Little Green Men

First Contact

by Peter Cawdron

Little Green Men is a tribute to the works of Philip K. Dick, hailing back to classic science fiction stories of the 1950s.

The crew of the Dei Gratia set down on a frozen planet and are attacked by little green men. Chief Science Officer David Michaels struggles with the impossible situation unfolding around him as the crew are murdered one by one. With the engines offline and power fading, he races against time to understand this mysterious threat and escape the planet alive.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Aliens, Thriller, Amazon, Horror, Fantasy

210 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 26, 2013

Reviews

[Montzalee Wittmann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Little Green Men by Peter Cawdron is a freaky book that keeps your heart pumping the whole time. I am trying to figure it out and it is so weird and so bizarre, but I absolutely loved it. I mind boggling book and scary at the same time. I love his books!

[Nick Cole · Rating 5 out of 5]

This fast paced sci-fi adventure is a cross between good old-fashioned hard SF and scrabbling-claw in the air ducts Aliens-style terror wrapped in a delightful Twilight Zone episode. The prose is tight and economical and the descriptions of the chemistry and biology of strange alien worlds and mysterious derelict star freighters make me want this author to develop this milieu and tell more stories in this universe. In a way, this felt like good old-fashioned, old-school Roddenberry five-year mission Star Trek exploration stuff! Remember... the stuff we all initially got hooked on. The good stuff.

[Will Swardstrom · Rating 5 out of 5]

Peter Cawdron's Little Green Men evokes a title that many may think is playful, but this story is anything but.
I'm a sucker for science fiction in space, especially first contact-type tales, so I was in for a treat with LGM as Mr. Cawdron takes the reader on a fantastic ride from the get-go. The stage isn't set for the reader early on -- instead we pick up bits and pieces as we launch into the action with Michaels and Johnson, two crew members on board the Dei Gratia. We find out this is a mining operation with a side scientific endeavor. Before we know it, life is discovered and the rest of the story is a roller coaster from there as we try to piece together what is happening.
Cawdron tells a wonderful story with head-fakes and misdirections, all leading to a terrific conclusion. In his credits, he mentions Carl Sagan, Michael Crichton and Philip K. Dick. I definitely could see influences from Crichton and Dick in the story, doing each author proud.
While there is plenty of action, the author plants just enough clues along the way to keep the audience guessing until the final pages as to what exactly is going on. What a great story -- keep it up!

[L · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fabulous first-contact tale! The characters are solid and believable. The plot draws in the reader, moving along at the pace needed in a novella. From the beginning you think you know where it is going and might be somewhat disappointed in how obvious it all is. And then you learn that you are both right and very, very wrong. All of this is wrapped up in social-historical awareness/conscience. And if all that that were not enough, the story is quite imaginative. If you like sci-fi, read this! As for me, I need more Cawdron and I need it now!

[Lorel Holt · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was alright. It was a good story. Don’t be fooled by the cutesy cover.. it not a cutesy story. The story was very reminiscent of the movie Alien until the end.

[Mal Warwick · Rating 4 out of 5]

First Contact is one of the most abundant themes in all of science fiction. And one gifted author, Australian Peter Cawdron, has written nearly a dozen First Contact novels. But in Little Green Men he doesn’t take for granted what so many other writers consider a given—that communication between human and extraterrestrial intelligence is inevitable. And when First Contact finally arrives unexpectedly, he focuses not on the challenges of communication but on the depths of the human psyche that might well come into play.

The story in a nutshell

It’s the year 2241. Michaels and Johnson have ventured out onto the frozen wastes of an alien world to gather samples for analysis in a mining venture. They’re suddenly attacked by a horde of fast-moving creatures resembling Little Green Men. The creatures tear off one of Johnson’s arms and scuttle away, leaving him dying of blood loss in the sub-zero cold.

Is this communication between human and extraterrestrial intelligence?

Does this encounter represent First Contact? At first, Michaels isn’t inclined to believe that. “The Confederacy has searched over two hundred star systems, almost three thousand surveyed planets, and God knows how many moons, and there hasn’t been a shred of evidence for extraterrestrial life, but you think this muddy hellhole is different?” And those Little Green Men rushed past him and Johnson so blindingly fast that he has trouble persuading himself they were real.

Soon, two other members of the Dei Gratia‘s crew, a hundred kilometers away on another exploratory probe, encounter a “ghost ship,” a huge and unmistakably human starship that crashed two decades earlier. The site conjures up spooky references to the Mary Celeste, an American merchant ship found adrift and deserted off the Azores Islands in 1872—because the ship that discovered the Mary Celeste was named Dei Gratia! To compound the mystery, one of the miners accidentally loses his life inside the ghost ship . . . as a Little Green Man looks on. And this one looks unmistakably real.

Back on board the Dei Gratia, Michaels, the science officer, and Captain Vegas struggle with their own fears as well as those of their shipmates, all desperate to understand what happened on the planet’s surface. Then Little Green Men materialize inside the Dei Gratia itself—and all hell breaks loose. The last thing on anyone’s mind is communication between human and extraterrestrial intelligence.

Is contact with extraterrestrial intelligence likely?

It’s worthwhile exploring, as Cawdron does, whether First Contact is in fact a reasonable expectation. Like other writers, he cites the 1961 Drake Equation, an effort to stimulate the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence. Frank Drake (1930-) himself calculated there were probably between 1,000 and 100,000,000 planets with civilizations in the Milky Way galaxy. But Cawdron appears to side with the critics of the thesis. As some have shown, by plugging different assumptions into the equation we could easily end up concluding that humanity is probably alone in this galaxy, and possibly in all the observable universe. SETI‘s failure to date to detect extraterrestrial civilization—and the absence of proof that any of the numberless reports of “UFOs” have brought aliens to Earth—suggest that skepticism is more than reasonable.

[Travis Mohrman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I grabbed this a few days ago without reading the synopsis. I read Xenophobia and Monsters by the same author and enjoyed them well enough, so I picked this up "sight unseen", so to speak.
What a treat it was to read. I had no idea what it was about and really enjoyed what I discovered.

One thing Cawdron does really well is capture the real Science in science fiction without going too in-depth that it gets boring. I won't include spoilers here, but I had so many different ideas of where this story was going to end up...I love books like that. They make you think.

Pick up this story and read it, you will enjoy it if you like science fiction. The only reason I held back the fifth star was because the whole explanation came in about 6 pages near the end. This wasn't a bad thing, it's my own pet peeve. It didn't come across as awkward or anything. I just prefer when those things are drawn out a little more.
Highly recommend!

[Courtney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing little book & another 5 stars to one of Cawdron's works. I've loved all of the books I've read by him but this is by far my favorite!

[J/LOSTBOY/WILLIAMS · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is fantastic!!!
Creepy, fast, and interesting! Loved this book!

[Kiran Kumili · Rating 4 out of 5]

Two men on some unknown planet try to collect some rare chemical samples of fluid and rock like material over there which could give the answer to the origin of life. While they were collecting the samples, one of them Johnson comes into contact with some alien creature and in the process loses one of his hand at a split second. The injured and severely bleeding man is brought back to the space shuttle by the other Michaels with the remote help of his superiors in the shuttle.
Meanwhile another set of astronauts (Jacobs and Hubbard) in the same planet, elsewhere, on the same mission, accidentally come across an abandoned space vehicle “Celeste” and one of them makes a futile attempt to explore the ship, during which he loses his life. While the entire crew in the base were in a shock due to Hubbard’s death, Jacobs struggles to get back to the Base ship leaving behind Hubbard’s body in Celeste. Just then, the crew along with Michaels, witness a shocking streaming video of a green alien trying to break open the helmet of Hubbard captured from the helmet camera of dead Hubbard inside Celeste. While everyone is paralyzed with this video, Hubbard suddenly appears in the Base Ship. This even more shocks the crew who later learn from Johnson that the little green aliens have come inside the Base Ship and are all around.
By now everyone in the Command believes that the duplicate Hubbard in the ship is some kind of alien creature. Michaels is given the task of breaking this mystery. Later, a series of events with the ‘green men’ makes the scientist Michaels research into the aftermaths of his encounter with these aliens and after applying different permutations and combinations of evolution and behavioral theories and principles, he concludes that the entire crew on the Ship are subject to imaginative virtual reality due to their own built-in fears about aliens and their individual little knowledge about them, which is actually a part of communication tool pertaining to extra-terrestrial intelligence.
Michaels finally summarizes that the whole planet on which they landed is a single mass of extra-terrestrial intelligence embedded with complex set of neurons and DNA which have developed a biological defense mechanism in the form of “little green men” to counter the invasion of foreign bodies (humans) on their body (the planet itself). The green men disappear once the fear of being attacked by some alien creatures and the intention to extract valuable minerals from the planet, disappear from the minds of the entire crew, through synchronized counseling by Michaels. Ultimately the Command decides to try and communicate with the planet as a whole considering it as an extra-terrestrial intelligence from the orbit using various satellites.
The book is a simple exhibition of extravagant scientific knowledge and ability to take the reader to the next level of learning about human life and its intrinsic capacity to evolve constantly for betterment in every second of its future.

My rating is 3.75/5

[Kristin Blake-Meade · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m starting to run out of Cawdron books and it’s a bit upsetting. You know how when you shop for clothes and sometimes might purchase the same shirt in multiple colors? That’s a bit how I feel with his books. They are all intelligent insights surrounding first contact with hard science paving the entire way but each one is completely different and they all creatively introduce you to explore perspective in such a way that you’re left thinking about the book long after you’ve finished reading.

I have been putting this one off for awhile on account of the title. It gave off a feeling that it was going to be silly or juvenile but my assumptions were wrong. Not sure if the problem simply was that the title was a bad choice or if my being too quick to judge was more the issue.

One of the reasons why the movie Annihilation by Alex Garland quickly became my favorite movie of all time (if you haven’t seen it, spoiler alert) is because it forced us to consider first contact in a way that was beyond our understanding of how life works- An extra terrestrial that might not even know we or itself is even there. It was a reaction, or maybe better defined as an esoteric process rather than an intelligent being. It was destructive while beautiful, confusing yet horrifying, all while not actually having self awareness. It fed off of the surrounding environment on top of it. What I liked most about this book is that it was somewhat reminiscent of these qualities that I loved so much in the movie. The only problem I had with the book, and the reason it was a 4 star for me, was that as soon as those qualities and conclusions are introduced, the story drops off and it’s suddenly the end of the book. It was quite off putting. It definitely needed more time exploring these final layers.

[Lisa Hapney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Little Green Men by Peter Cawdron was a great ride. I enjoyed it very much and sped right through it, never finding myself bored or distracted by outside factors. The crew of the Dei Gratia have a unique experience during their exploration of a possible mining site. They must conquer themselves and work together to understand the mystery that is presented to them in the hope of getting away alive.

This was a good first contact story of the old style variety. The writing was excellent as was the storytelling. I felt like I was there and that’s what I’m looking for from a story. Any time you find yourself physically cringing in your chair as the characters go to peek around a corner there is no doubt that the author has done their job. One of the things I really enjoy about Peter Cawdron’s stories is that he seems like the kind of person who sits around in the evening fully exploring the what-if scenarios before him, waiting patiently until he finds just the scenario he is seeking. This generally leads to some kind of interesting and intelligent twist away from what you were expecting as a reader. I like to be surprised so this is a very appealing quality for me in fiction. All in all it was a fun read and I really enjoyed it. I hope you will too. Once again, Peter Cawdron has given us a tale with something to think about when we head to the stars.

[Elaine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Any fan of science fiction will enjoy this slim easy read which provides a new and unexpected twist on the first contact idea. I loved the fact that the author paid homage to Phillip Dick while making his own mark. The characters are a little thinly drawn for my taste, but the plot moves along quickly with just the right mix of surprise to keep you reading anyway. Is this an immersion in a new world? Not really. The author moves quickly from scene to scene, relying upon the all-too-frequent approach of creating little more than an extended movie script when it comes to describing settings and locations. Thus, the planet itself remains an enigma, rather than becoming a central character in the book -- which in my mind reduces the rating of the book. As you will see if you elect to read the book, setting means everything in this particular novel.
But with that said, it was a quick, interesting read and I left the novel wondering what will happen to the characters next -- which is a testimony to the author's ability to create interesting, if brief, character outlines.

[Colby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another stellar sci-fi offering from Cawdron, who has got some serious writing chops. Little Green Men explores a first-contact scenario, which by nature is something that must be complicated beyond all possible imagination. If we can think it, it's not alien enough, basically. This book also touches on the running theme that the worst monsters out there are probably us. I don't want to give any spoilers, so I will just say "Read This Book" and move on. I enjoyed this book and blew through it in a couple of days. I can't wait for Cawdron's next offering (which I hear will be before Christmas, and will also be most likely awesome).

[Shilpi Goel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Peter Cawdron, what a tribute to Philip K. Dick! Kudos!

Little Green Men is about the first contact of the human race with an extra-terrestrial species. It starts out as being very similar to what science fiction books and flicks had imagined it would be, but hey, it really isn't. Also, if you think the title is... "corny" and thus inferred that this is your run-of-the-mill science fiction story, you couldn't be more mistaken.

Read this book if you dig Sci-Fi. You'll dig this too.

(This review also appears on Amazon.)

[Randy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The title of this novella is cutesy, but the story is not. It takes place on a planet where miners are beginning exploration and encounter little green men who start attacking them, both on the planet and in their ship. Many strange things occur, some beyond the realm of rationality. It's a very gripping tale and was very difficult for me to put down until finished. Mr. Cawdron wrote this to honor the influence Philip K. Dick had on his writing. If you like sci-fi stories, I think you'll enjoy reading this book.

[Phoghat.com/ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Peter Cawdron seems to have an inexhaustable imagination for original first contact scenarios. Anomoly was intellectual and thought provoking; Xenophobia was action packed and told a first contact story from an unexpected viewpoint and now Little Green Men has yet another take on first contact that is both thought provoking and action packed.

It is only a short story but the characters feel real and the story takes several unexpected turns.

[Brenda Fryland · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fabulous and suspenseful first contact story! the characters have distinct personalities., even a couple that I dislike! the writing skill is evident as you fall into this tale and fear for your "friends" safety! gets confusing and its supposed to-- cool resolution to the scenario. just bought another book by this author. ooh-- on that note., I read anomaly and adored it!

[Colleen McAllister · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not like the 50's

This book was a wonderful look at first contact in a way you may not have thought about. Spooky, suspenseful, and thought provoking the story takes us along as a mining ship surveys a distant planet and finds more than they bargained for. Once I got into the story I had to finish it - the story was to compelling to put down.

[Jeanne Johnston · Rating 5 out of 5]

THIS is science fiction. Tense little story akin to what you'd find in an old anthology of short stories by classical writers. How do you deal with a scary situation in an inhospitable world without approaching it only from a human perspective? A great lesson in assumptions and being open to others' POV rather than simply thinking we need to conquer every world we encounter.

[Selinalynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this little book. It had me hooked right from the start. I had to actually take a break from the story just to lengthen the pleasure. I will definitely be reading more of Cawdron's works!

[Anna Risko · Rating 4 out of 5]

great story of how first contact may be what we make of it.

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

A well written little sci-fi story. Reminded me of better episodes of Star Trek.

[Lorrena · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nobody can read just one

I have devoured about ten books in the first contact series so far. Each one is a unique take on any of an infinite number of possible scenarios. Mr. Cawdron is well read in classical hard science fiction as well as science in general. This influence is obvious and appreciated. I prefer a healthy dose of science facts knitting the fiction together. It's easier to suspend my disbelief. A good story is spoiled if the author contradicts science. For example: "The neutrino cannons delivered devastating damage to the ship after their magnetic shielding collapsed." This author (who shall remain namless and unreadable to me) didn't know what a neutrino is. I haven't noticed anything impossible in the first contact series, but there are plenty of fascinating ET possibilities. Nobody really knows anything about aliens at all. We can only make assumptions about life and the nature of consciousness based on what we see here on earth. One planet isn't that much to go on. I would say that's also true of the series. The more titles I read, the broader my perception becomes.

[Judith Trail · Rating 4 out of 5]

Franklin D. Roosevelt said, "the only thing we have to fear is fear itself..." and that is applicable to this installment of the First Contact novels by Peter Cawdron. Sent to a planet to explore possible mining opportunities, the crew of the Dei Gratia find more than they bargained for on a remote planet. A crew member loses his hand; two others find a wrecked ship they knew had disappeared in the past, and worse, little green men appear and attack the ship, murder on the agenda. But a crew member believed dead shows up quite alive and the little green men seem to intuitively know what action they are taking to defend themselves. How can this be? What can be believed, what is real and how will they leave the planet? This story is quick-paced, keeping the tension palpable, as the crew becomes increasingly confused by their first encounter. Reading the Epilogue is absolutely required. Peter Cawdron has a way with telling a story: always fresh, good characters and the ability to surprise.

[Pete Miles · Rating 4 out of 5]

Suspenseful novella set in space, that is darker than the cover suggests.

This is short, but it was better that the author kept the book at the length it needed to be for the story to be told, than try to pad it out. As with the other Cawdron books I have read, it is not great on character drawing or development, that is not his style / strength. It is however engaging and there are moments of genuine tension if you go with it. Any seasoned sci-fi reader will guess where some aspects of the story are going, but it was certainly not tediously predictable and kept my interest. The title and the cover suggest a much lighter story and it is actually quite dark and bleak. It is a decent short read and I enjoyed it.

[Tony Calder · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is hard sf wrapped in a horror shell. The first few pages are relatively sedate, but after that it kicks into overdrive and doesn't slow down until the end.

Little Green Men is an homage to classic sci-fi horror films, such as Alien and The Thing - Cawdron writes about this in the afterword - and, like them, it contains a twist I did not see coming.

Speaking of afterwords, if you are a reader who likes to read the afterword before you read the novel, you really should refrain from that in this case - it will spoil the story. I have read a few of the author's novels before (and enjoyed them) but this has a very different tone to the other stories I have read.

Thoroughly enjoyable and highly recommended.

[Red Tide · Rating 5 out of 5]

Scary and thoughtful fun

This was awesome. There were so many clues to the nature of the first contact and I still didn't get them until the characters did. I think that they tickled the back of my mind but I couldn't put the pieces together.

The writer has done great imaginings of first contact scenarios and this is another stab at what two intelligences encountering each other might look like. If you don't read science fiction as a rule, this would be a good first look. If you're a fan, then you'll get some nice twists, shocks and revelations. Dialogue, action, characters and plot are all first rate.

[Jane Balke Andersen · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

I enjoyed this book by Peter Cawdron, but didn’t see it was a novella. I wanted more.

The first part is set up so well, very exciting: alien planet, out exploring and things go very wrong. The action and tension is wound up from that point and it is a thrilling tale.

The author always has something awaiting us, a twist, an idea, he wants to reveal to us and he does in this one too. My main problem with Little Green Men was the speed with which the book ends. It felt rushed to me.

I prefer some of the author’s other books in his First Contact series in comparison to this one. I look forward to more, hopefully longer, Cawdron books.

[John Stephens · Rating 5 out of 5]

A novella, one of Peter's shorter works, Little Green Men is a thriller, nearly a horror story that will have you sitting on the edge of your seat from the first chapter to the last. But is has a psychological twist at the end that you won't see coming, and makes a very good statement about how human beings think and react.

Even though this is a shorter piece of work, I have to rate it five stars simply because of how good the writing is, the character development, the story development, the fear factor, and how well it has been edited. This is an outstanding book if you're interested in a short read.