In Raj’s (Poojama, 2013, etc.) latest novel, a power-mad American president seeks to conquer a newly discovered planet but winds up unleashing a nuclear war.
A new planet named B2 has been secretly discovered by the United States. Rustler, the dictatorial, egotistical American president, sends several spaceships in an attempt to conquer it, but all are obliterated before they can land. In frustration, Rustler announces an invasion of B2; he sends yet another spacecraft, which meets the same fate. He then initiates a war against numerous nations that don’t agree with his invasion plans—a war that ultimately turns nuclear. Unfortunately, little rings true in this chaotic, bloated and clichéd novel. Rustler can apparently just keep spending billions of dollars building spaceships and sending them one after another on the same failed mission without the public finding out. Evidently, the United States can make the entire world cower and fall in line simply because it’s the United States. Meanwhile, the aliens on B2 evidently have some type of cosmic love power that changes humans into beings of energy. The book wanders through bizarre territory, including German persecution of the Jews during the last century and Native American spiritualism and the taking of their lands by Europeans. An anti-U.S. bias is constantly on display, as in the many times it is noted that Americans desire to rule the world. The writing, peppered with phrases like “awesomely sure,” doesn’t help. Similarly, the rather heavy-handed narrative is ineffective, as in its naming the American president Rustler: He takes what he wants—get it?
This troubled sci-fi novel needs to go back to the drawing board.