Recently I was given the opportunity to review a strange little book by the name of: ALIENS, THE OTHER WHITE MEAT, recently published in trade paperback by Whiskey Creek Press. So I said, sure, send it on over. When the book arrived I could see that the cover gave nothing away of the quirky plot contained within the pages but the "recipe for cosmic comedy" listed on the back cover said it all.

This book was a lot like nothing that I had ever read before. One part aliens crash landing on Earth, one part religious fanaticism, one part rich guy makes evil plan to get richer, one part ghost story, one part weird bestiality and one part inter-dimensional pub hopping, this book tells quite a story.

Ok, let me explain a little - on a planet far away from here, an alien civilization holds public executions featuring torture of a horrendous nature in full view of massive crowds and there are some members of this species that absolutely take offense to that! So, a group of them get together and decide to make a run off planet so that they might be able to start their own society with a better way of life for all. A gallant effort to be sure. However, these aliens have the misfortune of landing on Earth and being discovered by a chicken farmer who sees the weird craft and the advanced technology it contains as a way to sell more birds and stuff his pockets with more green than he'd ever dreamed of.

Step in a local drunk who claims to see a vision of a weird creature and tells it to his latino co-workers, who in turn interpret the visions to be that of either the Virgin Mary or Quetzalcoatl, a feathered serpent goddess. Soon, great huge crowds converge on the grease spot on the road where this drunkard falls face first in stupor every day to experience his visions and it just so happens that this spot on the road is across the way from the chicken plant where most of the aliens on the crashed ship have been downloaded into mutant chicken bodies and are doing all sorts of labor for the original farmer's deranged son.

Now throw in the Pope in Vatican City, who has visions of what the Church's support of this Virgin Mary sighting can do for an already very fat bankroll... did I mention that this Pope is also a member of a mafia family, helping through the church to make sure his family stays rich? Yep, the plot thickens...

Ok, here's where it gets tricky - are you with me? Good - cause the so-called Prophet falls in love with one of the aliens in a mutant chicken body (and when I say LOVE I mean LOVE) and begins to put a few things together in that alcohol soaked mind of his and figures out what's going on at the plant across the road. Together, he and his weird mutant chicken lover create a plan to release the remainder of the aliens from their abductor but first they have to battle the Pope and his emissaries because the men of faith have their own sneaky and sinister agenda, too.

Then there's a ghost named O'Malley who appears to the owner of the chicken plant every so often, a reporter who tries to make the story a bit juicier and the assassin hired by the Pope and his lackeys to take out the prophet. Whew, yes, it's a lot to follow but the humor in this story is threaded throughout and the sub-plots were quite enjoyable. I particularly liked the twist at the end that sets things to...ok, I'm not sure if it sets things right or not but it was fun in the getting there.

Let's not forget the Thresher Pub where one of the mutant chickens holds court with Captain Blackbeard, the famous pirate, in a series of Chapter 0 continuations as the chicken thing tells his tale amidst the flow of drink.

Yes, an entertaining tale and an intriguing plot to say the least. But the ending, yes, the ending...where everyone gets their just deserts. So head on over to Whiskey Creek Press (www.whiskeycreekpress.com) the next time you're browsing the internet and check this title out. It's sure to raise a brow or two.