The aliens have landed, not in Roswell, but at ClydeSight Productions in the form of a new ebook titled "The Wroussara Trilogy - Volume I - Star Hopper" by author Timothy M. Thompson. This is the second scifi fantasy ebook written by Tim and published by ClydeSight Productions. His first ebook (in HTML format) was: "The Idiocy and the Oddity", a parody of Homer's epic, "The Iliad and the Odyssey" -- told from a cat's point of view. This article is a book review of the new work.

The Wroussara Trilogy is a three-volume work (volume I is currently published as a PDF ebook) that tells an epic tale of one man's adventure among space aliens on the far side of the Milky Way galaxy. The novel starts when the hero, named only 'Paul', is plagued by recurring nightmares of being chased by a gigantic disgusting pink blob. At the end of each nightmare, Paul is awakened with the distinct sound of the words 'We come' lingering in his ears.

He thinks he is going crazy and seeks counseling, but it turns out to be more far reaching than that. Somehow, space aliens, the Wroussara (pronounced: roo-SAW-rah), have picked up his nightmare though their psychic powers and believe it is a true event. They rush to Earth to help save the planet. When they arrive and meet Paul, they discover their mistake. They are not the usual 'grays' who abduct people and perform experiments; they are a kindly, compassionate and intensely curious, insectoid species, green, and 7 feet tall.

They are not angry about Paul's dream and their mistake. They are fascinated by Paul's humanity and desire to learn more, wishing to visit Earth simply to learn about all the fascinating life that dwells on the planet. Before that can happen, a guided missile attacks their spaceship, called a 'Star Hopper'. They decide that humanity is too aggressive to risk a visit, so they invite Paul to return with them to their world, to learn of their way of life, share his experience of life on Earth, and possibly come up with a way that they can safely visit.

Along the way to 'Wherren', their home world, the Wroussara are attacked by an ancient enemy, the Scaradin (pronounced: Ska - raw-din), another species who are on a hunting expedition seeking a new food supply for their starving planet. The Scaradin capture Paul and hold him prisoner on their 'Colony Ship'.

Paul has to find a way to escape and either go on to Wherren and live among the Wroussara -- learning their ways and teaching them about humanity -- or return to Earth and try to forget the whole misadventure. And thereby hangs the tale.

Timothy M. Thompson holds a bachelor's degree with Honors in English. While in attending Richmond College (part of the CUNY system at the time), he received the Belles Letters Society of New York Award for the best short story by a college student in 1969 ('The 14^th Day").

Since then, Tim has gone on to receive a Master's Degree in Mass Communications and Media Management from Emerson College in Boston. He has always written short stories and has co-authored two books with English writer, Cathrine Garnell (author of "Basil the Bionic Cat"); "A Marketing Feast - Cooking Up Customers", and "The Cross of Ramplet - the Mystery of Throckmorton Manor".

Tim got the inspiration for The Wroussara Trilogy from a dream. It was so compelling that he wrote it down and decided to develop it, first into a short story, and then into a novel. As he did so, it was like peeling the layers of an onion. Each layer told more and more of the story, revealing far more than the original message of the dream.

When writing The Wroussara Trilogy, Tim wanted to address some specific alien issues common to science fiction in a new and unique way:

• What if... they don’t speak or have the concept of language, yet can communicate? How would they communicate with humans without the advantages of vocal language?

• What if… they don’t use electro-mechanical technology, but have a highly developed biotechnology? How would their technology appear to humans? Would it be the messy spider-web, ooze dripping glop often seen in scifi films, or would it be as neat and orderly as a well honed human machine, as neat as a honeybee's honeycomb of the nest of the paper wasp?

• What if… they have no idea about radio or radar, but communicated over long distances though psychic ability and powers? How would they be able to establish contact with humans, many of whom claim to have no psychic abilities whatsoever? Would anyone even be aware of their attempts at communication?

• What if… they were physically very different from humans and nothing normal to humans was normal to them? How would a human relate to a 7-foot tall insect that, while terrifying to see, was actually gentle, kind and as harmless as a kitten? Beauty is as beauty does?

• What if... They were totally peaceful, kindly, compassionate, and innocent-- almost naive in their simplicity? How would they understand the complex deceptions that humans use to survive?

• What if… they had no concept of individuality, but had established a gestalt society where all think as one -- a society that has never known conflict or war? How would they relate to the highly contradictory human species that is aggressive and argumentative?

To answer these questions, Tim set up the plot of The Wroussara Trilogy so the Wroussara and Paul would exchange ideas and experiences in an effort to come to common ground, to find universal principles and truths, in spite of their many differences.

Tim has a fluid and complex writing style that is designed for mature sophistication. This is not a children's ebook.

While there is plenty of action, the plot considers complex philosophical and psychological questions that define the human experience. This is not the stuff of fairy tales, but a thinking man or woman's book. The concepts that Tim examines in The Wroussara Trilogy are deep and far-reaching. For example, humans are the only species on Earth who have developed the concept of clothing and fashion. Tim uses the Wroussara as foils to explore the reasons for this and the shame humans have of nakedness, issues about the body; issues of the psychological control mechanisms of shame and guilt that permeate human cultures. Are these truly necessary to live a rich and fulfilled life, or are they control mechanisms imposed by culture and society, and to what end?

The story also explores why humankind can at one and the same time be compassionate and kind, yet also horrendously cruel and murderous of each other. Is there a justification for aggression and harm? Are there alternatives that can produce better results? In many ways, the Wroussara help Paul delve into the depths of his own human behavior and motivations, exposing all that is good, and evil in the human psyche.

The book frankly explores the issues of basic human needs, food, clothing, shelter, companionship, friendship and even love and romance. It does not take these for granted, but details how Paul will get his human needs met in an alien environment. These needs are all seen fresh and new through the eyes of the Wroussara as they are understood by Paul, who carries a lot of human 'baggage' about these aspects of life that we all take for granted. For the aliens, it is a fascinating exploration of a totally different way of life. For Paul it is the adventure of understanding of who he is in the Universe, and he must decide which of the concepts he holds true are his own, and which are imposed by culture and have no universal relevance.

"The Wroussara Trilogy - Volume I - Star Hopper" is available only from ClydeSight Productions. See the links box below to visit the Web site.