Walker’s sprawling but gripping debut follows the antics of paranormal hunters as they uncover an alien conspiracy. In 2015 at Chaco Canyon National Park in New Mexico, tour guide Katy Olmos finds a man staggering, covered in blood not his own. After the police take him, Katy reads the papers she finds in a backpack he left behind, discovering a manuscript that mentions Kevin Starkly, the frumpy “urban spelunker” and leader of the “Nerd Legion,” podcasters hunting the paranormal. The Legion—which includes Tony, a psychic who talks to the dead in his dreams; Richard, the scientist and skeptic; and John, the art curator—roadtrips America, gathering content, but on an expedition in Pine Barrens, New Jersey, hunting the Jersey Devil, Starkly is surrounded by mysterious balls of light and promptly disappears.Composed of podcast and video transcripts, newspaper clippings, police reports, blog comments, dream journals, texts and even fan fiction, the quick-paced narrative follows the remaining members of the Legion as they continue their cross-country tour, gathering clues as to Kevin’s whereabouts. The mystery starts with an 1897 newspaper report of an airship crash in Aurora, Texas, and the remains of its pilot, “not an inhabitant of this world,” who was buried in a local cemetery. The Nerd Legion follows signs declaring “The Pilot Awakens,” a message revealing that the pilot told Starkly’s great-grandfather his name was Max As Abraxas, and aliens who communicate with us through lucid dreaming.
Walker skillfully manipulates these disparate clues and reports into an intricate chronicle of this dedicated troupe of ufologists and ghost hunters, with welcome attention paid to the thinking and language of Starkly and company, whose takes sometimes surprise: “the Extraterrestrial Hypothesis (ETH) has done more damage to the study of the UFO phenomena than all the crackpot conspiracy theorists,” Starkly argues. The paranormal intrigue is infused with humor, true science, and literary and pop culture references for a playful and suspenseful adventure. Fans of The X-Files will feel right at home.
Takeaway: Gripping alien conspiracy adventure told in found documents.
Comparable Titles: Connie Willis’s The Road to Roswell, Patrick Lee’s The Breach.
Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A
