Alien Nation (novel series)

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Alien Nation was a science fiction novel series, based on the movie and television series of the same name. It began in March 1993 with Pocket Books publishing the series. Various books of the series were written by L. A. Graf, Peter David, K. W. Jeter, Barry B. Longyear, David Spencer, Garfield Reeves-Stevens and Judith Reeves-Stevens. All of the books follow the adventures of the Human Detective Matthew Sikes, and his Tenctonese partner George Francisco. Like the TV series, most of the books have two parallel storylines that converge at the end, and most of the novels take modern day issues and put a slightly alien twist on them.

Novels

Alien Nation by Alan Dean Foster
The Adaptation of the movie.

Alien Nation #1: Day of Descent by Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens, 1993
This book is a prequel to both the movie and television series, in the months leading up to the arrival of the Tenctonese on Earth. Matthew Sikes, a rookie detective, is on his first murder investigation when he stumbles onto a deadly conspiracy that threatens his whole world. Light-years away, a Tenctonese slave named Stangya Soren'tzahh (later to be known as George Francisco) is swept up into his peoples' fight for freedom against their ruthless masters, the Overseers. The slave ship crash lands on Earth, where Matt and George unknowingly work together to prevent a disaster that could destroy both their species.

Alien Nation #2: Dark Horizon by K. W. Jeter, 1993
This book was released prior to the production of the television movie of the same name. It was written to tie up some of the loose ends of the Alien Nation series at a time when it looked like it was never going to return to television. It recaps the events of "Green Eyes", the last episode of the series, and used the un-produced script from "Dark Horizon", the first episode of what would have been the second season.

The Tenctonese are faced with a deadly new bacteria created by a Purist group determined to rid the Earth of all Newcomers. George Francisco's wife & eldest daughter are infected with the bacteria, and as they lay close to death, a threat to the whole world appears. Someone has come from space to force the Tenctonese back into slavery, and they plan on taking all of humanity too.

Alien Nation #3: Body and Soul by Peter David, 1993
This book was a novelization of the then-unproduced script for what would become the second two-hour television movie of the same name. As with Dark Horizon, the later film was somewhat different from the novel. Matt Sikes and George Francisco investigate the rumor of the birth of a half-human, half-Tenctonese child. Meanwhile, Sikes' relationship with Tenctonese woman Cathy Frankel starts to get serious.

Alien Nation #4: The Change by Barry B. Longyear, 1994
This novel was based on an unproduced script for what would have been the second television season. George Francisco undergoes a metamorphosis that could mean the beginning of a new life - or his death. George must also face a vicious killer who has sworn revenge on him and his loved ones.

Alien Nation #5: Slag Like Me by Barry B. Longyear, 1994
Journalist named Micky Cass went undercover as a Newcomer to expose the racism and discrimination suffered by the Tenctonese. Now Cass is missing, and Sikes must also disguise himself as a Newcomer to find him. This places Sikes in the path of the worst violence the city has ever seen - and forces him to confront a hidden truth inside himself.

Alien Nation: Slag Like Me is an allusion to the book Black Like Me, a 1961 non-fiction book by Caucasian journalist John Howard Griffin, who travelled throughout the racially segregated states of the American South passing as a black man.

Alien Nation #6: Passing Fancy by David Spencer, 1994
Matthew Sikes meets a mysterious woman from his past and is thrown into an investigation of a lethal Newcomer drug. He must then ask the woman he loves to risk her life for someone she's never even met. The case causes tension to mount between Sikes and Francisco as they discover that some Newcomers will do anything to assimilate into human society - even if it means their destruction.

The book Black Like Me is again mentioned here and is read by Sikes in order to understand.

Alien Nation #7: Extreme Prejudice by L.A. Graf, 1995
This novel sees Matt, the Franciscos' and Cathy attending a conference in Pittsburgh when a series of murders has them suspecting a Tenctonese creature is on the loose.

In a tongue-in-cheek joke by the author, a Tenctonese husband-and-wife writing team use the pen name "L.A. Graf" for the author of a series of science fiction novels.

Alien Nation #8: Cross of Blood by K.W. Jeter, 1995
The most radical of all of the books, "Cross of Blood" explores the possibility of Tenctonese female Cathy Frankel getting pregnant with human Matt Sikes' child. The resulting political tension and racial riots threaten to tear Los Angeles apart.

This book recalls characters and events from Dark Horizon.

See also

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References

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