A Call to Arms is Book One in the series called The Damned. Will Dulac is a composer from New Orleans. He is resting on his houseboat off the coast of South America when a group of aliens approaches him. As if a single group of aliens wasn’t enough, this group (known as The Weave) actually consists of several different races of aliens. And, on top of that, these aliens are here not simply to make friends, but to recruit new allies in an intergalactic war with yet another group of aliens (The Ampliter). The Ampliter recruits it’s members through psychic manipulation and genetic alteration. This is why, according to The Weave, they must be stopped. The members of The Weave tell Will that humans are important to this alliance because they are among the few races violent enough to be able to fight in the war. Will now has the task of trying to convince these aliens that humans are actually inherently peaceful and do not wish to be involved in someone else’s war (good luck).

I read my first Alan Dean Foster book, To the Vanishing Point, when I was still a teenager, and I found his lighthearted and straightforward approach refreshing. While this novel may not be as lighthearted, I did find it quite enjoyable. I often stay away from stories involving multiple races of aliens because they tend to be bogged down in new terminology and descriptions of alien culture. While some of this exists in A Call to Arms, it tends to focus quite a bit on mankind and how the aliens might view our society. This book makes you take a second look at the way we perceive ourselves and our violent tendencies. With so many stories showing us how scary a confrontation might be between us and an alien race, it’s refreshing to see the shoe on the other foot for a change.

I am now on the third novel of this series and I find myself unable to put these books down. While this isn't the best series I've ever read, Foster does a good job of keeping your interest throughout. At times I found myself questioning the plausibility of the story a little. Is human culture really that violent? Then I would see the evening news and find Foster's treatment of mankind hard to dispute. For the most part I found the characters and their motivations quite believable. As the story goes on you may even find yourself getting angry at the alien characters who view all humans as aggressive barbarians.

If you plan on reading this series, I do have to give you one warning. This series is out of print, and you may have some difficulty finding them, especially new. I found the first book new in an Atlantic Book Warehouse, but the second and third book were much more difficult to find new. However, Epinions has a link to purchase these books used.

The books in the series are:
A Call To Arms
The False Mirror
Spoils of War


Recommended: Yes