Rating: 
Summary: exciting science fiction thriller
Review: Although the human race is unaware of it, there is a war going on between two rival groups of an alien race. The Ontongard infects humans and makes the species one of them, an individual cell in an organism. The pack aliens retain their individual identities while having access to the group memory. The pack wants to kill the Ontongard so they won't destroy the human race. Ukiah Oregon, half alien and half human is the only breeder on the planet and the Ontongard want him to create more of their kind.Oregon has a son who has been kidnapped. Ukiah, his friend Max, and the pack are doing all in their power to get him back but since the people who kidnapped him are human, they have to be very careful not to let any government official know about Kitt's alien origins. To make matters even worse, the kidnappers are using Ontongard biological weapons, which means that people who don't have any understanding of what they are doing are playing with something that could destroy the world. Wen Spencer has written an exciting science fiction thriller that stars a vulnerable and powerful hero who is impossible not to cherish. The war between the two alien factions feels real and believable in a Twilight Zone kind of way. The investigation of the kidnapping by aliens, Homeland Security, the FBI, the local Pittsburgh police and a human once possessed by the Ontongard is exciting to see unfold as each group has its own agenda. BITTER WATERS is a must read. Harriet Klausner
Rating:
Summary: Gotta Get It!
Review: BITTER WATERS by Wen Spencer manages to pull off the difficult task of being a series novel that stands on its own. I came across BITTER WATERS by accident and fell in love with it--enough so that I special ordered the first two Ukiah Oregon books to read them all in order. Briefly, Ukiah and his private invesitgator partner, Max Bennett are just back from Oregon (Minutes out of the airport back) when the police call them in on a missing child case. Ukiah, an alien hybred, manages to locate the missing child only to find that other children have turned up missing--and his enemy, the very alien Ontongard, seems to be involved. Then his son/clone Kittaning is kidnapped, a Homeland Security agent turns up investigating a cybercult and everything gets skewed sideways. It is a difficult feat to write mystery/suspense stories in a science fiction setting but Wen Spencer pulls it off, in large part because her story is deeply rooted in our own familiar world and set only months into the future. Add to that well written characters and you have great story telling. THough I read BITTER WATERS first, I do reccomend that you read all three Ukiah Oregon books in order so you get his full story in proper detail. Each book stands alone, but together they form a compelling story. I'm looking forward to the next one.
Rating:
Summary: Gotta Get It!
Review: BITTER WATERS by Wen Spencer manages to pull off the difficult task of being a series novel that stands on its own. I came across BITTER WATERS by accident and fell in love with it--enough so that I special ordered the first two Ukiah Oregon books to read them all in order. Briefly, Ukiah and his private invesitgator partner, Max Bennett are just back from Oregon (Minutes out of the airport back) when the police call them in on a missing child case. Ukiah, an alien hybred, manages to locate the missing child only to find that other children have turned up missing--and his enemy, the very alien Ontongard, seems to be involved. Then his son/clone Kittaning is kidnapped, a Homeland Security agent turns up investigating a cybercult and everything gets skewed sideways. It is a difficult feat to write mystery/suspense stories in a science fiction setting but Wen Spencer pulls it off, in large part because her story is deeply rooted in our own familiar world and set only months into the future. Add to that well written characters and you have great story telling. THough I read BITTER WATERS first, I do reccomend that you read all three Ukiah Oregon books in order so you get his full story in proper detail. Each book stands alone, but together they form a compelling story. I'm looking forward to the next one.
Rating:
Summary: The best of the series... so far
Review: I just finished and... WOW, it deserves more than 5 stars! Wen Spencer has officially made my list of automatic "must-have for the keeper-shelf" authors. She weaves complex characters and intricate plot details to create a world that is at once wildly fantastic and utterly realistic. This series has it all: good and evil, love and hate, individuality and hive minds, mysteries and clues, death and immortality, decency and depravity. Did I mention aliens, bikers, the FBI, way-cool tech toys, big guns, cool cars, Kevlar and a quest to save the human race? You simply MUST read this book - but read Alien Taste and Tainted Trail first. There are enough back-story explanations in Bitter Waters, that it could probably pass on it's own, but you'll enjoy it more if you've read the first two books.
Rating:
Summary: The best of the series... so far
Review: I just finished and... WOW, it deserves more than 5 stars! Wen Spencer has officially made my list of automatic "must-have for the keeper-shelf" authors. She weaves complex characters and intricate plot details to create a world that is at once wildly fantastic and utterly realistic. This series has it all: good and evil, love and hate, individuality and hive minds, mysteries and clues, death and immortality, decency and depravity. Did I mention aliens, bikers, the FBI, way-cool tech toys, big guns, cool cars, Kevlar and a quest to save the human race? You simply MUST read this book - but read Alien Taste and Tainted Trail first. There are enough back-story explanations in Bitter Waters, that it could probably pass on it's own, but you'll enjoy it more if you've read the first two books.
Rating:
Summary: The best of the series... so far
Review: I just finished and... WOW, it deserves more than 5 stars! Wen Spencer has officially made my list of automatic "must-have for the keeper-shelf" authors. She weaves complex characters and intricate plot details to create a world that is at once wildly fantastic and utterly realistic. This series has it all: good and evil, love and hate, individuality and hive minds, mysteries and clues, death and immortality, decency and depravity. Did I mention aliens, bikers, the FBI, way-cool tech toys, big guns, cool cars, Kevlar and a quest to save the human race? You simply MUST read this book - but read Alien Taste and Tainted Trail first. There are enough back-story explanations in Bitter Waters, that it could probably pass on it's own, but you'll enjoy it more if you've read the first two books.
Rating:
Summary: Couldn't put it down
Review: I just finished Bitter Waters, the 3rd book in this series. I was captivated from the first page of the first book. I took a vacation day from work to continue reading.
Rating:
Summary: Couldn't put it down
Review: I just finished Bitter Waters, the 3rd book in this series. I was captivated from the first page of the first book. I took a vacation day from work to continue reading.
Rating: 
Summary: plot problems that really confuse, but a good read
Review: I thorougly enjoyed the first two books in the series about Ukiah, but this third one immediately offends you with a plot that is referring constantly to things happening in Pendleton, Oregon which the other books don't mention; and then the same cult as in book 2 (Tainted Trail) is mentioned. This was immediately a problem, as Ukiah in this book had never heard of them, including a character that Ukiah interacts with and who ends up deceased in the last book. I kept having to ask questions to myself about my sanity. Since I just finished Tainted Trail yesterday, I could reassure myself I wasn't incorrect, Ukiah doesn't know what is going on, but should. I kept thinking, lost mouse maybe? But that didn't pan out, either. I found this an insult to my intelligence that the author changed the back story so much. I began to think I'd accidentally read the series in the wrong order; but, no, this is impossible since the son of Ukiah originates in Tainted Trail.
With so much going for it in terms of good pace, good plot and excellent characterization and writing, what was the author thinking to write this book as if the other two didn't exist?
I liked the book overall, but it would have left a zillion times better impression if I hadn't read the first two books. Treat it as a stand alone and enjoy. Ignore the illogic and conflicting facts.
Rating: 
Summary: An inventive thriller
Review: In this third book in the series, Ukiah Oregon is still reeling from his discovery about his alien origins and from his son's creation, and he finds himself put to the test when he becomes involved in searching for some missing children. His reputation as the Wolf Boy continues to make his life and his detective partner Max's life a challenge, and a government agent is suspicious about their connection to a strange cult. Luckily Ukiah's lesbian caretakers also take care of his son, so he can focus on his job. Before Ukiah can investigate this connection himself, his son is abducted and his hunting powers are put to the test. Joined by his girlfriend Indigo and his Pack brothers, Ukiah and Max try to elude the mysterious government agent and find Ukiah's son before it's too late. Although it's rather heavy with plot elements, "Bitter Waters" is a captivating thriller with a variegated cast and starring one of the more intriguing characters in fiction.
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