The Wave by Walter Mosley

RECOMMENDED

In a word: Sparse

Plot:  When Errol Porter received a late night phone call from his long-dead father, he naturally assumes it's a prank call.  The calls keep coming however, and the caller seems to know quite a bit about Errol, things only his father would know.  Curious, Errol breaks into the graveyard and meets what appears to be a young version of his father.  An ancient life form is revealed, as well as some startling family secrets.  Soon, government agents are after Errol and the strange creature that is, but isn't, his father. 

Thoughts:  Short and neat.  At 226 pages, this is almost a novella and it goes rather quickly.  The nifty story is nice mixture of alien invasion, family drama and the supernatural.  The Wave itself, and the lifeforms that inhabit it is an interesting concept and worked well within the confines of the brevity of the book.  I actually found the family drama to be a bit more interesting that the science fiction aspect - and I liked the character of Errol.  The ending is rather enigmatic, but it worked for me. 

Mosley is mostly known for his Easy Rawlings series of mystery books.  I've never been a fan of his mysteries.  However, this is the second science fiction novel of his that I've read (the first being Blue Light).  I hope he writes more sci-fi, he really has a gift for it.

If you like this, try reading:  Blue Light by Walter Mosley; Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler; Kindred by Octavia Butler