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The Visitor: First Contact Hard Science Fiction
THE VISITOR - hard, near-future science fiction for the reader who likes realism.Specialist astronaut Evelyn Slater encounters a small, badly damaged, ancient, alien artefact (British spelling) on the first ever space-junk elimination mission. Where was it from? Who sent it?International governments impose a security clampdown. Evelyn leads a team of hand-picked scientists who make amazing discoveries within the alien device. Secrecy becomes impossible to maintain. When the news is finally released, she becomes embroiled in international politics, worldwide xenophobic hatred and violence.This is book one of Tony Harmsworth’s First Contact series of novels. If you like realistic near-future stories which compel you to imagine yourself as the protagonist, The Visitor is the book for you.The Visitor – science fiction written for the 'thinking' reader, and with a wicked twist. Buy it now and be transported into orbit.Amazon "At first I was put off by negative reviews but upon further analysis, I figured the story could also be like a Rorschach test- comments may be seen as a projection of one's mind. I am glad I did not rely on negative reviews as I would have missed a good experience.""This is unquestionably the finest first contact novel I have ever read. All of the activity that takes place in outer space is realistic, well-informed yet easygoing. It is a completely plausible milieu and this adds considerably to the gravitas and integrity of the plot and its theme.""If you want to get a feel for this book reading the reviews won’t help. The vast majority of reviews fall strictly across political party lines. I felt the book itself had a unique concept on first contact and was well written. I however feel that the reviews will be tainted by ones right or left leaning views.""The action picked up and quickly developed into a most beautiful, yet cautionary, tale of intersecting cultures. Some readers have complained of the story's 'political correctness'; I would call it 'humane correctness'. What's not to love about a distaste for violence, fear, xenophobia, and their fruits?""I recommend this book very highly."
427 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 27, 2019
335 people are currently reading
213 people want to read
About the author
Tony Harmsworth
37 books39 followersBorn in Brocket Hall.
Educated in Welwyn Garden City and Bude to 'A' level standard.
Entered industry in 1968 rising to store manager of a retail company at 21 then into systems and procedure management with Wella and Lentheric.
Created the Loch Ness Centre in 1980 and designed other exhibitions including the Macbeth Experience and Fort Augustus Abbey Heritage Centre.
Acknowledged as one of the foremost experts on Loch Ness and its (now solved) phenomenon.
Became a tour operator when the Abbey was closed and built his businesses to become the first official 5 star coach tour and also to become the number one tour in Scotland on Trip Adviser.
Retired in 2013 to concentrate on writing and now has thirteen science fiction novels published and two in the pipeline.
Has written three non-fiction books: Scotland's Bloody History and Loch Ness Explained.
Educated in Welwyn Garden City and Bude to 'A' level standard.
Entered industry in 1968 rising to store manager of a retail company at 21 then into systems and procedure management with Wella and Lentheric.
Created the Loch Ness Centre in 1980 and designed other exhibitions including the Macbeth Experience and Fort Augustus Abbey Heritage Centre.
Acknowledged as one of the foremost experts on Loch Ness and its (now solved) phenomenon.
Became a tour operator when the Abbey was closed and built his businesses to become the first official 5 star coach tour and also to become the number one tour in Scotland on Trip Adviser.
Retired in 2013 to concentrate on writing and now has thirteen science fiction novels published and two in the pipeline.
Has written three non-fiction books: Scotland's Bloody History and Loch Ness Explained.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 73 reviews
January 4, 2022
The story itself isn't bad, but the writing suffers from two huge obstacles to reading enjoyment:
1) A writing style that starts every new experience or situation with: "I couldn't believe that XXX was happening." Then goes on to briefly cover what is actually happening without going into evocative details ever. Case: Our protagonist Dr. Evelyn is arriving at the ISS for the first time. The author goes on and on about "I was finally here. I couldn't believe it! It is so amazing!" - without ever actually describing what is so amazing. Nothing about sounds, smells, details or actual emotions... only reiterating that those things are utterly amazing. I felt shut out of the experience reading this, kept at a distance. It feels like Tony Harmsworth is unable to describe a human experience in a way that lets me in on it.
2) A protagonist that goes on and on about how she misses, or loves her husband, but NEVER describes how these feelings are. It is just like 1) - we're left out. There are now imagery, no similes, no actual human suspense, just the same thing over and over that does not drive the story, and does not give us any deeper understanding of the automaton protagonist.
3) And there does not seem to be any point to the book. Cardboard cutouts behaving in a predetermined way without reflection. That would have been ok if the writing had given us some feeling of being in the story, but since that is missing, we would hope that the people actually were interesting, but that does not happen either.
Save your money - this book is simply not good enough to pay for.
1) A writing style that starts every new experience or situation with: "I couldn't believe that XXX was happening." Then goes on to briefly cover what is actually happening without going into evocative details ever. Case: Our protagonist Dr. Evelyn is arriving at the ISS for the first time. The author goes on and on about "I was finally here. I couldn't believe it! It is so amazing!" - without ever actually describing what is so amazing. Nothing about sounds, smells, details or actual emotions... only reiterating that those things are utterly amazing. I felt shut out of the experience reading this, kept at a distance. It feels like Tony Harmsworth is unable to describe a human experience in a way that lets me in on it.
2) A protagonist that goes on and on about how she misses, or loves her husband, but NEVER describes how these feelings are. It is just like 1) - we're left out. There are now imagery, no similes, no actual human suspense, just the same thing over and over that does not drive the story, and does not give us any deeper understanding of the automaton protagonist.
3) And there does not seem to be any point to the book. Cardboard cutouts behaving in a predetermined way without reflection. That would have been ok if the writing had given us some feeling of being in the story, but since that is missing, we would hope that the people actually were interesting, but that does not happen either.
Save your money - this book is simply not good enough to pay for.
August 9, 2019
As a reader with a long standing interest in first contact science fiction, I was excited when an ad for this novel popped up on Facebook. Not only a new book, but an author who specialized in the kind of hard science fiction I like! Alas, I found this book to half wonderful, and half horrible.
First, the wonderful: This book reminded me in places, of the old John W. Campbell books. The pace of discovery, and the amount of pure luck, had the story moving quickly. This is not to say that real science was glossed over. This book is at it's absolute best with it's descriptions of flight in a Soyuz capsule, and living aboard the ISS, right down to the amount of time needed to confirm a hard dock, before astronauts can transfer between spacecraft and the station. The Visitor is set about 15 years into my future, and I found the descriptions of technological advancement on Earth to be realistic and plausible, not overdone at all.
Now the terrible: Our author Mr. Harmsworth chose to use this novel as a soapbox from which to browbeat the readers with his social and political views. This was at a minimum for almost a third of the book and then Wham! an extended diatribe about the importance and goodness of political correctness, never once seeming to realize that the term is a pejorative to many, a euphemism for social censorship.
The fatal flaw however, comes in the pages that follow. Having established the "importance" of political correctness, of treating everyone, even the most alien of strangers (or images of same) respectfully, our author goes out of his way to insult and demean all people of faith in general, and American conservatives in particular. In the end, the entire human race is condemned as stupid, the worst of the worst.
The Visitor has a Eurocentric viewpoint which by itself is a good thing, but I cannot recommend this book to American readers, or anyone interested in a balanced, respectful exploration of science versus faith.
First, the wonderful: This book reminded me in places, of the old John W. Campbell books. The pace of discovery, and the amount of pure luck, had the story moving quickly. This is not to say that real science was glossed over. This book is at it's absolute best with it's descriptions of flight in a Soyuz capsule, and living aboard the ISS, right down to the amount of time needed to confirm a hard dock, before astronauts can transfer between spacecraft and the station. The Visitor is set about 15 years into my future, and I found the descriptions of technological advancement on Earth to be realistic and plausible, not overdone at all.
Now the terrible: Our author Mr. Harmsworth chose to use this novel as a soapbox from which to browbeat the readers with his social and political views. This was at a minimum for almost a third of the book and then Wham! an extended diatribe about the importance and goodness of political correctness, never once seeming to realize that the term is a pejorative to many, a euphemism for social censorship.
The fatal flaw however, comes in the pages that follow. Having established the "importance" of political correctness, of treating everyone, even the most alien of strangers (or images of same) respectfully, our author goes out of his way to insult and demean all people of faith in general, and American conservatives in particular. In the end, the entire human race is condemned as stupid, the worst of the worst.
The Visitor has a Eurocentric viewpoint which by itself is a good thing, but I cannot recommend this book to American readers, or anyone interested in a balanced, respectful exploration of science versus faith.
May 11, 2019
Tony Harmsworth has totally changed my view on science fiction novels. Written brilliantly his novels are almost impossible to put down and I've thoroughly enjoyed every one of them.
Looking forward to reading Mindslip next!
Looking forward to reading Mindslip next!
November 20, 2021
I'm busy. And only getting pickier about my fiction as I age.
So, the only fiction genre I really like anymore is hard sci-fi.
And I want my hard sci-fi without frills. I don't need chapters of character development or exposition; if I wanted that I'd read Pride and Prejudice or Anna Karenina.
I just want interesting, thought-provoking, hard scienc-y stuff to start happening, soon, and non-stop.
Tony's novels deliver on this, and this one is no exception. Can't wait to read the rest of his works.
So, the only fiction genre I really like anymore is hard sci-fi.
And I want my hard sci-fi without frills. I don't need chapters of character development or exposition; if I wanted that I'd read Pride and Prejudice or Anna Karenina.
I just want interesting, thought-provoking, hard scienc-y stuff to start happening, soon, and non-stop.
Tony's novels deliver on this, and this one is no exception. Can't wait to read the rest of his works.
December 29, 2019
I dropped out at 25%, when there wasn't any chance left that the story would recover. Mr Harmsworth missed the opportunity to establish a mystery. All I had read so far, where trivialities, mostly logistics or cringey mushy Skype sessions with boyfriends. Not a single moment of suspense or focus on the premise. If you expect this book to be First Contact story, run away!
I assume, the entire story was written to prepare the reader for Mr. Harmsworth's message about 'worldwide xenophobic hatred', but, God bless, I'll never find out.
I assume, the entire story was written to prepare the reader for Mr. Harmsworth's message about 'worldwide xenophobic hatred', but, God bless, I'll never find out.
November 20, 2019
This book is a great look on how the society of mankind reacts when something, out of the normal way of everyday life, happens and changes everything mankind thought they knew. The story its self is a little slow, however it does keep moving along. I could not help but to feel sorry for Cadma as he tried so hard to help and understand mankind and finally just gave up knowing that there was no help for mankind at all even after all the gifts he had to give.
November 30, 2019
Very interesting, and we'll written, story arc. The book is about a woman scientist and astronaut who finds a very unusual alien artifact.
What I really enjoyed was how the author wove in commentary on religious beliefs. This may not appeal to those holding those beliefs.
What I really enjoyed was how the author wove in commentary on religious beliefs. This may not appeal to those holding those beliefs.
July 15, 2019
tldr: The book was exceptional, but the author has a philosophical/religious axe to grind that some people may find insulting or offensive.
I'm of two minds about this book. The story itself is really quite interesting and engaging. The on-orbit parts come across so well that it didn't just seem realistic, it seemed *real*. I enjoyed the characters and characterization.
However, the author does this thing that you sometimes see in SF. Heinlein did it and Rand did it, but that still doesn't make it any less annoying, even tiresome - the political/philosophical lecture. Rand never pretended to be anything but a philosopher who used fiction to illustrate her beliefs, so when you get John Galt's radio speech, or Howard Roark's trial, it isn't really a surprise. In Starship Troopers, they're thrown in as lectures in a history/philosophy class.
One problem that I have with SF authors who have a particular political/philosophical axe to grind is when the author is blatantly hostile and insulting to anyone who disagrees with their viewpoint. David Weber is sometimes guilty of this. Rand often created antagonists as one-dimensional tropes that were stupid, evil, or both. This author is particularly guilty. Let us at least try to be civil about it, folks.
I'm of two minds about this book. The story itself is really quite interesting and engaging. The on-orbit parts come across so well that it didn't just seem realistic, it seemed *real*. I enjoyed the characters and characterization.
However, the author does this thing that you sometimes see in SF. Heinlein did it and Rand did it, but that still doesn't make it any less annoying, even tiresome - the political/philosophical lecture. Rand never pretended to be anything but a philosopher who used fiction to illustrate her beliefs, so when you get John Galt's radio speech, or Howard Roark's trial, it isn't really a surprise. In Starship Troopers, they're thrown in as lectures in a history/philosophy class.
One problem that I have with SF authors who have a particular political/philosophical axe to grind is when the author is blatantly hostile and insulting to anyone who disagrees with their viewpoint. David Weber is sometimes guilty of this. Rand often created antagonists as one-dimensional tropes that were stupid, evil, or both. This author is particularly guilty. Let us at least try to be civil about it, folks.
December 6, 2019
A very potent story
I was really impressed with the vision Tony has of the possibilities available to us as inhabitants of the Earth. Hopefully we will learn the concept of cooperation with other inhabitants, one day, the sooner the better.
I was really impressed with the vision Tony has of the possibilities available to us as inhabitants of the Earth. Hopefully we will learn the concept of cooperation with other inhabitants, one day, the sooner the better.
September 25, 2022
Fun and interesting at first, then slow, boring and overly dramatic.
Most of my rants about this one are PC related.
I'm confused why the author felt the MC should be an ass to her secretary, what was that about?
Lame, woke bellyaching throughout the second half of the book. I do find it hysterical when woke people assume anyone takes them seriously.
Manual car drivers bad. Religion really, really bad. Conservatives bad. Americans bad. Got it.
I'm always intrigued when America gets to be the whipping boy for slavery when slavery began long before in other countries and still exists in many countries, including some African countries. But America bad.
Rest assured that in this book the English did everything right, were extremely proper, resourceful and always spoke with the utmost care and respect for language. 🙄
Solid narration. I REEALLLY could have done without the creaky voice. You can tell me a character is losing their voice and then I can use my imagination.
Most of my rants about this one are PC related.
I'm confused why the author felt the MC should be an ass to her secretary, what was that about?
Lame, woke bellyaching throughout the second half of the book. I do find it hysterical when woke people assume anyone takes them seriously.
Manual car drivers bad. Religion really, really bad. Conservatives bad. Americans bad. Got it.
I'm always intrigued when America gets to be the whipping boy for slavery when slavery began long before in other countries and still exists in many countries, including some African countries. But America bad.
Rest assured that in this book the English did everything right, were extremely proper, resourceful and always spoke with the utmost care and respect for language. 🙄
Solid narration. I REEALLLY could have done without the creaky voice. You can tell me a character is losing their voice and then I can use my imagination.
December 6, 2019
a VERY GOOD READ. possibly Tony's best to date.
November 26, 2019
Astoundingly good!
This is one of the most visionary and well-crafted science fiction books I have ever had the pleasure of reading. Additionally, it is a good novel as well, with interesting fully developed characters. Well done, Mr. Harmsworth. I will be buying your other books!
This is one of the most visionary and well-crafted science fiction books I have ever had the pleasure of reading. Additionally, it is a good novel as well, with interesting fully developed characters. Well done, Mr. Harmsworth. I will be buying your other books!
May 9, 2021
Plot is interesting and fast paced. A pleasure to read even if the protagonist is a bit one dimensional. One thing that put me off was that for all the effort the characters put into being politically correct in the face of first contact, the author’s dislike of religion really bleeds through and ruins the mood.
December 6, 2019
When I think about the idea of this book, I liked this book. The science-y stuff is cool - it's at the same time fantastic and believable in near-future Earth and space. The whole premise of this first contact was fun to follow along with, and I enjoyed the tech stuff and the space stuff and the alien stuff a bunch when it finally showed up. But to get to that fun stuff, you have to wade through a whole bunch of this stuff:
No really. And it's even more romance novel-y when you realize it's being spoken in a lilting posh British accent.
Really, I had no idea that I would have to spend so much time somewhat slogging through the emotions and feelings of the narrator, and just found myself exhausted by her altering between complete emotional breakdown and unerring psychological, social, political, technical, and managerial capabilities. Hey but she rockets to the highest levels of British society, gets her own Jaguar, and enjoys the fantastic art in her office that she describes in detail. Awesome. She's... exhausting.
But, that's cool, I made it 75% of the way through and get to the real meat of the "first contact" parts of the story. I'm over here like "ok, Eve, can you step aside for a minute and now we can really get to know this alien dude a bit now please?"
And... the story veers straight into Richard DawkinsLand. Like, it all came down to disproving religion right as the first contact stuff got going full-bore, and I still had to experience it while filtered through the constantly-self-questioning yet also somehow always-making-the-perfect-decision inner monologue of Eve.
That's actually the most unbelievable and un-enjoyable part of this book: that an explorer in the cosmos would expend so much energy talking down to living, thinking beings that it finds. We get it - we're pond scum and kill each other, and violence has no place in the world and the US President publicly believes that the world is 6,000 years old, but could we just take a minute and consider that such an extremely advanced being might be able to respect human beings and take a much more objective look at us, warts and all?
"My heart sang. I rebounded from my depths of despair. Nothing mattered to me now except [insert name of alien here]"
No really. And it's even more romance novel-y when you realize it's being spoken in a lilting posh British accent.
Really, I had no idea that I would have to spend so much time somewhat slogging through the emotions and feelings of the narrator, and just found myself exhausted by her altering between complete emotional breakdown and unerring psychological, social, political, technical, and managerial capabilities. Hey but she rockets to the highest levels of British society, gets her own Jaguar, and enjoys the fantastic art in her office that she describes in detail. Awesome. She's... exhausting.
But, that's cool, I made it 75% of the way through and get to the real meat of the "first contact" parts of the story. I'm over here like "ok, Eve, can you step aside for a minute and now we can really get to know this alien dude a bit now please?"
And... the story veers straight into Richard DawkinsLand. Like, it all came down to disproving religion right as the first contact stuff got going full-bore, and I still had to experience it while filtered through the constantly-self-questioning yet also somehow always-making-the-perfect-decision inner monologue of Eve.
That's actually the most unbelievable and un-enjoyable part of this book: that an explorer in the cosmos would expend so much energy talking down to living, thinking beings that it finds. We get it - we're pond scum and kill each other, and violence has no place in the world and the US President publicly believes that the world is 6,000 years old, but could we just take a minute and consider that such an extremely advanced being might be able to respect human beings and take a much more objective look at us, warts and all?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 23, 2019
Dr. Evelyn (Eve) Slater is a newly-minted astronaut as The Visitor: First Contact Hard Science Fiction opens. She’s from Tenerife in the Canary Islands, thirty-three years old, and holds a doctorate in psychology and a masters in mathematics. Once she arrives at the International Space Station, she will move to a spaceship that’s been specially designed to locate and either salvage or destroy space junk in low orbit around the Earth. And that assignment makes her and her Russian pilot, cosmonaut Yuri Bulgakov, co-discoverers of the first alien spaceship ever encountered by the human race.
The craft, a metal cylinder about four meters (thirteen feet) long, with a long, pointed snout, has been badly damaged by a meteor strike. Damaged, but not destroyed. As Evelyn’s fellow astronauts investigate the craft, they discover that it holds a wealth of data that’s eventually readable by hackers. They also learn that the builders of the craft employed a fuel that would dramatically improve the efficiency of human spaceships, and they’ve managed to polarize electricity in a way that permits dramatic new breakthroughs in electronics. And there are more and much greater surprises in store.
A suspenseful hard science fiction tale about what happens after First Contact
The Visitor is, indeed, First Contact hard science fiction, as its subtitle so unsubtly promises. Author Tony Harmsworth does a good job of conveying the reality of an astronaut’s experience getting to and from Earth orbit and living there for an extended period. As the story unfolds, moving from the realm of science into the world of politics and diplomacy, he becomes preachy. His writing style is workmanlike but unexciting. But he’s done a good job of plotting. The tale is suspenseful, and it offers insights into what (unfortunately) is likely to be the reaction on Earth if we ever discover irrefutable evidence of intelligent life elsewhere in the universe.
The craft, a metal cylinder about four meters (thirteen feet) long, with a long, pointed snout, has been badly damaged by a meteor strike. Damaged, but not destroyed. As Evelyn’s fellow astronauts investigate the craft, they discover that it holds a wealth of data that’s eventually readable by hackers. They also learn that the builders of the craft employed a fuel that would dramatically improve the efficiency of human spaceships, and they’ve managed to polarize electricity in a way that permits dramatic new breakthroughs in electronics. And there are more and much greater surprises in store.
A suspenseful hard science fiction tale about what happens after First Contact
The Visitor is, indeed, First Contact hard science fiction, as its subtitle so unsubtly promises. Author Tony Harmsworth does a good job of conveying the reality of an astronaut’s experience getting to and from Earth orbit and living there for an extended period. As the story unfolds, moving from the realm of science into the world of politics and diplomacy, he becomes preachy. His writing style is workmanlike but unexciting. But he’s done a good job of plotting. The tale is suspenseful, and it offers insights into what (unfortunately) is likely to be the reaction on Earth if we ever discover irrefutable evidence of intelligent life elsewhere in the universe.
April 24, 2022
I enjoyed the first section of the book, the discovery and the setting up of the slow examination of the artefact and the main characters personal growth, even though she was annoyingly wonderful at everything. I was intrigued by the alien thing and what possibilities it opened up for the story.
But when the alien AI woke up it just went downhill. The author clearly used the alien as a voicebox to air his/her own opinions and tirades on religion and specifically America's religious right.
I say as an atheist myself that I find the kind of soapbox grandstanding the alien did here to be extremely annoying and the author pinning all of humanities ills and selfishness upon our belief in religion to be so boringly simplistic it took me out of the story I was reading. When the religious nut shot a guy and screamed 'blasphemer' I thought we were cribbing from 'Contact' a little bit but it when on and on and the Alien even gave a speech to the US congress that would have been worthy of Terry Goodkind's 'Richard Rahl' at his most preachiest (I hope you haven't had that displeasure).
Author ruined a good book in the Rendezvous with Rama style by injecting modern politics and author inserted opinions.
But when the alien AI woke up it just went downhill. The author clearly used the alien as a voicebox to air his/her own opinions and tirades on religion and specifically America's religious right.
I say as an atheist myself that I find the kind of soapbox grandstanding the alien did here to be extremely annoying and the author pinning all of humanities ills and selfishness upon our belief in religion to be so boringly simplistic it took me out of the story I was reading. When the religious nut shot a guy and screamed 'blasphemer' I thought we were cribbing from 'Contact' a little bit but it when on and on and the Alien even gave a speech to the US congress that would have been worthy of Terry Goodkind's 'Richard Rahl' at his most preachiest (I hope you haven't had that displeasure).
Author ruined a good book in the Rendezvous with Rama style by injecting modern politics and author inserted opinions.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 30, 2020
3.5 for the slow boil. An interesting take on our first contact with an alien being, with the added bonus that it holds a mirror up to humans and finds us wanting. As we’re likely aware, but choose to ignore. The ending was a surprise, nice to see the author steered away from the predictable alien saves human (in the traditional sense) - she is saved, but not in the way we know. Did enjoy it, although to my downfall, I’m still not a iPad reader. Probably too many other distractions on it, whereas a book...
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 29, 2019
Not worth your time.
Most of this book is just a setup for having the "alien" ridicule humans who believe in a deity and blames all such beliefs on what's wrong with the world. I'm not much into SF who's only purpose is to rant/rave about an author's pet peeve. Haven't read anything else from this author and now would be disinclined to do so.
Most of this book is just a setup for having the "alien" ridicule humans who believe in a deity and blames all such beliefs on what's wrong with the world. I'm not much into SF who's only purpose is to rant/rave about an author's pet peeve. Haven't read anything else from this author and now would be disinclined to do so.
October 2, 2022
The main character is comes off as an entitled, self-righteous, arrogant, bitch. The science fiction part of the book is okay but most of the book is about the main character and how she feels at the moment. Waist of time.
February 23, 2024
Short version: nah. Better not.
Spoilers hereafter.
In this book's favor is the plot. The story started out well with a very hard-sci-fi portrayal of humans encountering an alien artifact, and keeps this hard study up all the way to the last chapter or so. A credible portrayal of how an alien species and culture might be beyond alien to our understanding, how an alien might get to Earth in the first place and why and, crucially, how good or bad humans would respond to it.
However, this books was obviously written for word count. Almost every little irrelevant action of the protagonist is described in detail. My memory is suggesting this included a step-by-step of them brushing their teeth. Neither in space, nor with a future dental-hygiene device.
Even if that is a false memory, there absolutely is page upon page (or minute upon minute/hour upon hour in the audiobook) of the main character climbing stairs, opening doors, stepping through doors, closing doors, taking off their jacket, hanging it on a very specific coathook, and how, etc., etc., etc.
Unfortunately, the otherwise entirely serviceable and often innovative plot is dealt a death blow by the final chapter. Wherein the plausible is kicked out of the window in favor of a lovey-dovey happy ending.
No, I don't think the ending is remotely plausible.
The alien, or rather the computerized copy of an alien consciousness, and a copy of the consciousness of the human who taught the alien about love, return to the alien homeworld.
After not just traveling thousands upon thousands of years. But after the alien had spend >millions< of years asleep in space in the Sol system.
Longer lifespans and advanced technology cannot plausibly explain how, upon reaching the alien homeworld, the two travelers find the culture indistinguishable from how it had been when that first consciousness had been copied and launched into space.
A civilization and species who develop progressively more advanced technology, as this one ostensibly did, must have at least a marginal propensity to embrace novelty and change. Even if they reached the apex of what technology can do, period, over so many generations, social change should have been inevitable.
If the author had concocted an explanation for this, some sort of rationalization for who they should find things virtually unaltered, they did not make enough hay of it for me to notice.
A slog of a book with some interesting ideas turned into a just >bad< finale. It's fine for sci-fi, even hard sci-fi, to do the impossible. But it cannot do the >implausible<.
The final chapter feels tacked on to the story. If this was a movie, or a TV show, I would suspect studio interference. Yes, a happy ending is nice at times. No, the quality of a book is not made by how happy the protagonists are on the final page.
I do not recommend this book. It barely kept me just interested enough to finish the audiobook at a rather slow pace. I'm sure the narrator contributed there, too.
Spoilers hereafter.
In this book's favor is the plot. The story started out well with a very hard-sci-fi portrayal of humans encountering an alien artifact, and keeps this hard study up all the way to the last chapter or so. A credible portrayal of how an alien species and culture might be beyond alien to our understanding, how an alien might get to Earth in the first place and why and, crucially, how good or bad humans would respond to it.
However, this books was obviously written for word count. Almost every little irrelevant action of the protagonist is described in detail. My memory is suggesting this included a step-by-step of them brushing their teeth. Neither in space, nor with a future dental-hygiene device.
Even if that is a false memory, there absolutely is page upon page (or minute upon minute/hour upon hour in the audiobook) of the main character climbing stairs, opening doors, stepping through doors, closing doors, taking off their jacket, hanging it on a very specific coathook, and how, etc., etc., etc.
Unfortunately, the otherwise entirely serviceable and often innovative plot is dealt a death blow by the final chapter. Wherein the plausible is kicked out of the window in favor of a lovey-dovey happy ending.
No, I don't think the ending is remotely plausible.
The alien, or rather the computerized copy of an alien consciousness, and a copy of the consciousness of the human who taught the alien about love, return to the alien homeworld.
After not just traveling thousands upon thousands of years. But after the alien had spend >millions< of years asleep in space in the Sol system.
Longer lifespans and advanced technology cannot plausibly explain how, upon reaching the alien homeworld, the two travelers find the culture indistinguishable from how it had been when that first consciousness had been copied and launched into space.
A civilization and species who develop progressively more advanced technology, as this one ostensibly did, must have at least a marginal propensity to embrace novelty and change. Even if they reached the apex of what technology can do, period, over so many generations, social change should have been inevitable.
If the author had concocted an explanation for this, some sort of rationalization for who they should find things virtually unaltered, they did not make enough hay of it for me to notice.
A slog of a book with some interesting ideas turned into a just >bad< finale. It's fine for sci-fi, even hard sci-fi, to do the impossible. But it cannot do the >implausible<.
The final chapter feels tacked on to the story. If this was a movie, or a TV show, I would suspect studio interference. Yes, a happy ending is nice at times. No, the quality of a book is not made by how happy the protagonists are on the final page.
I do not recommend this book. It barely kept me just interested enough to finish the audiobook at a rather slow pace. I'm sure the narrator contributed there, too.
January 10, 2021
I enjoyed most of the book, especially the practical day-to-day details of space operations and managing a major scientific facility. The philosophical discussions of technology versus religion were interesting to me, even if I had some disagreements. The major twist at the end was also a pretty good read. I was even OK with the various moralizing by humans and others. My problem with this book, as it is with many other sci-fi stories and techno-thrillers, is in the setups and plot devices used to move the story forward (and make it Anglicized). SPOILERS: A mid-30 year old, very specialized astronaut with a doctorate in Psychology, is one of two people to first contact an alien item, and is then almost instantly placed in charge of a major scientific facility, with a title of nobility and contact with world leaders. Extremely unbelievable. Then, after a major tragedy and terrible injuries, she is then placed in a dominant position in a massive international program, at a level with world leaders. Rubbish. The geopolitical aspects of the story (UN authority, military non-involvement) are very implausible, in order to push UK equality or superiority over the US, Russia, Europe, China, etc. Another nitpick for me, as an Engineer, are the ridiculously fast timeframes for the construction of space structures and spacecraft, and to incorporate new alien technologies into earthly endeavors. This is all too common in much of sci-fi and adventure literature, but it bugs me. Other readers may be able to get into the larger issues presented here, and ignore some of the more mundane unbelievable events.
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October 6, 2022The story is pretty good albeit fantastical and daft in places. The lead character seems to have no limit, no hardship and discoverer of all things in 5 minutes. Also the harping on about political correctness and bigotry etc is wholly unrealistic as is the general feeling of her motives. The main character comes across fascistic in her quest to control people's thoughts and feelings instead of constructive. I find some of it to be absolutely too much. Especially in the manner she interacts with others. A bit spoilt brat. Now all that aside and the nonsense of silly technologies that have "eradicated petty crime" (all in under 2 decades!?) The story does pull you in and does entertain with lots of things to ponder. No spoilers here as you should just read for yourself..lol.
Edit: Sorry to go on but the politics of the writer do seem way too evident as to many of their views. I found this to be a nagging nonsense throughout and ruined the experience for an otherwise good story. The dismissive nature of the book and the need to throw in "white supremacists", ""racists", as characters just seems very social justice and this is in no way entertainment. For an example, if a protagonist is against alien life for one reason or another why would white supremacist need to be a descriptor or why would humans who fear alien life be racists or bigots? Very nonsensical. We read to escape. Not be hammered with your beliefs.
Edit: Sorry to go on but the politics of the writer do seem way too evident as to many of their views. I found this to be a nagging nonsense throughout and ruined the experience for an otherwise good story. The dismissive nature of the book and the need to throw in "white supremacists", ""racists", as characters just seems very social justice and this is in no way entertainment. For an example, if a protagonist is against alien life for one reason or another why would white supremacist need to be a descriptor or why would humans who fear alien life be racists or bigots? Very nonsensical. We read to escape. Not be hammered with your beliefs.
July 21, 2019
Excellent "hard science fiction"
My experience with reading science fiction , books ( remember those?) goes back to antiquity. While in college in the 1960's,
I cut my teeth on Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke & Robert Heinlein. It shaped my thinking . This author has captured the excitement of space exploration for me, once again.
The story begins with a dream I've had, cleaning up all of the junk in space. If you haven't taken a look at some of the recent pictures of the earth with it's space junk "ring around the collar" it's worth a look.
Then the find of an orbiting unknown object , not from around this galaxy, is a thrill. Unfortunately, as is pointed out n this book, people can be really twitchy, stupid, creatures. Government even more so.
The story demonstrates how much bureaucracy has gotten in the way of discovery and wonder. Imagine our president greeting an alien and then - you'll have to read the book.
Fear rules and this continues into a dark hole. The end is plausible and could lead to other adventures . I give this book high praise as an enjoyable read.
My experience with reading science fiction , books ( remember those?) goes back to antiquity. While in college in the 1960's,
I cut my teeth on Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke & Robert Heinlein. It shaped my thinking . This author has captured the excitement of space exploration for me, once again.
The story begins with a dream I've had, cleaning up all of the junk in space. If you haven't taken a look at some of the recent pictures of the earth with it's space junk "ring around the collar" it's worth a look.
Then the find of an orbiting unknown object , not from around this galaxy, is a thrill. Unfortunately, as is pointed out n this book, people can be really twitchy, stupid, creatures. Government even more so.
The story demonstrates how much bureaucracy has gotten in the way of discovery and wonder. Imagine our president greeting an alien and then - you'll have to read the book.
Fear rules and this continues into a dark hole. The end is plausible and could lead to other adventures . I give this book high praise as an enjoyable read.
January 18, 2024
Independent British author Tony Harmsworth says that he writes hard science fiction in the style of the masters, by which I suspect he means Arthur C. Clarke. He lacks Clarke’s imaginative genius, but to give him his due, he does write a credible near-future story that sticks close to known and plausible science. In The Visitor, he tells the story of a Euro-Russian mission to clean up some of the junk cluttering up near-Earth orbit. His heroine, Eve, is an unlikely astronaut because her doctorate is in psychology. But never mind. She and her crew become the center of world attention when they discover a damaged alien probe that seems to have been in orbit for eons. It is the sort of premise Clarke would have loved. The plot takes a sappy turn at the end, but Clarke’s plots were sometimes guilty of that as well. 3.5 stars.
July 15, 2019
Highly recommended reading!!
First book ever read by this author and have to say that I was suitably impressed. It was a great read and I enjoyed it immensely, so much so that I stayed up nearly all night reading it. The writing was skillful, and well put together, I thought the premise storyline was done well and I cared a lot about the characters which can be difficult to pull off in the first person (at least I always struggle with it).
I felt like it could really happen the way that it went in the book and although I suspected the ending I was nonetheless thrilled by it.
Great read highly recommended, I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. I’m off to find other stuff by this author and I shall be incredibly sad is it’s not just as good as this one!
First book ever read by this author and have to say that I was suitably impressed. It was a great read and I enjoyed it immensely, so much so that I stayed up nearly all night reading it. The writing was skillful, and well put together, I thought the premise storyline was done well and I cared a lot about the characters which can be difficult to pull off in the first person (at least I always struggle with it).
I felt like it could really happen the way that it went in the book and although I suspected the ending I was nonetheless thrilled by it.
Great read highly recommended, I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. I’m off to find other stuff by this author and I shall be incredibly sad is it’s not just as good as this one!
May 7, 2020
An exciting and thought provoking book 🤗
Wow! I’ve never read any of Tony Harmsworth before, the only reason I decided to try this book was that I quite like science fiction and many years ago used to read it avidly. Sadly, due to my great age I have read all the good and great writers of this genre But thought I would try this particular book as it had a very mixed reception on Amazon by the various readers. I can’t begin to describe the plot other than to say It is obviously very well researched and makes the whole story an amazing page turner.
Without a doubt I would recommend anyone remotely interested in sci-fi to read this book, I will certainly work my way through the Rest of the authors books.
Wow! I’ve never read any of Tony Harmsworth before, the only reason I decided to try this book was that I quite like science fiction and many years ago used to read it avidly. Sadly, due to my great age I have read all the good and great writers of this genre But thought I would try this particular book as it had a very mixed reception on Amazon by the various readers. I can’t begin to describe the plot other than to say It is obviously very well researched and makes the whole story an amazing page turner.
Without a doubt I would recommend anyone remotely interested in sci-fi to read this book, I will certainly work my way through the Rest of the authors books.
December 24, 2020
Great SciFi for 1st 20% of the book ....
So, REALLY — the 1st part of the book was very good and well done; I could easily have seen this as a 5-star Review IF the gist of the original plot had been continued.
But, it wasn’t. And, 4-stars is now generous.
This opinion of mine is because the SciFi angle turned into bureaucratic management and other nonsense. I didn’t mind the religion twists and discussions in the last 10% of the book — but the last 2/3 of the story simply was not as good as the 1st segment.
So, REALLY — the 1st part of the book was very good and well done; I could easily have seen this as a 5-star Review IF the gist of the original plot had been continued.
But, it wasn’t. And, 4-stars is now generous.
This opinion of mine is because the SciFi angle turned into bureaucratic management and other nonsense. I didn’t mind the religion twists and discussions in the last 10% of the book — but the last 2/3 of the story simply was not as good as the 1st segment.
September 10, 2019
Stunned
Tony, it's impossible for me to rate this with anything but the maximum 5 stars, I've tried to limit myself to one or two chapters each evening but it's so engrossing - throwing up so many different & varied questions (and possible logical) answers that I've unfortunately sat up in bed way past my bedtime finishing reading it, I doubt if I'll find another book in this genre to match it . . . thanks for writing it - BUT your could have made it longer -:)
Tony, it's impossible for me to rate this with anything but the maximum 5 stars, I've tried to limit myself to one or two chapters each evening but it's so engrossing - throwing up so many different & varied questions (and possible logical) answers that I've unfortunately sat up in bed way past my bedtime finishing reading it, I doubt if I'll find another book in this genre to match it . . . thanks for writing it - BUT your could have made it longer -:)
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January 5, 2020The golden age of science fiction is back! Updated with the latest technology plus some as-of-yet unknown scientific advances, this novel breaks new (old) ground. Riveting and timely, this brave new book, in spite of the great strides it depicts in science, is depressing as it shows a severe lack of sociological progress in the USA. (Think Trump 15 years in the future.)
Can't wait for the next book!
Can't wait for the next book!
June 10, 2022
Overall I enjoyed it. It is one of the more plausible first contact books when you think of the distance between Earth and other planets. The author also did a good job describing human attitudes toward the possibility of alien life. Just what Cadma looked like wasn't clear to me. I liked Harmsworth's description of being being on the ISS and other space vehicles and the Evelyn character was good as well. I look forward to reading some more of his books.
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