Guide Mentor

Character Role Analysis

Oliver Sullivan

Oliver Sullivan is Cassie's dad. His quick thinking saves her life (if not his own) when their camp is obliterated by aliens. Before that, though, he gives Cassie an important piece of advice that guides her through the rest of the novel: your enemy is whoever's shooting at you.

She returns to his words often, and they help steer her when she's figuring out whether or not to trust Evan Walker.

Colonel Vosch

When Ben first arrives at the military base, he's gravely ill. He recovers, but he loses his will to live. (He's racked by guilt over the death of his little sister.) The person who brings him back from the brink is Vosch. "You are the human clay," he tells Ben. "And I am Michelangelo. I am the master builder, and you will be my masterpiece" (30.59). Ben admires him fiercely… at least until he finds out that Vosch is one of the bad guys.