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Invaders from Earth
Like Pohl and Kornbluth's SPACE MERCHANTS this is a novel of sophisticated government deception in the near future, an exploration of political corruption. Written in 1957 when Silverberg was 22, the novel is cynical and highly suspenseful. Silverberg, long recognized as a great science fiction writer, is a multiple award winner.
142 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1958
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199 people want to read
About the author
Robert Silverberg
2,216 books1,589 followersThere are many authors in the database with this name.
Robert Silverberg is a highly celebrated American science fiction author and editor known for his prolific output and literary range. Over a career spanning decades, he has won multiple Hugo and Nebula Awards and was named a Grand Master by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America in 2004. Inducted into the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame in 1999, Silverberg is recognized for both his immense productivity and his contributions to the genre's evolution.
Born in Brooklyn, he began writing in his teens and won his first Hugo Award in 1956 as the best new writer. Throughout the 1950s, he produced vast amounts of fiction, often under pseudonyms, and was known for writing up to a million words a year. When the market declined, he diversified into other genres, including historical nonfiction and erotica.
Silverberg’s return to science fiction in the 1960s marked a shift toward deeper psychological and literary themes, contributing significantly to the New Wave movement. Acclaimed works from this period include Downward to the Earth, Dying Inside, Nightwings, and The World Inside. In the 1980s, he launched the Majipoor series with Lord Valentine’s Castle, creating one of the most imaginative planetary settings in science fiction.
Though he announced his retirement from writing in the mid-1970s, Silverberg returned with renewed vigor and continued to publish acclaimed fiction into the 1990s. He received further recognition with the Nebula-winning Sailing to Byzantium and the Hugo-winning Gilgamesh in the Outback.
Silverberg has also played a significant role as an editor and anthologist, shaping science fiction literature through both his own work and his influence on others. He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with his wife, author Karen Haber.
Robert Silverberg is a highly celebrated American science fiction author and editor known for his prolific output and literary range. Over a career spanning decades, he has won multiple Hugo and Nebula Awards and was named a Grand Master by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America in 2004. Inducted into the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame in 1999, Silverberg is recognized for both his immense productivity and his contributions to the genre's evolution.
Born in Brooklyn, he began writing in his teens and won his first Hugo Award in 1956 as the best new writer. Throughout the 1950s, he produced vast amounts of fiction, often under pseudonyms, and was known for writing up to a million words a year. When the market declined, he diversified into other genres, including historical nonfiction and erotica.
Silverberg’s return to science fiction in the 1960s marked a shift toward deeper psychological and literary themes, contributing significantly to the New Wave movement. Acclaimed works from this period include Downward to the Earth, Dying Inside, Nightwings, and The World Inside. In the 1980s, he launched the Majipoor series with Lord Valentine’s Castle, creating one of the most imaginative planetary settings in science fiction.
Though he announced his retirement from writing in the mid-1970s, Silverberg returned with renewed vigor and continued to publish acclaimed fiction into the 1990s. He received further recognition with the Nebula-winning Sailing to Byzantium and the Hugo-winning Gilgamesh in the Outback.
Silverberg has also played a significant role as an editor and anthologist, shaping science fiction literature through both his own work and his influence on others. He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with his wife, author Karen Haber.
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
June 5, 2020
This is a layered cynical satire about corporate greed, politics, and the power of media. I thought it was similar to the plot of the movie Wag the Dog, only set in space and written in 1958!
Ted Kennedy is a public relations man whose firm is hired by a space exploration company that wants to mine the moon of Ganymede for radioactive minerals. There's only one problem: the indigenous aliens who live there do not want Earthmen drilling on the planet.
In order to turn public opinion away from the aliens in favor of his client, Ted cooks up an elaborate hoax. He convinces the people of earth there is actually a colony of humans on Ganymede that will be cruelly slaughtered by the dangerous aliens--and the UN must intervene to stop them.
I have somewhat mixed feelings about Robert Silverberg's ninth novel, which was first published as half of an Ace Double in May 1958. On the one hand, I feel it is Silverberg's most mature, sophisticated novel up to this point in his career. It has proven popular--staying almost continually in print for over 60 years. It is now in print in the UK only, through Gollancz Publishers.
On the other hand, the book also makes unnecessary and disappointing changes to the original novella "We, the Marauders". Coincidentally this novella (which was also republished in book form as half of a Belmont Double in 1965) is now back in print in the US as an e-book.
One of the great flourishes in the novel is Silverberg's depiction of a Leap Year Holiday, one day celebrated every four years during which the laws and dictates of civilization are set aside for wanton revelry.
My biggest complaint about the novel concerns the relationship between Ted and his wife Marge. In both versions, Marge is shocked at Ted's callous disregard towards the Ganymedes, and she leaves him for his sensitive colleague Dave Spalding. After Ted's change of attitude, which occurs when he visits Ganymede and observes the tactics of the Corporation firsthand, Ted apologizes for his behavior and convinces Marge he has changed. In the novella, Marge forgives him, but it is too late to save their marriage. When Ted leaves to become the new UN ambassador to Ganymede, he goes off to space alone in an attempt to rectify the damage his life's work has wrought. Silverberg lightened this ending for the novel. Now, Spalding is exposed as a hypocrite who dies from a self-inflicted gunshot wound during a fight with Ted. Marge and Ted reunite and eventually fly off to Ganymede together. The new ending robs the story of its well-earned, bittersweet gravitas.
Notes on other differences between the novel and the original novella:
- Several scenes are extended, sometimes only by one or two sentences, to add descriptive color and background information. This included allusions to the "bosomy" female assistants in Ted's office and a discussion of how ancient Egyptians handled leap years.
- Additional dialog is added to amplify the character of Dave Spalding and foreshadow his seduction of Marge.
- Additional scenes describing the poetry and philosophy of the Ganymede aliens. This provides greater motivation for Ted's change of heart towards them.
- In the longer version, the aliens are pacifists, so Ted never gives them weapons and they never fight the humans from the Corporation.
- A short scene in which it is revealed Ganymede is not as mineral-rich as previously believed. This makes the Corporation seem even more dastardly, and it cheats the story of a legitimate ethical nuance that perhaps the aliens should not be allowed full self-determination if it impedes the economic stability of Earth.
- The events of the final three chapters are significantly altered. Ted's brother does not hide him for two months (this compresses the timeline). There is a fight between Ted and Dave, a new shootout in Ted's office building, and an additional car chase through the superhighways of New York City.
The longer version retains the final confrontation scene on the floor of the UN, in which events get wrapped up a little too quickly, a little too tidily, and with too much melodrama.
Another fun fact: Silverberg re-used the three main character names Ted Kennedy, Marge, and Dave Spalding in his 1959 short story "The Insidious Invaders". That story bears no other relationship to this novel.
Ted Kennedy is a public relations man whose firm is hired by a space exploration company that wants to mine the moon of Ganymede for radioactive minerals. There's only one problem: the indigenous aliens who live there do not want Earthmen drilling on the planet.
In order to turn public opinion away from the aliens in favor of his client, Ted cooks up an elaborate hoax. He convinces the people of earth there is actually a colony of humans on Ganymede that will be cruelly slaughtered by the dangerous aliens--and the UN must intervene to stop them.
I have somewhat mixed feelings about Robert Silverberg's ninth novel, which was first published as half of an Ace Double in May 1958. On the one hand, I feel it is Silverberg's most mature, sophisticated novel up to this point in his career. It has proven popular--staying almost continually in print for over 60 years. It is now in print in the UK only, through Gollancz Publishers.
On the other hand, the book also makes unnecessary and disappointing changes to the original novella "We, the Marauders". Coincidentally this novella (which was also republished in book form as half of a Belmont Double in 1965) is now back in print in the US as an e-book.
One of the great flourishes in the novel is Silverberg's depiction of a Leap Year Holiday, one day celebrated every four years during which the laws and dictates of civilization are set aside for wanton revelry.
My biggest complaint about the novel concerns the relationship between Ted and his wife Marge. In both versions, Marge is shocked at Ted's callous disregard towards the Ganymedes, and she leaves him for his sensitive colleague Dave Spalding. After Ted's change of attitude, which occurs when he visits Ganymede and observes the tactics of the Corporation firsthand, Ted apologizes for his behavior and convinces Marge he has changed. In the novella, Marge forgives him, but it is too late to save their marriage. When Ted leaves to become the new UN ambassador to Ganymede, he goes off to space alone in an attempt to rectify the damage his life's work has wrought. Silverberg lightened this ending for the novel. Now, Spalding is exposed as a hypocrite who dies from a self-inflicted gunshot wound during a fight with Ted. Marge and Ted reunite and eventually fly off to Ganymede together. The new ending robs the story of its well-earned, bittersweet gravitas.
Notes on other differences between the novel and the original novella:
- Several scenes are extended, sometimes only by one or two sentences, to add descriptive color and background information. This included allusions to the "bosomy" female assistants in Ted's office and a discussion of how ancient Egyptians handled leap years.
- Additional dialog is added to amplify the character of Dave Spalding and foreshadow his seduction of Marge.
- Additional scenes describing the poetry and philosophy of the Ganymede aliens. This provides greater motivation for Ted's change of heart towards them.
- In the longer version, the aliens are pacifists, so Ted never gives them weapons and they never fight the humans from the Corporation.
- A short scene in which it is revealed Ganymede is not as mineral-rich as previously believed. This makes the Corporation seem even more dastardly, and it cheats the story of a legitimate ethical nuance that perhaps the aliens should not be allowed full self-determination if it impedes the economic stability of Earth.
- The events of the final three chapters are significantly altered. Ted's brother does not hide him for two months (this compresses the timeline). There is a fight between Ted and Dave, a new shootout in Ted's office building, and an additional car chase through the superhighways of New York City.
The longer version retains the final confrontation scene on the floor of the UN, in which events get wrapped up a little too quickly, a little too tidily, and with too much melodrama.
Another fun fact: Silverberg re-used the three main character names Ted Kennedy, Marge, and Dave Spalding in his 1959 short story "The Insidious Invaders". That story bears no other relationship to this novel.
May 7, 2013
There is apparently a marked difference in the novels that sci-fi great Robert Silverberg wrote before 1967 and the ones he penned from '67 to eight or nine years after. Those two dozen novels of the 1954-'65 period, it has been said, are well-written, polished, plot-driven tales reminiscent of the pulp era of sci-fi's Golden Age. But after author/editor Frederik Pohl gave Silverberg freedom to write as he chose in '67, a new, more mature, more literate quality entered Silverberg's work, and the two dozen novels that he wrote during this second phase of his career are often cited as his best. Having just completed seven books from this late '60s/mid-'70s period, I was curious to check out one of the author's earlier works, just for comparative purposes. At random, I selected 1958's "Invaders From Earth," Silverberg's ninth novel out of an eventual 75 or so...a most fortuitous choice, as it turns out. This is just one of seven novels and 80 (!) short stories that Silverberg released that year; surely, one of the most prolific 12-month periods that any author, in any genre, has ever experienced. The novel in question was originally released as one half of one of those cute little "Ace doubles"--D-286, for all you collectors out there, backed with David Grinnell's "Across Time"--and with a cover price of...35 cents.
In the novel, which transpires over a nine-month period in 2044, we meet a 32-year-old public-relations man with the unlikely name of...Ted Kennedy! Ted's complacent life--married to a pretty wife, with a nice home in the Connecticut suburbs and a rising position in his NYC-based firm--is given a sudden jolt when his agency is given a contract by the privately owned Extraterrestrial Development and Exploration Corporation. It seems that valuable mineral deposits have just been discovered on the Jovian moon Ganymede, but that the tiny world's nonviolent, seemingly primitive inhabitants are not willing to allow the newly arrived Earthmen to make use of these resources. Kennedy comes up with the idea for a colossal hoax, in the first of the novel's three discrete sections: to make it seem, via phony press releases, that an Earth colony has settled on Ganymede, and that it is being harassed and attacked by the "Gannys," so that U.N. forces might be duped into ultimately eliminating the intransigent natives. In the book's second section, Kennedy visits Ganymede, meets the peaceful natives and experiences a change of heart. And in the third, he returns to Earth, a hunted fugitive, wanted by both the Corporation and the U.N. forces, and works to head off this coldly calculated genocide of an innocent race....
As compared to those other seven Silverberg books that I recently read, I must admit that "Invaders From Earth" is certainly a less literate affair. It is written in a simpler, more straightforward style, and minus the literary and historical references--and sexual content, natch--found in the author's more mature work. Still, the book is immensely enjoyable, a true page-turner, exciting and imaginative. Indeed, the book's final 40 pages or so are quite suspenseful and thrilling, as the clock ticks down to the Corporation's planned extermination of the Gannys and hunted-man Kennedy does what he can in his self-made, noirish, nightmare situation. Silverberg generously peppers his novel with all sorts of imaginative touches. Thus, the deflector plates on automobiles; the "sober tabs" that partyers swallow before driving (what a wonderful idea, Pfizer!); the dust-eater to be found in Ted's living room; the staggered rush hours for workers in Manhattan (another great idea); the struggling Bureau of Weather Adjustment; the violet traveling cloaks that businessmen wear over their suits; and, most presciently, the 48" TV set in the wall of Ted's living room. We are also given a look at the futuristic Joyland Amusement Park, residing on a floating island in Long Island Sound; Silverberg would go on to give us a look at a lunar amusement park in his 1967 novel "Thorns," as well as an orbiting amusement park in 1968's "World's Fair 1992." In all, it is a very pleasing book, and capped by a wonderful conclusion. Although writer/illustrator/critic James Cawthorn has called the novel "a slight, routine affair," this reader was most impressed by it. Indeed, other than the surprising gaffe of using the word "contingent" instead of "concomitant" in one spot (this, from an author who has always seemed to have the remarkable facility for unfailingly choosing the perfect word), Silverberg has here created a perfect little sci-fi adventure, and one that makes me eager to check out many more of his earlier works. "You can't make a living doing books," Kennedy tells a coworker early on, but fortunately, for all of us, Silverberg persevered in the creation of many wonderful books, and his sci-fi work--even early on, apparently--is second to none....
In the novel, which transpires over a nine-month period in 2044, we meet a 32-year-old public-relations man with the unlikely name of...Ted Kennedy! Ted's complacent life--married to a pretty wife, with a nice home in the Connecticut suburbs and a rising position in his NYC-based firm--is given a sudden jolt when his agency is given a contract by the privately owned Extraterrestrial Development and Exploration Corporation. It seems that valuable mineral deposits have just been discovered on the Jovian moon Ganymede, but that the tiny world's nonviolent, seemingly primitive inhabitants are not willing to allow the newly arrived Earthmen to make use of these resources. Kennedy comes up with the idea for a colossal hoax, in the first of the novel's three discrete sections: to make it seem, via phony press releases, that an Earth colony has settled on Ganymede, and that it is being harassed and attacked by the "Gannys," so that U.N. forces might be duped into ultimately eliminating the intransigent natives. In the book's second section, Kennedy visits Ganymede, meets the peaceful natives and experiences a change of heart. And in the third, he returns to Earth, a hunted fugitive, wanted by both the Corporation and the U.N. forces, and works to head off this coldly calculated genocide of an innocent race....
As compared to those other seven Silverberg books that I recently read, I must admit that "Invaders From Earth" is certainly a less literate affair. It is written in a simpler, more straightforward style, and minus the literary and historical references--and sexual content, natch--found in the author's more mature work. Still, the book is immensely enjoyable, a true page-turner, exciting and imaginative. Indeed, the book's final 40 pages or so are quite suspenseful and thrilling, as the clock ticks down to the Corporation's planned extermination of the Gannys and hunted-man Kennedy does what he can in his self-made, noirish, nightmare situation. Silverberg generously peppers his novel with all sorts of imaginative touches. Thus, the deflector plates on automobiles; the "sober tabs" that partyers swallow before driving (what a wonderful idea, Pfizer!); the dust-eater to be found in Ted's living room; the staggered rush hours for workers in Manhattan (another great idea); the struggling Bureau of Weather Adjustment; the violet traveling cloaks that businessmen wear over their suits; and, most presciently, the 48" TV set in the wall of Ted's living room. We are also given a look at the futuristic Joyland Amusement Park, residing on a floating island in Long Island Sound; Silverberg would go on to give us a look at a lunar amusement park in his 1967 novel "Thorns," as well as an orbiting amusement park in 1968's "World's Fair 1992." In all, it is a very pleasing book, and capped by a wonderful conclusion. Although writer/illustrator/critic James Cawthorn has called the novel "a slight, routine affair," this reader was most impressed by it. Indeed, other than the surprising gaffe of using the word "contingent" instead of "concomitant" in one spot (this, from an author who has always seemed to have the remarkable facility for unfailingly choosing the perfect word), Silverberg has here created a perfect little sci-fi adventure, and one that makes me eager to check out many more of his earlier works. "You can't make a living doing books," Kennedy tells a coworker early on, but fortunately, for all of us, Silverberg persevered in the creation of many wonderful books, and his sci-fi work--even early on, apparently--is second to none....
June 9, 2013
diren gannymade
November 3, 2023
3.5 really.
October 4, 2024
Liked this. Enjoyed the theme of the ethics of colonialism. A couple of fortuitous events allowed the plot to progress but lacked believability. The female character could have been fleshed out more. Overall, pretty fun, though.
May 15, 2021
Come ti manipolo l'opinione pubblica.
Romanzo scritto negli anni cinquanta, ma ancora leggibilissimo.
Rilettura del mito della Frontiera.
Romanzo scritto negli anni cinquanta, ma ancora leggibilissimo.
Rilettura del mito della Frontiera.
September 18, 2025
This book was poggers
April 10, 2011
solid pulp 50s sci-fi from one of the genre's masters. certainly not capital-L literature, but a lot of fun nevertheless.
October 15, 2018
Kitap, belirgin giriş, gelişme ve sonuç bölümlerinden oluşuyor ve her bölüm biraz daha hızlanarak ilerliyor. İlk bölüm yalan propagandanın gücüne yoğunlaştığı için başlarda beklentilerimle örtüştürmekte zorlandım ama biraz ilerledikçe mantıklı ve ilginç geldi.
Çeviri çokça yerde yoğunlaşmamı engelledi, pek beğenemedim. Güçlü ve güncel çeviriyle başka bir deneyim olabilir.
Kitabı biraz zor okudum, yarıya kadar geldikten sonra anca onar sayfa okuyarak ilerleyebildim. Sonrasını merak etmeliydim ama pek etmedim, ben de anlamadım.
Sonuç olarak bilim kurgu veya yalan propaganda ve kitlelere aktarım yöntemleri :) severlere tavsiye ediyorum, değişik bir eser, ancak hap gibi bir solukta bitirilmesi gereken kitaplardan.
Puanım 2,5'tan 3,0. Güncel ve iyi bir çeviriyle direkt 3,0 olur.
Çeviri çokça yerde yoğunlaşmamı engelledi, pek beğenemedim. Güçlü ve güncel çeviriyle başka bir deneyim olabilir.
Kitabı biraz zor okudum, yarıya kadar geldikten sonra anca onar sayfa okuyarak ilerleyebildim. Sonrasını merak etmeliydim ama pek etmedim, ben de anlamadım.
Sonuç olarak bilim kurgu veya yalan propaganda ve kitlelere aktarım yöntemleri :) severlere tavsiye ediyorum, değişik bir eser, ancak hap gibi bir solukta bitirilmesi gereken kitaplardan.
Puanım 2,5'tan 3,0. Güncel ve iyi bir çeviriyle direkt 3,0 olur.
December 19, 2023
In the near future, Theodore Kennedy works for a pubicity company which is given the task of representing a large space going coporation in their efforts to mine radioactive material on Ganymede. The moon of Jupiter has (alien) beings on it and pushed into visiting the moon, Kennedy finds out that the corporation plans on taking over the moon and wiping out the peaceful beings there and his agency are helping them with as hoax about a non-existant colony who they beings supposely wiped out, using U.N. help to attack them. Kennedy has an attack of conscience and goes back to Earth to reveal all but now he is a wanted man, with the corporation trying to silence him by killing him.
July 12, 2017
Eski bilim kurgulara olan açlığımı gidermek için bir okuduğum kitaplardan biridir Dünyalı istilacılar.
Pek iyi başladı esas konuya uzun bir süre geçenedi ama geçtikten sonra da çok güzel bir şekilde ilerledi. İlk 60 - 80 sayfayı okurken ne kadar zorlandıysam devamını okurken de o kadar keyif kaldım. İnsanların hiç bilmedikleri , tanımadıkları bir ırkı tanımaya, anlamaya çalışmadan hemen kontrol altına almak istemeleriyle başlıyor kitap, sonrasında gelişen hikaye ve karakter değişimleri de hoşuma gitti.
İlk sayfaları daha akıcı olsaydı daha yüksek bir puan alabilirdi ama yinede güzel.
Pek iyi başladı esas konuya uzun bir süre geçenedi ama geçtikten sonra da çok güzel bir şekilde ilerledi. İlk 60 - 80 sayfayı okurken ne kadar zorlandıysam devamını okurken de o kadar keyif kaldım. İnsanların hiç bilmedikleri , tanımadıkları bir ırkı tanımaya, anlamaya çalışmadan hemen kontrol altına almak istemeleriyle başlıyor kitap, sonrasında gelişen hikaye ve karakter değişimleri de hoşuma gitti.
İlk sayfaları daha akıcı olsaydı daha yüksek bir puan alabilirdi ama yinede güzel.
December 28, 2022
Characters that change their moral compass every 2o pages. The aliens get a brief description and a few paragraphs . Wife runs away with co-worker for 10mins. Kennedy is on the run.
Silverberg completely ruins his story with a moronic ending. Ted Kennedy : After changing his way of thinking 4 times , and having the truth come out , the 6 people on Ganymede are going to be pulled out of there, and the Ganymedians will be left alone.......
Kennedy: he tells the wife, "Let's leave Earth and live on Ganymede".
Silverberg completely ruins his story with a moronic ending. Ted Kennedy : After changing his way of thinking 4 times , and having the truth come out , the 6 people on Ganymede are going to be pulled out of there, and the Ganymedians will be left alone.......
Kennedy: he tells the wife, "Let's leave Earth and live on Ganymede".
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 12, 2021
Silverberg kalitesine alışmış olanlar için, kendisinden beklenmeyecek sığlıkta bir acemilik işi. Yabancıların "cheesy" dediği kötü bir roman. Romanın şirket ve halkla ilişkiler çalışmaları kısımları daha güzel işlense, Ganymede'liler ile temas ve uzaylıların kültürü konularında daha derine inilse sıradanlıktan kurtulabilirmiş.
October 31, 2022
Kind of a basic pulp novel w a few really interesting ideas that are sill somewhat prevalent. The whole fake manufacturing of the news is max relevant in today’s age where discerning what the real news is has become an everyday task. Fairly predictable read, but quick and easy. Idk why but I love the idea of staggering working hours based on industry to avoid congestion
August 25, 2019
A very decent and hopeful piece of speculative fiction. Certain aspects haven't necessarily aged well, but the central plot is believable and relevant. This short read is worthwhile for anyone interested in the history of sci-fi.
July 18, 2019
Heç sıxılmadan oxunacaq elmi-fantastik kitab axtarırsınızsa, 1 dəqiqə də dayanmadan başlayın.
February 13, 2021
Reklam dünyasının nasıl isleyebilecegini, toplum mühendisliğini bilimkurgu, uzayda kolonilesme konusu ile çok iyi harmanlamis yazar.
November 23, 2021
Pulpy awesomeness that actually is pretty thoughtful. Rushed ending.
May 21, 2023
“Half the unhappiness people make for each other, he thought, is caused by men and women trying to put back together something that should remain forever smashed.”
February 17, 2024
Great story I see a lot of parallels with the news today only whistleblowers don’t seem to fair well in reality. Silverberg was a master storyteller.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 28, 2023
Book review: 3.5/5 ⭐⭐⭐💫
Invaders from Earth by Robert Silverberg is a vintage scifi novel written in 1958. It tells the tale of a corrupt and greedy advertising agency that is hired to concoct a lie to the public. An intelligent alien species is found on the moon of Ganymede. It just so happens that the aliens are in the way of a space mining company, and in order to wipe them off the moon, the public of Earth must be persuaded to support military action.
A man, hilariously named, Ted Kennedy, is an ad man at the agency, and it’s up to him to formulate a plan to convince the public to back military action against the aliens. Ted is your typical 1950s man, dedicated to his career, a yes-man to the boss, dismissive of his wife’s opinions, and willing to set aside any moral qualms to get the job done. He comes up with a truly heinous campaign of propaganda to sway the public.
In many ways, this novel is a satire of the 1950s corporate work culture, with all the vultures that thrive in it. Similar in some ways to the AMC TV show Mad Men. The first half of the novel is rather heavy handed in the immoral attitudes of all the ad men, and the complete disregard they have towards any moral objections to their work. Add in some mild sexism, and you have your average scifi novel from the 50s. Despite all that, Ted Kennedy begins to question his actions and begins to grapple with his moral failings. In the second half of the book, the story grows into an interesting and thoughtful exploration involving many different moral themes.
Invaders from Earth is a very readable and quick page turner of a novel. It’s a novel that grows with its main character and becomes something more than just your average sexist 1950s scifi paperback. Silverberg showcases his skill in altering the readers expectations as the story progresses. It’s worth a read, if you are looking for something to do on a slow afternoon.
Invaders from Earth by Robert Silverberg is a vintage scifi novel written in 1958. It tells the tale of a corrupt and greedy advertising agency that is hired to concoct a lie to the public. An intelligent alien species is found on the moon of Ganymede. It just so happens that the aliens are in the way of a space mining company, and in order to wipe them off the moon, the public of Earth must be persuaded to support military action.
A man, hilariously named, Ted Kennedy, is an ad man at the agency, and it’s up to him to formulate a plan to convince the public to back military action against the aliens. Ted is your typical 1950s man, dedicated to his career, a yes-man to the boss, dismissive of his wife’s opinions, and willing to set aside any moral qualms to get the job done. He comes up with a truly heinous campaign of propaganda to sway the public.
In many ways, this novel is a satire of the 1950s corporate work culture, with all the vultures that thrive in it. Similar in some ways to the AMC TV show Mad Men. The first half of the novel is rather heavy handed in the immoral attitudes of all the ad men, and the complete disregard they have towards any moral objections to their work. Add in some mild sexism, and you have your average scifi novel from the 50s. Despite all that, Ted Kennedy begins to question his actions and begins to grapple with his moral failings. In the second half of the book, the story grows into an interesting and thoughtful exploration involving many different moral themes.
Invaders from Earth is a very readable and quick page turner of a novel. It’s a novel that grows with its main character and becomes something more than just your average sexist 1950s scifi paperback. Silverberg showcases his skill in altering the readers expectations as the story progresses. It’s worth a read, if you are looking for something to do on a slow afternoon.
August 8, 2011
Invasores Terrestres é um dos primeiros romances de Robert Silverberg (1958), destacado autor de ficção científica, que revela já uma grande maturidade do escritor na abordagem, de uma forma surpreendente, ao tema da manipulação da opinião pública pela publicidade em prol de interesses puramente corporativos e financeiros. Neste romance, o autor eleva ao expoente máximo o cinismo inerente à publicidade, inventando uma trama em que a opinião pública do planeta Terra é levada a acreditar que um grupo de descobridores humanos, recentemente chegados a um dos satélites de Júpiter - Ganimedes - são atacados ferozmente, e impiedosamente, pelos nativos de tal planeta, que são "vendidos" à opinião pública como se de animais irracionais se tratassem. A verdade é, no entanto, outra, a descobrir durante a leitura, mas é um facto que este livro nos permite reflectir sobre vários temas muito actuais, incluindo o poder detido pelas media no que diz respeito à formação da opinião individual, bem como aspectos mais profundos da nossa personalidade. Em essência, Silverberg transporta para este romance a luta individual que travamos diariamente contra os interesses económicos na defesa dos nossos valores individuais, e ilumina o nosso caminho ao apresentar de uma forma ingénua e espontânea a forma como se atinge a vitória dos valores humanos sobre a frieza dos mercados económicos. Actual e interessante, esta é uma leitura interessante, divertida e, por isso, aconselhada para todos os leitores, mesmo para aqueles que normalmente não se entregam às delícias da ficação científica.
March 6, 2014
Çıtır çerezlik bir roman daha. Açıkçası Sİlverberg çok derinlere inmeden, yüzeysel olarak anlatmış her şeyi. Bilim kurgu olarak çok teknik bir şey beklemeyin. Açıkçası ben Philip K Dick'in o komplo teorili romanlarına çok benzettim ama tabi onların yanında dediğim gibi çok hafif kalıyor.
Hatta öyle bir şey ki Spalding karakterinin birden 180 derece dönüşü 3 satırda oluyor ve siz o 3 satırdan önce hiçbir belirti bir sebep neden bulamazsanız 40 kez okusanız da, sanki biraz zorlama olmuş bazı şeyler.
Geçen sene okuduğum "İçeriden Ölmek" adlı romandan sonra beklentiler tavan yapıyor artık Silverberg diyince ama bu sefer aradığımızı bulamadık sanırsam.
Hatta öyle bir şey ki Spalding karakterinin birden 180 derece dönüşü 3 satırda oluyor ve siz o 3 satırdan önce hiçbir belirti bir sebep neden bulamazsanız 40 kez okusanız da, sanki biraz zorlama olmuş bazı şeyler.
Geçen sene okuduğum "İçeriden Ölmek" adlı romandan sonra beklentiler tavan yapıyor artık Silverberg diyince ama bu sefer aradığımızı bulamadık sanırsam.
October 18, 2016
I actually read the original, shorter version of this called We, the Maurauders, that was packaged with a James Blish novella.
The set up here reminded me very much of the Space Merchants, with a big marketing corporation trying to control the masses. In this case, an executive gets the idea to set up a fake colony on Ganymede, so they can kill the pesky natives and strip mine it without any fuse. He grows a conscious, though, and sets upon a course to change things.
Not a particularly original story, but a fun one that blends a few classic sci fi elements in a fairly interesting way.
The set up here reminded me very much of the Space Merchants, with a big marketing corporation trying to control the masses. In this case, an executive gets the idea to set up a fake colony on Ganymede, so they can kill the pesky natives and strip mine it without any fuse. He grows a conscious, though, and sets upon a course to change things.
Not a particularly original story, but a fun one that blends a few classic sci fi elements in a fairly interesting way.
October 27, 2015
Keyifli okuma ama daha fazlası var sanmıştım. Başladığı gibi devam etmedi diyebiliriz, ama hızlı keyifli yine de.
December 4, 2013
Very entertaining read, I quite enjoyed the futuristic descriptions coming from the past.
January 25, 2016
Üstat Silverberg'ün ilk işlerinden biri olmasına rağmen hayli sürükleyici bir macera. Keyif ve heyecanla okudum. Keşke daha çok kitabı dilimize kazandırılsa.
March 31, 2017
Neat little story. An advertising firm creates an ad campaign that will give earth the reason to invade another planet.
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