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The Alien Dark | Rating | |
| A | |||
| Diana G. Gallagher | |||
| Series | Related Books | ||
| N/A | N/A | ||
I've been looking for this book for a long, long time. I read it in the library soon after it was published, and sort of liked it. But the more I thought about it, the more I liked it, except that when I went to the store to buy, it wasn't there. I've kept an eye out for it ever since. When you do that for thirteen years, you know it made an impression.
The alien race of Bey are expanding. They've found a wonderful star system perfect for their needs. The second planet is arid but habitable, and amazingly even has life, the first outside their homeworld that they've encountered. There's a rich asteroid belt, and gas giants full of starship fuel. But the pressure is on: their most sacred Law states that to take something from someone else without permission is very, very forbidden. This Law has held Bey society in check for millenia, and the leaders back home have decided to expand it to include all sentient life, not just the Bey. Admirable, to be sure, but if sentient life is found in this perfect star system it will mean the Bey cannot take the planets there. Planets they dearly want to have. And evidence is mounting that if there are no sentients there now, there once were. Does the Law take into account the idea that they might come back?
There are other pressures, too, mysteries regarding why the mission is so time-critical in so many aspects, and trying to stave off the catatonia most Bey enter when they feel all is lost. The plot is far more than just, "Where are the aliens?" It is about how the Bey react to the discoveries they make, and the social changes that occur as a result.
The book is not faultless. Most irritating was the lack of any conversion between human years and Bey years. A single line to that effect could have been inserted nearly anywhere in the story, but never was. A reader can convert between Bey hours and human hours, if he tries - it's never explicitly told what the conversion is, but if you're paying attention it can be done - and through that the Bey day with human days. But the lack of conversion for the years is more irritating.
The other difficulties are minor. It seems a bit unrealistic to believe the native installation they find still works perfectly after all this time. It's a stretch to believe it even works at all, for that matter. I wish the ending was expanded on a bit more in this book, but I can certainly see why it was not. The antagonist turned out to be a good deal weaker than we were led to believe for most of the book. But with the possible exception of that last one, these are nits.
While this is a complete story, the ending is left wide open for a sequel. I was mildly disappointed to learn that, after all this time, none has been written. It does stand fine on its own, though. I really suggest you take a look at this one.
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