Keepers of the Gate

by Steven G. Spruill

Eridani III...An ancient garden of perfection, dwelling place of the Proteps. For years the Earth had coveted this lush Eden far beyond their reach in the stellar vastness. But now the Terran starcruisers could make the eleven-light-years' journey within a mortal lifetime...and now the superior Proteps coldly prepare to annihilate the Earth--before the invaders can approach the legendary planet...It is up to one man--Earth's bionic-powered Jared Hiller--to stave off the horror of inter-planetary war. Alone, he dares to storm the gates of paradise, to discover the ancient and terrible secrets of an immortal race...and to win a beautiful and intriguing woman whose love could change the destiny of two mightly worlds...

Genres: Science Fiction

239 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1977

Reviews

[SuperHeroQwimm · Rating 5 out of 5]

The setting for this book pulled me in instantly. It's set on earth but so far in the future that things are whack, of course. The mass amount of people has caused the atmosphere to change so that it's no longer inhabitable. Buildings go hundreds of feet into the ground and into the sky. Every livable area is domed in, you cant go into an open area (without a dome) for very long without a gas mask before passing out/dieing. People are given only one room to live in, described as a sort of studio apartment, because of the immense amount of over-crowding that the earth is suffering from.
We are still trying to occupy space and have encountered one seemingly alien species. The protagonist starts to put together bits and pieces of information regarding this new alien species and discovers that they are not so different from the people currently inhabiting the earth.

[Ian Adams · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Keepers of the Gate” by Steven G. Spruill (1977)

Overall Rating 7/10 – Keepering Reading!

Plot
Aliens appear to be intermingling with Terrans on Earth. It’s not a secret, we know about them and they seem friendly and harmless. They seem friendly enough …

Writing Style
Easy, flowing, short sentences. Absolutely no sign of its age and could have been written yesterday. Very easy to watch the film in your mind’s eye as you read the words.

Point of View/Voice
Written in the 3rd Person / Past Tense (standard convention)

Critique
Combine Star Trek (TOS), Logan’s Run and V, and you are already halfway to understanding this book.

For me, the plot was interesting and quite typical of 1970’s mass produced science-fiction. I would say it was original (because it is in a sense), although it is clearly comprised of factors of existing works. The storyline was stale for a good while, and I did become “bored”. But, I stuck with it, and although there was no massive climax, I am glad I did (nice twist at the end as there usually is).

One very annoying factor though – the title of the book in no way relates to the storyline and neither does the image of the female on the copy I read (Dell Publishing). A classic reason why you should not judge a book by its cover. Certainly, the image of the female was a huge factor in my decision to buy and read the book (my bad!) Still, one aspect of the cover was relevant even though it took me 182 pages to find it.