30Seven

A father-son bonding trip to an isolated Maine campground is interrupted when aliens come to call in this high-octane mash-up of extraterrestrial horror and family drama from bestseller Robinson (the Nemesis Saga series). Marcus Lockwood and son Elias are recovering from the horrific murder of Elias’s mother, Isabella, whose body was mutilated and arranged “like a bonsai tree.” A brochure leads them to Moose Hollow, where they’re embraced by a chummy group of long-time campers who make the expedition an annual gathering. But lights in the sky and lost-time incidents warn of a pending alien abduction. Worse, Marcus and Elias learn that the brochure that brought them there was faked, leaving them suspicious that Isabella’s killer may have set a trap for them. Chapters from the serial killer’s perspective add chills while neatly concealing the killer’s identity and posing a weirdly convincing argument for sacrificing the few in order to save all of civilization. Ancient aliens who ruled Earth as gods and messed with human DNA become almost a footnote to the Hannibal Lecter antics of the killer, but the sci-fi reveals are still well executed. Readers will need strong stomachs for this one, but horror fans will find plenty to enjoy. (Dec.)