A Question of Humanity: A Review of Ken Hart’s Behind the Gem
(Gypsy Shadow Publishing,
2010), ISBN: 978-0-9844521-7-0
By Joey Madia
Behind the Gem is
an entertaining and thought-provoking journey through one man’s experience with
an alien race. Solidly sci-fi, but with the kind of sentiment and romance not
usually found in the genre, Hart’s tale provides plenty of action, technology,
and telepathy as it poses many of the Big Questions.
When
a hostile race of aliens called the Baleorans attacks Earth, a group of humans,
trapped in a building transplanted on another planet, struggle to make sense of
their present and their future. One of their number, a man named Raymond
Meinhardt, winds up the captive and soon after the Consort of one of a race of
kangaroo–horse hybrid type beings, eight feet tall, called the Draasen. They
are a race of telepaths with advanced technology and a feminine-ruled society.
Raymond,
a former Army Ranger with experience in Vietnam, struggles to adapt to his new
surroundings. His resistance, conformity, and ultimate independence within the
society of the Draasen makes for fascinating reading and the opportunity to
consider questions such as: What makes a Human human? Is it physiology or
behavior? Molecules or morals? When we are in a foreign land, whose rules
apply? How does individuality co-exist with a society based in many ways on
groupthink and Protocols?
As
with all the best science fiction, the aliens can be considered as a metaphor
for our own co-existence as individual races, countries, and religious groups
on planet Earth. Raymond’s struggles are our own.
The
Draasen society is well-developed, with plenty of political and class-based
intrigue and conflict. It creates the necessary drama when things begin to
stabilize for Raymond and escalates the pace when he begins to build a new
family among the Draasen.
In
his biography, Ken Hart tells us that he has come to writing late in his life,
after the military took him to Vietnam and Iraq. He has a natural talent for
storytelling and it is clear that his life experiences have given him ample
knowledge and understanding, creating a richness to both the characters and
worlds he creates.
If
you are interested in learning more about Ken Hart and other titles he has
authored, visit www.kenhartscifi.com
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