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The Reefs of Earth
A PLAGUE OF DEMONS—that's what the people of Lost Haven called the six children (seven, if you counted Bad John) of the Dulanty family. They looked like normal Earth children... except when they flicked their ears like animals, or made their eyes glow with a green fire... and if you looked at them sideways they did look strangely like nightmarish gargoyles.
The truth is: these children are Pucas, aliens from a strange planet. And they have taken it upon themselves to reduce the world to a population of six (seven, if you counted Bad John). Wishing will make it so, for by making up an appropriate death-rhyme, they can destroy their victims.
These frightening, far-out kids take a black delight in destroying their neighbors, and the Earth people are defenseless against them....
The truth is: these children are Pucas, aliens from a strange planet. And they have taken it upon themselves to reduce the world to a population of six (seven, if you counted Bad John). Wishing will make it so, for by making up an appropriate death-rhyme, they can destroy their victims.
These frightening, far-out kids take a black delight in destroying their neighbors, and the Earth people are defenseless against them....
144 pages, Hardcover
First published March 1, 1968
19 people are currently reading
573 people want to read
About the author
R.A. Lafferty
541 books312 followersRaphael Aloysius Lafferty, published under the name R.A. Lafferty, was an American science fiction and fantasy writer known for his original use of language, metaphor, and narrative structure, as well as for his etymological wit. He also wrote a set of four autobiographical novels, a history book, and a number of novels that could be loosely called historical fiction.
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
February 11, 2014
This book introduced me to the fabulous R.A. Lafferty and to the concept of murderous children (alien children, but still...they were born here, so they're "Earthian" enough) at the tender young age of seven. It was the same year my school instituted a strict "Teacher chooses the book for your report" policy, but that's probably a coincidence.
The chapter titles make a poem! It begins: "To slay the folks and cleanse the land / and leave the world a reeking roastie / High purpose of the gallant band / and six were kids, and one a ghostie" and gets better from there. That year, my grade school also came up with an Approved Authors list for our Favorite Books From Home read-aloud table sessions.
Also a coincidence.
Favorite quote: "A lot of times, you can make everything work out all right if you send just one person out of a bunch to Hell."
The book taps into every kid's fantasy of invincibility (and running away on a pirate ship) and every parent's fantasy of helping one's children develop their natural-born talents. If one of those talents happens to be singing a crow down from the sky for a warm, red lunch, well, at least they've been taught to make the kill a (mostly) clean one.
BONUS: THE REEFS OF EARTH wasn't written for kids so it even ages well.
Ten (or eleven) Dulantys, a whole pack of townie kids, assorted grown-up townsfolk, and a goat...it's a large cast, is my point here...you might be worried you'll need the Cliff's Notes to keep up, but not with Lafferty's love of language and stellar storytelling. John, Bad John, Pandemonium John...this book has more johns than backpage.com and at least one of 'em is almost as terrifying. There's just one tiny little Helen, though, and she's the creepiest of them all.
BONUS II: You can read the first chapter (actually, most of the book) over at Google Books. The system wouldn't let me post the link, sorry.
TL;DR - I've known that this book doesn't suck since way back before I was even allowed to say that anything sucked. Now you know, too.
The chapter titles make a poem! It begins: "To slay the folks and cleanse the land / and leave the world a reeking roastie / High purpose of the gallant band / and six were kids, and one a ghostie" and gets better from there. That year, my grade school also came up with an Approved Authors list for our Favorite Books From Home read-aloud table sessions.
Also a coincidence.
Favorite quote: "A lot of times, you can make everything work out all right if you send just one person out of a bunch to Hell."
The book taps into every kid's fantasy of invincibility (and running away on a pirate ship) and every parent's fantasy of helping one's children develop their natural-born talents. If one of those talents happens to be singing a crow down from the sky for a warm, red lunch, well, at least they've been taught to make the kill a (mostly) clean one.
BONUS: THE REEFS OF EARTH wasn't written for kids so it even ages well.
Ten (or eleven) Dulantys, a whole pack of townie kids, assorted grown-up townsfolk, and a goat...it's a large cast, is my point here...you might be worried you'll need the Cliff's Notes to keep up, but not with Lafferty's love of language and stellar storytelling. John, Bad John, Pandemonium John...this book has more johns than backpage.com and at least one of 'em is almost as terrifying. There's just one tiny little Helen, though, and she's the creepiest of them all.
BONUS II: You can read the first chapter (actually, most of the book) over at Google Books. The system wouldn't let me post the link, sorry.
TL;DR - I've known that this book doesn't suck since way back before I was even allowed to say that anything sucked. Now you know, too.
June 26, 2016
Neil Gaiman has written that readers know they’ve encountered an R. A. Lafferty story by reading one sentence. He might have had in mind a sentence like this one from The Reefs of Earth:
The Dulantys could manage to look like regular people, until they had to laugh, or die.
The Dulanty family are Pucca, aliens being serving time on our backwater planet where they act as observers and do what they can to bring Earth around to a suitable habitat for their own and other alien species. Yes, Pucca sounds like “pookah,” and during the centuries the Dulantys and their kind, always challenged to come off as totally human, have earned the reputation of being goblins. They mosey through life on the fringes of society, but when situations turn sour, killing begins. The Dulanty children, faced with the deaths and incarcerations of their adult kin, take it to mind that wiping out the human race might be their best alternative.
Lafferty’s voice is colloquial and erudite and like no other in American fiction. The Reefs of Earth, on of Lafferty's first two novels both published in 1968, is a science fiction novel treated as a tall tale, or perhaps it’s the other way around. Lafferty’s out-of-print novels are discouragingly expensive, as are the new releases of his collected short fiction. But search him out. Based on the little I’ve read, he is a brilliant and eccentric American treasure.
The Dulantys could manage to look like regular people, until they had to laugh, or die.
The Dulanty family are Pucca, aliens being serving time on our backwater planet where they act as observers and do what they can to bring Earth around to a suitable habitat for their own and other alien species. Yes, Pucca sounds like “pookah,” and during the centuries the Dulantys and their kind, always challenged to come off as totally human, have earned the reputation of being goblins. They mosey through life on the fringes of society, but when situations turn sour, killing begins. The Dulanty children, faced with the deaths and incarcerations of their adult kin, take it to mind that wiping out the human race might be their best alternative.
Lafferty’s voice is colloquial and erudite and like no other in American fiction. The Reefs of Earth, on of Lafferty's first two novels both published in 1968, is a science fiction novel treated as a tall tale, or perhaps it’s the other way around. Lafferty’s out-of-print novels are discouragingly expensive, as are the new releases of his collected short fiction. But search him out. Based on the little I’ve read, he is a brilliant and eccentric American treasure.
February 19, 2011
Lafferty's unique take on the 'alien race stranded on backwater Earth' saga follows the luckless Puca- a rather uncouth alien race with an antipathy for dogs, a psychic connection with Native Americans, and the ability to enact supernatural mayhem with doggerel verse. Much of the novel follows their displaced children as they attempt to kill everyone on Earth (or at least Appalachia) without much success. Sorta like a cross between 'The Apple Dumpling Gang" and "The Hills Have Eyes"... Enjoyable read, looking forward to more Lafferty, though if the other book I have on the shelf is any indication it looks like he covers a lot of ground...
May 2, 2021
Most people are not prepared to encounter Lafferty's work, always demanding it be something else. Read one page. If you're entranced, read on. If you already feel the lack of novelistic conventions, go back to James Patterson.
September 14, 2023
A very peculiar book, that I don't really know how to rate nor how it will stick with me, but I did enjoy quite a bit. It was funny, with a love for playing with language, and lots of little poetry snippets, that I found as a whole very fun to read. I'm almost tempted to shelve it as magical realism, though it isn't- but it has that same aspect of throwing a little bit of unreality, here the sci-fi Puca, into the otherwise mundane, without pretense at logic, to examine the world- small-town America, and ways to be a human.
October 7, 2015
"Earth people are, comical though it seems, our cousins in blood. So far the blood between us has been bad blood."
Various representatives of the extraterrestrial Pucas had been visiting Earth for a long time, and this had been their general experience. Now the six children (seven if you include Bad John, which nobody does as he is a ghost) of the latest delegation, the Dulanty family, decide to bring things to a head by killing every human, one by one.
The only trouble is, they aren't very good at it. Despite their precociousness and their ability to kill remotely simply by chanting a four-line verse, or 'Bagarthach', they keep mussing it up:
"We got to start killing people," Charles said. "We can't keep leaving everybody till last."
But the residents of the inaptly named town of Lost Haven are not too keen on the Dulantys themselves. Local businessmen, corrupt lawmen and gangs of delinquent children are all spoiling for a fight too, with only drunks and the disinherited Native American population willing to lend the Dulantys a helping hand.
I think The Reefs of Earth is Lafferty's first published novel, and all you need to know about him is from the outset. Tall tales, Tex Avery type violence, and Texas as Sodom and Gomorrah.
It's as good as it sounds.
Various representatives of the extraterrestrial Pucas had been visiting Earth for a long time, and this had been their general experience. Now the six children (seven if you include Bad John, which nobody does as he is a ghost) of the latest delegation, the Dulanty family, decide to bring things to a head by killing every human, one by one.
The only trouble is, they aren't very good at it. Despite their precociousness and their ability to kill remotely simply by chanting a four-line verse, or 'Bagarthach', they keep mussing it up:
"We got to start killing people," Charles said. "We can't keep leaving everybody till last."
But the residents of the inaptly named town of Lost Haven are not too keen on the Dulantys themselves. Local businessmen, corrupt lawmen and gangs of delinquent children are all spoiling for a fight too, with only drunks and the disinherited Native American population willing to lend the Dulantys a helping hand.
I think The Reefs of Earth is Lafferty's first published novel, and all you need to know about him is from the outset. Tall tales, Tex Avery type violence, and Texas as Sodom and Gomorrah.
It's as good as it sounds.
November 3, 2022
Like anything else by R.A. Lafferty, it's not what you'd expect it to be. Yeah, it's got aliens, murder, all the stuff of a sci-fi thriller, but it goes somewhere else. The reader is forced to reconsider all ideas about space travel, galactic civilizations, and what it human. The book doesn't seem to be from a human viewpoint. It made me brain do strange things.
November 24, 2024
The Reefs of Earth by R.A Lafferty is the first which I read by Lafferty. It is a bizarre book if you haven’t read any books by Gene Wolfe then you probably wouldn’t be familiar with the stylish writing and the bizarre story. Before reading his book, I have read the book of new Sun series and his other standalone fantasy books so that when I read The First chapter of The Reefs of Earth, I immediately thought about Gene Wolfe’s writing. Both of the writers have very similar style of writing that I didn’t expect to see. However, The Reefs of Earth was published earlier than the book of new Sun series. So you know both the writers are fond of hidden messages than underlying the noticeable sentences to tell readers what the story was going on.
The story is about the alien family settle in America, the elderly family members only Witchy the mama remained on earth, others were gone from earth after they settle their children on earth.
those aliens have merderous tendency towards humans, they have caused trouble to be noticed by humans. They have many abilities it is like their superpower, they can shapeshifting, their songs or verses are able to control humans or circumstances etc. Mostly humans don’t know they were existed, but those humans were familiar with the legends about them.
Overall, it is a fine story for me to read. Interesting concepts about the aliens, the mythos about the mythos are concocted with native Americans and fictional alien world. At first readers would probably find it is hard to know what is going on in the story; you would know better as the story progresses further. Hence I reflect that it is not difficult to read. What Gene Wolfe wanted to do in his story Lafferty already done it. I think Lafferty might be one of the pioneers in SFF genres.
7.75 out of 8.
February 6, 2024
I think this is 3 stars. It might be 2.
One of the things that R. A. Lafferty is best known for us his unique prose style. And boy! Is it unique! This read like a YA novel with a southern twang but with mystical, musical aliens. And I think that prose is what I liked.
The story itself was a kind of coming-of-age plot of the six children—seven, if you count Bad John. That made it not particularly complex, but it was wild and crazy enough to keep me interested, if only to find out what the hee-haw-hilly was going on.
I do wanna read more of Lafferty, but this was definitely a middling experience for my first foray.
One of the things that R. A. Lafferty is best known for us his unique prose style. And boy! Is it unique! This read like a YA novel with a southern twang but with mystical, musical aliens. And I think that prose is what I liked.
The story itself was a kind of coming-of-age plot of the six children—seven, if you count Bad John. That made it not particularly complex, but it was wild and crazy enough to keep me interested, if only to find out what the hee-haw-hilly was going on.
I do wanna read more of Lafferty, but this was definitely a middling experience for my first foray.
March 12, 2014
An old story from the 70s about an alien race on Earth who are ordered to do something about the creatures known as humans. The main characters are children who go on a killing spree by doing it physically and by using their alien poetry, which once spoken aloud has the power to kill from a distance. Sometimes it takes minutes, or days, but it will always kill their intended target unless it is one of their own who know how to counter the killer poetry. The first few chapters, I thought that the characters told too many stories. But once I got past that, the actual point of the story started to become clear, more exciting, and moved along at a quick pace. It's a small novel, only 179 pages.
December 14, 2010
Bruggehoofd op aarde
February 10, 2011
Puca children. Something like the brady bunch, but in a halfway terrifying world view kind of way. Didn't get into it as much as Past Master or Fourth Mansions by the same author.
October 10, 2014
Clever, but never really a payoff - no denouement
September 21, 2017
A terrific book. Read it!
May 22, 2021
The first few chapters are just spectacular, then Lafferty pulls on a loose thread and the cozy sweater unravels. The opening bits are so good though.
October 21, 2024
This is one peculiar book. That is to say, it is by R.A. Lafferty.
It's hard to say anything about it other than that: the plot is intricate, straightforward, and whacky, all at the same time. The characters are lovable, relatable, and completely unbelievable. The writing is, well, Lafferty; there's nobody who can write like him, never was, and never will be. I'm not sure even Lafferty could write like Lafferty, and if it weren't for the fact that he did, I'd be sure he couldn't.
So the characters here are a double family of Puca - sort of the Irish spirits, but actually aliens from a planet that is definitely not Camiroi or Astrobe. What's a double family, you ask? Two brothers married two sisters, and they all stick together. They came to Earth to do two things: have and raise children, and decide what to do about this planet.
The adults all suffer from Earth Sickness; the children, born here, are immune. One of the mothers dies, and the other is declared crazy and put in the booby hatch. One of the fathers is framed for murder, and the townsfolk decide to lynch the other (though they don't succeed), so he's on the run.
The six children (seven if you count Bad John, who is definitely not a ghost even though he's transparent, intangible, and dead) decide that the best thing to do about Earth is to kill everyone on it. Only, they seem to have trouble killing anyone, even when they get the drop on them. Mostly they hang around on a couple of rafts and discuss what to do about the various situations.
Oh, this book is decidedly not politically correct. The Native Americans are called Indians, and there is more cod-Irishness than you can shake a stick at. But somehow one doesn't make allowances for a book published in 1968; one simply doesn't care, because it all fits together so well.
I loved it.
It's hard to say anything about it other than that: the plot is intricate, straightforward, and whacky, all at the same time. The characters are lovable, relatable, and completely unbelievable. The writing is, well, Lafferty; there's nobody who can write like him, never was, and never will be. I'm not sure even Lafferty could write like Lafferty, and if it weren't for the fact that he did, I'd be sure he couldn't.
So the characters here are a double family of Puca - sort of the Irish spirits, but actually aliens from a planet that is definitely not Camiroi or Astrobe. What's a double family, you ask? Two brothers married two sisters, and they all stick together. They came to Earth to do two things: have and raise children, and decide what to do about this planet.
The adults all suffer from Earth Sickness; the children, born here, are immune. One of the mothers dies, and the other is declared crazy and put in the booby hatch. One of the fathers is framed for murder, and the townsfolk decide to lynch the other (though they don't succeed), so he's on the run.
The six children (seven if you count Bad John, who is definitely not a ghost even though he's transparent, intangible, and dead) decide that the best thing to do about Earth is to kill everyone on it. Only, they seem to have trouble killing anyone, even when they get the drop on them. Mostly they hang around on a couple of rafts and discuss what to do about the various situations.
Oh, this book is decidedly not politically correct. The Native Americans are called Indians, and there is more cod-Irishness than you can shake a stick at. But somehow one doesn't make allowances for a book published in 1968; one simply doesn't care, because it all fits together so well.
I loved it.
August 14, 2019
Was more comfortable passing through Lafferty’s world this time, my second book of his. As a writer, he retains the title, in my mind, of the foremost creator of disorienting realities. His language is plain, folksy even at times, but nonetheless his stories take unfamiliar and alarming shapes.
What started as a loose, and frightening, story about a pack of murderous alien youngsters in earth, became a story about the cruelty of humans, our lack of spirituality, our hunger for power, our fear of outsiders, and of the corrupting force that is politics.
Lafferty scares me. I can get his words out of my head, and I want to put more in. As many as I can find.
QUOTES
"Pirates are perhaps the greatest invention of Earth people," Elizabeth interrupted loftily, "and their pirate stories are wonderful entertainment for small children. We have to give Earth people credit for that, they invented pirates." p.54
“It is generally not known, but dead people used tobacco for centuries before live people stumbled onto it.” p.69
“You never see an experienced drunk fall off a mountain.” p.131
What started as a loose, and frightening, story about a pack of murderous alien youngsters in earth, became a story about the cruelty of humans, our lack of spirituality, our hunger for power, our fear of outsiders, and of the corrupting force that is politics.
Lafferty scares me. I can get his words out of my head, and I want to put more in. As many as I can find.
QUOTES
"Pirates are perhaps the greatest invention of Earth people," Elizabeth interrupted loftily, "and their pirate stories are wonderful entertainment for small children. We have to give Earth people credit for that, they invented pirates." p.54
“It is generally not known, but dead people used tobacco for centuries before live people stumbled onto it.” p.69
“You never see an experienced drunk fall off a mountain.” p.131
February 6, 2025
You've got to love Lafferty
When you read Lafferty, be prepared to hold on and enjoy the ride! His writing needs to be read on several levels. Of course, there's the obvious story line (or is there?) There is also his great play on words that will make you chuckle even when things seem really serious.
The point is to enjoy ride and not take things too seriously. It seems that we are so tied up with being politically correct and serious that we have forgotten how to laugh. Lafferty makes us laugh at ourselves and the world around us. He never writes to be taken seriously. Perhaps that's just what the world needs - to be less preoccupied with serious things in order to enjoy life more!
When you read Lafferty, be prepared to hold on and enjoy the ride! His writing needs to be read on several levels. Of course, there's the obvious story line (or is there?) There is also his great play on words that will make you chuckle even when things seem really serious.
The point is to enjoy ride and not take things too seriously. It seems that we are so tied up with being politically correct and serious that we have forgotten how to laugh. Lafferty makes us laugh at ourselves and the world around us. He never writes to be taken seriously. Perhaps that's just what the world needs - to be less preoccupied with serious things in order to enjoy life more!
May 13, 2021
Over 40 yrs since I last read RAL
I was just telling someone that, back in the day, authors could tell a great story in around 200 pages. Now, apparently, the creative process concludes with "What a great story that'll be! I'm gonna spend the rest of my life telling it."
TRoE is a very early Rafferty novel, so I couldn't bring myself to give it 5 stars, but it's a 4.5 hoot nonetheless.
I was just telling someone that, back in the day, authors could tell a great story in around 200 pages. Now, apparently, the creative process concludes with "What a great story that'll be! I'm gonna spend the rest of my life telling it."
TRoE is a very early Rafferty novel, so I couldn't bring myself to give it 5 stars, but it's a 4.5 hoot nonetheless.
November 4, 2025
A tale of two halves. The 1st part is the best thing Lafferty has wrote in any of his novels. The 2nd half has a huge hatchet job that it was inevitable it could not live up to the 1st half. Thankfully the 140 page length of this book means this didn’t become a major problem for me.
June 24, 2018
I bought it because Neil Gaiman recommended it, but I found it ... unpleasant.
September 24, 2018
Sometimes, you come across a book that is surprising, unsettling, fascinating, and challenges your preconceptions. For me, this was one of those books.
Read
March 30, 2024I no longer remember all the individual Stories from this collection and would need to reread it to rate it properly.
March 20, 2025
Did Not Finish
R A Lafferty is not for me. Rural brothers Grimm. Woodsy violence and mundane humor. Like taily-po.
R A Lafferty is not for me. Rural brothers Grimm. Woodsy violence and mundane humor. Like taily-po.
November 6, 2025
While there were things i liked about the book, overall i found it to be a bit boring, and a lot of the humor didnt really land with me. But i could see why people like this book.
Read
December 27, 2025A writer who's work is interesting, profound, visionary at its best but difficult, boring and a little too weird at its worst.
December 29, 2025
Great green grapefruit, what a bizzaro little novel. I'm going to have to read more of these!
October 7, 2016
A wild ride!
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews