One of the big reasons that I write reviews is to push me to read books that are out of my comfort zone. It’s easy for me to get stuck on re-reading Essie Summers, Terry Pratchett and Georgette Heyer or dipping into romance novels and re-reading a swathe of those as well. Of Yellow Shirts and Little Green Men is not a romance novel. It’s a wonderfully, off-beat, original story that is full of English eccentricity and wit.
This is a fantastic story that is labelled as a comedy on Amazon, but it’s much more than that. The main character, Tom, is a recently unemployed academic, drifting through life, indecisive and aimless. In the best traditions of Tom Holt and Douglas Adams, the hapless Tom is buffeted through ever more bewildering adventures as he navigates encounters with aliens, ghosts, fellow alien spotters, and the fortunes of Norwich City Football Club.
This is a good novel to settle down with and have a good read. The language is easy to read, very much in the British style, and draws you into the story. The characters are likeable, complex and interesting. They are deftly written and have depth and strength, developing and reacting throughout the story. Their actions and reactions are believable and genuine, especially in the context of the story.
The story is… complicated. I don’t want to discuss too much as I don’t want to spoil any surprises, but the story starts when Tom is approached by an alien and told that there are many extraterrestrial creatures who regard Earth as something of a soap opera. Not only that, but various factions have been known to surreptitiously interfere in order to promote better stories. Tom is recruited to thwart those interferences, finds himself as part of a group who all have separate alien contacts in various guises and stumbles through the increasingly complex situations.
As interludes, glimpses are shown of ordinary characters caught up in the alien’s shenanigans, and the interaction and consequences rippling out. In this, Of Yellow Shirts and Little Green Men reminds me of the Illuminati Trinity by Robert Anton Wilson and Robert Shea with layers of clandestine organisations and confusion between their accidental and unknowing interactions, all well observed and showing insight into the strange ways ordinary human beings can act under pressure.
Finally, this story is something of a love letter to the city of Norwich. I’ve never visited Norwich, but now I feel that I have a sense of the place. The streets, the buildings and the shops are all described in loving detail. The history and people are shown as part of the story. When Tom meets his alien contact in St Peter Mancroft Church, the building is so lovingly described with just the right details, that I can almost feel the texture of the cool stone in the crypt. As Gene Rowe builds in the details of the city into the story, they’re always there to support the narrative rather than intrude as added on description that does nothing but add words to the page. I feel that the city of Norwich is as much of a character in this story as Tom, Ed or Amanda.
I am very happy to recommend this story.
