The Shores of Another Sea by Chad Oliver

 


Chad Oliver's anthropological science fiction established the groundwork for such authors as Ursula K. Le Guin and Michael Bishop. And for a good reason: Chad Oliver was actually a university professor of anthropology and brought first-hand experience to his writing of science fiction.

Chad's years of fieldwork in Africa shine through in The Shores of Another Sea, a short novel (less than 150 pages) set in Kenya where anthropologist Royce Crawford runs a Baboonery with forty baboons. Detailed descriptions abound of the African countryside and the abundant African animal life, so vivid, we as readers sense we're right there with Royce as he attempts to deal with a series of challenges and remarkable happenings.

Oh, those remarkable happenings. Of course, as readers we know this is science fiction featuring a tale of first contact with aliens. Thus, we are in a position to know what's happening when Royce has an eerie intuition that he's being watched as he makes the rounds at his Baboonery. Likewise, when Royce detects a disturbing humming noise that simply is out of place, a sound not belonging to anything in Africa.

What adds a element of complexity to Royce's situation in the bush is the fact that he has his family with him, wife Kathy and two little girls, Susan and Barbara. Added to his family responsibility, Royce knows his Baboonery, generously funded by interested parties back in the United States, serves as employer for dozens of Africans who are, in turn, supporting their families. Since he has assumed the role of leader, simply running away at the first signs of danger is not in Royce's nature, even when a sign includes examining one of his baboons and finding something strange indeed.

"Royce crouched down and fingered the body. There were no puncture wounds that he could see. The skull was intact; there was no fracture. The animal looked as if something had grabbed it and literally pulled it apart. And something - or someone - had forced the cage open."

I hope my brief write-up has whetted your appetite. Grab a copy of Chad Oliver's first-rate thriller and join Royce and the others as they press deeper into this unfathomable mystery.

 

"Royce felt a stab of fear. For a moment, he could not move. He had seen plenty of baboons in his time, but this one was . . . different. There was a cold intelligence looking out through those animal eyes. The beast was studying him."


Chad Oliver (1928-1993), a well-beloved anthropology professor at the University of Texas and author of science fiction