The Enemy

Space: Above and Beyond #4

by Dina Anastasio

On the planet Tarturus, a new weapon that interferes with human brain waves causes the members of the 58th Squadron to experience intense fear and physical pain, and they must find a way to leave the planet before they go to war with each other.

Genres: Science Fiction

Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

About the author

Dina Anastasio grew up and lives in New York City. She lived in West Cork, Ireland, for many years. She is a freelance writer and past editor of Sesame Street Magazine (four years). She is a mother of two with three grandchildren.

Reviews

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is book 4 of 4 in a series of junior novelizations of episodes of the Fox show Space: Above and Beyond that aired in 1995. Despite only being on air for one season I really enjoyed the show. I was a more realistic near-future take on a typical alien invasion story that had well fleshed-out characters. The over-arching story had interesting layers with the In-Vitro and A.I. both shaping the world this story takes place in during the A.I. Wars before the main story even takes place, and the enemy we will come to know as the Chigs will be a mysterious threat that we are challenged to unlock.

The Enemy is the seventh episode of the show and details the groups mission to resupply a strange planet where humans have been at war with the Chigs since the very first days, but very few seem to come out alive. As soon as they land, they start to see why even if they don't understand it. The Enemy feels like a throwback to a Star Trek episode dealing with fear and/or mind control on the human mind. It was an okay story, but missed opportunities to really dive into characters' backstories or to play with what was real or not.