What do you think?
Rate this book
All Seated on the Ground
The aliens have landed! The aliens have landed! But instead of shooting death rays, taking over the planet and carrying off Earthwomen, they've just been standing there for months on end, glaring like a disapproving relative. And now it's nearly Christmas, and the commission assigned to establish communications is at their wits' end. They've resorted to taking the aliens to Broncos games, lighting displays, and shopping malls, in the hope they'll respond to something!And they do, but in a way nobody ever expected, and Meg, the commission, and an overworked choir director find themselves suddenly caught up in an intergalactic mess involving Christmas carols, scented candles, seventh-grade girls, Alvin and the Chipmunks, Meg's Aunt Judith, Victoria's Secret, and Handel's Messiah.Multiple Nebula and Hugo Award-winning author Connie Willis may be most famous for her books To Say Nothing of the Dog, Doomsday Book, Inside Job, D.A., and The Winds of Marble Arch and Other Stories, but she's also a huge fan of the holidays and their accompanying frivolity and nonsense, and has written a marvelous array of Christmas stories, including Miracle and Other Christmas Stories, "Just Like the Ones We Used to Know" (made into the CBS movie Snow Wonder), "deck.halls@boughs/holly", and now the hilarious "All Seated on the Ground."
128 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 1, 2007
37 people are currently reading
894 people want to read
About the author
Connie Willis
256 books4,678 followersConstance Elaine Trimmer Willis is an American science fiction writer. She is one of the most honored science fiction writers of the 1980s and 1990s.
She has won, among other awards, ten Hugo Awards and six Nebula Awards. Willis most recently won a Hugo Award for All Seated on the Ground (August 2008). She was the 2011 recipient of the Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award from the Science Fiction Writers of America (SFWA).
She lives in Greeley, Colorado with her husband Courtney Willis, a professor of physics at the University of Northern Colorado. She also has one daughter, Cordelia.
Willis is known for her accessible prose and likable characters. She has written several pieces involving time travel by history students and faculty of the future University of Oxford. These pieces include her Hugo Award-winning novels Doomsday Book and To Say Nothing of the Dog and the short story "Fire Watch," found in the short story collection of the same name.
Willis tends to the comedy of manners style of writing. Her protagonists are typically beset by single-minded people pursuing illogical agendas, such as attempting to organize a bell-ringing session in the middle of a deadly epidemic (Doomsday Book), or frustrating efforts to analyze near-death experiences by putting words in the mouths of interviewees (Passage).
She has won, among other awards, ten Hugo Awards and six Nebula Awards. Willis most recently won a Hugo Award for All Seated on the Ground (August 2008). She was the 2011 recipient of the Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award from the Science Fiction Writers of America (SFWA).
She lives in Greeley, Colorado with her husband Courtney Willis, a professor of physics at the University of Northern Colorado. She also has one daughter, Cordelia.
Willis is known for her accessible prose and likable characters. She has written several pieces involving time travel by history students and faculty of the future University of Oxford. These pieces include her Hugo Award-winning novels Doomsday Book and To Say Nothing of the Dog and the short story "Fire Watch," found in the short story collection of the same name.
Willis tends to the comedy of manners style of writing. Her protagonists are typically beset by single-minded people pursuing illogical agendas, such as attempting to organize a bell-ringing session in the middle of a deadly epidemic (Doomsday Book), or frustrating efforts to analyze near-death experiences by putting words in the mouths of interviewees (Passage).
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 144 reviews
August 11, 2011
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. Oh my gosh, I have no idea what story some of these other reviewers were reading. This is a pretty short work and I had to take a nap in the middle of it. No, seriously, I had to--I was totally falling asleep.
Here are a few reasons you might want to read this:
1. You know every Christmas carol and know all the lyrics.
2. You go apeshit over choral music.
3. You really enjoy reading about humans trying to communicate with aliens...and can deal with when you're reading about Christmas carols and choral music the whole time.
4. You like satire and social commentary...enough to get over those aforementioned things.
5. You want to read all of Connie Willis' work.
I still enjoy Willis' sense of humor. She makes me laugh but there were really only a few hilarious moments in All Seated on the Ground. (there were two) However, I still adore Connie Willis and I will keep truckin' through all of her kooky stories.
Here are a few reasons you might want to read this:
1. You know every Christmas carol and know all the lyrics.
2. You go apeshit over choral music.
3. You really enjoy reading about humans trying to communicate with aliens...and can deal with when you're reading about Christmas carols and choral music the whole time.
4. You like satire and social commentary...enough to get over those aforementioned things.
5. You want to read all of Connie Willis' work.
I still enjoy Willis' sense of humor. She makes me laugh but there were really only a few hilarious moments in All Seated on the Ground. (there were two) However, I still adore Connie Willis and I will keep truckin' through all of her kooky stories.
January 22, 2020
What do you do when Aliens land on Earth?
Why greet them and take them to your leader.
Only these Aliens don't respond to anything, but they can glare their disapproval!
Find out what aliens, Christmas carols, Victoria’s Secret, and church choirs have in common with each other - and also save the Earth in this hilarious high school style story.
Enjoy!
Why greet them and take them to your leader.
Only these Aliens don't respond to anything, but they can glare their disapproval!
Find out what aliens, Christmas carols, Victoria’s Secret, and church choirs have in common with each other - and also save the Earth in this hilarious high school style story.
Enjoy!
September 26, 2023
Oh, Connie.
This is weak imitation of Bellwether, updated with aliens and playing off of Willis' collection of Christmas stories.
Aliens land in the United States, but despite all the efforts of the world's exports, no one has been able to communicate with them. Meg Yates is assigned to the current Commission and Things Start Happening when her group takes them to the local mall during the holidays.
It focuses on all the wrong things, speeding up and ignoring relationship development in favor of focusing on side characters spewing bigotry, all the better to beat the reader over the head with messaging. It's overly rooted in time, referencing such things as The Daily Show and Victoria's Secret. There's sort-of-funny asides, but again, it's so much better in Bellwether.
When I was finished taking names and abuse, I went to ask the mall manager about surveillance tapes, expecting more abuse, but he was so glad to have his mall open again, he turned them over immediately."
I won't say 'don't read it,' but I'd suggest keeping your expectations very low--or doing yourself a favor and trying a different book by Willis. She can truly be an amazing writer and two of her books are among my favorites. This isn't her finest.
This is weak imitation of Bellwether, updated with aliens and playing off of Willis' collection of Christmas stories.
Aliens land in the United States, but despite all the efforts of the world's exports, no one has been able to communicate with them. Meg Yates is assigned to the current Commission and Things Start Happening when her group takes them to the local mall during the holidays.
It focuses on all the wrong things, speeding up and ignoring relationship development in favor of focusing on side characters spewing bigotry, all the better to beat the reader over the head with messaging. It's overly rooted in time, referencing such things as The Daily Show and Victoria's Secret. There's sort-of-funny asides, but again, it's so much better in Bellwether.
When I was finished taking names and abuse, I went to ask the mall manager about surveillance tapes, expecting more abuse, but he was so glad to have his mall open again, he turned them over immediately."
I won't say 'don't read it,' but I'd suggest keeping your expectations very low--or doing yourself a favor and trying a different book by Willis. She can truly be an amazing writer and two of her books are among my favorites. This isn't her finest.
December 24, 2014
Oh Connie Willis! Thank you for a different Christmas experience with this sci-fi story of another stripe.
They landed their spaceship in Denver, in the middle of
the DU campus, and marched---well, actually marched is the
wrong word; the Altairi's method of locomotion is somewhere
between a glide and a waddle---straight up to the front
door of University Hall in classic "Take me to your leader"
fashion.
And that was it....They just stood there.
The rest of this novella is the tale of how the humans attempt to discover who these aliens are and how their visit impacts the area's Christmas time.
This is a perfect Christmas Eve read, to supplement the classics.
They landed their spaceship in Denver, in the middle of
the DU campus, and marched---well, actually marched is the
wrong word; the Altairi's method of locomotion is somewhere
between a glide and a waddle---straight up to the front
door of University Hall in classic "Take me to your leader"
fashion.
And that was it....They just stood there.
The rest of this novella is the tale of how the humans attempt to discover who these aliens are and how their visit impacts the area's Christmas time.
This is a perfect Christmas Eve read, to supplement the classics.
December 28, 2020
Aliens have finally landed on earth, but they've been parked in the middle of Denver University campus for nine months now and have yet to say a thing. They just stand there, glaring.
This Christmas novella is classic Connie Willis, complete with bombastic religious figure, a committee that can't get anything done because they're all doing their own thing, a character who can't get a full sentence out without being interrupted, an obligatory romance, and a deconstruction of winter holiday carols.
Re: Obligatory Romance. While working together to solve a problem is sexy, Willis really needs to find something new to base her romances on. Calvin and Meg are cute working together, but they show little interest in each other.
Re: Aliens. Unless specifically told otherwise, I now imagine all non-humanoid aliens as giant slugs à la Futurama's Slurms MacKenzie. I have Peter F. Hamilton to thank for this, as all the aliens in his Commonwealth Saga books seemed to be giant slugs. As Willis only describes the way the aliens move and not a single thing about their physiology, this did not discourage my giant slug hypothesis. I love how disgruntled they were, though, and how their disappointed expressions reminded everyone of their mean aunt or a certain grade school teacher.
A fun Christmas diversion, with aliens.
December 2020: This time around I had a greater appreciation of the message of unity and coming together, as well as the power of song, and it had been so long since the last time I read this, I couldn't remember what the aliens were responding to and enjoyed watching Calvin and Meg tease out the solution once again.
Contains: broad spectrum intolerance from a religious leader
This Christmas novella is classic Connie Willis, complete with bombastic religious figure, a committee that can't get anything done because they're all doing their own thing, a character who can't get a full sentence out without being interrupted, an obligatory romance, and a deconstruction of winter holiday carols.
Re: Obligatory Romance. While working together to solve a problem is sexy, Willis really needs to find something new to base her romances on. Calvin and Meg are cute working together, but they show little interest in each other.
Re: Aliens. Unless specifically told otherwise, I now imagine all non-humanoid aliens as giant slugs à la Futurama's Slurms MacKenzie. I have Peter F. Hamilton to thank for this, as all the aliens in his Commonwealth Saga books seemed to be giant slugs. As Willis only describes the way the aliens move and not a single thing about their physiology, this did not discourage my giant slug hypothesis. I love how disgruntled they were, though, and how their disappointed expressions reminded everyone of their mean aunt or a certain grade school teacher.
A fun Christmas diversion, with aliens.
December 2020: This time around I had a greater appreciation of the message of unity and coming together, as well as the power of song, and it had been so long since the last time I read this, I couldn't remember what the aliens were responding to and enjoyed watching Calvin and Meg tease out the solution once again.
Contains: broad spectrum intolerance from a religious leader
December 27, 2010
I read the electronic version via the Asimov's website: http://www.asimovs.com/_issue_0805/al...
Probably rates a 3.5, but like Connie Willis, I love Christmas and singing in very large choirs. Combining the two, especially with Handel's Hallelujah Chorus, is priceless.
And as Aunt Judith and the Altairi reminded me: ‘A prompt handwritten note expressing gratitude is the only proper form of thanks.' I'll be posting those notes to friends and family today.
Highly recommended, especially during this joyous season, bearing tidings of comfort and joy to all.
Probably rates a 3.5, but like Connie Willis, I love Christmas and singing in very large choirs. Combining the two, especially with Handel's Hallelujah Chorus, is priceless.
And as Aunt Judith and the Altairi reminded me: ‘A prompt handwritten note expressing gratitude is the only proper form of thanks.' I'll be posting those notes to friends and family today.
Highly recommended, especially during this joyous season, bearing tidings of comfort and joy to all.
December 21, 2014
Lighthearted Christmas story I read today while sitting in Starbucks. While reading this story I entered in my code from the receipt and won a 1/2 lb of Christmas blend coffee. What you may ask does that bit of news about my amazing good fortune have to do with a review of this book? It was my own Christmas miracle! While past results do not guarantee future performances, I'm sure if you read this book something good will happen to you too.
December 28, 2022
Every now and again Isaac Asimov would write a silly story that was based on some goofy language-twisting or a spoonerism that he drew out to absurdity.
This story reminds me of that, except with a Christmas twist. It’s basically your standard Christmas movie with a space alien first contact wrinkle. Aliens come to Earth and then just glare at us, unimpressed with the human race. Hijinks ensue as humans attempt to communicate with them.
Eventually it all comes down to Christmas carols, which is a silly idea, but that’s the premise. This is just a feel-good tale about disapproving aliens and fusty officials. In fact, given the sheer number of songs referenced, this would be a good story to adapt. It would almost be a musical. Or at least a musicale.
I did go down a YouTube rabbit hole listening to various choirs singing the songs, so it took me 3 times as long to finish this relatively short novella. I did, however, encounter this, which is amazing: https://youtu.be/mulxxoAKf20 There are lots of similar videos of choirs gathering together on hotel balconies to sing a single song. The one in Kentucky where the teenagers sing the Star Spangled Banner inexplicably brought me to tears: https://youtu.be/y49Omj1onuI Apparently this is a tradition for the high school choirs going back years.
And this, THIS, is one area where we can impress aliens.
This story reminds me of that, except with a Christmas twist. It’s basically your standard Christmas movie with a space alien first contact wrinkle. Aliens come to Earth and then just glare at us, unimpressed with the human race. Hijinks ensue as humans attempt to communicate with them.
Eventually it all comes down to Christmas carols, which is a silly idea, but that’s the premise. This is just a feel-good tale about disapproving aliens and fusty officials. In fact, given the sheer number of songs referenced, this would be a good story to adapt. It would almost be a musical. Or at least a musicale.
I did go down a YouTube rabbit hole listening to various choirs singing the songs, so it took me 3 times as long to finish this relatively short novella. I did, however, encounter this, which is amazing: https://youtu.be/mulxxoAKf20 There are lots of similar videos of choirs gathering together on hotel balconies to sing a single song. The one in Kentucky where the teenagers sing the Star Spangled Banner inexplicably brought me to tears: https://youtu.be/y49Omj1onuI Apparently this is a tradition for the high school choirs going back years.
And this, THIS, is one area where we can impress aliens.
April 5, 2016
I saw this short story mentioned in a thread where posters were saying it was the best of Connie Willis’ short stories so I looked it up. I couldn’t buy the story on its own because geo restrictions, but I found it was available in a library book as part of The Best of Connie Willis and placed a hold so I could read the story.
Meg Yates is a humour columnist who unexpectedly finds herself on a committee trying to communicate with the six Altairi aliens who arrived on the doorsteps of Denver University nine months before. Many experts before her and on the current committee have failed to find a way to break through the Atairi glare of disdain before her but her particular history and a chance encounter with some Christmas music and choir director lead to a breakthrough.
Read the rest: http://www.kaetrinsmusings.com/2016/0...
Meg Yates is a humour columnist who unexpectedly finds herself on a committee trying to communicate with the six Altairi aliens who arrived on the doorsteps of Denver University nine months before. Many experts before her and on the current committee have failed to find a way to break through the Atairi glare of disdain before her but her particular history and a chance encounter with some Christmas music and choir director lead to a breakthrough.
Read the rest: http://www.kaetrinsmusings.com/2016/0...
January 1, 2020
For all the studies that show how bad social media is for us — and I’m not doubting those are accurate — still, the internet has brought so much joy to my life. Thanks to reading blogs and Goodreads reviews, I’ve learned of books and authors and fan groups that I would never have heard of on my own. This book is a perfect example.
I’ve been reading the romance blog Smart Bitches Trashy Books for several years (I even have a shelf here for their recs). One of their recent newsletters had holiday recs, and All Seated on the Ground was mentioned. I had never heard of Connie Willis before but I was intrigued by the review and downloaded it.
I loved this story! It’s fairly short, but so funny! I LOLed several times. And I’ve been singing in church choirs for practically my whole life so I related to that aspect, too. And there’s even a sweet romance. I’d call that just pretty nearly perfect. Happy holidays!
I’ve been reading the romance blog Smart Bitches Trashy Books for several years (I even have a shelf here for their recs). One of their recent newsletters had holiday recs, and All Seated on the Ground was mentioned. I had never heard of Connie Willis before but I was intrigued by the review and downloaded it.
I loved this story! It’s fairly short, but so funny! I LOLed several times. And I’ve been singing in church choirs for practically my whole life so I related to that aspect, too. And there’s even a sweet romance. I’d call that just pretty nearly perfect. Happy holidays!
December 22, 2010
Connie Willis loves Christmas "and its accompanying frivolity and nonsense", and this 2008 Hugo Award winner for Best Novella is a nice addition to her collection of Christmas fiction. It's available free online on Asimov's website here: http://www.asimovs.com/_issue_0805/allseated.shtml.
It's a quick, amusing read, with Willis's trademark comedic setup: a budding romance between two quietly competent individuals surrounded by chaos. Don't get too worked up over the mystery of why the aliens won't communicate - this story is not meant to be profound science fiction. Willis is good at building up suspense, which I think actually hurts the story a little bit in this case because the big reveal doesn't quite measure up. Still, lots of fun to read.
It's a quick, amusing read, with Willis's trademark comedic setup: a budding romance between two quietly competent individuals surrounded by chaos. Don't get too worked up over the mystery of why the aliens won't communicate - this story is not meant to be profound science fiction. Willis is good at building up suspense, which I think actually hurts the story a little bit in this case because the big reveal doesn't quite measure up. Still, lots of fun to read.
August 30, 2014
When Connie Willis is on, she on. I adored this book/novella where aliens land in Denver, and the expression on their faces is one of permanent disdain. They don't talk, don't seem to react to anything, and no one can figure out what to do with them. Until they are taken to a mall at Christmas time, and all simultaneously sit down. It takes awhile, but it seems they responded to the lyrics in Christmas carol. Is this how best to communicate with them? Our heroine, a newspaper reporter, and a choir director, try to put it all together. This is a very humorous Christmas story, with an excellent message. Enjoy!
December 21, 2023
Another novella by the wonderful Connie Willis. A complete delight. By sheer chance I read this near Christmas, and I suspect I may end up reading it at that time of year again, as it rather fit that time. Boring aliens, a love story and choral music are a delightful mix! Highly recommend this as a reading "palatte cleanser" between longer reads.
UPDATE: I really do read this nearly every year at Christmas. And see something new each time.
UPDATE: I really do read this nearly every year at Christmas. And see something new each time.
July 17, 2014
A perfect Connie Willis story, with the aliens, and the muddle, and the mundane aspects of middle class modern life in the US, and even more, a really satisfying little puzzle and race to solve it. It well deserved the Hugo. Probably they should just go ahead and issue her one with every new copyright.
May 7, 2008
It's very lightweight, compared to many other CW books, and might have been better as part of an anthology than as a stand-alone (expensive) book. But I still found it a lot of fun. The disapproving aliens were a hoot.
October 4, 2013
This is a delightful book, a very quick read and will be especially enjoyed by all choir and chorus singers. And anybody who has worked with scientists and been ignored.
December 15, 2022
I loved this. Connie Willis gives me great joy.
November 11, 2012
What a silly and profound story. Like the Doomsday Book, this story has to do with people in the here and now trying desperately to understand an alien culture (whether separated by time or species). This time, aliens have landed on Earth and are acting strangely. Not menacingly, just in a way that the people on Earth can't understand. Willis' books--at least those I have read--seem fictional (or rather, science-fictional) accounts of trying to understand another culture, in which everything seems fuzzy and unclear until you work long and hard enough at trying to understand what's going on that things start to become clear--and then you wonder: Why didn't I understand that all along? This story is so funny, so sweet, so perfect for Christmas or any other time of the year.
May 16, 2014
This novella is a quick read, adorable and fun.
It flirts with the idea of romance, but like her prior works Bellwether and Passage, Ms. Willis holds courtship strictly to the background of the main character's research. Yes, research -- Ms. Willis has heroines that do research. The puzzle is simple and many readers will figure out elements of the central mystery long before the various revelations. The heart of this book is how fully Ms. Willis captures the experience of trying to explain something to people who don't want to hear you, and how amazing it is to finally be heard.
It flirts with the idea of romance, but like her prior works Bellwether and Passage, Ms. Willis holds courtship strictly to the background of the main character's research. Yes, research -- Ms. Willis has heroines that do research. The puzzle is simple and many readers will figure out elements of the central mystery long before the various revelations. The heart of this book is how fully Ms. Willis captures the experience of trying to explain something to people who don't want to hear you, and how amazing it is to finally be heard.
November 1, 2019
3.5⭐ In an introduction to a story in one of her science fiction anthologies Connie Willis said she used to write romance stories and still does, when she can get away with it. She gets away with it here, in this middling length short story (included in Willis' anthology 'A Lot Like Christmas'). It's a Christmas themed, shaggy-dog like, romantic romp with echoes of 'Love, Actually'. Non-verbal aliens land in Denver at Christmas and don't say a word, just glare disapprovingly (like the heroine's Aunt Judith). Humanity goes nuts trying to get them to talk, until finally a seemly random event at a shopping mall, triggers a response. A fine tale for a fireplace and eggnog.
December 9, 2011
Loved. LOVED. Willis is always brilliant but here we have aliens, communication issues and Christmas choirs, with bonus! protagonists named Calvin and Meg. Holiday mayhem that will make even the Grinchiest giggle.
August 24, 2012
I probably should have waited for a few more weeks to read this - or at least waited until it wasn't 80 degrees outside. It makes it hard to get into the Christmas mood.
But I was in the mood for something short and funny, and Connie Willis is reliably witty and amusing.
But I was in the mood for something short and funny, and Connie Willis is reliably witty and amusing.
February 6, 2021
A delightful Christmas novella, light, sparkling, and hysterically funny. Aliens and Christmas choirs blend so easily in the author's imagination. I read the book one sitting and smiled the entire time.
Read
January 7, 2015Aaargh! This isn't yet available in the UK. I'm WAITING!!!!
Read
September 16, 2008A sci-fi Christmas story. Quick read.
December 18, 2008
Really great and entertaining short story! Read it here online: http://www.asimovs.com/_issue_0805/al...
January 21, 2010
Very cute! The Connie Willis brand of humor-in-SF is just my speed.
Read
February 21, 2015IL'D HER CHRISTMAS ALIEN NOVELLA. AND HER BOOK OF CHRISTMAS SHORT STORIES, ACTUALLY.
March 18, 2015
Love Connie Willis books...but this only had small glimpses of what I love about her writing.
May 4, 2017
The best science fiction story about Christmas carols that I've ever read. Of course, arguably the only science fiction story about Christmas carols that I've ever read.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 144 reviews