Plague of Demons

Rating:
Summary: The book that got me started..
Review: I got this book when I was 10 (now 29) and it really sparked my imagination. It's one of the best short novels I have ever read in this field. Sadly I lost it after a while but now I own a copy of it again after all these years thanks to Amazon! Thanks guys! Keep up the good work!

Rating:
Summary: Spy-fi!
Review: Keith Laumer, A Plague of Demons (Paperback Library, 1965)

Keith Laumer may be a science fiction writer, but don't let that fool you. I'd bet a week's pay the guy was sitting there at his typewriter in a trenchcoat and fedora, unfiltered Lucky hanging from his lip, reading back his prose in a Bogart voice. The first two-thirds of this book is straight out of the world of hardboiled detective fiction. Well, okay, as long as you leave out the dog-faced aliens, invisibility suits, anti-gravity devices, you get the idea.

The scene is present-day Algeria, where your basic world war has come down to a seemingly endless conflict between Algeria and Tunisia, with the rest of the world powers backing one side or the other. Jack Bravais, an American general, is sent to observe the fighting and report back to his superiors, or so we think. His best friend, an operative for a secret government espionage agency, has different orders for him and a cover that's bound to stir up trouble-- make Bravais look like he's plotting against the UN, and a fellow American general in particular. As if that isn't enough for Bravais to get himself into, he very quickly finds out that his real mission (find out why the estimated casualty numbers for battles dating all the way back to WWI don't match the actual body counts) involves proving the existence of aliens. Well, alrighty then.

The book's got a slow beginning, but it takes off around chapter three, and never looks back. The tone changes, inexplicably, about two-thirds of the way through and the book becomes much more a hard SF novel (one can almost hear the publisher screaming "there aren't enough damn robots in here!" at the first draft), but that doesn't take away from the enjoyment to be found in Bravais and his dimwit sidekick Joel (no last name). If you're a sci-fi fan looking for a good mystery, or a mystery fan looking for some aliens to play with, this is right up your alley. Have fun. ***

Rating:
Summary: A Life Changing Book
Review: This is one of those rare books that you not only read and re-read, but you largely memorize, and speak / tell the story to individuals and groups .... a compelling narrative that is / was ahead of it's time ---- an old-fashioned good read .... very highly recommended .... one of those little known truly exceptional tales

Rating:
Summary: Laumer's Best
Review: While I've always enjoyed his lighter works, such as the adventures of Retief, "The Time Trap", and the Lafayette O'Leary tales, Keith Laumer's finest work was in his stories of a lone man battling against overwhelming odds, usually against gigantic organizations or conspiracies. And, while I adore "Night of Delusions" and "The House in November", Keith Laumer's finest novel was "A Plague of Demons".

The action is first-rate, the science fiction concepts are solid and well-thought out...and exciting. And the story continually expands, like an onion being peeled in reverse...much as the Lensman stories of Doc Smith did. Bravais (the hero...and I do mean HERO) seems to be investigating a minor matter at story's beginning. By story's end, however, both story and Bravais have undergone astonishing changes!

Buy this book...read it...keep it...you'll come back and read it again!

Rating:
Summary: Laumer's Best
Review: While I've always enjoyed his lighter works, such as the adventures of Retief, "The Time Trap", and the Lafayette O'Leary tales, Keith Laumer's finest work was in his stories of a lone man battling against overwhelming odds, usually against gigantic organizations or conspiracies. And, while I adore "Night of Delusions" and "The House in November", Keith Laumer's finest novel was "A Plague of Demons".

The action is first-rate, the science fiction concepts are solid and well-thought out...and exciting. And the story continually expands, like an onion being peeled in reverse...much as the Lensman stories of Doc Smith did. Bravais (the hero...and I do mean HERO) seems to be investigating a minor matter at story's beginning. By story's end, however, both story and Bravais have undergone astonishing changes!

Buy this book...read it...keep it...you'll come back and read it again!