The Coming

by Joe Haldeman

Book Overview

Astronomy professor Aurora 'Rory' Bell gets a message from space that seems to portend the arrival of extraterrestrial visitors. According to her calculations, whoever is coming will arrive in three months-- on New Year's Day, to be exact. A crowded and poisoned Earth is moving toward the brink of the last world war--and is certainly unprepared to face invasion of any kind. Rory's continuing investigation leads her to wonder if it could be some kind...

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0441008763
• ISBN13: 9780441008766
• Release Date: November 2001
• Publisher: Ace Books
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 0.34 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 4.2" x 6.8"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

Good story but not hard Sci-fi

I liked this book a lot, but: 1. It's not hard sci-fi, more like political fiction set forward a few years. 2. The style of the book is just friggin' great but something Haldeman has never used before. I was hooked early on and really enjoyed the story and the style. But if you are looking for some good old fashioned sci-fi this won't be your cup of tea.

Good science thriller

I won't quite call this 'science fiction' because the typical sci-fi book has more aliens, lasers, and space travel than this book.This book has messages that might be coming from aliens. Not quite sci-fi. But man it's a great thriller. Kind of a science thriller, mixed with a political thriller, mixed with modern character driven fiction.Okay it's an odd mix, but it really works. If you come to the book with an open mind and enjoy the way Haldeman tells the story you will have a really good time. You may have to set asside some assumptions about Haldeman - this is no "Forever War". And thank goodness, that was a great book but who would want to read the same story over and over?I thought this was one of Haldeman's best works. On par with "The Hemmingway Hoax" and far better than "Forever Peace" (yeah, count me in for bagging that one).So I've kind of rambled but I've been up all week studying for finals and this is my idea of a break. What it comes down to is it's a great book if you are willing to mix genres a little. I loved it.

A very unusual thriller

The Coming really had me on the edge of my seat for reasons that go far beyond the normal excitement of a plot where the fate of the planet is in the balance. What set it apart from your typical "disaster thriller" is the fact that the characters are not really in the thick of things except at the very beginning and end. I think this is what lends the book such a real feel. The main character is the one who first identifies the message and is involved in the investigation of it authenticity, but she is quickly pushed aside by bureaucrats and somewhat sidelined. What the book is then is a reflection of how those events affect the main characters and the people of the Florida College town where they live. In a unique way the narrative passes on to other people in their lives always winding back to the original cast. It an interesting way of telling a story that I have never seen before. I loved the novelty of it (no pun intended!). The book is quite different not only in narrative style but in the personal politics that Haldeman envisions for the future. The book is quite controversial in that regard and at first I found it kind of shocking. Still the book is quite good and a full meal for the mind!

Great piece of modern fiction

What may disappoint Haldeman fans is that this book isn't really science fiction. However as a piece of modern fiction it stands out as on of the best works I have read in a long time. Haldeman has really outdone himself this time. The character development, pacing, and most of all the narrative transition are excellent. I found the story to be a hard one to put down. This is simply a great novel.

Fantastic! A rather unique, thoughtful, sci-fi mystery.

Wow what a ride! I'm teeling you this is book is going to win some awards! I think Haldeman had better dust off some space next to his colletion of Nebulas and Hugos, this book knock my socks off. I have read most of Haldeman's novels and I would rate this one his best science fiction works in many years.The primary plot is pretty easy to explain, but the story goes much deeper: Set fifty years in the future, a professor in a quiet Florida college town studying deep space gamma ray anomalies disovers a very unnatural message in a burst originating just outside the Solar System: "We're coming." The implications of this message are of course incredible. The reactions of the characters feels entirely real. People don't go bonkers. Stores open, the mail gets delivered, oh, and aliens may be showing up on New Years day.As the story unfolds it has as much to do with the affect the message has on the characters in the novel as the mystery of the message itself. The novel has two protagonist, but it is almost an ensemble piece. The story is told from many perspectives and the transitions from character to character are handled in an unusual way that I really liked.Here are the high points of the novel for me:I really liked the way Haldeman makes 2054 feel like a natural extension of today. Most science fiction authors make even the near future seem alien and unnatural. Haldeman's future is very believable, I didn't have to strain to see the canvas he was painting for us.The characters are deep and well written. You could easily re-read the novel and discover how much things you learn late in the novel illumiate small character traits introduced ealier. I guarantee you haven't met protaginist like the couple in this novel! They really seem like people you could know. Definetely not Holywood Action Hereos!Haldeman is a physicist and can write hard science that even a layman like myself can understand. He adds just enough science to keep the story believable, but not so much that it bogs down.I bought this book when it came out, but didn't decide to read it till the other day. I only intended to read for an hour before bed and ended up reading till 4 AM. I only (painfully) put it aside because I had to go to work the next day! I finished the rest the minute I got home. I haven't done that in a long time. The book really is a lot of fun - I think anyone who like an intelligent sci-fi/thriller will feel the same.