Fear is a funny old thing.
For the most part, we have a pretty good grasp of the things that make us afraid, such as a scary movie or a bump in the dark of night, but it’s the subtle fears we easily overlook that are the most pervasive, these fears are often held without any conscious recognition.
My latest novel, Xenophobia, examines these fears in the context of first contact with an extraterrestrial intelligence. Sure, there’s the usual, obvious invasion fears, but the emotions I wanted to examine are the subtleties associated with human behaviour, like the fear of being wrong, the fear of change, and of course, the fear of strangers – xenophobia. And it’s these unspoken fears we often fail to realize in ourselves.
Fear seems pretty obvious. Ride a roller-coaster and you’ll feel your heart thumping because your senses are being assaulted with potentially life-threatening speeds, thrills and spills, but it’s the fears associated with social interactions that are often obscured by rationalisation and pride. Instead of being engendered by a need for self-preservation, these more subtle fears are rooted in our instinctive, tribal nature.
Reason is the only cure for fear.
Xenophobia is set against the harsh reality of life in Africa. Malawi is on the verge of civil war. UN soldiers maintain a fragile peace. When an alien spacecraft moves into orbit near the Moon, the US withdraws its troops and Africa descends into chaos…
Jae Lee, a US graphic design artist working in Germany has graciously provided the artwork for Xenophobia. If you’re interested in reading Xenophobia, the first few chapters can be downloaded for free.
Xenophobia as a mobi file for Kindle
You can find Xenophobia on Amazon and Smashwords.
Wow, great idea for a fresh look at First Contact. I’ll be downloading it today.
it’s got some nice twists and turns, thanks for giving Xenophobia a try
Cool topic (theme). I love speculations about the human attitude toward aliens, be it xenophobia or its opposite, the obsessive belief that aliens will be (that they need to be) superior. I’ve added your novel to my “to-read” list. :) Congrats for the new release!
Vero, thanks. It’s written to challenge the Hollywood preconceptions and inject a bit of realism into the motivations of the aliens (no, they don’t want to steal our water, doh!). I’m looking forward to seeing what readers make of it, as it breaks the mould. I don’t think there will be fence sitters on this one, they’ll either love it or hate it… :)
There are those who define themselves by what they build, and there are others who define themselves by what they destroy. Which will prevail when the aliens arrive?
Congratulations, Peter. I can’t wait to see this on my Nook.
Brian, hey, thanks for the support during the editing phase, Xenophobia is a better book for your insights.
I enjoyed it, Peter. I’m always amazed at how polished and complete your manuscripts are. A real editor would hold you up as an example for everyone else to follow.
Reblogged this on TJ's New Book Blog and commented:
I’m currently reading Xenophobia so I don’t have an opinion about it yet, but I’ve enjoyed several of Peter Cawdron’s stories and thought I’d reblog this post from his blog as a supporter of indie authors. He did a really good job with Monsters and I’m curious to see where this story will go.