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STARMAN
He came to observe life on earth - that's what happens when a peace-loving alien takes the friendly invitations we send into space seriously. But the U.S. Air Force shot down the starman's ship, and now he has to clone the body of a human being just to stay alive. Armed with a smattering of earthly lore (how to say hello in Chinese,the Stones "Satisfaction") collected from Voyager 11, as well as his own mind-boggling extraterrestrial powers, he will set off with a beautiful young earth woman on what will become the greatest adventure of their lives - a dangerous flight across America into the unexplored territory of interplanetary love...
192 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1984
4 people are currently reading
337 people want to read
About the author
Alan Dean Foster
498 books2,031 followersBestselling science fiction writer Alan Dean Foster was born in New York City in 1946, but raised mainly in California. He received a B.A. in Political Science from UCLA in 1968, and a M.F.A. in 1969. Foster lives in Arizona with his wife, but he enjoys traveling because it gives him opportunities to meet new people and explore new places and cultures. This interest is carried over to his writing, but with a twist: the new places encountered in his books are likely to be on another planet, and the people may belong to an alien race.
Foster began his career as an author when a letter he sent to Arkham Collection was purchased by the editor and published in the magazine in 1968. His first novel, The Tar-Aiym Krang, introduced the Humanx Commonwealth, a galactic alliance between humans and an insectlike race called Thranx. Several other novels, including the Icerigger trilogy, are also set in the world of the Commonwealth. The Tar-Aiym Krang also marked the first appearance of Flinx, a young man with paranormal abilities, who reappears in other books, including Orphan Star, For Love of Mother-Not, and Flinx in Flux.
Foster has also written The Damned series and the Spellsinger series, which includes The Hour of the Gate, The Moment of the Magician, The Paths of the Perambulator, and Son of Spellsinger, among others. Other books include novelizations of science fiction movies and television shows such as Star Trek, The Black Hole, Starman, Star Wars, and the Alien movies. Splinter of the Mind's Eye, a bestselling novel based on the Star Wars movies, received the Galaxy Award in 1979. The book Cyber Way won the Southwest Book Award for Fiction in 1990. His novel Our Lady of the Machine won him the UPC Award (Spain) in 1993. He also won the Ignotus Award (Spain) in 1994 and the Stannik Award (Russia) in 2000.
Foster began his career as an author when a letter he sent to Arkham Collection was purchased by the editor and published in the magazine in 1968. His first novel, The Tar-Aiym Krang, introduced the Humanx Commonwealth, a galactic alliance between humans and an insectlike race called Thranx. Several other novels, including the Icerigger trilogy, are also set in the world of the Commonwealth. The Tar-Aiym Krang also marked the first appearance of Flinx, a young man with paranormal abilities, who reappears in other books, including Orphan Star, For Love of Mother-Not, and Flinx in Flux.
Foster has also written The Damned series and the Spellsinger series, which includes The Hour of the Gate, The Moment of the Magician, The Paths of the Perambulator, and Son of Spellsinger, among others. Other books include novelizations of science fiction movies and television shows such as Star Trek, The Black Hole, Starman, Star Wars, and the Alien movies. Splinter of the Mind's Eye, a bestselling novel based on the Star Wars movies, received the Galaxy Award in 1979. The book Cyber Way won the Southwest Book Award for Fiction in 1990. His novel Our Lady of the Machine won him the UPC Award (Spain) in 1993. He also won the Ignotus Award (Spain) in 1994 and the Stannik Award (Russia) in 2000.
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
September 9, 2021
Foster did a fine job of adapting this film to novel format. This is one of the closest adaptations I recall reading. Foster had previously worked with Carpenter, having written a very successful novelization of his earlier film The Thing, not to mention Dark Star. There's nothing of note in one that's not in the other, given the differences of the media. I'm sure anyone who enjoyed or disliked one would enjoy or dislike the other. With the book you don't get to see the pretty actors, but you can set your own soundtrack. Start with Bowie.
May 4, 2013
One of my favorite lines of all time came from this book, "You are at your best in the worst of times." I probably paraphrased that because it was recalled from the endless depths of my memory. The gist is the same, however. I thank Starman for this inspiration in my life which I have shared many times as a nurse.
April 25, 2020
A pleasant and easy adaptation of an 80s SF film that I remember enjoying when it came out. It’s another of the “benevolent alien meets paranoid humans” contact stories, but does it simply and well.
April 13, 2016
The Starman's ship is shot down after responding to Voyager's 1977 invitation to 'come see us sometime'; and then, after crashing, he clones the body of a beautiful young earth woman's husband. He elicits her aid to return him to his pick up point, and their trip across the country becomes an epic of inter planetary true love. Sigh! I loved the movie so much seen it 30 times! So of course I had to have the novelization! One of my all time faves as a young one!
August 27, 2016
The book is very good, but it could go further, possibly into another book with the baby and possible future.
January 22, 2018
An excellent novel turned into a fantablous movie. I watch this movie once a month whether it on TV our not.
July 27, 2024
So, this is a novelization for a movie that I haven’t seen. I have not seen Starman. I have not even heard of Starman. I, of course, know who John Carpenter is, and I recognize the lady who plays the main female character, but I have never seen the movie. So I’m running this as a straight novel.
I will say, as a novelization, it’s not bad. It’s relatively well-written and you can follow it without having seen the movie. I do think that it would have been more fun had I been familiar with the movie.
I think the writing was the strong suit. It kind of had to be. Characterization kind of relies on you already knowing the characters because honestly, who reads a novelization first? Like, that is not done. That’s not what you do. But the writing is half-decent. I’m just not a sci-fi fan and I’ve never seen the movie.
I will say, as a novelization, it’s not bad. It’s relatively well-written and you can follow it without having seen the movie. I do think that it would have been more fun had I been familiar with the movie.
I think the writing was the strong suit. It kind of had to be. Characterization kind of relies on you already knowing the characters because honestly, who reads a novelization first? Like, that is not done. That’s not what you do. But the writing is half-decent. I’m just not a sci-fi fan and I’ve never seen the movie.
July 9, 2020
It's a difficult thing to try to review a story of this type, which doesn't really have an author.
I say that because the author (in this case Foster) isn't really the creator of most of it. He has to essentially take the original dialogue, plotline, action as described and only creates text for what would be seen in the original film story. Because of this, you really can't fault the author for deficiencies in the story/ plot, because he has to leave that alone.
Having said that, it's an ok book as is. If Foster had been able to actually rework the story to fully develop it, it'd probably have been a 4 or 5 star...
I say that because the author (in this case Foster) isn't really the creator of most of it. He has to essentially take the original dialogue, plotline, action as described and only creates text for what would be seen in the original film story. Because of this, you really can't fault the author for deficiencies in the story/ plot, because he has to leave that alone.
Having said that, it's an ok book as is. If Foster had been able to actually rework the story to fully develop it, it'd probably have been a 4 or 5 star...
May 26, 2018
This is a great story of an alien come to earth and tries to enlist the help of a recent widow to get him out of trouble. I liked the story and the time it was written in.
August 22, 2018
The book is better than the movie because it didn't have Karen Allen in it.
April 7, 2020
Did not enjoy it, could not finish.
did-not-finish-or-start
July 15, 2021DNS 7/15/2021
November 17, 2025
Writing is good, as usual for Foster, but the story is a bit boring for a novel. The movie is a much better tale.
June 3, 2012
I remember the Starman movie scaring me when I first watched it. I was probably relatively young at the time and the whole scene when the 'alien' changes from a baby, to a young boy, to Jeff Bridges, quite freaked me out. But now it's one of my favourite films.
I originally bought the book as a Christmas present, but decided I simply had to keep it for myself, as I hadn't known it existed before that point. Written by the same author who did the novelisations of the first three Alien movies, Alan Dean Foster, it is a quick read at slightly less than 200 pages.
Previous reviewers have mentioned that it's not as good as the film, but I think it's just as good. Yes, it doesn't have the quirkiness that Jeff Bridges brought to the character, but overall, it's readable and enjoyable. And makes me want to watch the movie all over again. The novelisation sticks pretty close to the original screenplay, with the addition of a couple of scenes that weren't included in the final cut of the movie. I don't think it was explained properly in the film that Jenny was actually moving out of the house when the alien arrived - either that, or I don't remember that part of the film all that well.
The only quibble I have is the same as the film - I want to know what happens after the alien leaves Earth and goes back to his own planet. I've always wanted to see a sequel to this movie, to see how 'Jennyhayden' gets on with her life afterwards. Something tells me it wouldn't have had the magic from the first film - and the awkward chemistry between Jeff Bridges and Karen Allen - but the ending (or the beginning?) has always intrigued me.
A novelisation that makes you want to watch the movie again is always a good thing in my opinion!
I originally bought the book as a Christmas present, but decided I simply had to keep it for myself, as I hadn't known it existed before that point. Written by the same author who did the novelisations of the first three Alien movies, Alan Dean Foster, it is a quick read at slightly less than 200 pages.
Previous reviewers have mentioned that it's not as good as the film, but I think it's just as good. Yes, it doesn't have the quirkiness that Jeff Bridges brought to the character, but overall, it's readable and enjoyable. And makes me want to watch the movie all over again. The novelisation sticks pretty close to the original screenplay, with the addition of a couple of scenes that weren't included in the final cut of the movie. I don't think it was explained properly in the film that Jenny was actually moving out of the house when the alien arrived - either that, or I don't remember that part of the film all that well.
The only quibble I have is the same as the film - I want to know what happens after the alien leaves Earth and goes back to his own planet. I've always wanted to see a sequel to this movie, to see how 'Jennyhayden' gets on with her life afterwards. Something tells me it wouldn't have had the magic from the first film - and the awkward chemistry between Jeff Bridges and Karen Allen - but the ending (or the beginning?) has always intrigued me.
A novelisation that makes you want to watch the movie again is always a good thing in my opinion!
May 9, 2010
Filmnya rilis 25 tahun yang lalu, saat pemeran utamanya, Jeff Bridges, masih sangat muda (jauh lebih muda dari profilnya di film Iron Man apalagi Crazy Heart XP). Aku menonton filmnya di salah satu tayangan film minggu siang tahun 90-an, entah TVRI atau RCTI, and I love it.
Ceritanya sederhana tapi indah, tentang alien cinta damai dalam misi mengobservasi kehidupan di bumi. Untuk dapat beradaptasi dengan kondisi bumi, ia mengkloning tubuh manusia dari sejumput rambut seorang pria yang sudah meninggal dunia, Scott Hayden (Jeff Bridges). Karena ia hanya bisa bertahan maksimal tiga hari dengan tubuh barunya, maka ia meminta bantuan janda Scott Hayden, Jenny Hayden (Karen Allen) untuk mengantarnya dari Wisconsin, tempat pesawatnya mendarat darurat, ke Arizona, tempat penjemputannya.
Banyak hal terjadi sepanjang perjalanan lintas Amerika itu, yang menarik adalah observasi sang alien atas dunia dan perilaku manusia yang primitif untuk ukuran peradabannya. Ia juga sekaligus meningkatkan kemampuan bahasa Inggrisnya sepanjang perjalanan, yang seringkali terkontaminasi bahasa tidak sopan yang tidak disadarinya, namun jadi bikin jengah teman seperjalanannya. Dan tentu saja, ia juga mempelajari cinta. Define love, katanya saat Jenny menyinggung satu kata itu.
Sebagai tambahan, tentu saja kalau temanya alien, sudah sewajarnya ada pihak pemerintah yang terlibat, khususnya militer, yang khawatir akan maksud dan tujuan kedatangan alien tersebut. Jadi sepanjang perjalanan mereka dikejar-kejar bagai buronan. Jadi mirip film E.T. sih, tapi bedanya ceritanya lebih dewasa dan aliennya ganteng tidak keriputan XD.
I love the movie, and I love this book.
Ceritanya sederhana tapi indah, tentang alien cinta damai dalam misi mengobservasi kehidupan di bumi. Untuk dapat beradaptasi dengan kondisi bumi, ia mengkloning tubuh manusia dari sejumput rambut seorang pria yang sudah meninggal dunia, Scott Hayden (Jeff Bridges). Karena ia hanya bisa bertahan maksimal tiga hari dengan tubuh barunya, maka ia meminta bantuan janda Scott Hayden, Jenny Hayden (Karen Allen) untuk mengantarnya dari Wisconsin, tempat pesawatnya mendarat darurat, ke Arizona, tempat penjemputannya.
Banyak hal terjadi sepanjang perjalanan lintas Amerika itu, yang menarik adalah observasi sang alien atas dunia dan perilaku manusia yang primitif untuk ukuran peradabannya. Ia juga sekaligus meningkatkan kemampuan bahasa Inggrisnya sepanjang perjalanan, yang seringkali terkontaminasi bahasa tidak sopan yang tidak disadarinya, namun jadi bikin jengah teman seperjalanannya. Dan tentu saja, ia juga mempelajari cinta. Define love, katanya saat Jenny menyinggung satu kata itu.
Sebagai tambahan, tentu saja kalau temanya alien, sudah sewajarnya ada pihak pemerintah yang terlibat, khususnya militer, yang khawatir akan maksud dan tujuan kedatangan alien tersebut. Jadi sepanjang perjalanan mereka dikejar-kejar bagai buronan. Jadi mirip film E.T. sih, tapi bedanya ceritanya lebih dewasa dan aliennya ganteng tidak keriputan XD.
I love the movie, and I love this book.
November 12, 2014
Not bad. Basically when you read it you get a very simple and look behind the thoughts of the 'Starman' as he journeys to the planet. I like how Alan Dean Foster adds some details here and there, but he does remove some things in order to present it better.
I really enjoyed the ending, which was as powerful and emotional when you watch the original film. B-
I really enjoyed the ending, which was as powerful and emotional when you watch the original film. B-
February 19, 2008
It's like watching the movie all over again. And I loved the movie.
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August 22, 2009Back in the 80's I read many, many movie adaptations. I don't know why.
March 6, 2011
O filme também é fantástico! ( O Homem das Estrelas )
January 22, 2013
Read this in the 80's after the movie came out.
March 3, 2016
I wish there was a sequel. I know, I know, there was a TV show, but I don't recall it really explored in depth the potential of the starman's son.
March 21, 2014
As good as the movie (which I need to see again now).
September 25, 2014
Pretty good novelization though I am stll not quite sure what the point is.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews