Defenders

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"When Earth is invaded by telepathic aliens, humanity responds by creating the defenders. They are the perfect warriors--seventeen feet tall, knowing and loving nothing but war, their minds closed to the aliens. The question is, what do you do with millions of genetically-engineered warriors once the war is won? A novel of power, alliances, violence, redemption, sacrifice, and yearning for connection, DEFENDERS presents a revolutionary story of invasion, occupation, and resistance"-- Provided by publisher.

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Weak science, but big ideas make for a very worthwhile read. submitted by eknapp on October 6, 2014, 4:00pm We are invaded in the near future by elephant-sized, telepathic starfish-like aliens who can scan every human mind within about 8 miles. Because they know every move human armies are going to make as soon as the intent manifests, the Luyten are virtually unbeatable, and over the course of a couple years they grind humanity's numbers from 8 billion to about 3.

In desperation, mankind engineers an army of Defenders: 17-feet tall, 3-legged, tactically brilliant, unsleeping, hyperaggressive giants with no serotonin in their brains to render them telepathy-proof. (The lack of serotonin also diminishes dramatically the Defenders' emotional range, making them simple in some ways. While humans adores them, the two groups have a hard time relating to one another.) The tide turns immediately, the Luyten surrender, and suddenly we're stuck with millions of giant warriors with no one to fight.

Defenders asks a lot of good questions, explores some really cool territory. What would happen next? The Defenders are as alien and terrifyingly powerful as the Luyten were. What do we owe them? Can we coexist with them? What missteps do we need to watch out for? It's all very Mary Shelley.

SPOILERS AHEAD

The tension ramps up when the Defenders demand Australia for their home, and the millions of Luyten prisoners--whom the world governments had promised safety in exchange for their surrender--for slavery and random butchery. McIntosh isn't afraid to think big.

It's not without its faults. Parts of the plot come across as simplistic. Why is Australia handed over so easily? Millions of people are willing to just uproot and move to North Dakota? Man's guarantee of safety to the Luyten MUST be sincere (they read minds!), so how could people be so easily ready to hand them over to the Defenders for execution etc? How does a third leg work, physiologically? As written it sounds like they're just glued on. If there's only one sex, what makes it "male"?

Overall it's a big win though. The bizarre Defender psychology works particularly well. Great fun.