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Alien Nation #6
Passing Fancy
Matt Sikes and his Newcomer partner, George Francisco, investigate a virulent Newcomer drug and lethal drug ring as a victim, a woman from Sikes' past, lies near death
291 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1994
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
May 9, 2025
Finally we get one of these Alien Nation TV tie ins that feels like an episode of the show. This one gets one thing perfectly right that the others didn’t, Sikes and Francisco are partners and work together. They aren’t split up to spend time with other characters or sidelined throughout the story. The story is great too, a comment on plastic surgery and the lengths people go to in order to achieve their perception of perfection. I wish there were more like this… actually if I’m wishing for stuff I wish the TV series wasn’t cancelled and ran for at least 7 seasons.
February 19, 2018
How far would you go to look like everyone else? A great series with some challenging views.
January 17, 2016
One of the strengths of the Alien Nation series has always been its anti-prejudice stand. This comes out even stronger in the novels, which are able to delve deeper into things then is allowed in a TV show with severe time limits.
In Passing Fancy, the central character is actress in a play that George, Susan, Cathy and Matt all go to see. The actress appears to be human, but it's soon revealed that she is really a Newcomer, and that there is a process, expensive, of course, that can physically change a Newcomer's external appearance to that of a human.
It's a process that requires continued medication, which is where the real expense is, and the actress has been taking some tainted medicine, some under-the-counter stuff that is affordable but terribly dangerous.
So the novel is set up with its law-based portion (finding who has been selling the drug and, if possible, who makes it and stopping them), and the anti-prejudice part. The novel Black Like Me is brought up in the story and discussed, and it's relation to what has happened to the actress is quite clear.
To complicate things, the actress is someone Matt actually knows, although his experiences with her in the past were not ultra-positive, to say the least.
This is a really good story, basically the kind that a person will want to read straight through.
In Passing Fancy, the central character is actress in a play that George, Susan, Cathy and Matt all go to see. The actress appears to be human, but it's soon revealed that she is really a Newcomer, and that there is a process, expensive, of course, that can physically change a Newcomer's external appearance to that of a human.
It's a process that requires continued medication, which is where the real expense is, and the actress has been taking some tainted medicine, some under-the-counter stuff that is affordable but terribly dangerous.
So the novel is set up with its law-based portion (finding who has been selling the drug and, if possible, who makes it and stopping them), and the anti-prejudice part. The novel Black Like Me is brought up in the story and discussed, and it's relation to what has happened to the actress is quite clear.
To complicate things, the actress is someone Matt actually knows, although his experiences with her in the past were not ultra-positive, to say the least.
This is a really good story, basically the kind that a person will want to read straight through.
March 5, 2013
I honestly love this book. Like the series, it's heavy handed and overdone, but it's so heartfelt I don't care. I came up with music for Cathy's lullaby. It's an easy read, and worth it.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews