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Review Summaries
"Ukiah Oregon has a photographic memory, but he can remember nothing of his childhood. He was raised by wolves in Ukiah, Oregon and found by a biology student who adopted and raised him. He has no idea how old he is, who his parents were - nothing. His moms (he has two mothers, no father) try to find out about his past by hiring a private investigator, but Max Bennett can find nothing. However, as Max learns more about Ukiah, he discovers that Ukiah's specialty is finding people and things so he offers him a job, and eventually makes Ukiah his partner. When three women are found dead and the fourth presumed kidnapped, Ukiah and Max are called in to find her. Using his heightened senses, Ukiah finds the fourth woman...and a clue to his past. The dead women leads Ukiah to The Pack, a dangerous motorcycle gang. Ukiah knows that they have information about his past, but are they willing to share it?
Max, Ukiah's partner, is a suffering widower who becomes a kind of father to Ukiah and watches out for him. Indigo is a tough FBI Agent (the Pack calls her the Lady of Steel), but she has a soft spot for Ukiah and finds herself falling in love with him. Ukiah's family was also delightful - his two moms and his sister, Cassie added nice touches of "normality" (such as it is for this book) to the story.
"
Debbie, Resident Wen Spencer Scholar
"
Roc, Jul 2001, 6.50, 320 pp.
ISBN: 0451458370
No one really knows how old allegedly twenty-one years old Ukiah Oregon is. He was found caught in a wolf trap when he was approximately twelve. The woman who captured Ukiah took him to Pittsburgh so she and her female mate Lara could have a child since the courts ignored adoption efforts by a same sex couple.
Now Ukiah works with private detective Max Bennett. Ukiah is a world-class tracker who can find a trail with the faintest of clues. There are other oddities about Ukiah. His olfactory, taste, and hearing senses are much more acute than the average person's and he can read DNA with another unknown sense. He has suffered strange memory losses that only sometimes he regains. On one of his cases, Ukiah learns about The Pack, a loose coalition of bikers who take a sudden interest in him. When he finds out why, he also learns he is the key to saving the human race.
ALIEN TASTE is an urban science fiction tale that takes place on earth in three years. However, new technological advances make the reader feel that Wen Spencer's tale takes place much further into the future. The characters are fully developed and understandable and The Pack is likable in a feral sort of way. This novel is keeper shelf material and hopefully Mr. Spencer will return with more tales
starring the Pack.
Harriet Klausner
"
Harriet Klausner, Resident Wen Spencer Scholar
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Overall Review
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Plot
Composition of Book Descript. of chases or violence - 20% planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 30% Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 30% Descript. of society, phenomena (tech), places - 20%
FANTASY or SCIENCE FICTION?
- science fiction story
Mental/magical powers focus
Yes
magical powers:
- clairvoyant (scifi)
Is this an adult or child's book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Main Character
Identity:
- Male
Profession/status:
- private investigator
Age:
- 20's-30's
Has magical/special powers?
Yes
Magical/mental powers of main character:
- mind reading
- super strength
- is very quick
- healing
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events?
Yes
How sensitive is this character?
- sensitive to others' feelings
- middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Strong but gentle sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- very athletic
- average physique
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Male
- an entire race
Age:
- long-lived adults
Profession/status:
- killer
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- a little/some
- an above average amount
How sensitive is this character?
- mean, arrogant
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- very athletic
Setting
Terrain
- Mountains
- Forests
Earth setting:
- 20th century
- near future (later in 21st century)
Takes place on Earth?
Yes
Style
Person?
- mostly 1st
- rotating 1st
Accounts of torture and death?
- generic/vague references to death/punishment
- explicit references to deaths
scientific jargon? (SF only)
- some scientific explanation
How much dialogue?
- roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
- significantly more descript than dialog
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