Miracle Visitors

Miracle Visitors by Ian Watson (1980 Granada/Panther paperback 256pp)

 

 

A couple of Months ago now I was watching an interview on YouTube with the Scottish Science Fiction writer Ken MacLeod. The discussion moved onto the topic of UFOs and MacLeod held up a copy of “Miracle Visitors” and recommended it to viewers as having an interesting take on the UFO phenomena. By some minor miracle I checked one of the local book websites and they had a copy available, soon it was in my hands.

I only recall having read one previous book by Ian Watson, that was a library copy of “The Fire Worm” about 30 years ago. That book mixed topics like Alchemy and child abuse and I recalled being somewhat disturbed by the time I had finished it.

“Miracle Visitors” starts as a pretty mild-mannered story. A young man, Michael, takes part in a university hypnosis experiment and once hypnotised recounts an apparent UFO abduction experience. Consciousness researcher John Deacon becomes intrigued by the boy’s story and its almost symbolic nature. He discusses the events with a multi-disciplinary Consciousness Research Group within the University and soon brings onboard Barry Shriver, an ex-U.S. Air Force UFO buff.

So far so good, a few more odd things happen to Michael and his girlfriend and the story runs along like a slow-burning psychological thriller. Then around the page 100 mark the author apparently got sick of the book he was trying to write and throws caution to the wind. Soon there are flying cars, Muslim Sufi mystics, saggy-baggy aliens and secret bases on the moon. Into this melange he also adds the revelation of the ultimate answer to the UFO mystery and (why hold back?) the secret of the universe itself. Characters are moved around the map like game pieces and the story never really recovers. Eastern religion and theoretical physics are plundered willy-nilly.

Some of the theorising about UFOs as perhaps an altered state of consciousness and the discussions about how the phenomena as always been with us are genuinely interesting and reflects the writing of those such as Jacques Vallee who became popular around the time this book was written. Moving to an explanation beyond the ETH (extra-terrestrial hypothesis – i.e., real aliens flying real spaceships) was somewhat brave in that era and is refreshing to a point.

However, “Miracle Visitors” becomes too heady a mix and represents little in the end except for pure distilled 1970s. It might have been startling on release in 1978 but now it just seems oh so dated.

 

Alien Artifacts (Volume 1)

Alien Artifacts (Volume 1) by Chris Aubeck (2022 Self-Published/Amazon paperback 370pp)

 

This book is probably something of a niche interest within a niche interest. The field that calls itself “Ufology” is full of cranks and crackpots producing hundreds of volumes full of absolute dribble. “Ufology” itself seems to work on a 20-year cycle, every generation discovers the mysteries and wonders of the topic (like I did in the 1970s) and promptly goes about proclaiming that they know the ultimate answers. When ‘Disclosure’ (the ETH believer’s equivalent of the Rapture) fails to arrive things soon head down multiple rabbit holes of conspiracy theories and in-fighting. The internet has only accelerated this process. However, a few voices seem to break through the general noise of each cycle and Chris Aubeck is one of those authors. Abandoning sensationalism and bold claims, Aubeck is more a scholar of history calmly investigating what really happened as opposed to mindlessly repeated the same old stories.

The title “Alien Artifacts” rather than referring to actual physical objects refers more to the concept that the idea of aliens can be traced back through history via written fact and fiction. First of a projected series, this volume covers media and literature from antiquity to the late 19^th century. Aubeck skilfully searches through books and newspapers of the era to find when aliens first started to appear in text – some of the references are very early indeed and many seem surprisingly modern in the way they use the same ‘tropes’ and claims that we still see reported today. The book is divided into six sections – Starting with the idea of the plurality of worlds and ending with reports of dead aliens. Each chapter ends with what the author calls ‘fragments’ – selections of original texts that illustrate to the reader the type and feeling of what was being said in the past.

Some of the more elaborate stories are investigated in depth by the author and he finds most were constructed piecemeal from the personalities and current events of the day. Many were April Fool’s Day articles that went out of control and gained lives of their own in print. Most of the news stories were simply made up ‘tall stories’ as was the habit of the newspapers then.

This book is fascinating and should appeal more widely than to UFO enthusiasts – those interested in history and perhaps early science fiction will find much to amuse and enlighten.

 

The Best of R. A. Lafferty

 

The Best of R. A. Lafferty by R. A. Lafferty (2019 Gollancz paperback 448pp)

 

R. A. Lafferty (1914 – 2002) was something of a writer’s writer, many in the field of speculative fiction list him as an inspiration and guide. He started writing in his forties and never really made it as a household name during his lifetime. I personally only really heard about him when he died and there was a little more publicity a few years ago when this collection of short stories was first published. I’ve never knowingly read anything by him before picking this book up. Everyone calls him a master of the short story form and this volume contains 22 examples of his short pieces.

Each story is proceeded by a little introduction from a luminary in the SF field, some of them written for this volume and some being lifted from previous collections. I gave up reading these intros a few stories in as they tended to give away plot details and surprises before you had even started the story.

Although most of the stories have a science fiction setting or facade and mix in SF tropes, in reality they are mainly old-fashion ‘tall tales’ with morals to tell and lessons to teach. Repeated themes include Native American traditions, magic vs science and the downfall/humiliation of self-proclaimed experts. Colonialization and the impact of ‘first contact’ are also a frequent topic. He reuses characters or at least certain character names between stories so it’s often easy to tell who he’d like us once again to hold in scorn.

I enjoyed some of the shorter, more surreal stories in this book and found some of the longer ones outlived their welcome once a certain point had been made. The ever-present feeling of whimsy and wackiness also started to grate against me half-way through the selection of stories and I found it was a much better experience to just dip in and out of the book reading one or two stories at a time.

There is a certain magic to many of these stories that stays with you for a long time after you finish reading them. Some are a welcome short, sharp mind-bender whilst others just meander and suddenly stop. I enjoyed the majority of what’s contained in this collection although I felt some went over my head after I was all whimsy-ed out. Most of the stories are only 15-20 pages long so if one doesn’t spark a reaction with you the next is never far away.

Now I know what the Lafferty fuss was all about.