Shades

Roswell (Simon Spotlight Entertainment) #1

by Mel Odom

Ghost Story Now that their best chance for returning to the home planet has left without them, the "Czechoslovakian" residents of Roswell (code for "aliens)" must adjust to a more permanent existence on earth than they were expecting. Seeing a possible future for the two of them, Maria nags Michael about money, sending him packing on a salaried weekend trip to help a geologist study a proposed chemical company site. As the group camps out under the stars, a round of spooky ghost stories provides entertainment -- until one of the guys sees a real ghost. The kicker? Michael can see it too. River Dog has also been plagued by the shades of the past in recent days, and he brings Max out to the desert to bear witness as the apparition threatens him. He tells Max of an ancient Mesaliko prophecy that tells of vengeance being exacted by the tribe's ancestors if Visitors are allowed to remain among them -- Visitors like Max, Michael, and Isabel. As the hauntings increase in both frequency and violence, the alien teens and their friends know they must uncover the true origin of the phantoms -- whether physical, mystical, or alien -- before the ghosts follow through on their deadly threats.

Genres: Young Adult, Science Fiction, Aliens, Fantasy, Media Tie In

251 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published September 1, 2002

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

aka Jordan Gray

Mel Odom is a bestselling writer for hire for Wizards of the Coast's Forgotten Realms, Gold Eagle's Mack Bolan, and Pocket's Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel book lines. His debut SF novel Lethal Interface made the Locus recommended list . The Rover was an Alyx Award winner. He has also written a scientific adventure of the high seas set in the 19th century entitled Hunters of the Dark Sea. He lives in Oklahoma.

Reviews

[Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one is a nice and easy read set in the original television Roswell universe. It's a story centering on Michael, who gets a job as a geologist's assistant to make a little extra money. Then some ghosts show up and Maria's kind of a nag and River Dog gets involved and Max is too broody and depressed to help much and, well, it's a fast and entertaining trip. I wish that Liz had been given more to do, and I never quite figured out why they called this one the first in the "new" series and stopped counting the first three tie-ins, but Roswell is known for the unknown, right?

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was really happy when I finally discovered this series! I was extremely happy to have another fix to my Roswell withdrawals! I really liked the ending of the series, it all sorta came "whole-circle" in the end, better than what the TV series gave! Would recommend to all Roswell fans!!

[Adrianna [SypherLily] · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was really a nice rejuvenation. I had been needing more Roswell after so long and re-watching the series just didn't cut it. I'm glad there are novels like these :)
This author did a MARVELOUS job of keeping the characters in tune. Everything they said and did and the way they acted was identical to those on screen. The story even kept me interested. It's not really scary, it's more creepy. I was captured until the end but I felt like it just dwindled. I look forward to the other books and I hope the other authors do as good a job as this one!

[Rosa · Rating 3 out of 5]

It started out really promising. Ghosts in Roswell? Sign me up! Also, setting it between the finale of s2 and the premier of s3 made for interesting reading as the relationships between the characters are in a very conflicting places at that point.

The Pros: I love a good pseudo-ghost story. One thing that an avid lover of both science fiction and gothic literature can tell you: in both genres, ghost stories never actually contain ghosts. So, I knew from the off that it would turn out to be an alien thing.

Another pro -- there is a lot of Valenti and Kyle, and they are written wonderfully. They add a lot to the story and are actively involved in the investigation. The books are hit and miss on whether Valenti and Kyle are utilized to their best effect, and Mel Odom did well in that respect.

Also, Michael was likable. That did not happen for me much in the show, so props. And the writer showed the early days of Isabel and Jesse's relationship! Yay! And managed to do it while paying due deference to the place Alex had held in Isabel's story for the first two seasons.

The negatives: Due to where the story takes place in the show's timeline, there was a lot of Max-has-lost-his-son!angst. Because this was Tess storyline aftermath, I was never particularly interested in that plotline, and the best moment in the show for me post-Tess was watching Liz finally blow up at Max about it (quite literally.) We get to see some of the early hints of that eventual fall out in this book, and I'm pretty sure I'll see more of it in the later season 3 novels.

Linked to that was the lack of Liz storyline in this book. Or Maria storyline for that matter. Liz is left out of the story for the most part, relegated to watching the Crashdown get attacked by a ghost and sitting/standing quietly in most scenes. Half the time I couldn't even remember if she was in the scene because she would be mentioned as being there, but wouldn't have any dialogue or any point of reference after establishing her presence. And Maria is characterized as Michael's nagging girlfriend (which, granted, she could be that), and doesn't do much else. What must be remembered though is that we're never given a Maria POV in this story, and usually Michael thinks of Maria as "nagging." Still, I feel she was really under-utilized.

And the biggest "con" in the list -- the book was big overture, little show. The set up for the villain was great, but...the ending kind of fizzled out. Was left feeling that Odom was getting bored writing the novel or just wanted it to end. So, enjoy the buildup, but you may want to write your own ending in your head cos the canon one is a bit disappointing.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

Part of the Roswell series about three teenage aliens stranded on Earth. In this story, the aliens, Max, Michael, and Isabel, confront ghosts and zombies that are threatening Roswell. Although the premise sounds like a horror movie, there is an extraterrestrial explanation that is even more dangerous than poltergeists gone wild.

[Wendy]

If Roswell didn't have enough weird stuff going on it, Ghosts start appearing to people in town and at the Mesaliko Indian Reservation outside of town. Only the people whose ancestors or other deceased people are known to them and the remaining members of the Pod Squad can see them.

With Valenti's help, the Pod Squad and their friends join forces with River Dog to find out and stop what is happening...only to learn that the 'ghosts' are really ancient aliens who've been stranded on Earth for a couple of hundred years and have only woken up out of hibernation and are desperate to get back home. Thinking humans are trying to harm this is what is causing some of the aliens to attack by manifesting as ghosts or other sinister looking things...

In the end, the aliens eventually eliminate themselves as they have no means to travel back home and cannot remain on Earth.

[Jackie Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one actually kept me up scared at night a couple of times, until they finally started figuring out what was really going on. I am not a big ghost lover and this story kept me into it and worried the whole time.

[Katie Jauncey · Rating 5 out of 5]

These books are rated more for teens, and I read the Roswell series when I was about 15 ..... but I still really love reading them now. They're written in an easily worded way so that if you want something quick and easy to read, they're perfect ..... I love the whole series :)

[Lizzie the Book Hoarder · Rating 5 out of 5]

Any book that let me visit with Max, Liz, Maria and Michael, I am there. I always loved these characters on Roswell and even though the books are never as good as the television show I just love visiting with these old friends again.

[Melanie M · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the action parts of the book but I can't stand the usage of said. Liz said. Max said. Valenti said. Other words can be used like Max replied. or Max answered.