Gleaners

Kip Cassino’s fifth novel, GLEANERS, is a mix of science fiction and conspiracy theory. Idealist psychiatrist Elizabeth Wyler, concerned about one of her patients and increasing disappearances among the homeless population, gets drawn into intrigue by ex-solider Oliver Raine, the only survivor of an oil rig fire south of Kirkuk. It becomes Elizabeth’s fight and the cover-up goes back centuries into an alien civilization crash-landing on earth. The plot twists and turns frequently, as the antagonists withdraw, reform, and prepare new attacks. Who can be trusted? Who will betray them? Readers should be prepared for scenes of gang rape, mutilation, and cannibalism. The action keeps ratcheting up, and Elizabeth (now Liz), keeps rising to each occasion. Liz and Raine’s teamwork to first get to the truth, and then to figure out a way to (literally) save the world gives the book its heart. GLEANERS may be a science fiction novel about an interspecies war to save the world, but Liz and Raine are its central core.