In the novel “The Callers”, the story focuses on the tightly managed, highly classified relationship the US government has had with an Alien Intelligence since the Nixon administration. In this slightly alternate world, the Obama administration is followed by the government of a newly elected Republican President, Steve Rasmussen, a Silicon Valley billionaire, and his assertive Russian emigre Secretary of State, Rose Levchin. They are intent on shaking up the relationship between the US and this Alien entity. Our protagonist, intelligence analyst Ben Stern, and his mentor, who has managed the Alien relationship all along, Dr. Jim Casey, professor emeritus of anthropology, must work and deal with these new circumstances. The newly elected President, his gimlet-eyed chief diplomat, and the enigmatic “Callers” together present a volatile situation. A new relationship in Ben’s life also complicates things. The implications are personal, global, even interstellar.
In the novel “The Callers”, the story focuses on the tightly managed, highly classified relationship the US government has had with an Alien Intelligence since the Nixon administration. In this slightly alternate world, the Obama administration is followed by the government of a newly elected Republican President, Steve Rasmussen, a Silicon Valley billionaire, and his assertive Russian emigre Secretary of State, Rose Levchin. They are intent on shaking up the relationship between the US and this Alien entity. Our protagonist, intelligence analyst Ben Stern, and his mentor, who has managed the Alien relationship all along, Dr. Jim Casey, professor emeritus of anthropology, must work and deal with these new circumstances. The newly elected President, his gimlet-eyed chief diplomat, and the enigmatic “Callers” together present a volatile situation. A new relationship in Ben’s life also complicates things. The implications are personal, global, even interstellar.
Ben Stern woke up depressed. Still, he liked his morning routine: his daily three-mile run, ample newspaper availability, even dressing in his business casual clothing, plus lots of coffee – beginning after his run and continuing at an addicting pace throughout the day. Ben liked this early morning circuit. The activities were directed and generally comforting. Their anodyne effect usually worked. Awaking this morning, however, something in his mind produced a kind of acid reflux, prompting him to think about his current status, or situation, or both. He was alone, so he coped with it. The pleasing morning routine helped. Ben stood still for moment, his jaw slack and his lips slightly parted. He parsed out quickly for himself his different circumstances. He’s a nice guy, he thought, interested in many things. Ben felt he had become an accomplished person. Green eyes blinked and he found himself standing in front of his apartment building in Arlington. Must begin my run. His hand idly rubbed at the top of his cropped head, and he began trotting, then allowing the pace to pick up.
As he ran at his usual clip past the Ballston metro stop, some mental modality in his head conjured the image of a kind, but always fretful grandparent – his dad’s mom. Smiling Mae then superseded that image, then vanished from his mind, as she had vanished physically from him to reside now back in Manhattan. The very pretty Mae, Ben volunteered a kindly thought and felt nostalgia followed by a dissonant tug. Well, it’s been eight months, not quite three quarters of a year, and therefore not an entire year, so Ben drew a fine point on it.
By this time, Ben had already turned around and launched into the backstretch, his clip comfortable and hopefully producing the desired endorphins so helpful for the day’s activities. He pulled toward his apartment building on the upcoming corner, making his approach as a renter, not an owner yet. He had the resources, he often mused. He would be ready, sure to get on track again. He, Ben, would be a provider. Enough with the stages of adjustment, I’m done. I’m fine. Work has been great! I’m sure I’ll meet somebody, and that will be that, he thought.
Somehow, he had navigated himself through his building lobby, up the elevator, and into his one-bedroom apartment foyer. Ben made a verbal click to himself, quickly shed his running gear, and took an expedited shower. He moved with dispatch, and wanted to be, like always, at the center by 7:30am.
Jim Casey at his desk, softly rubbing the bristle cut on the back of his head. He leaned back in his chair, then ran his two hands quickly over his face, as if to snap himself out of a shallow fugue state. He enjoyed seeing his feet propped on his desk, a privilege he enjoyed since he had no boss or real level of bureaucratic authority to report to. And really hadn’t had one for some time, almost since the beginning. Jim stretched his back and yawned. No one was going to come by, and tell him to take his feet down. He liked that, when thinking about it. Casey absently glanced around his office, which was ample, and absently set up with reproduction federal style furniture, with prints on walls, photos festooned on flat surfaces. He looked at the picture of Margery on his desk, she smiled back. There she was, silver-haired and pretty, his wife of forty years plus, now dead though these past two. Casey turned to pay attention to the photos at the end table by his desk. There his two daughters presided, with children and husbands completing the retinue. Jim Casey smiled and sighed.
The inert Xeroxed federal style of his office satisfied his absence about such things. It worked. Just fine for me. Still, his own affects and personality insinuated themselves. There, on his desk and end table, even more family pictures, revealing a menagerie of smiles and poses. A framed Sierra Club award was mounted over the couch. Audubon prints flanked the award in deference. Looking again at the whole of his desk surface, Jim glanced absently at the picture of him and his “fellow conspirator”, Harold Oberkotter. There, in that picture, they were much younger. Both sporting fu manchus. He was looking in one direction, eyes open, maybe a little vacant. Jim winced, then shrugged at the thought. Oberkotter was plainly looking toward another direction, and showed a similar vacant stare, Casey studied himself in the photo, witnessed his younger self, studied for a moment his long brown hair from that time and his unlined face. Jim took in the image of his partner Harold, who was staring off in a different direction from his. Eyes clear, vacant and slightly magnified behind eyeglass lenses. Yep, we were there at the beginning. Casey then cracked his knuckles....
When shy and awkward analyst Ben Stern is suddenly given a mysterious promotion at work, he finds himself in the middle of a secret political, intergalactic relationship that has been around since the Nixon administration. Now the newly elected President Steve Rasmussen and his Secretary of State Rose Levchin want to push the relationship with "The Callers" to a new level. It is up to Ben and his new boss, Jim Casey, to mediate this potentially dangerous shift.
Conceptually, this book is very interesting. It takes place in the present United States with a slightly altered history. Though humanity does not yet have spacefaring abilities, a few nations have a longstanding political relationship with an alien entity. The question of how best to move this relationship forward with so little knowledge about "The Callers" and their intentions is compelling. This story is unique in approaching an intergalactic relationship from a purely realistic, political standpoint.
Unfortunately, this book felt more like a well developed concept rather than a polished narrative. It is clear that overall, the characters, relationships, and plot were well thought out and it has all the ingredients of a successful piece. However, it falls flat in the details. More often than not, things are described in vague terms and repetitive loops that do little to convey the complex machinations that usually define political dramas. Though some of this is to build suspense, the overall impression is that many details have been left out. There are bits of brilliance, but you need patience to find them.
I really wish this piece had used a more technical approach on the political relationship with "The Callers". Instead, so much time is spent on characters that are stilted and awkward at best. Even an intentionally awkward character like Ben feels unnatural. The first third of the book focuses mostly on Ben establishing a new relationship with Brenda and it almost made me put the book down entirely. I am glad I didn’t, but I think the book would have been stronger with a greater focus on the evolving political relationship with "The Callers" and a more analytical writing style.
Overall, I think this book makes a decent casual read for those who like realistic fiction with a science fiction twist. It has a little bit of everything (politics, romance, and aliens) without going too deep into any particular area.