Review: Orson Scott Card's Empire meets Men in Black
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 03 2, 2012
Terminal Departure is a conspiracy-thriller with a sense of humor. Reading it reminds me of Orson Scott Card's Empire mixed with Men in Black. The lead character, Cleo Matts, works for a government agency so secret that secret agencies don't know about it. Which is important since most of the planet has been duped by aliens.The dialogue includes gems like this (between Matts and the starlet sitting beside him on a plane he's trying to keep from blowing up):"That's the dumbest thing I've ever hear." She close her magazine and slid it into the pocket ahead of her. "Joking aside, what do you really do?""When I'm not mushing?""Yes," she smiled, wearily. "When you're not...mushing.""I'm a shepherd," he said. "And, sometimes, I'm a topless waitress."She glanced lower. "You don't have the chest for it.""I only moonlight as a topless waitress.""Lots of tips?""You'd be surprised," he said.It made me laugh. Humor is hard to come by, especially in any sort of book other than one that is only funny when it isn't supposed to be. Now, I will provide one warning. The president of the United States is depicted as seeking solace in the shower via a little one-hand mambo. So if that goes too far off the cheeky end for you, consider yourself warned. Read it! Review it! Share it!