Outside the realm of Earthly experience is a universe bustling with innumerable alien life forms and galaxies yet unexplored. All living creatures and known territories belong exclusively to one species, the TORTH, who have the terrible advantage of being able to telepathically soak up knowledge. Oddly bearing a surface resemblance to humanity, Torth society is a twisted reflection of our own. Emotionless individuals strive for power in a system where limits barely exist amid the excesses of technological miracles. To their trillions of alien slaves, the concept of hope is both dangerous and useless.
Born on Earth- the only remaining planet untouched by Torth influence- ALEXANDER DOVANACK is a young man to whom alone is a continual state of existence. His timid desire to see other people results in an arranged friendship with celebrity THOMAS HILL, a conceited telepathic genius who is burdened by a crippling and fatal genetic disease. Thomas's obsessive search for a cure has consumed much of his short life.
The course of their fates is altered when they are abducted by the Torth without any apparent explanation, along with three acquaintances. Thrown into a harsh world where the laws they are familiar with no longer apply, the Earthlings are split apart to endure separate fates. Left to blindly seek each other out amongst alien creatures and customs, they must struggle to retain their sanity as well as their lives.
The review of this Book prepared by Abby Goldsmith