Itís difficult for me to think of a bookless world without visualizing a deep, dark pit. Whether paper or electronic, well-written books illuminate the world. In addition, they can also be the perfect holiday gift. Personalize the present by keeping the recipientís interests, hobbies or favorite genre in mind; and youíll score a touchdown this holiday season.Finding the right book for the adults on your gift list can be a snap, but choosing one suitable for preteens and teens is a little more tricky. Step 1 is to skim the text to make sure the language is age-appropriate and there is no gratuitous violence. Now, you must seek an author with a voice, style and story good enough to coerce older children to put down the game controller and discover the joy of reading. Since thatís impossible to do without reading the entire book, Iíve decided to take some of the stress out of your holiday shopping by reviewing two great ìRated Gî novels designed to do exactly that.ìDouble Vision-The Alias ManîìDouble Vision-The Alias Manî is a homegrown tale by Meridian Ranch author F. T. Bradley. She combines all the right ingredients to grab the attention of preteens. Lincoln (Linc) Baker is a typical 12-year-old skateboarder who lives in Los Angeles. Or at least he was until Pandora, a secret government agency, noticed Linc is the spitting image of one of their own junior agents, Ben Green. Since then, Linc has been helping Pandora track down ìDangerous Doubles,î objects with magical powers that could easily be misused should they fall into the wrong hands.In this adventure, there is a Charlie Chaplin hat lurking in a Hollywood warehouse that when tilted the right way will make the wearer invisible ñ- something any thief would love to own! While this is the last book in a trilogy featuring Linc, reading the other books first isnít necessary. But I suggest buying the trilogy because Bradley certainly knows what every 10-to-12-year-old child longs for: adventure, suspense, a bit of magic and a protagonist somewhat unfettered by parental interference.Bradleyís creation of Lincís quirky family, who spend their family reunions restoring rusty old cars, certainly grabs a preteen audience; most of whom view their own family as a bit strange. Using Linc to tell the story allowed Bradley to capture the right voice and style. Really, itís difficult to tell it wasnít written by a 12-year-old. That is not a criticism of her work. I see it as a plus, because it allows preteens to relate to Linc. He is a less-than-perfect hero. But then, who is perfect? Linc triumphs because of his perseverance, and that is an excellent message for any age group.What parents will love about Bradleyís writing is the way she imparts a sense of danger, without resorting to violence. ìDouble Vision-The Alias Manî is the perfect escape fantasy for the younger set, and itís so much more wholesome than most video games.ìSplashdown-First Contact?îNext, I chose ìSplashdown-First Contact?î by Dave Cole, because it is a uniquely upbeat ìalien invasionî story that teens and adults will enjoy. It opens with Steve Hall, a local Nashville TV reporter, grousing about having to travel to Center Hill Lake. ìI canít believe they are using satellite time for a live report of a fish story,î he moans. Unbeknownst to Hall, the dreaded catfish tale is about to blast his career sky high!As Jerry the cameraman begins to roll, ìa low double boomî pierces the air and a dark spot appears on the horizon. Realizing they have gone live, Hall announces to the audience that he believes an airplane is ìin distress.î But Jerry has already zoomed in on the object. Unprofessionally, he states what every viewer already knows. ìSteve, thatís not any aircraft Iíve seen before.îLíatel, pilot of an alien cargo ship, decided to take a shortcut across the Sol system, even though the ìEnforcersî ruled the area off limits to space travel. It has been that way for centuries, because the systemís only hominoid population is still classified as ìimmature.î The Ebens, capable of space travel long before other civilizations, had become the universal police force for space travel. Now despairingly known as the ìEnforcersî throughout the galaxy, they alone decide when a civilization is ready to make contact with outside worlds. And any violations of their orders are not tolerated.Líatelís luck was holding: No Eben ships were in sight, and he was making good time, which pleased his six passengers, when suddenly something hits the ship.And in a windowless room in Washington, D.C., President Jack Gilford, the Secretary of Defense and NASAís top specialists are trying to determine what has just obliterated the Deep Space Three Probe. They are about to find out ñ- right along with the rest of the nation ñ- as Líatelís ship comes skidding across Center Hill Lake.No doubt the great visual description of the Cumberland Mountains and the lake have something to do with the fact that the author lives in the area. But what is truly magical about this novel is how Cole weaves every ìsighting mythî into the fabric of the story, including Roswell, Area 51, and an alien touchdown in Nuremburg, Germany, in 1561. Then, he pulls out all the stops by adding a new twist to the conspiracy theories surrounding John Kennedyís assassination.How will people react to the sudden appearance of a new hominid species? Will the government explain it away as a ìHollywood stunt?î Will churches become hollow shells, as people realize intelligent life is found throughout the universe?Science fiction though it is, Cole certainly knows how to write an optimistic story. Along with the variety of aliens introduced to earthlings, there is lots of suspense, a space battle and a love story ó all written in a style suitable for young adults.Buy your teen ìSplashdown-First Contact?î for Christmas. Read it yourself, too, then you can both discover why the Ebens ìdonít want us out there!îHappy Holidays!
