ANOMALOUS EVENTS

In Myers’ debut novel, a man uncovers a hidden past, the possible existence of aliens, and the threat of nuclear war.

An initially innocuous Saturday for Kansas City lawyer Esmond “Essie” Kemp quickly turns bizarre when he runs into a woman at the grocery store who seems to be reading his mind. Later, stopping by a park, he has an intense reaction to a tree’s stabbing thorn and spots a disc-shaped craft overhead. Ray Langstaff, an engineer and physicist who’s one of Essie’s clients, reveals some shocking SF-esque government secrets to the lawyer: For starters, in the 1970s, America’s orbiting Skylab satellite collided with an “anomalous object” that didn’t show up on radar. He’s clearly divulging too much—armed men grab Ray off the street. It transpires that a foreign country’s clandestine agents have a plan underway in the United States. Meanwhile, the woman from the grocery store, Zoe Eliades, along with her family, seems to remember Essie from the past, although he doesn’t know them. Before he’s taken, Ray gets it into Essie’s head that maybe the Eliades family are aliens who have been on Earth for decades. Whatever their origins, the family has made it their goal to protect Earth, and when they realize that World War III is on the horizon, they’re determined to shut it down before it begins. Essie, whose memory gradually returns, learns there’s more to his story than he even imagined; he joins the family’s efforts to prevent a nuclear holocaust.

Myers’ novel features a host of characters that seem to hail from multiple genres, which somewhat negates the novel’s subtitle. Essie’s narration is apparently meant to be entries from his journal, but the book isn’t stylized as such, since it includes myriad narrative perspective changes throughout. Zoe and Ray, for example, also relate some of the story, and a number of chapters focus on other people, including a couple of U.S. Air Force officers, a Russian colonel, and Zoe’s mother, Helena. The potential presence of extraterrestrials and a flying saucer hint at a science fiction tale, but this novel’s array of fantastical sights also includes a Greek village from ancient times and a familiar mythical creature. The author skillfully weaves in historical nods, from Essie’s quotations from real-life figures and texts to a snippet from an actual 1953 newspaper article reporting UFOs seen over the White House. (President Harry Truman even makes an appearance in a 1950s flashback.) The story maintains an overall sense of ambiguity that will surely keep readers guessing. The ambiguity largely comes from Essie, who’s been having lucid dreams of the somber gray skies over the Ozark Mountains (“It was a very dreary image and it reflected my mood”). Readers will question whether he’s imagined any of his recent experiences, especially after his dreams are scrutinized in a highly detailed psychological evaluation. His unusual bond with Zoe is immensely absorbing, and the mystery surrounding her amiable family makes them standouts among the cast.

This riveting cross-genre tale boasts an unorthodox hero and delightfully enigmatic characters.