United by Melissa Landers

United is the final instalment in Landers' Alienated novel about aliens contacting Earth and attempting to form an alliance between the two cultures.

In the second novel, Invaded, Aelyx and Cara discovered the truth behind the L'eihr's desired alliance with Earth;  the L'eihrs were determined to form an army to fight the Aribol if required, combining L'eihr technology with the human soldiers that they lacked. Cara learns from Alona that dozens of probes have landed all over L'eihr. The probes were deciphered and it was determined that they were an attempt to learn about the L'eihr weaponry systems.

Cara also learns from the researcher Larish that it was possible the Elders used the DNA of the ancients to create Jaxen and Aisly but that such DNA might have been incomplete. He also tells Cara that rumours are that the bodies of the ancient queen and her consort were exhumed and cloned, but that their abilities were heightened with alien DNA. This happened twenty one years ago meaning that Jaxen might be that clone.

Cara, Syrine, Aelyx and Troy return to Earth where an attempt is made to kill Aelyx and destroy the Human-L'eihr alliance. David refuses to carry out Jaxen's command to murder Aelyx and dies in a shootout with Grimes, who reveals that Jaxen is planning a coup to take over both Earth and L'eihr.

Invaded concluded with Cara realizing that she loves Aelyx and that she belongs on L'eihr. Both Aelyx and Cara must now try to stop Jaxen. She meets with him pretending that Aelyx has been murdered.  Jaxen reveals that he plans to let Earth die, taking the best scientists to L'eihr while controlling the rest of the population. He also plans to remove the Way and restore L'eihr to its former glory. However, Aisly is able to learn from Troy the truth about what happened with Aelyx. Aelyx confronts Jaxen and kills him with the i'phal. Cara manages to inform Alona a few floors up what has happened and Alona reveals to her that ten hybrids were created with the Aribol-L'eihr genetic material. Jaxen and Aisly were the only ones who showed potential. The remaining hybrids were sent to other precincts, likely keeping their abilities secret. Although both Aisly and Jaxen die they are both brought back to life using an AED and Jaxen and Aisly escape. Moved by her loyalty, Alona asks Cara to join the Way.

United opens with Cara and Aelyx arriving at the colony on L'eihr. Accompanying them is Syrine who has the remains of her l'ihan, David with her. Syrine wants him buried on the colony and then she will return to the continent for healing. On the colony, Cara meets with Devinder who is now part of the Way. Devinder gives Cara a tour outlining how the colony is set up. The colony has one squadron to maintain order and to administer Reckonings, a form of corporal punishment using an electronic lash.  Cara is to be a liaison for the human colonists while Aelyx will represent the L'eihr clones.

Aelyx and Cara settle into their apartment which consists of a living area and a bedroom; there is no kitchen or eating area and no bathrooms as these rooms are communal. A couple of months into the settlement of the colony, very few human-L'eihr couples have formed. Instead the two races seem to be grouped separately. Already there are problems as the humans cannot apply for jobs they like but are assigned tasks. 

Cara receives an urgent transmission from Alona who tells her that the Aribol have made contact. Alona tells her that Aribol probes were also sent to Earth, something Cara feels government leaders likely hid from their people. The Aribol identifies himself as Zane, appearing wearing some kind of mask. Zane refers to the humans and L'eihr as "Novens" and reveals that they are descended from a single race the Aribol seeded throughout the universe. He also tells them that they are more aggressive than other Noven and that the alliance poses a threat to other races they've seeded nearby. When Cara objects saying they have no basis for this conclusion, Zane indicates that "This is a proactive measure to maintain peace. We will allow humans and L'eihrs one month to return to your respective planets and then surrender all interstellar travel technology. If you refuse to comply, both civilizations will have to be neutralized." When Alona doubts Zane's threat, he destroys the L'eihr's spaceport and their entire Voyager fleet save for one craft so they can comply with the Aribol demands.

Devinder believes that the L'eihr exaggerating their defenses and weaponry to the mechanical probes is likely the reason the Aribol believe they are aggressive and heavily armed. Cara however, feels something is not right. Alona states that the Aribol signal originated from a galaxy they recently discovered last year but have not yet explored. Alona decides that the one Voyager craft currently away on a mission will be sent to investigate the galaxy Zane's message originated from while all the human colonists will return to Earth. Aelyx is allowed to accompany Cara as he will be able to return to L'eihr if necessary. Some of the L'eihr colonists including humans volunteer to join the Voyager ship seeking out the Aribol system. One of those is Jake Winters.  Can Cara and Aelyx discover the truth about the Aribol in time to save their alliance and their home planets?

Discussion

Unlike the first novel Alienated, which was predominantly character driven, United is a much more action driven story as the main characters, Cara and Aelyx strive to solve the mystery of the Aribol and why they are determined to destroy the alliance between humans and the L'eihr. The overall direction of the storyline through the three books was somewhat disappointing as the initial premise of the first novel, an alien race making contact with Earth for what appeared to be benevolent reasons and the struggles of the two races to understand and trust one another - was intriguing and showed promise. Instead of exploring more in-depth the developing relationships between characters, the plot became more about the utilitarian motives of the L'eihr in contacting Earth as a strategic measure to protect themselves against the Aribol. The storyline also became hopelessly complex and difficult to follow.

The resolution to the conflict between the Aribol and the humans/L'eihr was simplistic and inconsistent and even lazy. Perhaps author Melissa Landers lost interest in completing the story which became bogged down in so many twists and turns. The Aribol are supposedly advanced well beyond human and L'eihr capabilities yet their ships are destroyed when they arrive at both planets. Presumably the Aribol have more than two interstellar craft, something even Cara considers as she's arguing for peace, "who knew how many Destroyers they'd stationed throughout the galaxy?".  Yet the destruction of these two ships is enough to convince the Aribol to partake of a truce.

The focus on action means little attention is devoted to further character development. Cara remains the fair-minded, open and forgiving person she was in the first novel. She offers to help Rune, the rapidly aging clone of herself and argues for peace rather than escalating tensions with the Aribol. Aelyx, Troy, Syrine and Larish are all characters who aid Cara in her mission to save the alliance and Earth.

Science fiction fans who enjoy a light read with romance will enjoy the Alienated series. There is some sexual content but nothing explicit.

Book Details:

United by Melissa Landers
New York: Elire Publishing     2016
317 pp. 

Invaded by Melissa Landers

Invaded is the long anticipated sequel to Alienated by Melissa Landers and for the most part readers will not be disappointed.

In the first novel it was revealed that Earth has been scouted by an advanced alien culture from another galaxy. The L'eihrs require human DNA to rejuvenate their people and wish to form an alliance to bring human colonists to their planet for that purpose. As a result of contact with the L'eihr, Earth's water has inadvertently been contaminated by a super algae that will eventually destroy all the oceans and make the planet uninhabitable. Most humans are not aware of this impending catastrophe nor that the L'eihr have the technology to decontaminate the water. This fact is being hidden by the governments on Earth. The L'eihr will only provide the technology if Earth forms an alliance with them.

The first novel ends with Cara having learned Aelyx's (along with Eron and Syrine) role in trying to sabotage the alliance by planting a parasitic tree, sh'alear, which destroyed nearby crops. When she is brought before The Way, who are the L'eihr Elders, Cara meets the two newest and youngest leaders, Jaxen and Aisly. Jaxen tells her that despite the murder of Eron and the violence against Syrine and Aelyx, the alliance negotiations will continue, Syrine and Aelyx are to be sent back to Earth to regain the human trust and work for the alliance and Cara is to accompany Jaxen and Aisly to L'eihr.

Invaded opens with Cara Sweeney headed to L'eihr alone after the L'eihr Elders decided to send Aelyx back to Earth to help rebuild the alliance between the two planets. They were supposed to start a life together on L'eihr but now Aelyx is in Manhattan with Ambassador Stepha. Aelyx finds life on Earth fraught with danger as HALO (Humans Against L'eihr Occupation) seems determined to assassinate him. His security detail is run by Colonel Rutter along with a new guard, Private David Sharpe who saves Aelyx from being killed when they first return to New York. As a result of this incident, Ambassador Stepha decides to confer with The Way. They decide that the technology to neutralize the algae blooms will be provided in the spring during an alliance ceremony between Earth and L'eihr. Any further attempts on the lives of the L'eihr youth will terminate the relationship. Both Aelyx and Stepha are puzzled at the ambivalent attitude of the Elders towards the attacks. He knows the real purpose behind the alliance is to recruit human colonists who will eventually provide fresh DNA to rejuvenate the L'eihr population. He knows humans are unaware of the algae contamination and believes that they should be told the truth.

To try to counter the resistance by people on Earth, Director General Kendrick suggests that Aelyx and Syrine undertake a multi-city tour in the hopes they can win over the human population. Syrine, who is disgusted by humans, begins to change her opinion after visiting dying children in a hospital. Soon after this, two more attempts are made on Aelyx's life. When David repeatedly risks his life to save them, Syrine begins to fall in love with David. Despite the attempts, the Elders refuse to call off the alliance leaving Aelyx and Stepha puzzled.

On L'eihr,  Cara is escorted to the capital by the two young Elders, Jaxen and Aisly. Aisly and Jaxen reveal that they are seventeen and twenty-one years old. This puzzles Cara because Aelyx has told her that the oldest clones were nineteen. Cara finds L'eihr very different from Earth: it has twin moons and one large continent in a vast ocean. Instead of being taken to the colony as she expected, Cara is taken to one of the five precincts in the capital to live. Jaxen tells Cara that the colony is still under construction and that it is located on an island where influence from the L'eihr will be minimal. Cara feels unsettled by Jaxen who looks like the L'eihrs but who seems different in some way that Cara can't yet explain.

Cara is assigned to live with Elle, (Aelyx's genetic sister) whose l'ihan, Eron, was killed while he was stationed in China. Cara's brother, Troy, a Marine, is stationed on L'eihr as her human mentor. Despite her devastation over the loss of Eron, Elle works with Cara on her Silent Speech and helps her to begin to adjust to life on L'eihr. Cara's days are filled with L'eihr classes in the Aegis, brutal fitness classes with an instructor she nicknames "Satan" and time in the L'eihr nursery. She has her Sh'ovah, a sort of citizenship ceremony but it is marred by the crash of what appears to be a meteorite. Cara notices that it is some kind of spherical object secretly retrieved by Jaxen.

On Earth, the attempts to kill Aelyx and Syrine continue when David discovers that a supper brought in has been poisoned with strychnine. An image consultant is brought in to help reform his and Syrine's reputations and Aelyx agrees to be interviewed by a journalist named Sharon Taylor. During the interview, Aelyx explains that he and his fellow L'eihrs were initially against the alliance because of their views about humans which changed as they came to know them on a personal level. The interview is stopped however when Taylor brings in Marcus Johnson, the student who tried to kill Aelyx.

Living separately in two different galaxies begins to take its toll on Aelyx and Cara's relationship. Cara believes that Aelyx is attracted to Syrine and when Aelyx learns that Cara's brother deliberately missed his transport home, he worries that Cara is having trouble adapting. Aelyx also begins to form a strong friendship with David, his security guard. He becomes concerned when he discovers that David is taking L'eihr injections for a degenerative genetic disorder.

On L'eihr Cara continues to be challenged by someone determined to sabotage her mission on the planet. Professor Helm's tablet goes missing and is found in her quarters. Dahla, a L'eihr who hates Cara,  is poisoned by a deadly toxin that has been placed in her food. In both situations Cara is implicated but helped by Jaxen. But this is not as disturbing to Cara as her trip to the colony. Cara quickly realizes that the humans will be unable to leave the island once they are settled there and that they will be unable to choose their vocations. While on the island Cara makes the shocking discovery that both Jaxen and Aisly have the ability to control people's minds when they erase her brother Troy's memory of a second object falling from the sky. Cara, whose mind is more trained is able to block Jaxen's attempt and to hide his failure to do so from him.

Aelyx is puzzled when Cara tells him about Jaxen and Aisly hidden abilities since mind control is not believed to be possible. Tension begins to develop between Cara and Aelyx when she tells him that based on what she has learned about the colony she cannot go through with plans to live on L'eihr.  Aelyx tells her that she can appeal to the leading Elder, Alona, which she decides to do after she is accused of attacking Dahla a few days later.  While Cara deals with this, Aelyx decides to research the archives of the Voyagers who traveled the galaxies scouting various civilizations. He learns about a L'eihr researcher, Larish who believes that aliens called the Aribol transplanted humans to L'eihr thousands of years ago. His research only leads to more questions; if the mysterious probes are from the Aribol, why are they investigating L'eihr now?

Aelyx meets HALO leader Isaac Richards and reveals to him that all of Earth's water has been contaminated by a deadly algae bloom. He tells Richards that years ago L'eihr's Voyagers came to Earth and introduced scientists to their nanotechnology. Not fully understanding the technology, Earth's scientists unwittingly released nano-fertilizers into the oceans where they are now acting to destroy the water. Aelyx asks Richards to support the alliance publicly so that he can help Earth get the technology from the L'eihr's to save the planet. Meanwhile a third attempt on Aelyx's life leads Colonel Rutter to identify the mysterious hit man as an ex-infantryman named Anthony Grimes. David's impressive ability to save Aelyx each time leads Syrine to fall hopelessly in love with him.

Cara's interview with Alona impresses the Elder and sees her being assigned to the colony development panel. When Dahla recovers from her coma, she identifies Professor Helm as the attacker, but Cara is puzzled by his resulting confession. She considers the possibility that Helm has been forced to confess through mind control and the only two people capable of this are Jaxen and Aisly. 

In an attempt to figure out the origin of the probes, Cara meets with Larish who supplies her with information about the Aribol. Larish believes the Aribol to be tinkerers, who "seed species across multiple galaxies to see how each one develops" but he doubts that the Aribol would be sending probes to L'eihr . Cara however believes this is a real possibility. Larish tells Cara that the Aribol have the ability to change how they look as do the L'eihrs. This information tells Cara that Aisly who uses drops to alter her eye colour and Jaxen are not regular clones, only deepening the mystery as to who they are and why the probes are falling on L'eihr. She wonders if Jaxen and Aisly are from Aribol.

As Aelyx and Cara work to uncover the mystery behind the probes, they learn the real reason behind the L'eihr's desire for an alliance and discover a betrayal that has deadly consequences for David and Syrine and threatens the alliance and the future of both planets.

Discussion

Invaded is an exciting second novel in the Alienated series. It continues the interesting story started in Alienated although the title feels somewhat off for this novel since no real invasion occurs, only the threat of one. Landers does an excellent job of creating suspense and developing layers of intrigue. As with the first novel, the story is told by Cara and Aelyx in alternating voices, although Cara feels like the main narrator. Through her voice we learn more about life on L'eihr.

The characters of Cara, Aelyx and Syrine are more fully developed in Invaded with Landers adding a new villain in the character of Jaxen and introducing her readers to Elder Alona, Larish, a nasty pet named Vero and an anti-hero, David Sharpe. Readers will not only enjoy the suspense but the romance between David and Syrine.

Landers does a good job of showing how prejudices, which are usually formed when people first encounter those who are different, can be changed. Syrine found humans disgusting and was visibly sick when she first went out with Aelyx on a public-relations tour. However, gradually her encounters with the sick children and with David changed how she viewed humans to the point that she even fell in love with a human.

Invaded does suffer from several weak plot points.  For example, the plot in the first novel revolves around the point that Earth's water has been contaminated by a nano-algae unleashed into the world's oceans. This premise is continued in Invaded. Somehow, the algae problem, which is apparently easily detected by a microscope, as Aelyx demonstrates to the leader of  HALO, Isaac Richards, is being kept from the general population and has not been discovered by Earth's scientists which seems completely unlikely.

In the second novel, Cara grows increasingly suspicious of L'eihr's motives for the alliance with humans. As she and Aelyx piece together the puzzle, Cara uncovers the reason for the weapons training on L'eihr; they are preparing for war. She learns from Alona that the Aribol have been sending dozens of probes over the entire planet. Fearing an invasion, the L'eihr desire an alliance with  humans because they do not have the soldiers to defend their planet. They intend "to arm humans with iphals and use them in battle in exchange for decontaminating the water supply." In other words, the humans will be soldiers for the L'eihr. Cara who has mastered Silent Speech is unable to fire the iphal which is a e-weapon controlled by a person's mind. To expect human soldiers to be able to do the same and to battle aliens who are far advanced stretches the credibility of this part of the plot. 

Landers ties up most of her loose ends but does leave room for a third novel in the series. It would be a shame to not have a final book that would explore the role of the Aribol and to finalize what happens to Jaxen and Aisly. Landers has said that if sales for Invaded are strong enough she will pen a third novel. Stay tuned!

Book Details:
Invaded by Melissa Landers
Los Angeles: Hyperion, an imprint of Disney Book Group.     2015
356 pp.

Alienated by Melissa Landers

Seventeen year old, overachiever, Cara Sweeney, has been chosen over thousands of applicants to participate in the Leihr Exchange Ambassador Program (LEAP). The L'eihr's are an alien race who made contact with Earth two years ago and the program was developed to help humans and L'eihrs get to know one another better. Students from America, France and China will each get a student ambassador. 

Cara will host a L'eihr named Aelyx, in her home for eight months and then she will travel to L'eihr to live on their planet for period of time. Cara will be helping Aelyx take soil and water samples so the L'eihr scientists can analyze them for contaminants. Cara is completely overwhelmed but she eagerly agrees to participate. After all, the L'eihr scientists cured her mother of cancer, saving her life. This was a way to show her gratitude.

Meanwhile eighteen-year-old Aelyx, along with fellow L'eihr clones, Syrine who will go to France, and Eron who will stay in China, discuss their assignments to families on Earth. They also allude to their plans to sabotage their mission which is to begin work towards an alliance with humans.

This alien exchange story is told by Cara and Aelyx. When Cara sees Aelyx for the first time she is immediately attracted to his unusual appearance;  Aelyx is tall, with honey brown hair and strange silvery gray eyes. Despite his good looks, predictably Cara finds Aelyx extremely strange; he refuses to eat or drink, only speaks when he's asked a question, avoids physical contact and his gorgeous eyes have an unsettling emptiness to them.

For Aelyx, Earth is shockingly vibrant; it strong colours and smells overwhelming in comparison to  L'eihr's muted greys and browns and its quiet, organized lifestyle. He finds Cara's actions puzzling - her penchant for singing and listening to loud music. Both Cara and Aelyx must learn to put aside their assumptions about each other and to develop a mutual understanding of each others culture.

The mission of the L'eihrs is gradually revealed throughout the story. The L'eihrs who are an ancient and advanced people, want to form an alliance with the humans. It is revealed later on in the novel that the L'eihrs were once like humans, violent and passionate. The Way, a group of the wisest leaders,  eventually came to rule L'eihr. In an effort to control and eliminate the violent and stronger tendencies, The Way began a selective breeding program where only the most intelligent and emotionally stable citizens were allowed to breed. As technology improved, natural breeding was replaced by technology that combined genetic material from male and females, with embryos grown in artificial wombs. For the past 900 years the L'eihrs have bred in this manner. Sexual interaction was avoided by the use of hormone regulators.  However, the result of all this is that the passion and creativity which drives innovation and makes life interesting was gradually bred out of the L'eihrs resulting in a people who are lethargic, depressed and who live shorter lives. In an attempt to reverse this, the Way began cloning people using material from the archives. Aelyx is one such clone. Soon the Way realized that this was not enough. They needed the stimulation provided by another species to help them recover what they lost so they began searching the galaxy. They discovered Earth and have set up this exchange program which they hope will help the three clones recover some of their emotion and passion. Eventually they hope the two races will interbreed. In exchange for recovering their passion for life, the L'eihrs could provide Earth with advanced technology.

However, Aelyx's generation does not want an alliance with Earth. To thwart this alliance they have brought along the sh'alear, a parasitic tree that robs the soil of nutrients, to plant in the three locations the student ambassadors will be living. The three L'eihr ambassadors are afraid that the humans, with their uncontrolled breeding, would soon overrun L'eihr if they were to colonize their planet, destroying it.

Gradually Aelyx begins to adapt to life on Earth, especially with Cara's help. Although he has judged Cara and her family as wanting, he begins to recognize in Cara a caring ally who is very loyal. Cara is determined to make Aelyx's experience on Earth a positive one. She tries to learn how to make larun for Aelyx and eventually she discovers foods he can eat.  She also stands up for him at school as the opposition to his presence on Earth grows. Gradually Aelyx and Cara's relationship moves from one of friendship to a blossoming romance.

Despite the increasing opposition to the L'eihrs on Earth, Aelyx begins to find himself becoming conflicted over having planted the sh'alear tree. Eron, who has been sent to Japan also begins to doubt their attempt to sabotage the alliance, because of the kindness of his host family. Only Syrine remains committed to their mission. Aelyx is further convinced it is wrong when he makes the discovery that Earth's water supply is gradually being destroyed and that only the L'eihr technology can save the planet. As racial tensions and paranoia increase on Earth Aelyx must decide who his loyalties lie with; his people or the human girl whom he loves.

Discussion

Alienated is a refreshing new addition to young adult literature, with an interesting premise and two likeable, realistic characters. Landers draws out her story well, pacing both the human's gradual disillusionment and paranoia over the alien L'eihr race with the blossoming love between Aelyx and Cara. Woven into all this is Aelyx's increasing conflict over what he considers his duty to protect his planet from humans and his growing attraction to Cara. Destroying the alliance between humans and L'eihrs means he will  never see Cara again. In addition to this, the discovery that Earth is irreparably damaged and will die without the intervention of the L'eihr, means that he has doomed Cara too.

One of the novel's strongest themes is that of tolerance. It is human nature to be afraid of those who are different. But this is seen in both humans and the L'eihr ambassadors. The humans believe the worst of the L'eihrs probably because the balance of power lies in the alien's favour. The L'eihrs are prideful and dismiss the human's emotionalism as primitive and a sign of weakness. But they have forgotten how to truly experience life.

Cara is a strong female character, not afraid to stand up for what she believes in. She is tolerant as she struggles to understand Aelyx's perspective. It is her open-mindedness and courage that wins Aelyx over to the humans, just as it was Eron's little brother's love and compassion that changed his views. The lesson here is that acceptance and compassion win the day over hate and bigotry.

Perhaps the only thing that appears to mar this novel are the occasional strange statements that seep into the storytelling from time to time. For example, this piece of commentary by Aelyx: "The child bore a slight resemblance to the girl, but considering China's population restrictions, he probably wasn't a sibling. Too bad Earth's other nations hadn't implemented similar policies. With their limited resources, humans were mating themselves into extinction." Perhaps Melissa Landers is unfamiliar with the problems China's one child policy has created in terms of gender imbalance, the trafficking of women in China, and the inverted population pyramid that will see many elderly without the children to support them. Advanced aliens like the L'eihrs who are struggling with what they've done to their society, especially by restricting just who could reproduce, would likely be very aware of the problems inherent in China's one child policy. They would also be aware that vast areas of Earth are not yet populated and that the problem is not too many people but poor distribution and use of our planet's resources.

Despite this, Alienated is a fun, light read, with plenty of typical teenage drama and a dash of romance all blended into a neat science fiction story. These are the aliens we want to contact Earth, needing us as much as we need them.

The next book in the Alienated series is due out next year.

Book Details:
Alienated by Melissa Landers
New York: Hyperion     2014
344pp.