Awakening

An intriguing premise—what if people living in a quasi-medieval society had to fight telepathic aliens?—is largely ignored in this debut novel, formerly self-published as part of a series. Prince Regelius Tonopath becomes aware of the alien threat when a disguised alien tries to kill him just as his own telepathic powers come to life. Fortunately, his teacher, Ai’Lore, is on hand to explain how humans on this world have had their evolution manipulated for their own good by benevolent humanoid aliens, while the evil Dalthin have been trying to breed humans as livestock for food. From there, the book forgets about the technological incongruity as the action races through a series of predictable but well-described chases and intrigues. Unfortunately, the writing is somewhat stiff and all the characters sound alike, a particular drawback in conversations. There’s enough promise here to suggest that Bolton may be worth checking on again a few novels from now. (May)