two new film articles in the second big issue of the new cult film magazine MONDO CULT, also forthcoming.

Reviews

[Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

Though it was not marketed as such, this is a YA novel with an emphasis on the Y. It's a romp in which thirteen-year-old Drew befriends a pair of aliens named Zorg and Flez who take him on some cool adventurous outings, and he sets them up in the spare bedroom, a device perhaps influenced by Spielberg's E.T. They make him smarter, too. It's told in first person, and as his intelligence matures so does his narrative style, a gimmick perhaps influenced by Keyes' Flowers for Algernon. (Perhaps the novel is an adaptation of a movie pitch?) It's a light, fun story, quick and clever.

[Shauna · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have to admit that I didn't read this book through. I didn't even get to the fifty-page mark that people recommend. I found it so tedious and unbelievable that I quit after 30 pages. Perhaps young teens and preteens would enjoy it.

[Mark Palmer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Another disappointing effort from DeChancie. The book did have an interesting style though. The writing improves which each chapter, which is meant to simulate the storyteller getting smarter and smarter as the story progresses.

[Frank · Rating 4 out of 5]

John DeChancie's LIVING WITH ALIENS is an unexpected good time. Its also unexpectedly YA. That's okay, just unexpected when I picked it up. Plus the YA also serves as a neat little quirk of the narrative itself. You'll see.

LIVING WITH ALIENS is told from the perspective of the young boy protagonist of the story. As a result, early on the writing is filled with grammatical and spelling errors. Trust me, it adds to the charm, so go with it. The rest of the story is straight forward fun.

LIVING WITH ALIENS is simply fun. The premise is fun. The execution is fun. And reading it is fun. What I'm trying to say is this is a fun read. Read it and have fun. You may just smile.

[Cindy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Drew decides to write a book about when his family met the aliens and what happened after they came to live with them. It has a strange sort of style, starting out with Drew being a poor writer and speller and then getting better as he takes some smart pills or something. The aliens like to flarn, which apparently means fly around and make crop circles in their spaceship. It ends with a visit to their home planet where the aliens are being tried for treason and Drew and his family and a talk show host are witnesses. I didn't really like it and skipped around to see how it ended. I like the writer's Castle series so much better. This was disappointing.