Hilari Bell

Stand-alone novels:

Navohar — (2000) Publisher: To save the world from an alien invasion, humanity had altered its children's genetic code — and is now paying the price. Earth's younger generations are dying of a new disease. Salvation may lie in outer space, in the DNA of humans who founded colonies before the alien attack. That is, if Earth's settlers can be found.

Navohar

You might have a hard time swallowing much of Navohar, the debut of Denver author Hilari Bell. But Bell produces easygoing, accessible writing that gives her book a degree of light-reading appeal. If only the whole affair weren't so pat and predictable.

Navohar is set towards the end of this century, after the people of Earth have thwarted an invasion by ruthless slave-trading aliens by knocking them out H.G. Wells-style with a horrid genetically-engineered virus. Tragically, this backfires, infecting human DNA as well and causing nearly an entire generation of kids to grow up with an incurably fatal genetic condition.

The people of Earth now live a fearful existence beneath domes, while a stalwart few venture out into the cosmos in an attempt to reconnect with the few human colonies that escaped the planet before the plague struck. The hope is that perhaps a cure for the plague can be found within the DNA of people who were never exposed to it. But wouldn't you know it: as each of the colonies is contacted, it's found that most of them have perished too, waylaid by one form of alien disease or another against which they have no immunity. This is not a book to read if you're looking for something to cheer you up through a bad case of allergies or the flu.

Irene Olsen and her terminally ill but high-spirited teen nephew Mark are part of a crew who land upon the colonized world of Navohar. At first, it seems as if these colonists have met doom as well. But we soon learn they they're alive and well, though they've been forced into a nomadic existence in order to avoid these ape-beings who have an annoying habit of jumping out of the woods and beating people to death. (In Bell's future, you're given the impression people colonize worlds with a lackadaisical "That one looks nice!" attitude, without exactly vetting the local flora and fauna.) When Mark is spirited away in secret by the colonists one night, an enraged Irene is allowed to rush off alone into the uncharted wilderness after him, while everyone else searches from the air. Naturally, at the moment Irene is near death, she is rescued by one of the six-legged camels that travel with the colonists, and she ends up in their camp, only to discover that Mark seems to be in a vastly improved state of health.

Irene quickly finds Mark, and learns the colonists may very well have the miracle cure Earth is looking for. They're afraid, understandably, of the likelihood of millions of people descending upon Nahovar demanding it. They allow Irene to keep studying it, on the off chance she might find a way to synthesize it, but refuse to offer her any help.

Bell regrettably gives in to many first-timer's typical poor choices. Her characters' dialogue is often cloyingly cute, as are they, for that matter (Irene's nickname is "Goodnight," fer pete's sake). And Irene, for the most part, is infuriating. It's not just that she's prone to rash, emotional snap decisions even when everyone else is warning her against them — characters who don't listen and run pell mell into disaster tend to get little sympathy from me — but it's obvious that Bell's plot machinations hinge entirely on Irene's nonstop irrationality. If Irene used her head a little bit better things would all go so much easier for everyone. But the only way Bell can eke an interesting story out of the proceedings is to have Irene be infuriatingly obtuse pretty much all the time. As a result, the seams on Bell's story aren't all that show — the nuts, bolts, and rivets do, too, particularly when Irene is forgiven way too quickly for one catastrophic act of foolishness near the book's end.

Bell also plays out patently obvious plot points as if they were Big Surprises (the camels are intelligent!? well duh!), and sets up characters into hero, villain, and love-interest roles as if working her way down a checklist.

On the plus side, the story moves briskly and Bell's writing, as I mentioned above, is amiable. Sadly, Navohar ends up being one of those books that you like less and less the more you think about it. So perhaps I'll just stop here, so that when Bell's next novel is released (she has gone on to be a successful purveyor of young-adult fantasy), I won't go into it with too many negative preconceptions. As it stands, Navohar's most convincing bit of speculation was Bell's assurance that, in the final years of the 21st century, people will still be watching Star Trek. —Thomas Wagner
This review by Thomas M. Wagner is reprinted from his website SFReviews.net by special arrangement.

Songs of Power — (2000) Ages 9-12. Publisher: Someone is trying to sabotage the underwater habitat where Imina, the granddaughter of an Inuit shaman, lives after terrorists have infected the earth's food supply, and Imina must call on her still undeveloped magical skills to save the colony.

A Matter of Profit — (2001) Young adult. Publisher: The long antennae — five feet long? six? and covered with what looked like very short fur — swept forward, quivering in the air over Ahvren's head. It took all his self-control to keep from stepping back. Then the antennae lifted away, without touching him, much to his relief. They remained cocked forward, but relaxed oscillating slowly. Strangers in a bizarre land — that's what Ahvren's people, the Vivitare, are. They are the conquerors, the rulers now, of the T'Chin confederacy. But Ahvren is no longer sure what that means. After spending two years fighting a brutal war on another planet, here — where not a single shot was fired — victory doesn't seem quite so... victorious. Ahvren welcomes the peace, but he doesn't fully trust it. How could all these people surrender so easily? Are they all cowards? Not likely. And his mistrust is not unwarranted: Rumors abound of a plot to assassinate the Vivitare emperor.But Ahvren's disdain for war is even greater than his mistrust of peace. The last thing he wants is to rejoin the emperor's fleet and conquer the next planet. So he strikes a bargain with his father. If he can uncover the plot to assassinate the emperor, Ahvren can choose his own path. It's a challenge that will take more wits than strength, and Ahvren's not sure he's up for it. But it's also the most important test he's ever faced and his success is vital. For not only does the emperor's life depend on it, so does Ahvren's.In intricate detail, Hilari Bell weaves a tale of danger and suspense that will captivate readers and draw them into this wholly imaginative world.

The Wizard Test — (2005) Ages 9-12. Publisher: Dayven has passed the test he wanted most desperately to fail — he's been proven to have the powers of a wizard. He had promised never to become one of the deceitful, disloyal sorcerers who believe in nothing and alter people's true destinies — but now he has no choice. Thrown into an apprenticeship with a roguish wizard, Dayven discovers that loyalty and trust are never simple, and wizards are more deceptive than he could ever imagine. The path that was once clear — his friendships, his future, his destiny — is now shadowed with dangerous twists and turns, and the world he knows must change forever.

The Prophecy — (2006) Ages 9-12. Publisher: Perryn is a hopeless prince. His drunken father scorns his love of books, the master of arms ridicules his swordplay, and someone in the castle may be trying to kill him! But Perryn's books are his best weapons to stop the dragon that is destroying his kingdom-and his one hope of earning his father's respect. When he unearths a prophecy on how to kill the dragon, Perryn sets out to find the three things needed to make it come true: a unicorn, a true bard, and a special sword. But in a world where magic is disappearing, the only thing more absurd than pursuing a prophecy is believing any of these legends might still be found. With the king's men on his trail and time running out, Perryn learns that a scholar's job is not merely to seek the truth but to understand its worth-and that the power of the prophecy lies in his own hands.

Trickster's Girl — (2010) Young adult. Publisher: In the year 2098 America isn't so different from the USA of today. But, in a post-9/11 security-obssessed world, "secured" doesn't just refer to borders between countries, it also refer to borders between states. Teenagers still think they know everything, but there is no cure for cancer, as Kelsa knows first-hand from watching her father die. The night Kelsa buries her father, a boy appears. He claims magic is responsible for the health of Earth, but  human damage disrupts its flow. The planet is dying. Kelsa has the power to reverse the damage, but first she must accept that magic exists and see beyond her own pain in order to heal the planet.