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The Coming
The Arrival Is Imminent
Joe Haldeman's novel The Comingis a tightly constructed near future thriller which begins by recapitulating a classic science fictional motif: the moment of first contact with an alien intelligence.
The story begins on October 1, 2054. Aurora (Rory) Bell, a professor of astrophysics at the University of Florida, has just made the discovery of the century. A sophisticated sensing device called a gamma ray burst detector has picked up a message from somewhere beyond the solar system. The easily decrypted message contains two unambiguous words: We're coming. Subsequent analysis reveals that the source of the message is heading directly toward Earth and is scheduled to arrive on the first day of January 2055. A media circus inevitably ensues, as the citizens of Earth attempt to prepare for a wholly unprecedented event.
From this point forward, Haldeman focuses not on the alien spaceship but on the social, political, and environmental conditions of a rapidly deteriorating planet. He envisions a 21st century marked by unpredictable weather patterns and geopolitical chaos, a world in which corruption is an endemic element both of private enterprises and governmental institutions. Controversial -- i.e., gay -- sexual practices have been outlawed. The electoral process has become a joke, ushering in a new generation of leaders who are incompetent and uninformed but intensely photogenic. Most significantly, the nations of Europe are flexing their muscles once again, marshaling their forces for an inevitable -- and catastrophic -- global conflict.
Haldeman's portrait of the century to come is at once familiar and strange, enlivened by a steady flow of imaginative details: automated traffic control systems, virtual reality pornography, designer drugs tailored to the individual DNA. Haldeman shows us this world from the constantly shifting perspective of a variety of characters. Included among them are Rory Bell, whose initial discovery jump-starts the narrative; Norman Bell, a middle-aged composer with a history of "illegal" sexual behavior; Willie Joe Capra, a sadistic bagman with delusions of grandeur; and a nameless "historian," whose ruminations illuminate the cyclical patterns of violence present throughout recorded history.
As always, Haldeman writes with clarity, economy, and wit, skillfully moving his extensive cast toward a climactic moment of revelation in which "hope and caution" predominate. The Coming is both a provocative, cleverly conceived entertainment and a compelling meditation on the eternal human propensity for violent solutions. It is speculative fiction of the highest order and reaffirms its author's position as a modern master of the form.
--Bill Sheehan
Bill Sheehan reviews horror, suspense, and science fiction for Cemetery Dance, The New York Review of Science Fiction, and other publications. His book-length critical study of the fiction of Peter Straub, At the Foot of the Story Tree, has just been published by Subterranean Press (www.subterraneanpress.com).
Joe Haldeman's novel The Comingis a tightly constructed near future thriller which begins by recapitulating a classic science fictional motif: the moment of first contact with an alien intelligence.
The story begins on October 1, 2054. Aurora (Rory) Bell, a professor of astrophysics at the University of Florida, has just made the discovery of the century. A sophisticated sensing device called a gamma ray burst detector has picked up a message from somewhere beyond the solar system. The easily decrypted message contains two unambiguous words: We're coming. Subsequent analysis reveals that the source of the message is heading directly toward Earth and is scheduled to arrive on the first day of January 2055. A media circus inevitably ensues, as the citizens of Earth attempt to prepare for a wholly unprecedented event.
From this point forward, Haldeman focuses not on the alien spaceship but on the social, political, and environmental conditions of a rapidly deteriorating planet. He envisions a 21st century marked by unpredictable weather patterns and geopolitical chaos, a world in which corruption is an endemic element both of private enterprises and governmental institutions. Controversial -- i.e., gay -- sexual practices have been outlawed. The electoral process has become a joke, ushering in a new generation of leaders who are incompetent and uninformed but intensely photogenic. Most significantly, the nations of Europe are flexing their muscles once again, marshaling their forces for an inevitable -- and catastrophic -- global conflict.
Haldeman's portrait of the century to come is at once familiar and strange, enlivened by a steady flow of imaginative details: automated traffic control systems, virtual reality pornography, designer drugs tailored to the individual DNA. Haldeman shows us this world from the constantly shifting perspective of a variety of characters. Included among them are Rory Bell, whose initial discovery jump-starts the narrative; Norman Bell, a middle-aged composer with a history of "illegal" sexual behavior; Willie Joe Capra, a sadistic bagman with delusions of grandeur; and a nameless "historian," whose ruminations illuminate the cyclical patterns of violence present throughout recorded history.
As always, Haldeman writes with clarity, economy, and wit, skillfully moving his extensive cast toward a climactic moment of revelation in which "hope and caution" predominate. The Coming is both a provocative, cleverly conceived entertainment and a compelling meditation on the eternal human propensity for violent solutions. It is speculative fiction of the highest order and reaffirms its author's position as a modern master of the form.
--Bill Sheehan
Bill Sheehan reviews horror, suspense, and science fiction for Cemetery Dance, The New York Review of Science Fiction, and other publications. His book-length critical study of the fiction of Peter Straub, At the Foot of the Story Tree, has just been published by Subterranean Press (www.subterraneanpress.com).
278 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published December 1, 2000
231 people are currently reading
658 people want to read
About the author
Joe Haldeman
443 books2,208 followersBrother of Jack C. Haldeman II
Haldeman is the author of 20 novels and five collections. The Forever War won the Nebula, Hugo and Ditmar Awards for best science fiction novel in 1975. Other notable titles include Camouflage, The Accidental Time Machine and Marsbound as well as the short works "Graves," "Tricentennial" and "The Hemingway Hoax." Starbound is scheduled for a January release. SFWA president Russell Davis called Haldeman "an extraordinarily talented writer, a respected teacher and mentor in our community, and a good friend."
Haldeman officially received the Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master for 2010 by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America at the Nebula Awards Weekend in May, 2010 in Hollywood, Fla.
Haldeman is the author of 20 novels and five collections. The Forever War won the Nebula, Hugo and Ditmar Awards for best science fiction novel in 1975. Other notable titles include Camouflage, The Accidental Time Machine and Marsbound as well as the short works "Graves," "Tricentennial" and "The Hemingway Hoax." Starbound is scheduled for a January release. SFWA president Russell Davis called Haldeman "an extraordinarily talented writer, a respected teacher and mentor in our community, and a good friend."
Haldeman officially received the Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master for 2010 by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America at the Nebula Awards Weekend in May, 2010 in Hollywood, Fla.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 132 reviews
April 28, 2022
This story ramps up after a slow start and a strong end contributes significantly. 7 of 10 stars
October 17, 2016
In the year 2054, the humans of earth get their first confirmation that they are not alone in the universe. Aurora is an astronomer in Florida who decodes a first message from aliens: “We are coming.” And indeed a ship traveling at near light speeds is detected and projected to arrive in a few month’s time. The book is about the reactions of individuals, academics, and governments to the news, a classic theme in sci fi. The creative element here lies with Haldeman’s method of passing the narrative from character to character until we get a myriad of perspectives and pieces of the puzzle of how humanity is faring before and after the news and how the aliens are going to be dealt with by the powers that be.
The projections of how our societies will be fifty years from the 2000 publication date of this story have some interest to enquiring minds. That homosexuality will be made illegal seems implausible. That virtual reality technology will be applied to pornography is less than surprising. The same for robotic control of commuting vehicles. Haldeman is not known for his acumen in tech projections. Leave that to the likes of William Gibson. Regardless, the diversity of reactions to the news of impending alien arrival is a subject that will always fascinate me, and I gladly went along with the ride rendered here.
That the military would seek a military solution is no surprise. How some academics might try to surmount such a dangerous response was interesting to experience. But ultimately I got few thrills and little wisdom from all the power plays. The ending is a surprise. Maybe disappointing like a shaggy-dog story to some, but I liked it. Overall a good read for me, though not in the league with Haldeman’s best.
This republication was provided for review through the Netgalley program.
The projections of how our societies will be fifty years from the 2000 publication date of this story have some interest to enquiring minds. That homosexuality will be made illegal seems implausible. That virtual reality technology will be applied to pornography is less than surprising. The same for robotic control of commuting vehicles. Haldeman is not known for his acumen in tech projections. Leave that to the likes of William Gibson. Regardless, the diversity of reactions to the news of impending alien arrival is a subject that will always fascinate me, and I gladly went along with the ride rendered here.
That the military would seek a military solution is no surprise. How some academics might try to surmount such a dangerous response was interesting to experience. But ultimately I got few thrills and little wisdom from all the power plays. The ending is a surprise. Maybe disappointing like a shaggy-dog story to some, but I liked it. Overall a good read for me, though not in the league with Haldeman’s best.
This republication was provided for review through the Netgalley program.
October 28, 2016
In the year 2054, Astronomer Aurora Bell detects and easily decodes a signal that is transmitted from a super-fast space craft. The space craft is flying at over 99% of the speed of light, but quickly decelerating as it is on a straight-line course for Earth. The signal is simple and short, "We are coming". And that is how this story begins.
The remainder of the story is all about how people react to the news that an alien space craft will reach the Earth in three months, exactly on New Years Day. The plot is silly, unbelievable, and becomes really crazy after a while. Indeed, the book is entertaining, but you will not get any deep insights into human (or alien) nature by reading it. I do not recommend this book.
The remainder of the story is all about how people react to the news that an alien space craft will reach the Earth in three months, exactly on New Years Day. The plot is silly, unbelievable, and becomes really crazy after a while. Indeed, the book is entertaining, but you will not get any deep insights into human (or alien) nature by reading it. I do not recommend this book.
September 15, 2019
This is a nothing book: it has nothing to say, is about nothing, and is populated by characters with no dimension to them whatsoever. There are more weird interludes about the sex lives of random side characters than there are scenes which actually develop a compelling narrative. The final alien arrival is stunningly dull, and though it's meant to feel momentous, comes off as inconsequential.
As a short story, this might have been interesting, but at its current length it's a waste of time.
As a short story, this might have been interesting, but at its current length it's a waste of time.
February 24, 2012
Oh the Humanity!
What just happened?
Truthfully, I simply LOVE Joe Haldeman's books, and I've never before read any Haldeman that wouldn't get a 4- or 5-star rating.
So what went wrong? Allow me to digress - I promise I'll get to the criticism later - and first focus on the positives.
Firstly, Haldeman is such a good writer that the following are Laws.
1) Haldeman writes superbly fine prose. He's one of the literary giants in the SF field.
2) Haldeman has something to say. When you read his work, you get more than an engaging story; you get insight into the human condition. The author examines issues and posits a theme within his books, and an astute reader comes away with something on which to ponder.
3) Haldeman often experiments with style. He's not afraid to set limits so that he can exercise his craft as writer within these bounds. I'm often amazed at how he pulls it off, giving me a 5-star read with one hand tied behind his back, figuratively of course.
4) Haldeman can hold his own in the hard science realm. While not writing the same style as Bear, Benford, etc he certainly is careful to ensure that the science in his books is plausible. Extra points for details like that in books where it really wouldn't matter if the science were mumbo-jumbo.
5)Haldeman always delivers; his works are consistently reliable sources of 5-star reading material.
Oh, drat. Because of this book, I had to lose that 5th law.
So why only 2 stars? Mainly because Haldeman's experiment didn't pan out (see Law #3). In this book, Haldeman played 'pass-the-baton' with a rotating point of view that jumped from character to character. The reader gets access to the mind of Character A only until he meets with Character B. Then we follow that person until he meets up with Character C and the baton gets passed. And so on.
(The best example of this experiment I've come across is Growing Up Weightless by John M. Ford. Unfortunately Haldeman doesn't have as much luck with his attempt.)
The downfall of the experiment is that Haldeman fails to develop too much of any character. He jumps too much, too often, and the reader gets a cast of characters that may be a mile wide but are only an inch thick.
Add to that the fact that there really wasn't a single character that I liked. Maybe one that I was ambivalent towards, and maybe another that I tolerated. But I generally was disgusted with most of them, and in each of them there were several unanswered questions... (but maybe that's the point - how well can you ever really know anyone?)
I also was disappointed in the whole setup - the aliens are coming, but nothing really seems to move that part of the plot forward. People go on with their lives in such mundane ways, and we never get out of this seemingly small town anyways, so we only observe the world's reaction to the Coming through this microcosmic lens. It's not like Haldeman failed to notice that - it's by design! He's making a point about humanity; we fool ourselves when we think it would take something really monumental for us to work together cooperatively and peacefully. The Coming is imminent, and nothing really changes. The same mistakes and infighting continue, and only through luck (or perhaps serendipity) does anything get solved. But while the prose makes an engaging read, the plot setup and the resulting lack of developmental action becomes discouraging. When you're read more than 4/5 of the book, and you realize that nothing has progressed, you find yourself a bit perturbed.
Reading other reviews here on Goodreads, I've noticed that most hated the ending. I won't belabor the point - it was a bit anticlimactic, but it wasn't the weakest part of the book. Look up the phrase "damp squib" (as mentioned in a couple other reviews) and you'll know exactly what type of ending this book has. But I didn't mind - I had already made up my mind that this book's appeal would have improved immensely if it had only been a novella, and the ending would have been fine in that case.
Haldeman said that this book was based on The Listeners by James Edwin Gunn, which has been on my "to-read" pile for a couple years. I'll have to get to that in short order.
While we're on the subject of books involving messages from aliens, Rollback by Robert J. Sawyer does a wonderful job. Haldeman's book has a simpler message from space, but that was by design and not at all an indication that he isn't as clever as Sawyer.
2.5 stars - it's Haldeman, so it's worth reading. But this is one that won't go back on my bookshelf. It'll be listed on bookmooch until somebody snaps it up.
What just happened?
Truthfully, I simply LOVE Joe Haldeman's books, and I've never before read any Haldeman that wouldn't get a 4- or 5-star rating.
So what went wrong? Allow me to digress - I promise I'll get to the criticism later - and first focus on the positives.
Firstly, Haldeman is such a good writer that the following are Laws.
1) Haldeman writes superbly fine prose. He's one of the literary giants in the SF field.
2) Haldeman has something to say. When you read his work, you get more than an engaging story; you get insight into the human condition. The author examines issues and posits a theme within his books, and an astute reader comes away with something on which to ponder.
3) Haldeman often experiments with style. He's not afraid to set limits so that he can exercise his craft as writer within these bounds. I'm often amazed at how he pulls it off, giving me a 5-star read with one hand tied behind his back, figuratively of course.
4) Haldeman can hold his own in the hard science realm. While not writing the same style as Bear, Benford, etc he certainly is careful to ensure that the science in his books is plausible. Extra points for details like that in books where it really wouldn't matter if the science were mumbo-jumbo.
5)
Oh, drat. Because of this book, I had to lose that 5th law.
So why only 2 stars? Mainly because Haldeman's experiment didn't pan out (see Law #3). In this book, Haldeman played 'pass-the-baton' with a rotating point of view that jumped from character to character. The reader gets access to the mind of Character A only until he meets with Character B. Then we follow that person until he meets up with Character C and the baton gets passed. And so on.
(The best example of this experiment I've come across is Growing Up Weightless by John M. Ford. Unfortunately Haldeman doesn't have as much luck with his attempt.)
The downfall of the experiment is that Haldeman fails to develop too much of any character. He jumps too much, too often, and the reader gets a cast of characters that may be a mile wide but are only an inch thick.
Add to that the fact that there really wasn't a single character that I liked. Maybe one that I was ambivalent towards, and maybe another that I tolerated. But I generally was disgusted with most of them, and in each of them there were several unanswered questions... (but maybe that's the point - how well can you ever really know anyone?)
I also was disappointed in the whole setup - the aliens are coming, but nothing really seems to move that part of the plot forward. People go on with their lives in such mundane ways, and we never get out of this seemingly small town anyways, so we only observe the world's reaction to the Coming through this microcosmic lens. It's not like Haldeman failed to notice that - it's by design! He's making a point about humanity; we fool ourselves when we think it would take something really monumental for us to work together cooperatively and peacefully. The Coming is imminent, and nothing really changes. The same mistakes and infighting continue, and only through luck (or perhaps serendipity) does anything get solved. But while the prose makes an engaging read, the plot setup and the resulting lack of developmental action becomes discouraging. When you're read more than 4/5 of the book, and you realize that nothing has progressed, you find yourself a bit perturbed.
Reading other reviews here on Goodreads, I've noticed that most hated the ending. I won't belabor the point - it was a bit anticlimactic, but it wasn't the weakest part of the book. Look up the phrase "damp squib" (as mentioned in a couple other reviews) and you'll know exactly what type of ending this book has. But I didn't mind - I had already made up my mind that this book's appeal would have improved immensely if it had only been a novella, and the ending would have been fine in that case.
Haldeman said that this book was based on The Listeners by James Edwin Gunn, which has been on my "to-read" pile for a couple years. I'll have to get to that in short order.
While we're on the subject of books involving messages from aliens, Rollback by Robert J. Sawyer does a wonderful job. Haldeman's book has a simpler message from space, but that was by design and not at all an indication that he isn't as clever as Sawyer.
2.5 stars - it's Haldeman, so it's worth reading. But this is one that won't go back on my bookshelf. It'll be listed on bookmooch until somebody snaps it up.
March 29, 2021
In The Coming Haldeman asks one of the oldest traditional questions of science fiction: We get a message from the stars that aliens are on the way... how does Earth react? His answer isn't too imaginative, lots of sex and drugs, and the ending kind of fizzles. There aren't many likable characters, and the viewpoint shifts a bit too much. I enjoyed reading it while the pages were turning, but didn't think it was especially memorable. There are several other books with a similar theme I thought were better. This one is fine, but is not one of his better novels.
April 28, 2024
Y si una nave de otra galaxia se aproxima a la tierra? Como reaccionaría la humanidad con un contacto de tipo extraterrestre?
Ests hipótesis recorre el libro, desde la cosmogonía de un pueblo de Estados Unidos en 2054.
Religión, política, sociedad y guerra se mezclan en esta novela que hace pensar sobre una hipótesis espacial muy sopesada en relatos de ciencia ficción.
Interesante ver la conformación geopolítica del mundo a mitad de siglo con giros que sorprenden, como una guerra entre superpotencias europeas o una Cataluña conformada como estado soberano.
El principal problema del libro es que la parte mas trascendente que es la propia llegada, se resuelve en un suspiro al final pareciendo algo totalmente secundario
Ests hipótesis recorre el libro, desde la cosmogonía de un pueblo de Estados Unidos en 2054.
Religión, política, sociedad y guerra se mezclan en esta novela que hace pensar sobre una hipótesis espacial muy sopesada en relatos de ciencia ficción.
Interesante ver la conformación geopolítica del mundo a mitad de siglo con giros que sorprenden, como una guerra entre superpotencias europeas o una Cataluña conformada como estado soberano.
El principal problema del libro es que la parte mas trascendente que es la propia llegada, se resuelve en un suspiro al final pareciendo algo totalmente secundario
June 16, 2020
Since I (app) didn't keep notes, and this is still JH's most recent novel, I'm just going to pirate my pal Rich Horton's writeup, https://rrhorton.blogspot.com/2020/06/
"Joe Haldeman's newest book is The Coming. This is a shortish, nicely executed, book about the receipt of a signal from an alien ship. Haldeman explicitly credits James Gunn's fine novel about receiving messages from aliens, The Listeners, as an influence, but The Coming reminded me much more of a brilliant and underrated novel by John Kessel, Good News From Outer Space. Both books (The Coming and Kessel's novel) use the idea of aliens coming to Earth as a fulcrum for an exploration of U. S. society.
The Coming opens with an astronomer at the University of Florida, Aurora Bell, recognizing an anomalous signal from a gamma ray telescope. It turns out to be a short message saying, in English, "We're Coming". And she is able to confirm that it comes from a source about a tenth of a light year from Earth, blue-shifted so that it must be traveling at 99 percent of the speed of light.
The novel is neatly structured so that the point of view smoothly shifts from scene to scene, such that each new scene begins from the POV of a character encountered just previously. This gives the whole book a certain fluidity and a certain sense of movement, and it also alows the author to gracefully explore events through the eyes of a wide variety of characters. What we see is a portrait of\ the city of Gainesville, Florida, in the 2054. The characters include Dr. Bell and her husband, a composer and also a professor; several colleagues of Dr. Bell, significantly including her assistant, a mysterious immigrant from Cuba named Pepe Parker; a restaurant owner in the University neighbourhood; a Mafia bag man; a policeman; a couple of reporters; a homeless lady; a university student making extra money by "acting" in "virtual reality" pornographic episodes; and more. Haldeman uses this tapestry of viewpoints to portray the reaction of the wider populace to the Coming of the aliens, but more importantly, he uses it to portray the social and political and technological landscape of this particular future. ...
... Haldeman's climax, involving the promised arrival of the aliens, is well-handled, and the reader isn't cheated. Overall the book feels just a bit slight, but it's a fine effort, and a good solid read. "
Rich has *excellent* taste = very similar to my own. And he's VERY well read, especially at short lengths. 4-star book for me. Read in Spring 2001.
"Joe Haldeman's newest book is The Coming. This is a shortish, nicely executed, book about the receipt of a signal from an alien ship. Haldeman explicitly credits James Gunn's fine novel about receiving messages from aliens, The Listeners, as an influence, but The Coming reminded me much more of a brilliant and underrated novel by John Kessel, Good News From Outer Space. Both books (The Coming and Kessel's novel) use the idea of aliens coming to Earth as a fulcrum for an exploration of U. S. society.
The Coming opens with an astronomer at the University of Florida, Aurora Bell, recognizing an anomalous signal from a gamma ray telescope. It turns out to be a short message saying, in English, "We're Coming". And she is able to confirm that it comes from a source about a tenth of a light year from Earth, blue-shifted so that it must be traveling at 99 percent of the speed of light.
The novel is neatly structured so that the point of view smoothly shifts from scene to scene, such that each new scene begins from the POV of a character encountered just previously. This gives the whole book a certain fluidity and a certain sense of movement, and it also alows the author to gracefully explore events through the eyes of a wide variety of characters. What we see is a portrait of\ the city of Gainesville, Florida, in the 2054. The characters include Dr. Bell and her husband, a composer and also a professor; several colleagues of Dr. Bell, significantly including her assistant, a mysterious immigrant from Cuba named Pepe Parker; a restaurant owner in the University neighbourhood; a Mafia bag man; a policeman; a couple of reporters; a homeless lady; a university student making extra money by "acting" in "virtual reality" pornographic episodes; and more. Haldeman uses this tapestry of viewpoints to portray the reaction of the wider populace to the Coming of the aliens, but more importantly, he uses it to portray the social and political and technological landscape of this particular future. ...
... Haldeman's climax, involving the promised arrival of the aliens, is well-handled, and the reader isn't cheated. Overall the book feels just a bit slight, but it's a fine effort, and a good solid read. "
Rich has *excellent* taste = very similar to my own. And he's VERY well read, especially at short lengths. 4-star book for me. Read in Spring 2001.
January 23, 2011
This book doesn't offer much in the way of original SF ideas and the ending is a damp squib, but it's interesting for the way it is constructed. It is a First Contact story with a premise similar to that of Sagan's Contact.
There are multiple viewpoints but instead of rotating around the characters and giving each perspective over the whole time period of the story, time progresses continually. Viewpoint switches are like momentum transfer in collisions; one character bumps into another and then suddenly we are off somewhere else in that second person's head! Think a little about how hard it would be to construct a novel that way and yet tell a good story well! I think there are a couple of times Haldeman can't quite make it work and we have to leap across town but not very many. Haldeman carries it off with impressive skill and the narrative is easy to follow and understand - so: technically impressive but not the best Haldeman can do in terms of SF ideas.
There are multiple viewpoints but instead of rotating around the characters and giving each perspective over the whole time period of the story, time progresses continually. Viewpoint switches are like momentum transfer in collisions; one character bumps into another and then suddenly we are off somewhere else in that second person's head! Think a little about how hard it would be to construct a novel that way and yet tell a good story well! I think there are a couple of times Haldeman can't quite make it work and we have to leap across town but not very many. Haldeman carries it off with impressive skill and the narrative is easy to follow and understand - so: technically impressive but not the best Haldeman can do in terms of SF ideas.
February 17, 2020
“If you took all of the energy that all of the world produces in one year, and put it all into a space drive … we couldn’t make a golf ball go that fast. If it’s an invasion, we’ve had it Perdido.”
Not-too-distant-future first-contact story. First published in 2000. Focus is on the reaction and interaction of players in Gainesville, Florida. Multilanguage vocabulary.
“But in more than twenty years of analysis, we haven’t gotten any clear semantic content from the three suspect sources. This one is as plain as a slap in the face.” “And as aggressive?” “That’s not clear. If they were attacking us, why announce that they were on their way? Why not just sneak up?” “On the other hand, if their intent is benevolent, why don’t they say more than ‘ready or not, here we come’?”
Heavy handed, as are most Haldeman stories, but better than his average. A pornographic subplot unrelated to the plot cost him a star. Haldeman apparently flunked anatomy and physiology 101. Humor lurks just beneath the surface.
“There were the usual riots in the usual countries, controlled by the usual methods, which provoked the usual responses. But even the most coolheaded and rational looked toward Christmas and the New Year, and wondered if there would be a January, after the first of the month.”
Daisy-chain point of view shifts changes characters without losing the reader. Several timeline inconsistencies. Several huge unanswered questions, at least one of which potentially undoes the whole story. (If I tell, it’s spoil things horribly.) Plot gaps diminish the fun, but fun it is.
"We use administrative procedures long before we resort to supernatural weapons.” “You once told me there was no such thing as ‘supernatural.’ If something happened, it was part of Allah’s design, and therefore natural.” “Touché.”
Not-too-distant-future first-contact story. First published in 2000. Focus is on the reaction and interaction of players in Gainesville, Florida. Multilanguage vocabulary.
“But in more than twenty years of analysis, we haven’t gotten any clear semantic content from the three suspect sources. This one is as plain as a slap in the face.” “And as aggressive?” “That’s not clear. If they were attacking us, why announce that they were on their way? Why not just sneak up?” “On the other hand, if their intent is benevolent, why don’t they say more than ‘ready or not, here we come’?”
Heavy handed, as are most Haldeman stories, but better than his average. A pornographic subplot unrelated to the plot cost him a star. Haldeman apparently flunked anatomy and physiology 101. Humor lurks just beneath the surface.
“There were the usual riots in the usual countries, controlled by the usual methods, which provoked the usual responses. But even the most coolheaded and rational looked toward Christmas and the New Year, and wondered if there would be a January, after the first of the month.”
Daisy-chain point of view shifts changes characters without losing the reader. Several timeline inconsistencies. Several huge unanswered questions, at least one of which potentially undoes the whole story. (If I tell, it’s spoil things horribly.) Plot gaps diminish the fun, but fun it is.
"We use administrative procedures long before we resort to supernatural weapons.” “You once told me there was no such thing as ‘supernatural.’ If something happened, it was part of Allah’s design, and therefore natural.” “Touché.”
September 9, 2021
I loved some of Joe Haldeman's books many years ago, so thought I'd try more. This is my second try, and I'm giving up. It wasn't a horrible read, but it seemed so...amateurish. First improbability: an astronomy professor finds an apparent spaceship approaching the solar system, and she goes straight to the press. Not the government, not her boss. And apparently everyone's fine with that. Then there's the gangsters, straight out of Damon Runyon. And this is in the 2050s! The future worldbuilding is...odd. We have the screwball right-wing Florida governor and president - he got that right. Homosexuality is outlawed in the US, but nothing else seems to be repressive. The tech is spotty; it seems that when the book was published in 2001, it would have been more obvious that cellphones were going to do everything. Instead, music and data come in cubes that you have to carry around, and paper newspapers are still common. Then there's the sex stuff, which was all gratuitous and seemed creepy to me. And the ending, which just fizzled out.
July 26, 2014
-Otra forma de hacer género y especular, pero más orientada a lo sociopolítico.-
Género. Ciencia-Ficción.
Lo que nos cuenta. El anuncio de la detección de un mensaje procedente del espacio exterior que se interpreta como “vamos de camino” y los cálculos de llegada del objeto que parece emitirlo para escasos tres meses después, van a provocar cambios en muchas personas individuales y en la sociedad como conjunto.
¿Quiere saber más de este libro, sin spoilers? Visite:
http://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com/...
Género. Ciencia-Ficción.
Lo que nos cuenta. El anuncio de la detección de un mensaje procedente del espacio exterior que se interpreta como “vamos de camino” y los cálculos de llegada del objeto que parece emitirlo para escasos tres meses después, van a provocar cambios en muchas personas individuales y en la sociedad como conjunto.
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August 29, 2016
https://koeur.wordpress.com/2016/08/2...
Publisher: Open Road
Publishing Date: December, 2000
ISBN: 9781504039581
Genre: SciFi
Rating: 1.0/5
Publishers Description: Despite technological advancements designed to alleviate the stress of everyday life, Earth at the midpoint of the twenty-first century is plagued by environmental crisis and manmade catastrophe. Tensions among the nations of Europe bring the threat of World War III closer by the hour as their lands are also ravaged by devastating climatic upheaval, the result of centuries of unchecked ozone depletion and global warming.
Review: Sometimes I wonder where certain sayings and colloquialisms come from. Take, “Sux Ballz” for instance. We know that this is derogative in nature as implied by the usage in everyday vernacular. You wouldn’t use it when offering light opinions of descriptive happenstance, like “Suzy is skipping rope, that Sux Ballz” or ” Jimmy helped that old lady cross the street, he Sux Ballz”. Now if applied directly to an action, certain persons, myself included, might find getting our balls sucked rather enjoyable and those that are doing the ball sucking must have some level of enjoyment or are rather ambivalent about the whole ball sucking affair. I think it is strictly hetero in usage as in why would any sane male suck balls.
So where does that leave us and what has that got to do with this review? Adam is married to Aurora Bell and likes to suck balls. Qabil is a policeman and also likes to suck balls, specifically Adams balls. This novel sucked balls. One reviewer put it best, that there is this annoying revolving point of view that changes from chapter to chapter. Personally I think that this should have been a novel about sucking balls around cups of coffee. Every chapter is riddled with referents to coffee. Getting it, pouring it, tasting it, evaluating it, meeting around it, leaving it, picking it up, swirling it, mixing it, ordering it and describing it in infinite detail. Cafe’ con leche (espresso mixed with scalded milk) is repeatedly pandered about in smug fashion.
I really think this was a story about the author and his wife. Smart, hot professor and genius-composer-musician-war vet-ball sucker. Every chapter is this boring rendition of everyday occurrences with some weirdly inserted action that makes no sense to the storyline. The ending let’s you really know that you wasted the last few hours of your life.
A good read while getting your balls sucked.
Publisher: Open Road
Publishing Date: December, 2000
ISBN: 9781504039581
Genre: SciFi
Rating: 1.0/5
Publishers Description: Despite technological advancements designed to alleviate the stress of everyday life, Earth at the midpoint of the twenty-first century is plagued by environmental crisis and manmade catastrophe. Tensions among the nations of Europe bring the threat of World War III closer by the hour as their lands are also ravaged by devastating climatic upheaval, the result of centuries of unchecked ozone depletion and global warming.
Review: Sometimes I wonder where certain sayings and colloquialisms come from. Take, “Sux Ballz” for instance. We know that this is derogative in nature as implied by the usage in everyday vernacular. You wouldn’t use it when offering light opinions of descriptive happenstance, like “Suzy is skipping rope, that Sux Ballz” or ” Jimmy helped that old lady cross the street, he Sux Ballz”. Now if applied directly to an action, certain persons, myself included, might find getting our balls sucked rather enjoyable and those that are doing the ball sucking must have some level of enjoyment or are rather ambivalent about the whole ball sucking affair. I think it is strictly hetero in usage as in why would any sane male suck balls.
So where does that leave us and what has that got to do with this review? Adam is married to Aurora Bell and likes to suck balls. Qabil is a policeman and also likes to suck balls, specifically Adams balls. This novel sucked balls. One reviewer put it best, that there is this annoying revolving point of view that changes from chapter to chapter. Personally I think that this should have been a novel about sucking balls around cups of coffee. Every chapter is riddled with referents to coffee. Getting it, pouring it, tasting it, evaluating it, meeting around it, leaving it, picking it up, swirling it, mixing it, ordering it and describing it in infinite detail. Cafe’ con leche (espresso mixed with scalded milk) is repeatedly pandered about in smug fashion.
I really think this was a story about the author and his wife. Smart, hot professor and genius-composer-musician-war vet-ball sucker. Every chapter is this boring rendition of everyday occurrences with some weirdly inserted action that makes no sense to the storyline. The ending let’s you really know that you wasted the last few hours of your life.
A good read while getting your balls sucked.
September 20, 2022
I enjoy Haldeman. He plays with interesting concepts in "The Forever War" and generally writes in an engaging and easy style, which I appreciate.
This is a good science fiction novel about the months leading up to an imminent first contact. The aliens send a signal, "We're Coming". And we can track them as they approach our solar system, at near light speed.
Not a novel about first contact, but a novel about what people do to prepare for it. Some in denial, some in despair, some with dismissal or paranoia. Set in 2050 in a world going hot, bordering on a world war, and facing disaster comes... hope? Well... something.
I enjoyed it. Not his best, but a good read.
This is a good science fiction novel about the months leading up to an imminent first contact. The aliens send a signal, "We're Coming". And we can track them as they approach our solar system, at near light speed.
Not a novel about first contact, but a novel about what people do to prepare for it. Some in denial, some in despair, some with dismissal or paranoia. Set in 2050 in a world going hot, bordering on a world war, and facing disaster comes... hope? Well... something.
I enjoyed it. Not his best, but a good read.
January 11, 2019
Una novela que empieza con una premisa muy interesante pero que hasta las últimas páginas no la retoma. Todo el 75% restante es una novela en la que no hay ni rastro de cifi. Muy bien escrita pero poca cifi.
July 13, 2017
My hitherto unconditional love for Joe Haldeman's work has finally came up against my aversion to the multiplication of points of view in a narrative.
Yet the subject was exciting. But the book disperses in every direction, whether viewpoints (a new one for each chapter) or narrative. We sail between the satire of the academic world (a constant in Haldeman's work) and political, social and sexual anticipation. Science fiction is reduced to the congruent portion, in a very deceptive way. Of course there are funny passages and good chapters, but I never managed to get into the book.
After more than a hundred pages and a dozen viewpoints, I did not know very well what I was reading. Arrived at the end I still didn't know. I wonder if the author knew it himself.
Exercise of style, school prank, book written under the influence of illicit substances, I don't know. And I don't want to know! I only want to forget this one.
Yet the subject was exciting. But the book disperses in every direction, whether viewpoints (a new one for each chapter) or narrative. We sail between the satire of the academic world (a constant in Haldeman's work) and political, social and sexual anticipation. Science fiction is reduced to the congruent portion, in a very deceptive way. Of course there are funny passages and good chapters, but I never managed to get into the book.
After more than a hundred pages and a dozen viewpoints, I did not know very well what I was reading. Arrived at the end I still didn't know. I wonder if the author knew it himself.
Exercise of style, school prank, book written under the influence of illicit substances, I don't know. And I don't want to know! I only want to forget this one.
May 26, 2014
Lost interest after the third or fourth erection. I was sold a sci-fi novel, not a porno.
May 29, 2019
Se recibe una transmisión en la Tierra. Procede de más allá del sistema solar. Una nave se acerca y anuncia su llegada a la Tierra en perfecto inglés. En tres meses, la humanidad conocerá a esos extraños visitantes.
La novela transcurre en una pequeña comunidad de Florida donde la doctora Aurora Bell, la primera en detectar la señal, y la gente que la rodea viven los profundos cambios que un acontecimiento de tal importancia ha de producir. El estilo es el de "paso de estafeta": Breves capítulos cada uno de ellos desde una perspectiva diferente. Por ejemplo: Aurora está en su despacho y piensa sobre la señal. De pronto entra Norman, su esposo, a decirle que ha comprado los ingredientes para la cena y el siguiente capítulo corre a cargo de Norman, que se dirige hacia su casa para cocinar pero antes pasa a tomar un café y se encuentra a Sara. El siguiente capítulo entonces le toca a ella... y así sucesivamente.
Supongo que ha de ser un método difícil, porque Haldeman fracasa rotundamente en él, creando una confusión mayúscula y requiriendo una serie de encuentros forzados para conseguir crear cientos de mini-capítulos, la mayor parte de menos de una página. Además, la conducta de los personajes es... absurda. Sus reacciones no me parecen verosímiles. El conflicto que plantea Haldeman suena importante, pero los protagonistas son, por decirlo suavemente, estúpidos.
Mi frustración tal vez se deba a que jamás había leído algo ni siquiera mediocre de Haldeman. Es un autor tan consistente respecto a la calidad de su trabajo que esta novela me ha sorprendido... y no ha sido para bien.
La novela transcurre en una pequeña comunidad de Florida donde la doctora Aurora Bell, la primera en detectar la señal, y la gente que la rodea viven los profundos cambios que un acontecimiento de tal importancia ha de producir. El estilo es el de "paso de estafeta": Breves capítulos cada uno de ellos desde una perspectiva diferente. Por ejemplo: Aurora está en su despacho y piensa sobre la señal. De pronto entra Norman, su esposo, a decirle que ha comprado los ingredientes para la cena y el siguiente capítulo corre a cargo de Norman, que se dirige hacia su casa para cocinar pero antes pasa a tomar un café y se encuentra a Sara. El siguiente capítulo entonces le toca a ella... y así sucesivamente.
Supongo que ha de ser un método difícil, porque Haldeman fracasa rotundamente en él, creando una confusión mayúscula y requiriendo una serie de encuentros forzados para conseguir crear cientos de mini-capítulos, la mayor parte de menos de una página. Además, la conducta de los personajes es... absurda. Sus reacciones no me parecen verosímiles. El conflicto que plantea Haldeman suena importante, pero los protagonistas son, por decirlo suavemente, estúpidos.
Mi frustración tal vez se deba a que jamás había leído algo ni siquiera mediocre de Haldeman. Es un autor tan consistente respecto a la calidad de su trabajo que esta novela me ha sorprendido... y no ha sido para bien.
September 18, 2021
The reports coming from observatories all over the world and on the Moon make astonishing reading: a vessel travelling at 0.99999999c, decelerating at 50g, and a message in the clear, in English - “We’re Coming.” Politics and science collide when it is assumed by the President that it is some sort of hoax, but the military want killer satellites launched. This makes the French nervous as they have been in a dispute with the USA and war is not an impossibility. Against this chaotic backdrop the personal lives of a number of main characters are undergoing more mundane threats - like protection money and blackmail. Joe Haldeman has given us a strange novel told from a stream of viewpoints as each one segues into the character they last met, (think the movie Fallen), and it slowly becomes apparent that whatever threat the incoming object may be it is no match for the day-to-day insanity of humanity.
January 29, 2025
An "aliens are on their way" story that is unambiguous - the aliens speak English - and how people react.
What I liked about this story was how the POV moves from character to character, scene by scene. Sometimes he drops that, or I'm not as keen on the sequence? I wish it had always been a character in the scene who became the next POV, and also that the POV was a little closer with some characters. There were times that "changing" the POV didn't seem to have changed anything?
The ending... left me wondering why we had so much of the story around Norm, at all?
But it's an interesting look at a way to structure a narrative like this.
What I liked about this story was how the POV moves from character to character, scene by scene. Sometimes he drops that, or I'm not as keen on the sequence? I wish it had always been a character in the scene who became the next POV, and also that the POV was a little closer with some characters. There were times that "changing" the POV didn't seem to have changed anything?
The ending... left me wondering why we had so much of the story around Norm, at all?
But it's an interesting look at a way to structure a narrative like this.
July 4, 2021
I'm not sure what to really say about this book.
The description makes it sound like this is going to be a typical First Contact story. Then, the first half of the book is about random human drama that has nothing to do with the aliens. The story starts to pick up a bit in the second half when it starts being about, you know, First Contact and the political swirling associated with it. But none of it has anything to do with the first half. So what was the point?
Then the ending was about as anticlimactic as it could possibly be. Nothing really happened. Sure, who the aliens actually were was a twist, but we got them for all of two paragraphs. Then the story was done.
This book could have been so good, but alas, it wasn't. A shame, really.
The description makes it sound like this is going to be a typical First Contact story. Then, the first half of the book is about random human drama that has nothing to do with the aliens. The story starts to pick up a bit in the second half when it starts being about, you know, First Contact and the political swirling associated with it. But none of it has anything to do with the first half. So what was the point?
Then the ending was about as anticlimactic as it could possibly be. Nothing really happened. Sure, who the aliens actually were was a twist, but we got them for all of two paragraphs. Then the story was done.
This book could have been so good, but alas, it wasn't. A shame, really.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 12, 2009
If you read the jacket summary, you think this book is about first contact. It's not. This book is a strange tale of the interactions of several people in a florida town some fifty years in the future. One is a scientist. Another is a violinist. Another is a mid level mafioso. The plot winds around their relations, and moves randomly toward the reveal, which is neither predictable nor interesting. The plot would only change infinitesimally if the alien signal/first contact element was removed. The author attempts to engage the reader by telling the story sequentially from the perspective of each different character. This gets old after about 10 chapters - of probably 100.
November 24, 2010
This is the worst Haldeman I read...
I'm usually a big fan of his work, but this particular book bored me a lot - don't read me wrong, Joe Haldeman style is there, and it's pleasant to read, but the story feels almost as empty as in a Dan Brown novel (sorry Joe).
But this will not stop me in my quest to read all his books ;)
I'm usually a big fan of his work, but this particular book bored me a lot - don't read me wrong, Joe Haldeman style is there, and it's pleasant to read, but the story feels almost as empty as in a Dan Brown novel (sorry Joe).
But this will not stop me in my quest to read all his books ;)
January 26, 2016
This was the first book of Haldeman's that I have read that was not a military SiFi story. While it was a good SiFi story overall I did not enjoy it as much as I do his military SiFi novels. Recommended
August 26, 2010
Utterly enjoyable, this is a charming little title and the POV shifts are just marvelously executed. Would have been a five but the ending was coming a mile off, but a very neat read nonetheless.
March 14, 2021
Sin un protagonista o un hilo conductor claro, el libro no ha conseguido engancharme en ningún momento...
Quizás lo único destacable de "La llegada" es cómo está escrito: cada capítulo del libro está narrado desde el punto de vista de uno de los múltiples personajes que se entrecruzan en la pequeña ciudad universitaria donde transcurre la trama. Como si la trama fuera el testigo en una carrera de relevos, la narración pasa de un personaje a otro a medida que coinciden en la ciudad. Este "narrador cambiante" no tiene una visión completa de lo que sucede, sino justo lo contrario: explica su situación personal en un momento concreto, lo que en algunos casos tiene relación directa con la llegada de esa nave alienígena que sirve de trasfondo al libro. Por ejemplo, la Dra. Aurora Bell, descubridora de la señal procedente de la nave y uno de los personajes a través del cual se narran las derivadas políticas de "la llegada". Pero también aparecen otros personajes, como Gabrielle, estudiante de medicina que se paga los estudios grabando vídeos de realidad aumentada del equivalente futurista del porno... O la indigente con problemas mentales que recorre las calles de Gainesville, que no tienen ninguna relación con "la trama espacial"...
Al principio pensaba que la intención del autor era explorar las diferentes respuestas de la humanidad ante un evento trascendental como lo sería el contacto con una civilización alienígena, y que lo haría poniéndo el foco en el devenir de personas corrientes... Pero si ése era el objetivo, tampoco lo consigue en mi opinión.
La "subtrama" de novela negra centrada en Normal Bell, el marido de la Aurora Bell, con la implicación de la mafia acaba de forma extraña e inexplicable (e inexplicada).
El libro acaba sin más cuando la nave alcanza la Tierra. Se desvela el origen de los alienígenas y el motivo de su llegada. Y ya.
En un epílogo completamente prescindible, se nos muestra la situación de Pepe, el colega cubano de la Dra Bell algún tiempo tras las llegada. Se confirma lo que se había perfilado antes respecto a este personaje, pero no se proporciona ninguna respuesta a las muchas preguntas que surgen al leer el libro.
Probablemente, para quienes les haya gustado el libro, éste sea su mayor punto fuerte, que Haldeman evite dar una explicación a la situación alrededor de la que gira la historia.
Los dirigentes mundiales no modifican su actitud belicista ni la humanidad se hermana mágicamente gracias a la señal extraterreste (a lo "Contact"), lo que es de agradecer...
...
En mi opinión el final decepciona precisamente porque contradice la premisa omnipresente que dicta las acciones de todos los personajes, que toman las decisiones en base a la codicia, la ambición, el vicio y la religión de forma completamente egocéntrica y egoísta.
En resumen, un libro que fracasa completamente al no responder a ninguna de las preguntas que un lector se plantea al empezar un libro con una premisa como "La Llegada" y que por eso supone una enorme decepción.
Quizás lo único destacable de "La llegada" es cómo está escrito: cada capítulo del libro está narrado desde el punto de vista de uno de los múltiples personajes que se entrecruzan en la pequeña ciudad universitaria donde transcurre la trama. Como si la trama fuera el testigo en una carrera de relevos, la narración pasa de un personaje a otro a medida que coinciden en la ciudad. Este "narrador cambiante" no tiene una visión completa de lo que sucede, sino justo lo contrario: explica su situación personal en un momento concreto, lo que en algunos casos tiene relación directa con la llegada de esa nave alienígena que sirve de trasfondo al libro. Por ejemplo, la Dra. Aurora Bell, descubridora de la señal procedente de la nave y uno de los personajes a través del cual se narran las derivadas políticas de "la llegada". Pero también aparecen otros personajes, como Gabrielle, estudiante de medicina que se paga los estudios grabando vídeos de realidad aumentada del equivalente futurista del porno... O la indigente con problemas mentales que recorre las calles de Gainesville, que no tienen ninguna relación con "la trama espacial"...
Al principio pensaba que la intención del autor era explorar las diferentes respuestas de la humanidad ante un evento trascendental como lo sería el contacto con una civilización alienígena, y que lo haría poniéndo el foco en el devenir de personas corrientes... Pero si ése era el objetivo, tampoco lo consigue en mi opinión.
La "subtrama" de novela negra centrada en Normal Bell, el marido de la Aurora Bell, con la implicación de la mafia acaba de forma extraña e inexplicable (e inexplicada).
El libro acaba sin más cuando la nave alcanza la Tierra. Se desvela el origen de los alienígenas y el motivo de su llegada. Y ya.
En un epílogo completamente prescindible, se nos muestra la situación de Pepe, el colega cubano de la Dra Bell algún tiempo tras las llegada. Se confirma lo que se había perfilado antes respecto a este personaje, pero no se proporciona ninguna respuesta a las muchas preguntas que surgen al leer el libro.
Probablemente, para quienes les haya gustado el libro, éste sea su mayor punto fuerte, que Haldeman evite dar una explicación a la situación alrededor de la que gira la historia.
Los dirigentes mundiales no modifican su actitud belicista ni la humanidad se hermana mágicamente gracias a la señal extraterreste (a lo "Contact"), lo que es de agradecer...
...
En mi opinión el final decepciona precisamente porque contradice la premisa omnipresente que dicta las acciones de todos los personajes, que toman las decisiones en base a la codicia, la ambición, el vicio y la religión de forma completamente egocéntrica y egoísta.
En resumen, un libro que fracasa completamente al no responder a ninguna de las preguntas que un lector se plantea al empezar un libro con una premisa como "La Llegada" y que por eso supone una enorme decepción.
August 10, 2024
Thia book is just okay. I really like Joe Haldeman as a writer and this book is well written. I liked the change in point of view, I loved the world he creates, a world of the future dealing with climate change , kleptocracy and a US where the government seems to have become run by the GOP, where socially the country went backwards.
The basic plot, that an astronomer picks up a message from space from a spaceship saying 'we are coming' , which telemetry seems to confirm is a ship travelling at .99c.
The story interestingly only peripherally talks about the impact of the coming of the aliens, it uses it to forward individual stories of people. The story in the process talks about issues we face today,leaders more concerned with their image , religious extremists having power and the mistrust generated by politicians and religious leaders towards science and expertise.
The problem is the ending. In the style of many stories, it turns out the visitors are not Aliens, .but rather travellers from the Earth's own future with a message of hope for the future..but is it? The main character, the professor who detected the message, is convinced it is a hoax, that the ship looks too much like current earth ships,the people don't look different. That one of the moons of Mars is split in two? Set up. A space weapon is destroyed ? Sabotage.
In the last chapter one of the characters, the assistant to the Astronomer who was at the center of the story, is found to be from the future, we fund out because he has a sheet of paper that lists sporting events and stocks to put money on for the next 50 years, presumably his lifespan.
But it leaves it with that. You dunt dont find out what happens to the main characters after the denoument or what changes in the world. We also don't learn whether the man from the future came alone , and of so, how could he put together the whole show with the ship? While helped him,? Why did he do it?
The ending basically just ends without explaining a lot and it left an empty feeling.
Leo Szillard, the physicist, wrote short story I'm think called the year of the dolphins. In the story a group.of scientists claims to have finally cracked communication with dolphins, and suddenly these miraculous things are being produced ,based on the discovery that Dolphins were say advanced. Things like synthetic food, new medicines, a new form of energy and so forth ,all from the dolphins...or was it? The book ends with the lab being destroyed and the dolphins released. It is clearly implied without saying it that the discoveries were the scientists , not the Dolphins, bc if scientists announced it no one would buy into what they found, but bc it was dolphins it was a miracle. It worked, this book did not sadly.
The basic plot, that an astronomer picks up a message from space from a spaceship saying 'we are coming' , which telemetry seems to confirm is a ship travelling at .99c.
The story interestingly only peripherally talks about the impact of the coming of the aliens, it uses it to forward individual stories of people. The story in the process talks about issues we face today,leaders more concerned with their image , religious extremists having power and the mistrust generated by politicians and religious leaders towards science and expertise.
The problem is the ending. In the style of many stories, it turns out the visitors are not Aliens, .but rather travellers from the Earth's own future with a message of hope for the future..but is it? The main character, the professor who detected the message, is convinced it is a hoax, that the ship looks too much like current earth ships,the people don't look different. That one of the moons of Mars is split in two? Set up. A space weapon is destroyed ? Sabotage.
In the last chapter one of the characters, the assistant to the Astronomer who was at the center of the story, is found to be from the future, we fund out because he has a sheet of paper that lists sporting events and stocks to put money on for the next 50 years, presumably his lifespan.
But it leaves it with that. You dunt dont find out what happens to the main characters after the denoument or what changes in the world. We also don't learn whether the man from the future came alone , and of so, how could he put together the whole show with the ship? While helped him,? Why did he do it?
The ending basically just ends without explaining a lot and it left an empty feeling.
Leo Szillard, the physicist, wrote short story I'm think called the year of the dolphins. In the story a group.of scientists claims to have finally cracked communication with dolphins, and suddenly these miraculous things are being produced ,based on the discovery that Dolphins were say advanced. Things like synthetic food, new medicines, a new form of energy and so forth ,all from the dolphins...or was it? The book ends with the lab being destroyed and the dolphins released. It is clearly implied without saying it that the discoveries were the scientists , not the Dolphins, bc if scientists announced it no one would buy into what they found, but bc it was dolphins it was a miracle. It worked, this book did not sadly.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 7, 2019
Publishers Weekly
Acclaimed Nebula and Hugo award-winner Haldeman delivers a disappointingly weak tale of the turmoil wrought by a message from outer space. Thin on plot, character and suspense, very little about this novel convinces, except details such as the prevalence of Spanish phrases in casual conversation and some techno gizmos. Clear as astronomy Prof. Rory Bell's name, the message "We're coming" is broadcast from only a 10th of a light-year away to mid- 21st-century Earth. The message senders
will arrive in three short months and will tolerate no attempt to block their "peaceful" landing. While Rory engages in political battles within her university and against the
U.S. president's hawkish reaction to possible alien invasion, another, wider-scale battle among the European nations seems destined to launch WWIII. Meanwhile, a local mobster threatens to expose Rory's husband's illegal homosexuality, which would destroy both his and Rory's credibility. Unfortunately, relating the narrative by more than 20 different characters drains any tension from the story and results in disjointed, stalled storytelling. The concluding revelation about the aliens' nature and intentions, threadbare from overuse by other writers, arrives mercifully quickly.
(Dec. 11) Forecast : Haldeman's widespread and well-deserved reputation for exciting and thoughtful work plus marketing to his core SF audience will put lots of books on shelves, but fans of the author and newcomers to his work will withhold the positive word of mouth that can help propel titles to major success.
Acclaimed Nebula and Hugo award-winner Haldeman delivers a disappointingly weak tale of the turmoil wrought by a message from outer space. Thin on plot, character and suspense, very little about this novel convinces, except details such as the prevalence of Spanish phrases in casual conversation and some techno gizmos. Clear as astronomy Prof. Rory Bell's name, the message "We're coming" is broadcast from only a 10th of a light-year away to mid- 21st-century Earth. The message senders
will arrive in three short months and will tolerate no attempt to block their "peaceful" landing. While Rory engages in political battles within her university and against the
U.S. president's hawkish reaction to possible alien invasion, another, wider-scale battle among the European nations seems destined to launch WWIII. Meanwhile, a local mobster threatens to expose Rory's husband's illegal homosexuality, which would destroy both his and Rory's credibility. Unfortunately, relating the narrative by more than 20 different characters drains any tension from the story and results in disjointed, stalled storytelling. The concluding revelation about the aliens' nature and intentions, threadbare from overuse by other writers, arrives mercifully quickly.
(Dec. 11) Forecast : Haldeman's widespread and well-deserved reputation for exciting and thoughtful work plus marketing to his core SF audience will put lots of books on shelves, but fans of the author and newcomers to his work will withhold the positive word of mouth that can help propel titles to major success.
June 2, 2019
La novela comienza el 1 de octubre de 2054 cuando la profesora Aurora (Rory) Bell, astrofísica de la universidad de Gainesville detecta una señal de rayos gamma. Esta señal muestra un alto corrimiento al azul que muestra que su fuente se acerca a la Tierra a 0,99 veces al velocidad de la luz, la paralaje con el observatorio astronómico de la Luna muestra que dicho origen es exterior al Sistema Solar y, lo más extraordinario, contiene un mensaje perfectamente claro: "Vamos de camino". La localización de la fuente del mensaje y la velocidad a que se mueve están fuera del alcance de la tecnología humana; sólo cabe asumir que se trata de una llegada de seres extraterrestres.
A pesar de todo, la llegada (o la Venida, como se denomina al suceso en el texto del libro) no es el eje de la historia. Los visitantes llegarán tres meses después de la recepción del mensaje, y los visitantes no son más que un McGuffin para narrar las vidas de los protagonistas a lo largo de esos tres meses y dibujar el escenario en el que se mueven,
[+] Reseña completa de "La llegada" en Alt+64 wiki: http://alt64.org/wiki/index.php?title...
A pesar de todo, la llegada (o la Venida, como se denomina al suceso en el texto del libro) no es el eje de la historia. Los visitantes llegarán tres meses después de la recepción del mensaje, y los visitantes no son más que un McGuffin para narrar las vidas de los protagonistas a lo largo de esos tres meses y dibujar el escenario en el que se mueven,
[+] Reseña completa de "La llegada" en Alt+64 wiki: http://alt64.org/wiki/index.php?title...
October 3, 2022
I'll make this short: I'm a big fan of the Haldeman Brothers, but not so much of this particular book. Joe has written a number of better stories.
Pluses: I liked how the PoV changed as the story unfolded, as a different character enters the action, or merely passes through. This device added a lot to the story. The basic idea is interesting, and while it has been done before, many times, this story adds a couple of new ideas.
Minuses: I certainly hope that our world is not as pointless as this particular vision of the near future makes it. I cannot believe that the future beyond it holds much hope for anything rational or worthwhile. And the ending is *very* derivative of numerous other stories.
In a peculiar sort of way, this read a bit like a "prequel" to 'Forever Peace.' In a different peculiar sort of way, it read like a weak imitation of some of Robert Silverberg's novels, especially "Up the Line." This was worth reading for the format, not so much for the plot.
Pluses: I liked how the PoV changed as the story unfolded, as a different character enters the action, or merely passes through. This device added a lot to the story. The basic idea is interesting, and while it has been done before, many times, this story adds a couple of new ideas.
Minuses: I certainly hope that our world is not as pointless as this particular vision of the near future makes it. I cannot believe that the future beyond it holds much hope for anything rational or worthwhile. And the ending is *very* derivative of numerous other stories.
In a peculiar sort of way, this read a bit like a "prequel" to 'Forever Peace.' In a different peculiar sort of way, it read like a weak imitation of some of Robert Silverberg's novels, especially "Up the Line." This was worth reading for the format, not so much for the plot.
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