Pretender

by Piers Anthony, Frances Hall

Science fiction adventure from the creator of the New York Times bestselling Xanth series. An alien occupies the body of a boy during the time of the Babylonian Empire and guides him to a strange and fantastic destiny. But both the boy and the alien must beware, for other aliens have arrived on Earth - and may have plans of their own...

Genres: Science Fiction, Fantasy, Fiction, Ebooks, Science Fiction Fantasy, Speculative Fiction, Aliens

320 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1979

About the author

Though he spent the first four years of his life in England, Piers never returned to live in his country of birth after moving to Spain and immigrated to America at age six. After graduating with a B.A. from Goddard College, he married one of his fellow students and and spent fifteen years in an assortment of professions before he began writing fiction full-time.

Piers is a self-proclaimed environmentalist and lives on a tree farm in Florida with his wife. They have two grown daughters.

Reviews

[SciFiOne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Grade C-. GoodReads book record lists co-author Frances Hall, but doesn't list in shelf author column, nor does this book turn up for him in personal shelf search.

[Truls Ljungström · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ung man blir delvis besatt av vad jag misstänker är ett dator-program. Programmets mål är att fly jorden, men det har svårt att kontakta sin flyktstation, eftersom AI:n som hanterat denna först har blivit föremål för tillbedjan, och sedermera flytt denna, och gömt sig i en torterar-enuck. Jag får medge att jag är ganska road.

[寿理 宮本 · Rating 4 out of 5]

My English teacher liked this one via proxy. I used NK-2 and Enkidu in a vocabulary exercise, and he GUSHED over it in front of class. A little weird, but... that's what I remember!

I mean, I remember the story, too, more or less. An unusual sort of narrative from the point of view of an alien (NK-2) that needs a host to survive on a foreign planet, taking over a young boy (Enkidu) after the initial beast it takes over fails to provide adequate... whatever for NK-2 to live. They form a symbiotic relationship, with Enkidu believing NK-2 to be a sort of guardian deity, and NK-2 guiding Enkidu (forcibly, when needed) in the way that best serves them both.

I kind of liked the symbiotic relationship thing, although it was a bit eye-roll worthy that every symbiote had an alien "code" similar to their host name. Like, how does that work by PURE CHANCE? It's not like they change their codes upon determining the identity of their hosts... or is that why the creature NK-2 initially tried to bond with died, it didn't have the right name??

Four stars because I liked it at the time, but clearly not enough to keep on hand to give a more accurate review. Well, luckily, I can update this if I do find another copy!

[Corvid · Rating 2 out of 5]

The setting here is Anthony's ideal habitat: plausible explanation for being weird about women, most people don't know enough about the setting to pick out any major inaccuracies other than the anachronisms, and perfect for dropping interstellar bullshit into. However the total and complete lack of an ending is just. Baffling. You've cliffhangered your standalone novel. Why have you done this to me.

[Chris Allen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have read MUCH better books by Piers Anthony. This one seemed clunky and forced. Very disappointing.

[James]

paperback

[Christopher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enkidu, a young boy, lived outside of Babylon. Destined for a life of hard work, his fortunes would forever change when he met a strange creature. But that creature, in fact a galactic entity that lives in a local host, needs his new form to help him find his way home….
Written from the perspective of an alien being, Pretender is a very odd fish-out-of-water story that incorporates our own history with which the still-futuristic science fiction Piers Anthony and Frances Hall are so adept. Characters are interesting, but perhaps a bit single-minded, but the plot and environment are quite good. As a whole, it is a brief foray into merging past and future, science and theology, love and war. Well done.

[Magda · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pretty weird.

[Chad Doty · Rating 3 out of 5]

first time I heard of cunei form writing

[Dave Peticolas · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book's title actually has some accent marks over the "T" and the last "R". Really. No memory of this at all.