SOLVING THE COMMUNION ENIGMA

The author allegedly abducted by aliens in 1985 returns to further his case in this “true sequel.”

It’s been a quarter-century since prolific horror author Strieber (Hybrids, 2011, etc.) frighteningly comingled extraterrestrial science fiction with reality in his factual accounting of an alien visitation (Communion, 1987). His testimonial unleashed a flood of stories from others similarly terrified after encounters with “the grays.” In this cathartic update, the author engagingly discusses his troubled childhood fraught with tortuous medical maladies, and then details sinister events at the upstate New York cabin where the original event occurred, and where he’d since forged a “relationship with our visitors.” But Strieber’s attempt at both clarification and further extrapolation of the facts oscillates between compelling and confusing, which muddies both his intent and his credibility. He directs more skeptical readers toward his appraisals of anomalies like crop-circle formations, civilian abductions, UFOs, orbs, random animal mutilations and the bizarre ear implant he received in 1989 that still “occasionally turns on.” Strieber is a convincing if frenetic theorist, but much of what he calls “truth” remains speculative or has previously been debunked. The author does not know how these celestial beings got here or what they want, only that “they are in control.” While he provides a wealth of material to digest (for those with an open mind), what remains static is that the indefatigable Strieber is still sticking to his story, even with the daunting burden of proof yet to be realized.

Embellished, hyper-imaginative entertainment or a snapshot of the future? Readers will have to decide.