STARSEED R/EVOLUTION

This fusion of eco-thriller, New Age–powered speculative fiction, brutal social commentary, and comedic SF à la Douglas Adams offers sagacious solutions to the present-day climate crisis.

Loosely based on the Starseed lore from the works of Margaret Doner, Horowitz’s debut novel begins in the near future with Earth on the brink of a mass extinction event. Not only are climate disasters ravaging the planet (flooding, heat waves, forest fires), but infectious diseases like West Nile, Lyme disease, and even the black plague are on the rise. And because of the increasing prevalence of industrial pollutants in the air and water, humankind is indeed “getting dumber by the minute.” The planet’s only hope for salvation comes in the form of the Arcturians, benevolent aliens who want to rid Earth of an infestation of malevolent invaders (known as Reptilians) who want to enslave the planet, just like they have countless other star systems. The Arcturians are further motivated because many of their spiritual brothers and sisters (known as Starseeds) have been secretly living on Earth and are in peril as well. In an effort to gather the myriad Reptilian villains together in one place and eradicate them, the Arcturian brain trust comes up with a plan with a group of elite scientists and military brass. They’re going to hold a party that is bigger than Woodstock, a bash that is like “Disney World on acid.” They even have a Rolling Stones cover band: “A Mick Jagger lookalike played Sympathy for the Devil. He was ninety-two years old and rocking the stage with his tongue hanging out of his mouth—except it wasn’t on purpose. He was, of course, performing with a Keith Richards clone, who looked no different than Richards had in any decade.”

While humor is arguably one of the biggest challenges to do well as a writer, Horowitz largely holds his own, particularly with Mel Brooks–ian comedy involving explosive farts, anal probes, and military missions like “Operation Pickle Tickle.” But some of the humor does miss the mark, and the satirical tone often contradicts the solemnity of the subject matter. That said, the impact of the Arcturians’ message—as well as their common-sense solutions—is more than enough to fuel this series opener. Part 4, in particular, is revelatory—filled with countless ideas to ignite and inspire change, from a full transition to electric cars to renewable wind-water-solar energy to a worldwide tree-planting campaign. The author, a renowned expert on Lyme and other tick-borne diseases, spells out the chilling consequences if humankind fails in stopping this planetary ecocide: “Without coordinated action and cooperation among countries, those few who survived would do so without any significant quality of life. We’d all fall like dominos.” The sheer uniqueness of this storyline—which includes references to Area 51, Atlantis, Star Trek, vampires, zombies, angels, astrological birth charts, alien absinthe, and seven-breasted women—is a strength as well as a weakness. Finding the target audience for this highly unusual story could be difficult. A strange little gem of a tale or an allegorical how-to guide on how to save the planet? Only time will tell.

An odd but thematically profound and engrossing cli-fi tale.