A Call to Arms

The damned what? one is tempted to ask of this curious, alien-infested interstellarwar/first-contact/nature-of-humanity yarn from the author of Into the Out Of (1986) and To the Vanishing Point (1988). The lobsterlike Amplitur, with their advanced science and mental-projective powers. have a Purpose: to integrate all races into a single unit, whether the other races want to or not. For millennia they have been at war with the Weave, a loose association of alien races opposed to the Amplitur. Eventually, the Weave discover Earth, and cautiously contact Cajun musician Will Dulac, who insists that humans will want nothing to do with either Weave or Amplitur. But the peace-loving Weave, desperate for new warrior-allies, are very persuasive, and other contactees sign up to fight with alacrity, proving Will wrong. Then the Amplitur attack Earth, but with Weave help are beaten off. It turns out that humans alone have an aggressive, effective defense against Amplitur mental compulsion. Finally, even Will decides to fight for the Weave, despite knowing that the Weave regard humans as barbaric and dangerous. Dozens of alien species, none of them remotely convincing, numerous moronic discussions of the true nature of humanity - yet, with no plot or action or even much organization to intrude upon the alien maunderings, there's little danger that anyone will take this piece of nonsense seriously. (Kirkus Reviews)