Hot Tip for U.S. Pubbers


"The Roswell Conspiracy" by Boyd Morrison
Reviewed by David Marshall James

C'mon-- why is thriller writer (of the country-hopping, archaeological bent) Boyd Morrison such a hit in the U.K. and Down Under, but not here?

To be sure, Morrison's previous novel, "The Vault" [reviewed this past summer], along with this latest, are on a par with the recent works of James Rollins.

Nevertheless, "The Roswell Conspiracy" has been pubbed only in e-book format in the States: A great injustice to readers who prefer paper to pixils, or who simply eschew e-books altogether.

Indeed, if Morrison's U.K. publisher, Sphere, had not supplied a copy of their (eyecatching) trade-size paperback, I would have missed out on this "Saturday Afternoon at The Bijou" funfest.

The novel brings back scientist/adventurer Dr. Tyler Locke, along with one of his imposing coworkers, onetime pro-wrestling star Grant Westfield. On work assignment in New Zealand, Locke and Westfield have the opportunity to rendezvous with a sheep rancher who possesses a fascinating artifact.

She-- the sheep rancher-- turns out to be the grandmother of one of Dr. Locke's former flames, and all four of them (Locke, Westfield, Grandma Sheep Rancher, and the Former Flame) are immediately into it and up against it as they are pursued by a nefarious band of onetime Russian intel agents (who are themselves being pursued by current Russian intel agents).

Let's just say that Grandma Sheep Rancher (quite the pistol, as you may well imagine) was residing in Roswell, New Mexico, back in 1947, when something fell from the sky.

Those renegade agents remain in pursuit of a U.S.-developed super weapon and the otherworldly metal that must be used in order to trigger it.

Love the boat chase in New Zealand, the truck chase through the Australian Outback, the scene at the Sydney Harbor Bridge, the stopover in Easter Island, the pyramid in Peru, and the rocket ride.

Yep-- the rocket ride.

Will some publisher in these 50 States please take up the further adventures of Dr. Tyler Locke?