Gene Roddenberry's Earth: Final Conflict--The First Protector

When he lands among the warring clans of the Irish hills, the Taelon scientist Ma'el is immediately cast into mortal danger...until he meets a young Celtic warrior who will lay down his life for the mysterious this stranger, and a druid priestess with uncanny insight. Together with the alien, they set out on an incredible journey, around the planet and to a destiny greater than the humans can possibly imagine.

For Ma'el has come to judge Earth, and their travels will have consequences far into the future--consequences that will change both humanity and the Taelon race forever . . .

The second novel tied to the TV series conceived by the late Gene Roddenberry continues, in the distant past, the saga about the alien Taelons begun by Fred Saberhagen in 1999's Earth: Final Conflict: The Arrival. Early in the fourth century, Ma'el, the first Taelon sent to Earth, teams up with Declan, a fugitive Irish prince, after Declan rescues the alien from bandits. Along with Ma'el's "apprentice" Sean (who turns out to be a young woman named Sinead), the two travel the world to recruit humans who can foresee the future--a mission with possibly tremendous consequences for the inhabitants of Earth. When Declan and Sinead fall in love, their combined visionary powers move Ma'el to reveal such secrets of Taelon technology as the operation of his spaceship. After Declan is appointed First Protector, the human charged with guarding the interests of the Taelon on Earth, he and Sinead return to Ireland, where they grow old and prosper. White's historical knowledge and medical expertise at times outweigh the SF elements of the plot. The entire novel is invested, however, with the literacy, compassion and gentle humor that has always distinguished the work of this author, who died last year and was best known for his Sector General series. Notable also is the care with which White portrays Declan and Sinead, making their ability to understand future technology more plausible than is usual in time-travel scenarios.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

paper 0-312-87409-X Gene Roddenberry's Earth: Final ConflictThe First Protector ($23.95; $13.95; Feb.; 320 pp.; ISBN: 0-312-84890-0; paper: 0-312-87409-X). Another entry (see Fred Saberhagen's GRE:FCThe Arrival, p. 1692) for fans of the television series. This one delves into the background of the Taelon-human interaction, sifting evidence that the Taelons contacted Earth a thousand years ago in Ireland. Alas, Northern Ireland author White, best known for his often wonderful Sector General stories about a vast, multispecies space hospital (Double Contact, p. 1532, etc.), died last August. GRE: FC fans and others curious to peruse Whites last work will certainly want to check in. -- Copyright ©2000, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Before shuffling off his mortal coil (the remains of which are orbiting above us--really), TV producer Gene Roddenberry created a new series that ultimately may prove as important as Star Trek. In Earth: Final Conflict, the rather fay Taelons mean to destroy humanity--or maybe not, depending on which of the bald, watery-eyed, androgynous aliens you believe. The late Irish writer James White based this book on a series episode that revealed that the first Taelon, whose notes would convince his later kin to leave Earth in peace (or maybe not: EFC is nothing if not rife with ambiguity), had lived and died in Ireland. Threading Irish folklore, Taelon technology, a soupcon of sexual tension, and a hearty adventure together, White has created enjoyable entertainment, with some slack sections and flaccid text. Although those who don't already know what Taelons look like may find them hard to visualize from this book, EFC fans will surely be the bulk of the bunch gobbling it up, so that constitutes no major threat to its popularity. Patricia Monaghan