Science Fiction Writer
ROBERT J. SAWYER
Hugo and Nebula Winner

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Nighteyes by Garfield Reeves-Stevens. Doubleday, simultaneously in Toronto and New York, April 1989.

Copyright © 1989 by Robert J. Sawyer
All Rights Reserved

As Johnny Carson says, if they buy the premise, they'll buy the bit. That is, if you can swallow the basic idea behind what Garfield Reeves-Stevens is dishing up, you'll have an enjoyable read. Nighteyes assumes that everything we've heard about UFO abductions is true, that big-headed, dark-eyed beings do land in the night and whisk away human beings upon whom they perform medical procedures. Reeves-Stevens is well-versed in biology; he's co-author of the Science Around Us textbook series. He set out to find a logical reason for all these seemingly pointless alien abductions, and, by and large, he succeeds — if your imagination is willing to be stretched a bit. The aliens take a long time to make an appearance, and, indeed, you can read to page 100 before you're even sure that that's what this book is really about. Stevens is an accomplished horror writer (his Children of the Shroud (Doubleday 1987), for instance, is excellent), and he brings to this tale the same kind of mainstream writing sensibilities that enliven the work of Stephen King. This book will appeal to a wide range of readers, notably science-fiction fans, horror fans, and those with an interest in flying saucers. Good clean fun, breezily written.

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