THE HOUSE IN NOVEMBER

Berkley Medallion paperback, May 1971. Cover artwork by
Richard M. Powers.

"There had been an invasion, and the town of Beatrice, Nebraska, was occupied. The question was, by whom? 

To Jeff Mallory, awakened one morning to find that he had lost three months out of his life; that his teenage daughter was missing (and his wife denied that she had ever existed); that he was a slave to incomprehensible tasks in the mile-high star tower that had not been there when he went to sleep - the invaders were ALIENS... 

To the bizarre Russo-American army poised on the edge of town and determined to destroy it utterly, the invaders were CHINESE... 

To the strange old man who lived in the old house, and who carried in his mind the key to the whole mystery, the invaders were the MONE..."

Loved this one; very cinematic - that is, I imagine it translating very well to film - it's a great adventure story. The House In November follows familiar Laumer motifs: the pariah, superhuman transformation, transcendence. I found it notable too for the original aliens, in a refreshing change from the usual green-skinned, multi-limbed or bipedal creatures, the Mone are parasitic organisms. (4/5)