Book Review: Touched by an Alien

Let’s cut to the chase: This is cheesy. The “science” in the science fiction book involves a lot of hand waving and I couldn’t always follow it logically, even internally. So I tried not to think of this book as a science fiction read, instead trying to suspend disbelief for the romantic fantasy — tough chick meets super-sexy alien empath here to save the world from alien parasites. (And who is, amazingly, genetically compatible with humans!)

The romantic fantasy did work, largely because Jeff, the super-sexy alien, was a great romantic hero. Sexy, empathic (so he knows just what his girl wants), not afraid to pursue the woman he wants, and loyal. He tells Kitty he wants to marry her within about five minutes of meeting her, and it worked! If I turn my brain on, I don’t believe even a strong gift of empathy would give you that kind of insight in five minutes, but the way he staked his claim early and confidently laying himself out there was effective.

The big reason I’m so borderline on this one isn’t, believe it or not, the super-cheesy scifi. Since I watch Doctor Who, that would be pretty hypocritical of me.

The trouble was Kitty. I didn’t believe in her. I did, at first, suspend disbelief when she used her mighty pen to kill an alien parasite sticking out the back of a man’s neck. She goes with the super-sexy alien and learns all about them while they try to recruit her, and I was fine with that. But as the book progressed, less and less about her truly made sense. Her courage, desire to help save the world, her extremely quick-on-her-feet thinking, and her leadership abilities seemed to spring fully formed on the steps of a courthouse when she was 27 years old. She was in marketing, which I’m sure involves some degree of creativity — I’m not saying none of it made sense — but the ability to lead men into battle is something I would expect from someone with military experience. It does turn out that her parents have been hiding secrets from her, but unless you accept genetic memory (and I really really don’t), that doesn’t explain her abilities.

Neither do I accept that experienced combat veterans would step aside and LET her command them.

She actually acted like a lot of heroines in this type of novel. She was very much an archetype — the cheeky, tough, brave, quick-witted heroine — but with no groundwork to support these extraordinary abilities it takes an overused stereotypes and turns it into an unbelievable one.

Still, this book did speak to a certain cheesy romantic scifi alien need I didn’t realize I had, and I have read the sequels (reviews coming soon), so I will recommend this if you’re in the mood. Just turn your brain off and enjoy!

Rating: 3/5

Title: Touched by an Alien

Genre: Science Fiction

Author: Gini Koch

ISBN: 0756406005

Published April 2010