The Wannoshay Cycle

The Wannoshay came to Earth from their far-distant planet - a planet that has become increasingly uninhabitable as the sun begins to burn out. They landed their ships across the Midwestern US and Canada, amongst a populace that has been increasingly divided by domestic terrorism, religious fanaticism and ineffectual attempts by the government to preserve order.

Their arrival was initially greeted with fear and uncertainty, but with the aid of the government, they have begun assimiliating into the human population - learning to speak English, taking up jobs and living in human dwellings. Once the initial fear of the Wannoshay was overcome - the alien visitors naturally have fascinated the human population. A handful of humans are drawn by irresistible curiosity to learn more about the Wannoshay: Father Joshua - a human priest, Ally Trang - a young Blur addict, Shontera - a single mother, Tim "Skin" Blair - a young hunter and his erstwhile companion Shermie, an eccentric Native American.

However, assimilation into human society has its pitfalls - the Wannoshay are soon plagued by outbreaks of violence and addiction to the insidious new drug Blur, which has already claimed its fair share of human victims. After a series of mysterious explosions occur, the government rounds the Wannoshay up and places them in camps "for their own protection", but the alien's problems are far from over as a mysterious sickness begins to take a toll.

Jasper draws some interesting parallels to our own history - the struggle for civil rights, the forcing of Native Americans into reservations, etc. In addition, the examination of what happens when two totally disparate cultures collide poses some thought-provoking questions. Do we have the right as humans to impose our authority on aliens from another world? How would we handle Wannoshay landing in our present time and place?

The book does leave something to be desired though - I would have liked to see more detail on the government's dealings with the Wannoshay, in particular the "first contact" after their landing. There are some brief chapters from the perspective of one of the Wannoshay and they do relate some of their history in the course of the book, but the story has a narrow focus on the human protagonists. The pacing is abrupt at times and there isn't much of a "big picture" view of how the events have affected humanity.

As such, the story feels a bit one-sided without the Wannoshay perspective on the major events occuring throughout - their first encounters with humans, the assimilation process, being forced into camps, etc.

However, Jasper does effectively convey the Wannoshay's utterly alien nature from the perspective of humans, even after the barriers to communication have been broken down. The human characterizations are also particularly well drawn (Ally, Joshua and Shontera especially), though Skin and Shermie aren't quite as well developed. Some of the best moments in the book center around the often awkward but at the same time touching interactions between the Wannoshay and the humans as they struggle to understand and connect with one another.

In the end, The Wannoshay Cycle evokes a scenario of the near future that has the ring of plausibility.