ALEX& HHEILEA CHALLENGE THE DARKNESS

In the fifth installment in Savage’s YA SF hexalogy, human teenager Alex,and Hheilea, a young alien, heroically attempt to save a friend as they struggle to define their own complicated relationship.

Alex, who just turned 17, isn’t exactly enjoying the start of his latest year. For one thing, an invaluable supply ship has been captured by space pirates; more importantly, a good friend of his, an alien named Twarbie, is close to death, and she desperately needs to be taken to her home world, so that she can access a cure. In addition, a part of a malevolent entity named Maleky—“the galaxy’s most evil individual”—is living inside Alex. The teen also finds himself entangled in a messy love triangle with white-haired alien Hheilea and his good friend A’idah, to whom he may or may not be engaged. As Alex tries to save Twarbie, he finds himself forced into a number of side quests, which involve such activities as finding those who know exactly where Twarbie’s home world is, mounting a rescue from a pirate ship, locating a rare elixir on a dangerous planet, and others. However, Alex’s biggest distraction, by far, is the evil entity that exists inside of him, who’s trying to taint the teenager’s spirit—and destroy his relationship with Hheilea along the way.

Savage’s tale features virtually nonstop action and explores themes that should resonate strongly with young adult readers, involving the power of friendship, the wisdom of being honest and respectful in relationships, and finding one’s place in the world. However, the novel’s greatest selling point is its overarching message, which delivers some powerful life advice for teen readers: “Remember, when you’re down and out, when you feel like life has beaten you, and you only see one solution. Give, don’t take. Give yourself another chance. Give of your strength to others….Give life the respect it deserves. As long as you have breath in your body, fight the good fight.” Also notable is the tale’s lighthearted humor, which complements the sometimes-dark narrative nicely. In one sequence, for instance, Adam’s diverse group of friends, which includes a sentient dolphin and a blue hyacinth macaw, train together as fighter pilots, and the macaw complains: “I’ve got the sloth for a wingman. A sloth!...Do you know how slow sloths are? They talk like this. Heeeelllllooooooo.” There are, however, some troubling issues; the worldbuilding feels superficial at best, and the various side quests feel contrived, as if they exist solely to keep the action going. And the main objective—saving Twarbie—is all but forgotten by novel’s end, lessening the impact of the entire quest storyline. In addition, the story embraces some cringy SF clichés, such as aliens who speak like Yoda: “Sorry, I am. Waking you need.” There are also a number of distracting grammatical errors (“If she somehow she survived this…”), and many significant terms are erratically spelled (“Winkles” and “winkles”; “Deems” and “deems”; “Heart Song” and “Heart’s Song”).

A series entry with plenty of action but uneven execution.