Cary Neeper's Blog: Reviewing World-changing Nonfiction - Posts Tagged "human-identity"

The series is now up to date. E-books are available for the rewrite of A Place Beyond Man. It is called The View Beyond Earth, and includes a new beginning and corrections in copyediting, as well as updates on how we might actually relate to friendly aliens who live too close to ignore. Start with this one if you like backstory--who are these characters?

The award-winning book The Webs of Varok is the second book in the series. It focuses on issues portrayed on an alien planet--issues that could impact our long-term future. They do not deny our need for facing very tough choices. Falling back on old -isms won't work; we need to recognize the limit to resources.

The Alien Effect is the third book in the series. Like the others, it follows the mixed alien-human family in time, but is a standalone if you don't need extensive backstory. Set on Earth, the family faces some of our most troubling cultural issues.

The Archives of Varok series will be expanding soon, and the fourth book, Shawne: An Alien's Quest will make them even more difficult to shelve. I can't in good faith call them Science Fiction, because the aliens placed in our solar system (as much as I love these dear old friends) are tools to help me explore some realistic human problems. Even the space travel is slow and agonizing.
Here are some early phrases that encapsulate the themes:
THE VIEW BEYOND EARTH--Self-actualization and personal growth
THE WEBS OF VAROK--
A picture of a steady state economy, its requirements and vulnerabilities.
THE ALIEN EFFECT--
Current human denial and challenges.
AN ALIEN'S QUEST--
Personal integrity and the meaning of existence.
THE UNHEARD SONG--
Dealing with communication problems and overpopulation stress (A history of the ellls encountering varoks for the first time.)

And here are the updated log lines and summary:
THE ARCHIVES OF VAROK
A series of five books set in a realistic mid-to-late 21st century,
in which Earth discovers sympathetic but challenging neighbors
who reflect a critical overview of human civilization.

What Is It All About? Book club and discussion topics:

Book 1- THE VIEW BEYOND EARTH—How would dispassionate Others view us?

Book 2-THE WEBS OF VAROK—What must we do to insure a satisfactory future?

Book 3-THE ALIEN EFFECT—Are we headed for extinction or can we evolve into something better?

Book 4-AN ALIEN'S QUEST—How can we find Meaning, when our lives are driven by unpredictable complexity?

Book 5-THE UNHEARD SONG (coming in 2017)—Inescapable certainties: to secure the future all populations must communicate and hold to steady numbers.

So is this Sociology? Psychology? Women's fiction? Literary fiction? (I don't think so.) YA or Adult? Action? Philosophy? Religion? What?