Clayton Graham

“Looking for Life” is a collection of 18 short stories by Graham Clayton. I was first introduced to this author with his well-written book, “Saving Paludis”. It’s about the human conquest of an alien planet with a storyline that reminded me of the plight of American Indians during US pioneering expansion. Each story has sufficiently developed characters and a ponderous ending.

Writing short stories can be challenging. The character’s environment, character development, and storyline must be written concisely and entertainingly. Clayton has is a master at Sci-Fi short storytelling.

The 18 stories in the book take place in space, on earth, and in time. All of them include individuals whose thinking is restricted by inherent shortcomings identifiable as human nature. “Looking for Life” would make a good daily commuter’s companion as the stories are the right length, about a 30 to 45-minute read, and represent a perfect escape from daily servitude requirements.… (más)

If ever there was a time to feel sorry for an alien race, it would be now.

Conspiracies, double agents, technological advancements, greed, and self-preservation are in abundance – and that’s just the humans.

Aliens, frozen in time, have accidentally been discovered deep inside the moon. Finally, proof of life beyond our own. Scientists race at the chance to study this rare find. Unknowingly, this initiates a series of events nobody could have predicted. The capabilities of these creatures are shocking!

Milijun - an underground facility located in the middle of nowhere. Shrouded in mystery. Trustworthy? Difficult to say. My adventurous side wouldn’t mind a tour of the enormous complex, but I can wait until certain occupants have removed themselves.

I enjoyed reading this story. This type of interaction between humans and aliens is new to me. Rather fascinating, really. Bonds are formed. Alliances are questioned. Ethics are challenged. Nobody is left unaffected.… (más)

When we left Laura Sinclair and her son, Jason, at the end of Milijun their lives were being bounced as though tennis balls between an unknown alien agenda and unsuspected human agendas. Now, we find Laura, Jason and other survivors of Milijun to be prisoners aboard an alien space station in the planetary system of the star Gliese, the Gliesan agenda still unknown. Jason is known to the aliens as “The first seen” and is important to them for an undisclosed reason. The remainder of the survivors has become breeding stock to produce alien-human hybrids, again for an undisclosed purpose.

What follows is a tale of double-dealing and hidden agendas among races of Gliesans extending far back into Gliesan history. The Rbuzen Gliesans, their captors, have a distinct reason for creating Gliesan-human hybrids and their agenda has placed both the human survivors and the hybrids squarely in the middle of what could become a Gliezan civil war. Jason, as “First Seen”, must find a way to reconcile Gliesan differences in order to ensure the survival of both humans and Gliesans, while Laura and the other survivors continue to be manipulated by both factions. The end result is nothing I would have ever predicted.

Amid Alien Stars has a cast of characters sufficiently developed for their roles in the story. The alien characters are interesting but focused on their agenda to the exclusion of other considerations. Rather than being malevolent, they are being pressured in different ways than humans. The story contains several different players and factions and the humans are never quite sure who their most recent captors are. The aliens certainly never give them a straight answer.

All in all, Amid Alien Stars is a fine sequel to Milijun and a very entertaining, although somewhat lengthy, read for sci-fi fans. It’s doubtful, though, that many readers will guess the end before they read it.… (más)