I’ve always been intrigued by the work of the SETI Institute, which is, according to their web site, “dedicated to searching for life in the universe.” It’s a romantic notion, and in a way a comforting one, to think that we are not alone.
But what if entities from another world—powerful and potentially dangerous entities—are already here, and living among us?
Arlene F. Marks’ The Earthborn plays on that premise. In The Earthborn, the Nash’terel, who hail from a distant world named RinYeng, were forced to leave their home planet centuries ago and fled to Earth through The Rift, a passageway that opens only periodically. Thanks to evolutionary changes caused by the “bloodstone,” a substance found back on their home planet, the Nash’terel have evolved into shapeshifters. The bloodstone also endowed them with “an obscene, unnatural thirst for the life essence of other creatures.” The Nash’terel are vampires, but drink life essence rather than blood, sometimes killing and sometimes merely draining their prey.
“The Nash’terel on Earth have been careful to keep humans from learning about their existence and powers.”
Bilyash, the protagonist of The Earthborn, is a Nash’terel who was born on Earth. Since his parents are dead, his care is now undertaken by his uncle Maldemaur, or Maury for short. Bilyash is young for a Nash’terel, only five-plus centuries old. He hasn’t yet finished his training to become an adept. Much to Maury’s dismay, Bilyash finds himself intrigued by Earth’s culture, particularly the movie industry. Against his uncle’s advice, Bilyash enrols in the Toronto Academy of Film Arts in hopes of training as a makeup artist.
The Nash’terel on Earth have been careful to keep humans from learning about their existence and powers. Uncle Maury is concerned, with reasonable cause, that Bilyash’s chosen line of employment is not the best way to stay out of the limelight. But Bilyash remains determined to pursue his passion.
At first, it seems that Uncle Maury’s misgivings were for naught. Bilyash lands a job as makeup artist for a movie titled Zombies Take Graceland. The stakes are raised when Bilyash learns that assassins from his home world have come through the Rift, intent on killing Nash’terel, including those who, like himself, were born on Earth. Accompanied by a human woman named Angelina and a Chihuahua named Poochie, Bilyash is forced to go on the run.
Marks ramps up the action with plot twists and revelations, ensuring along the way that Bilyash is an active character with dilemmas to resolve and choices to make. The book is smoothly written and offers characters we can root for. Though Bilyash is alien in many ways due to his powers, his dilemmas are familiar, as he needs to deal with familial and cultural pressures which often run counter to his own beliefs and desires.
Despite the tension of the chase and some scenes of physical conflict, the book also contains humour, much of it deriving from the fact that Biyash needs to keep his true nature hidden from the humans he encounters. One example comes during his entrance interview for the Toronto Academy of Film Arts, when he is asked why he wants to become a makeup artist:
These people had no idea how long Bilyash had been preparing for this moment. He’d brought D.W. Griffith his morning coffee during the filming of The Birth of a Nation. He’d been on a first name basis with such actors as Shirley Temple, Buster Keaton, Marie Dressler, Mary Pickford, and most of the Keystone Kops. He’d worked as a gaffer, a props maker, a set painter, and at least a dozen other things on films produced in the 1920s and ’30s . . . Unfortunately, he couldn’t put any of this on his application form and pretend to be just 44 years old.
Poochie the Chihuahau is also a source of entertainment, as is Bilyash’s prickly Uncle Maury.
At certain points in the early going, Bilyash seems very alien, due to his predatory nature. For example, when Bilyash experiences self-doubt prior to his entrance interview, he makes a dark decision: “ . . . he was due for a feeding. If his application had in fact been turned down, then he would be following a TAFA administrator home tonight.”
As the story proceeds, thanks in part to his exposure to Angelina, Bilyash evolves into a more empathetic character. At the same time, the reader is aware of his latent power and the danger this represents. Bilyash must battle against his own nature at times, and these internal battles are no less challenging than the physical encounters he must deal with.
The plot tension inherent in The Earthborn kept me turning the pages. The fact that the story was largely set in Ontario, and in somewhat familiar territory, was an added bonus.
A second book in Marks’ Nash’terel series, titled The Bloodstone, is currently scheduled for release in November, 2023.
Content warnings: car accident, death, and gore.
Born and raised in Toronto, Arlene F. Marks has been writing since the age of 6, and she has no plans to stop anytime soon. Arlene lives with her husband on the shore of beautiful Nottawasaga Bay, Ontario. She spends an inordinate amount of time in the worlds she has created but can be lured back to reality by dark chocolate or an interesting owl to add to her collection. Find her on Facebook or visit her website: www.thewritersnest.ca
- Publisher : Brain Lag (May 12 2023)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 314 pages
- ISBN-10 : 1928011969
- ISBN-13 : 978-1928011965
Lisa Timpf is a retired HR and communications professional who lives in Simcoe, Ontario. Her writing has appeared in New Myths, Star*Line, The Future Fire, Triangulation: Habitats, and other venues. Lisa’s speculative haibun collection, In Days to Come, is available from Hiraeth Publishing. You can find out more about Lisa’s writing at http://lisatimpf.blogspot.com/.
