Invasion

September 19, 2016
Rhinehart’s SF satire adeptly bounces back and forth between radically silly and serious, never going overboard in either direction, on its way to a potentially deadly but entertaining showdown between fun and tyranny. When a hairy spherical alien jumps onto Billy Morton’s fishing boat, Billy names it Louie and brings it home to his family. Louie and the rest of his bouncing kind are on Earth to play, but their games include attacking corruption, warmongering, and a host of other sins that they believe keep most humans struggling instead of enjoying their lives. Billy, who’s been anti-authority since the 1960s, is happy to join the aliens’ various illegal activities, though he rightly guesses that those in power will brand the aliens as terrorists and do everything possible to stomp down the “playing,” ranging from imprisoning aliens to committing brutal acts of war. The merry invaders have considerable mental and other powers, but those may not be enough to save them – or Billy and his family. The political diatribes are occasionally heavy-handed, but for the most part they’re deftly handled in amusing ways, and readers will feel like they’re playing right along with Louie and his alien and human buddies. Agent: Daniel Mandel, Sanford J. Greenburger Associates.

September 15, 2016
For seventy-something Billy Morton, life is comfortable in Long Island. He has a beautiful wife, Carlita, 25 years his junior, and two young boys he adores. When something that looks like a furry beach ball hops up on his fishing boat, it's obvious that it's no fish. In fact, it's an alien that Billy dubs Louie, and he's on Earth to have some fun. Unfortunately for Billy and his family, his fun includes money laundering, hacking into NSA computers, and generally causing a ruckus. When Louie brings the Mortons into his plans, they and the world will never be the same. Billy is a wry, funny narrator with an irresistible, laid-back charm and, luckily, is mostly game for Louie's plans. There are also chapters from Carlita's point of view as well as more from a beleaguered NSA agent and others. Rhinehart's exploration of the human condition and its myriad flaws through Louie's unique take on it is delightful, and fans of globe-hopping, madcap fun with a razor-sharp side dose of political and societal satire will gobble up this absurdist treat.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)