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Inhuman Beings
After his dilapidated hotel is consumed in a flash of blue light, an ex-policeman turned San Francisco private eye is unable to shake his conviction that an evil alien force is about to invade Earth. By the author of Top Dog. Original.
- GenresScience FictionNovels
249 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1998
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About the author
Jerry Jay Carroll
10 books63 followersJerry Jay Carroll is a former journalist nominated twice for the Pulitzer Prize and the author of six novels, among them Top Dog, a NYT bestseller. Just out is End Times, an eschatological thriller about Good vs. Evil. Before that was another genre-bending roller-coaster ride called The Horror Writer about a wildly popular author Thom Hearn who who writes low-brow crap for the masses that get made into lucrative summer tent-pole splatter movies . Hearn is rich but the disdain of the literary world made him bitter. Then comes the invitation he gets with Wall Street whiz Carrie Alexander to a Davos-like conference of the high and mighty run by a charismatic man who can do anything better than anyone else. Hearn is the first to notice the weirdness but Carrie's not far behind. Then his fictional characters start showing up and that’s only the beginning. Who is running the show here, the charismatic director of the conference or some other manipulator? And why must everyone in the world die? Carroll was a feature writer and columnist at the San Francisco Chronicle before moving with wife and son to Montana and, later, Oregon.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
August 25, 2021
Detective novels are nothing new, and neither are invaders from beyond stories, but you don't get many crossbreeds of the two outside of the hardcore futuristic sci-fi realm. In this regard, Inhuman Beings is an enjoyable treat.
Carroll's novel is tightly written, short and sweet the way detective novels should be. He doesn't skimp on the characters or back story, just the excessive pages of prose some authors veer off in to explain it.
It may seem unusual to complain about getting more than you asked for, but that is my major problem with the novel. The book description promises a lone detective suddenly involved in a subversive alien invasion, and Carroll delivers the goods right away, keeping a steady pace and developing the dangers at a quick and steady pace. However, the third part of the book changes gears with the involvement of government officials that eventually buy into the main character's claims of an alien attack, and a story of a lone man against insurmountable odds becomes a low-budget retelling of Independence Day or Invaders from Mars. It isn't exactly a bad change, but it was the former story I read the book for, not the latter.
Also, as good as the book is on keeping the reader interested in the main character, this is mainly due to the pace and tension his lone crusader status affords him. As soon as he becomes part of an underground force battling the aliens, the tone and feeling of the book is lost, along with a great deal of the tension.
In short, I enjoyed the book that I first picked up to read, but it wasn't the same book I eventually put down.
Carroll's novel is tightly written, short and sweet the way detective novels should be. He doesn't skimp on the characters or back story, just the excessive pages of prose some authors veer off in to explain it.
It may seem unusual to complain about getting more than you asked for, but that is my major problem with the novel. The book description promises a lone detective suddenly involved in a subversive alien invasion, and Carroll delivers the goods right away, keeping a steady pace and developing the dangers at a quick and steady pace. However, the third part of the book changes gears with the involvement of government officials that eventually buy into the main character's claims of an alien attack, and a story of a lone man against insurmountable odds becomes a low-budget retelling of Independence Day or Invaders from Mars. It isn't exactly a bad change, but it was the former story I read the book for, not the latter.
Also, as good as the book is on keeping the reader interested in the main character, this is mainly due to the pace and tension his lone crusader status affords him. As soon as he becomes part of an underground force battling the aliens, the tone and feeling of the book is lost, along with a great deal of the tension.
In short, I enjoyed the book that I first picked up to read, but it wasn't the same book I eventually put down.
November 23, 2012
Rating: 7/10
Cynical noir-type detective Goodwin Armstrong is approached by professional psychic Princess Dulay who claims that aliens are attempting to take over the Earth. Since the private detecting field has been experiencing difficult economic struggles of late, particularly with Security Concerns nabbing up most of San Francisco's clientele, Armstrong accepts the princess's case when she offers him an astonishing salary. As expected, there is some truth to the psychic's claim, and Armstrong is soon enmeshed in an interstellar conspiracy.
After having released three novels in three years, author Carroll limited his publishing to columns and I'm curious as to why. Inhuman Beings is an entertaining read, providing a good mystery, humour and some tight genre writing. The plot adds little to either the Body Snatchers concept, or to the investigative mystery/science fiction hybrid, but nonetheless delivers a read-worthy novel.
Structurally the novel is organized as a kind of triptych. It is patterned across three distinct parts: the investigative, the fugitive and the apocalyptic. The first segment features our cynical hero investigating strange occurrences while protecting his psychic client; the second follows Armstrong as he is simultaneously fleeing and pursuing the aliens, while the last third has him among a band of government officials in a desperate attempt to deal a final blow that would rid the earth of its unwanted and hostile guests.
For my entire review, please visit Casual Debris.
Cynical noir-type detective Goodwin Armstrong is approached by professional psychic Princess Dulay who claims that aliens are attempting to take over the Earth. Since the private detecting field has been experiencing difficult economic struggles of late, particularly with Security Concerns nabbing up most of San Francisco's clientele, Armstrong accepts the princess's case when she offers him an astonishing salary. As expected, there is some truth to the psychic's claim, and Armstrong is soon enmeshed in an interstellar conspiracy.
After having released three novels in three years, author Carroll limited his publishing to columns and I'm curious as to why. Inhuman Beings is an entertaining read, providing a good mystery, humour and some tight genre writing. The plot adds little to either the Body Snatchers concept, or to the investigative mystery/science fiction hybrid, but nonetheless delivers a read-worthy novel.
Structurally the novel is organized as a kind of triptych. It is patterned across three distinct parts: the investigative, the fugitive and the apocalyptic. The first segment features our cynical hero investigating strange occurrences while protecting his psychic client; the second follows Armstrong as he is simultaneously fleeing and pursuing the aliens, while the last third has him among a band of government officials in a desperate attempt to deal a final blow that would rid the earth of its unwanted and hostile guests.
For my entire review, please visit Casual Debris.
April 4, 2007
A very very very very tightly written SciFi mystery sort of book. The prose has been pruned of all non-essential elements. Just about every word has use in some fashion. The plot and the characters are so-so, but the writing craft is remarkable.
March 29, 2008
The best invasion book.
July 20, 2013
Not bad but didn't live up to it's potential. Ending particularly could have been more satisfying.
July 22, 2014
If you can get past the "hole" this is a really fun read. Besides the "hole" isn't what you think it is.
Bruce Willis would be perfect for this role
Bruce Willis would be perfect for this role
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews