Hidden Place, A

Another excellent read from Robert Charles Wilson, a master of character development. This guy is really good. Not quite as good as Blind Lake or Axis. A little lighter on the science fiction than most of his other works.

Science fiction, when it's good, can be many things: exciting, fascinating, mind-expanding, fun. Robert Charles Wilson, however, is a different type of sci fi author. His books are thoughtful, lyrical, even beautiful. They are science fiction, in that they include aliens, or technology, or time travel. But the writing itself is as good as anything in modern literature and fiction. Reading one of Wilson's novels is a richer experience than one gets from other current sci fi novels. A Hidden Place is an elegant example of Wilson's prowess. Much of the book is taken up describing the world and lives of several people in Haute Montagne, a dusty, Depression-era farm town somewhere in the American plains. Wilson makes you feel the pace of life there, the character of the people, the heat of summer and the rustle of the wind through the wheat. It is not until well into the book that you realize something, well, sci-fi-ish is going on. A Hidden Place is without doubt the most graceful science fiction book I have ever read. You won't find alien fleets or cyberpunk villains, but you will feel redeemed

After his mother dies, Travis Fisher travels to the Midwest town of Haute Montagne to live with his Aunt Liza Burack and her husband Creath. It is the Great Depression and jobs are hard to come by so Travis works for Creath at his ice plant. The Baracks have a strange but beautiful boarder named Anna living in their attic and Travis is attracted to her even though she sleeps with Creath.Travis starts dating Nancy Wilcox who wants to help Anna escape from Creath. Anna begs Travis to take Anna to a safe place before she starts changing. With Nancy's help he succeeds, but also glimpses Anna in her other form and knows she is not human. He leaves and Nancy watches over Anna until she completes the change. Anna is also waiting for her other half before she can return to her home world, but Haute Montagne is on the verge of exploding and Travis, Nancy, Anna and her other half could get caught in the middle of vigilante justice.A HIDDEN PLACE is a fascinating work of fantasy starring two misfits who see themselves through an alien's myopic eyes. Nancy's easy acceptance of Anna's origins and Travis's rejection of her is a reflection of the lives they lived up to this point. Anna is a complex character who can see the beauty in humanity, which is the reason Nancy is so willing to help her. Travis is also a complicated person running from a past he can't accept and a future he doesn't believe in unless he makes peace with the mother he both loved and hated.Harriet Klausner