Interlopers

From Barnes & Noble

The Barnes & Noble Review
High in the mountains of Peru, archeologist Cody Westcott discovers an unusually inscribed stone tablet hidden in the ruins of an ancient village. Later, back home in Arizona, he interprets the inscription as a recipe for a potion that will give the drinker great vision. Cody succumbs to curiosity and concocts the potion, then uses himself as a guinea pig. But nothing happens. A sheepish Cody leaves the lab and heads for home, but as he steps out the door, his disappointment turns to shock and horror. The potion did work! It shifted his vision in a way that allows him to see the Interlopers -- grotesque creatures full of teeth and barbs and suckers that inhabit the trees, rocks, plants, and other natural objects around him. They are parasites from another dimension that infect any human being that comes into contact with their dwelling places. They fill their host with a dark mood that causes fear, anger, depression, and other negative emotions that the Interlopers feed upon.

When his wife is infected with these parasites, Cody's search for a cure leads him to the Society, a centuries-old organization dedicated to holding back the infestation and to thwarting the creatures' efforts to cause human misery. As the Interlopers prepare to trigger an event that will cause grief and pain on a global scale, Cody and the Society race to save the world from a threat it cannot even see.

I thoroughly enjoyed the imaginative and absorbing plot, believable characters, and engaging action of this book -- which I heartily recommend to any sci-fi fan. (Kim Corradini)

KLIATT

Creepy and highly imaginative, this is a fun, suspenseful novel with the subtitle "Why bad things really happen to good people...." Archaeologist Cody Wescott, back from a dig in South America, tries an experiment based on what he believes is a formula found on ancient tablets "to improve vision." The alarming result of drinking this formula is that he now sees the Interlopers, a multitudinous group of hideous psychic creatures from another plane that reside in natural objects such as stone or wood. The mostly immortal Interlopers feed off human misery and have played an integral part in human history. They are always attempting to send us back to the dark ages just as we are about to reach a turning point towards more compassionate living. As another such crucial moment approaches, the Interlopers plot to start WW III. Meanwhile, Cody wages a one-man war against the creatures, gaining their hatred. When Cody's wife becomes a victim of several Interlopers bent on revenge, Cody sets out with a mysterious foreign stranger involved in The Society, an underground organization fighting the Interlopers, to save both her and, unbeknownst to Cody, the world. KLIATT Codes: SA—Recommended for senior high school students, advanced students, and adults. 2001, Berkley, Ace, 313p., $6.99. Ages 16 to adult. Reviewer: Lynn Rosser; Freelance Writer, Asheville, NC , September 2001 (Vol. 35 No. 5)