Imagine that a giant monster invades your country. But the beast is not gobbling up people or homes.

It's devouring our books.

That's what most writers insist is happening with Google, the Internet search-engine behemoth. Since 2005, Google has been digitizing the world's books. Reportedly, its ultimate plan is to reproduce the contents of more than 20 million books, to be read online and with electronic reading devices.

Imagine. There's something frightfully Orwellian and Machiavellian about a single American corporation taking control of the world's books. Especially since Google has, for the most part, barged in without asking the writers who created them.

In 2005, the Authors Guild of America responded to Google's digitization project by suing the company for copyright infringement, since -- amazingly -- permission to reproduce books had not been obtained. Lawsuits in other countries have followed. Nearly 200 countries (including New Zealand, South Africa, Ireland and India) are now exempt from the agreement because they've officially rejected it.

The Canadian government has taken no such action. Meanwhile, Google continues to forge ahead with its world domination plan.

In this country, an ad hoc group of writers have organized a petition protesting Google's aggressive initiative. Almost 500 writers have signed, including Sooke novelist Marilyn Bowering, Victoria's Julie Lawson, Wayson Choy, Brian Brett, Graeme Gibson and Ann Ireland.

"It's theft on a grand scale," Bowering told me this week. "If someone went into a bookstore and stole some books, they would be prosecuted."

Spearheading the Canadian protest group's charge is Gabriola Island writer Katherine Gordon. I was keen to contact Gordon because (1) she's a former business contracts lawyer, and (2) she's one of the few in this country who've actually read Google's proposed contract settlement with writers, which is about 100 pages long.

"I know how to spot a bad deal at 100 paces," Gordon said. And she says the Google settlement is one bad deal.

Here are a couple of highlights. Google proposes to offer writers $60 for the rights to reproduce out-of-print books. Writers would also receive 63 per cent of future revenues from such books, to be collected via a Google-run book registry.

Sixty bucks? It's the price of a lunch out for two. Think of the time and effort that goes into writing a book. As Gordon says, "It is insulting."

And what about that 63 per cent offer? Gordon says there is no independent monitoring system for Google's book registry. Writers would have to trust Google. Meanwhile, there's oodles of fine print in the company's contract defining what constitutes revenue. Presumably, Google would recover its own costs up front. And then, after that, a writer's publishing house would require its own cut.

"Let's say you get your $2.50 from Google 10 years from now. You and your publisher have to decide how to split that," Gordon said.

With its settlement, Google operates on a principle similar to negative billing. A writer can opt out, however, one must fill out an online form. (Gordon, the author of five best-selling non-fiction books, has already done so.) It is obviously an arrangement that's hugely in Google's favour.

The deadline to opt out is Jan. 28.

Gordon said writers who'd like to add their name to the anti-Google petition can do so by e-mailing dvbolt@aol.com. The petition will be as part of a Canadian submission to a U.S. federal hearing on the Google settlement slated for Feb. 18.

Bowering believes Google's high-handedness may reflect the notion in today's society that anything on the Internet should be obtained and distributed for free.

Some of us download songs and movies without paying. We read magazines and newspapers for free. Why not books?

Gordon, meanwhile, suggests Google's actions might set a precedent that is both wide-ranging and dangerous.

"If they're allowed to get away with this, what else is any huge multinational corporation going to be allowed to get away with?"