The Incandescent Ones

Fred Hoyle is of course the lively astronomical popularizer and controversial "steady state" cosmologist who every so often teams up with his son Geoffrey to knock off a science fiction novel. This one is a bouncy but formless invention, set on an Earth wholly dependent on the alien technology of the "Outlanders." The hero is a young Outlander raised as a human and unexpectedly thrust into the cloak-and-laser struggles of Outlander intelligence to maintain their say-so over Earth's power supply. From there, the Hoyles dream up wrinkles - including the most original skiing sequence in light-years - with the speed of a kid aging a pair of blue jeans. AH very sprightly, but curiously half-finished, or perhaps halfbegun. (Kirkus Reviews)