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Skye Entity
Skye has been kidnapped!
After first contacting Earth for assistance, Skye lands with much fanfare at Edwards Air Force Base in Southern California in 2025. He needs to repair his vessel before he runs out of energy in a few short weeks. The United Nations, governments, and people of Earth are happy to comply. Skye is not a recluse, happy to make contact with humans, learn and assist any way he can-in exchange for help returning home. For most, Skye represents a hope beyond the political upheaval and economic tensions of their time-a representation that Skye, a kind, peaceful entity, takes pains to portray. To others, however, Skye's arrival presents an opportunity for military, political, and economic superiority. Skye's kidnapping threatens the delicate political balance on Earth as well as a potential intergalactic rift with the first beings to ever publicly visit Earth. With two worlds watching, Skye's friends and protectors need to recover Skye before its too late.
After first contacting Earth for assistance, Skye lands with much fanfare at Edwards Air Force Base in Southern California in 2025. He needs to repair his vessel before he runs out of energy in a few short weeks. The United Nations, governments, and people of Earth are happy to comply. Skye is not a recluse, happy to make contact with humans, learn and assist any way he can-in exchange for help returning home. For most, Skye represents a hope beyond the political upheaval and economic tensions of their time-a representation that Skye, a kind, peaceful entity, takes pains to portray. To others, however, Skye's arrival presents an opportunity for military, political, and economic superiority. Skye's kidnapping threatens the delicate political balance on Earth as well as a potential intergalactic rift with the first beings to ever publicly visit Earth. With two worlds watching, Skye's friends and protectors need to recover Skye before its too late.
300 pages, Hardcover
First published June 6, 2013
About the author
Orren Merton
27 books40 followersOrren Merton started writing fantasy and science fiction at an embarrassingly young age, mostly for his own amusement. In 2001, magazines, developers, and corporations began to pay him to write and edit music software related articles, manuals, and books. His Industrial rock group Ember After released their debut album, Grasping At Straws, in 2008. He now has a few fantasy and science fiction novels under his belt, and has no intention of stopping. He lives in Southern California with his family, pets, collection of sci-fi/fantasy memorabilia, and curiously large stuffed animal collection.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
August 18, 2013
Orren Merton’s SKYE ENTITY is a first-contact science fiction novel reminiscent of the 1950’s film “The Day the Earth Stood Still” (with a little “Close Encounters,” “Starman,” and “Contact” mixed in). A spherical object is discovered in a distant quadrant of space, and a team of scientists determine that it is using Morse Code to communicate an SOS. It turns out the object is a ship, which has been damaged by a solar flare, and the ship’s occupant (later named “Skye” by one of the scientists) is requesting a safe landing on Earth to facilitate repairs. The US President pulls together a team of advisors, scientists, and military forces, along with representatives of the UN and other world nations, to be present for the landing and to meet the visitor from space.
Not very much happens in the first half of this novel. The ship is discovered, communication is established, the team is organized, the ship lands, Skye gets out, everyone talks a lot, they visit the Getty Center in LA, Skye does a TV interview, they go to the zoo, and they talk a lot more. There are references to problems related to Skye’s visit (conspiracy theorists apparently fear an extra-terrestrial plot, religious fanatics fear this will undermine faith, and world leaders are vying for financial rights to scientific advancements), but none of this is specifically developed. Because of that, the story has no conflict – at least not until the second half.
The second half of SKYE ENTITY involves a kidnapping and subsequent rescue. The bad guys are who we expect them to be, the military responds brilliantly, our heroes rise to the occasion, and all’s right with the world in the end. I’m not giving anything away here – there’s never any doubt in this novel where things are going or how it’s all going to turn out.
The biggest problem here is that the characters are thinly developed and seem oddly flat. Dr. Eli Reuben is supposedly “the best astrobiologist in the world,” but she seems like a silly college kid, gushing over the alien’s arrival, speaking with an abundance of exclamation points, freaking out over what to wear (“I was driving myself crazy!”), squealing with excitement, and at times almost jumping up and down. She seems like a teenage version of Dr. Ellie Arroway from “Contact.” Her husband, Seth, is also a scientist – they call each other “babe” and “hon” a lot, and he’s the one with the technical expertise to help Skye repair his ship. There’s a military guy named Jeremy Simms who goes all gooey over Lisa Jennings, the president’s gorgeous personal assistant. And there are the expected generic scientists, soldiers, and politicians, all speaking pretty much alike, and none particularly memorable.
The dialogue is a problem as well, mainly because there’s too much of it. At one point Merton spends two or three pages on Lisa offering everyone drinks! Additionally, Merton’s characters are so polite and deferential that it’s impossible to believe they’re real people – there are so many “pleases,” “thank yous,” “you’re welcomes,” “my pleasures,” and “excuse mes” that it becomes almost laughable. Who talks like this?
In spite of its flaws, SKYE ENTITY does have a point – Skye’s visit forces people to begin to take a closer look at the horrific atrocities perpetrated by the human race, crimes against other humans, against animals, and against the natural world. Is it possible for humanity to recognize its weaknesses and evolve into a peaceful and benign species worth preserving? That’s a big question, one that science fiction has wrestled with for centuries (H. G. Wells’s THE TIME MACHINE was ruthless in its attack on 19th century human behavior). The idea here is interesting. We humans are definitely flawed creatures, and Eli is embarrassed to have to explain atrocities to her extraterrestrial visitor. Near the end, she posts the following on the Internet: “I believe in the power of humanity to transcend, to overcome, to listen to our better angels, even when they are drowned out by noise.” This is a powerful statement, and it’s one that Merton obviously embraces. It’s also a very optimistic (and perhaps naïve) sentiment that isn’t easy to accept in the face of reality. SKYE ENTITY attempts to make a positive statement about the future of humanity that isn’t wholly believable. But it is an uplifting message that will certainly resonate with some readers.
Overall, SKYE ENTITY isn’t a bad read. Just be prepared for a very slow build up to the action, all of which takes place in the final third of the novel. I’m a sucker for first-contact stories, so I was willing to suspend disbelief right from the start. Had the characters been better developed, had the plot been better paced, and had Merton used a better editor to tighten up the prose and the dialogue, this would have been a much more successful book. As it is, I recommend it for fans of the genre who have the patience to wade through its less-successful elements to get to what works in the end.
[Please note: I was provided a copy of this novel for review; the opinions expressed here are my own.]
Not very much happens in the first half of this novel. The ship is discovered, communication is established, the team is organized, the ship lands, Skye gets out, everyone talks a lot, they visit the Getty Center in LA, Skye does a TV interview, they go to the zoo, and they talk a lot more. There are references to problems related to Skye’s visit (conspiracy theorists apparently fear an extra-terrestrial plot, religious fanatics fear this will undermine faith, and world leaders are vying for financial rights to scientific advancements), but none of this is specifically developed. Because of that, the story has no conflict – at least not until the second half.
The second half of SKYE ENTITY involves a kidnapping and subsequent rescue. The bad guys are who we expect them to be, the military responds brilliantly, our heroes rise to the occasion, and all’s right with the world in the end. I’m not giving anything away here – there’s never any doubt in this novel where things are going or how it’s all going to turn out.
The biggest problem here is that the characters are thinly developed and seem oddly flat. Dr. Eli Reuben is supposedly “the best astrobiologist in the world,” but she seems like a silly college kid, gushing over the alien’s arrival, speaking with an abundance of exclamation points, freaking out over what to wear (“I was driving myself crazy!”), squealing with excitement, and at times almost jumping up and down. She seems like a teenage version of Dr. Ellie Arroway from “Contact.” Her husband, Seth, is also a scientist – they call each other “babe” and “hon” a lot, and he’s the one with the technical expertise to help Skye repair his ship. There’s a military guy named Jeremy Simms who goes all gooey over Lisa Jennings, the president’s gorgeous personal assistant. And there are the expected generic scientists, soldiers, and politicians, all speaking pretty much alike, and none particularly memorable.
The dialogue is a problem as well, mainly because there’s too much of it. At one point Merton spends two or three pages on Lisa offering everyone drinks! Additionally, Merton’s characters are so polite and deferential that it’s impossible to believe they’re real people – there are so many “pleases,” “thank yous,” “you’re welcomes,” “my pleasures,” and “excuse mes” that it becomes almost laughable. Who talks like this?
In spite of its flaws, SKYE ENTITY does have a point – Skye’s visit forces people to begin to take a closer look at the horrific atrocities perpetrated by the human race, crimes against other humans, against animals, and against the natural world. Is it possible for humanity to recognize its weaknesses and evolve into a peaceful and benign species worth preserving? That’s a big question, one that science fiction has wrestled with for centuries (H. G. Wells’s THE TIME MACHINE was ruthless in its attack on 19th century human behavior). The idea here is interesting. We humans are definitely flawed creatures, and Eli is embarrassed to have to explain atrocities to her extraterrestrial visitor. Near the end, she posts the following on the Internet: “I believe in the power of humanity to transcend, to overcome, to listen to our better angels, even when they are drowned out by noise.” This is a powerful statement, and it’s one that Merton obviously embraces. It’s also a very optimistic (and perhaps naïve) sentiment that isn’t easy to accept in the face of reality. SKYE ENTITY attempts to make a positive statement about the future of humanity that isn’t wholly believable. But it is an uplifting message that will certainly resonate with some readers.
Overall, SKYE ENTITY isn’t a bad read. Just be prepared for a very slow build up to the action, all of which takes place in the final third of the novel. I’m a sucker for first-contact stories, so I was willing to suspend disbelief right from the start. Had the characters been better developed, had the plot been better paced, and had Merton used a better editor to tighten up the prose and the dialogue, this would have been a much more successful book. As it is, I recommend it for fans of the genre who have the patience to wade through its less-successful elements to get to what works in the end.
[Please note: I was provided a copy of this novel for review; the opinions expressed here are my own.]
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