blacknorth
Stuck Inside a Cloud
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Come Hunt An Earthman
by Philip E High
Come Hunt An Earthman is a little-known 1973 novel by fairly prolific SF author Philip E High. High is best remembered for writing quality space opera's with a pronounced dark side. He has a deserved place among a run of lesser-known UK SF writers - LP Davies, DG Compton, JT McIntosh, all of whom had busy publishing lives establishing a solid base of workable and likeable SF away from their more lauded contemporaries, like Aldiss and Ballard.
Come Hunt An Earthman (or CHE for short) is probably among the best of High's output and was one of the more convincing alien as predator stories. In fact, the conceit bears a close resemblance to the later film Predator, so much so that I'd be surprised if his estate did not receive some form of fee from the film-makers. If not, it probably should be the case.
In the near future an alien species has established a beach-head on Earth, not as a prelude to invasion, but for gaming purposes. Earth becomes a popular spot for a big-game hunt and, as mankind treats the gaming parties as invasion and fights back with vigour and imagination, a human becomes a prized trophy among the decadent hunting races of the Galaxy.
The hunting parties are led by an alien who becomes known as Silverface in the text. He is drawn from an obscure race in the Galaxy, famed for its sense of fair play. So fair, in fact, that his decisions are often challenged by the members of his hunting parties. And the obscurity of his race does not go unnoticed, playing into a wider plot about a Galactic power struggle, which has a bearing on the nature of the hunting beachhead and why it has been established on Earth.
The best parts of the book are those in which High establishes a sense of outrage and attrition - he details the exploits of the hunt parties, and their human opposition, in terms of a guerilla war. The alien casualties are high, having to deal with ingenious booby-traps and ever-evolving human tactics. But the human side suffers immeasurably more, being ranged against a vastly superior technology.
CHE is perfectly plotted and executed - its only faults are High's unremarkable prose style and a tendency to sentiment which goes some way towards undermining the inherent cruelties of the story. But High is often at his best estabishing maudlin connections - his descriptions of the smashed, deserted cities which the aliens prowl for human prey are consistently good. And the arms-length relationship which develops between Silverface and the leader of the human resistance is soundly based on combat aptitude and the profound respect of enemies.
The resolution comes quickly and rather too neatly for my liking, but is satisfying nevertheless.
To some extent it's a shame that High's later work was published by Robert Hale Ltd, a company with a low quality threshhold, or pulps with boards, to use a phrase. His work deserves a better publisher and a wider audience - it's not that his books are automatically worthy, simply that they are often so attractive in conceit that publication by a major house might have had him up his own 'game' in terms of prose stylings.
CHE is a perfect entry point for PE High. Recommended.
by Philip E High
Come Hunt An Earthman is a little-known 1973 novel by fairly prolific SF author Philip E High. High is best remembered for writing quality space opera's with a pronounced dark side. He has a deserved place among a run of lesser-known UK SF writers - LP Davies, DG Compton, JT McIntosh, all of whom had busy publishing lives establishing a solid base of workable and likeable SF away from their more lauded contemporaries, like Aldiss and Ballard.
Come Hunt An Earthman (or CHE for short) is probably among the best of High's output and was one of the more convincing alien as predator stories. In fact, the conceit bears a close resemblance to the later film Predator, so much so that I'd be surprised if his estate did not receive some form of fee from the film-makers. If not, it probably should be the case.
In the near future an alien species has established a beach-head on Earth, not as a prelude to invasion, but for gaming purposes. Earth becomes a popular spot for a big-game hunt and, as mankind treats the gaming parties as invasion and fights back with vigour and imagination, a human becomes a prized trophy among the decadent hunting races of the Galaxy.
The hunting parties are led by an alien who becomes known as Silverface in the text. He is drawn from an obscure race in the Galaxy, famed for its sense of fair play. So fair, in fact, that his decisions are often challenged by the members of his hunting parties. And the obscurity of his race does not go unnoticed, playing into a wider plot about a Galactic power struggle, which has a bearing on the nature of the hunting beachhead and why it has been established on Earth.
The best parts of the book are those in which High establishes a sense of outrage and attrition - he details the exploits of the hunt parties, and their human opposition, in terms of a guerilla war. The alien casualties are high, having to deal with ingenious booby-traps and ever-evolving human tactics. But the human side suffers immeasurably more, being ranged against a vastly superior technology.
CHE is perfectly plotted and executed - its only faults are High's unremarkable prose style and a tendency to sentiment which goes some way towards undermining the inherent cruelties of the story. But High is often at his best estabishing maudlin connections - his descriptions of the smashed, deserted cities which the aliens prowl for human prey are consistently good. And the arms-length relationship which develops between Silverface and the leader of the human resistance is soundly based on combat aptitude and the profound respect of enemies.
The resolution comes quickly and rather too neatly for my liking, but is satisfying nevertheless.
To some extent it's a shame that High's later work was published by Robert Hale Ltd, a company with a low quality threshhold, or pulps with boards, to use a phrase. His work deserves a better publisher and a wider audience - it's not that his books are automatically worthy, simply that they are often so attractive in conceit that publication by a major house might have had him up his own 'game' in terms of prose stylings.
CHE is a perfect entry point for PE High. Recommended.
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