Book Review: The Man Who Fell to Earth by Walter Tevis

The Man Who Fell to Earth
by Walter Tevis (Tevis) and
The Man Who Fell to Earth (graphic novel)
by Dan Watters and Dev Pramanik, adapted from the 1976 film version of The Man Who Fell to Earth by Nicolas Roeg, which was adapted from the Tevis novel (741.5 Tev)

If you ask most people nowadays if they’ve heard of The Man Who Fell to Earth, they’d probably mention having seen David Bowie (in his first major acting role) in the 1976 film by director Nicholas Roeg of that title. But is was actually a classic scifi novel before that film adapted the story (with some changes) for the big screen.

 

Thomas Jerome Newton may look human, but he’s not. He’s a visitor from a distant planet — an emissary from his own dying people, sent to Earth to manipulate both events and technological developments in order to surreptitiously build a spacecraft that can be used to return to his dying planet and ferry the rest of his people to our world. But he’s supposed to do it without attracting dangerous attention to himself. He is only partially successful.

 

This is a quiet, thoughtful science fiction novel that fits more into the “social science fiction” category. It is “scifi as written by a mainstream author”. Newton is a highly sympathetic character, separated from all he knows and values and surrounded by those he considers to be only rudimentally intelligent. It is a profile of loneliness and isolation and self-reflection, as Newton eventually grows to question the value of his own underlying mission.

 

In addition to the famed 1976 film, this story was adapted into the unsold pilot for a 1986 TV series (available on YouTube in its entirety), and a 2022 10-part Showtime series, starring Chiwetel Ejiofor, was an official “sequel” to the David Bowie movie, with Bill Nighy taking over the Bowie role as Newton.

 

The 1963 novel is definitely a thing of its time, with certain glimpses of futuristic technology now looking absurdly quaint. But it is still well-written and I believe it justifies its place in the series of “SF Masterworks” of the 20th century. If you like it — check out Walter Tevis’ other novels, including Mockingbird, The Queen’s Gambit (turned into a 7-episode limited series on Netflix in 2020), The Hustler and The Color of Money (both adapted into classic feature films starring Paul Newman), among others.

 

If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try The Man Who Fell to Earth (graphic novel adaptation of the 1974 film by Nicolas Roeg starring David Bowie) by Dan Watters and Dev Pramanik. The film (and thus this graphic novel adaptation of the film) differs in several key facets from the original novel, notably in the presence of sex scenes and slightly different end fates for some of the characters. Having just read the novel, I was amused at the changes that are clearly evident in the graphic novel, but even then, it still gets across its messages about isolation, loneliness, addiction and corrupt power. And the artist does a good job of capturing the appearances of cast members David Bowie, Rip Torn, Bucky Henry, Candy Clark and Bernie Casey. I give both versions a 7 on our 1-10 rating scale.

 

( Wikipedia page for Walter Tevis, with links to info about all versions of The Man Who Fell to Earth )

 

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library — Public Service

 

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Book Review: The Humans by Matt Haig

The Humans
by Matt Haig (Haig)

The Humans is a 2013 book from the British author more recently known for The Midnight Library, though he’s been producing works in fiction and non-fiction for adults and children since 2002. I would describe it as a mostly-humorous work of general fiction, with strong science fiction overtones.

 

The central character is Professor Andrew Martin, a mathematics professor at Cambridge University. Except, it’s not really. Actually, our central character is an alien from a far distant planet, who has taken the physical form of Professor Andrew Martin and is on a deadly-serious mission to planet Earth. Professor Martin has just solved one of the Holy Grails of mathematics — the Riemann Hypothesis, a complex calculation regarding prime numbers, the solution of which could lead to mind-blowing advances in technology and our understanding of the universe. Only, the distant aliens don’t believe Humans are sufficiently developed to be able to handle these advances. So…they’ve sent the fake Andrew Martin to destroy all evidence of the Riemann solution, as well as anyone that the real Andrew Martin might have shared his solution with.

 

The fake Andrew arrives in the middle of a busy highway, completely naked, and without more than a cursory understanding of the human species. After a risque romp, and after having picked up enough of the English language to be able to converse, “Andrew Martin” is arrested and presumed to have had a mental breakdown. His wife, Isobel, bails him out and takes him home, where he discovers that he must pretend to be Andrew, in a complicated relationship with Isobel and their troubled son, Gulliver.

 

The longer the alien pretends to be Andrew Martin, the more human he becomes, to the consternation of his superiors back home, with whom he remains in contact. The Humans allows Haig to tell a true “fish out of water” story, making interesting observations about humanity along the way. There’s a lot of humor, as “Andrew Martin” has few filters, and frequently says the wrong things. But the new “Andrew Martin”, despite his bizarre flaws, appears to be a much better “human” than the real Andrew Martin who he replaced — I particularly appreciated the relationship he develops with Gulliver Martin. I felt a strong vibe of someone on the autism spectrum telling the story, so learning that author Matt Haig does identify as being on the spectrum was no surprise.

 

Despite the main character being an alien, I still would not classify The Humans as science fiction — as an SF novel, I’d only rate this 4 or 5, but as general fiction with an SF flavor, I’d give it a 7 or 8 — I’ll settle on 7 overall. I enjoyed it a great deal, and yet still wished it was more than it turned out to be.

 

(If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try the three books in the The Rosie Trilogy by Graeme Simsion, The Speed of Dark by Elizabeth Moon or The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon.)

 

( official Matt Haig web site )

 

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library — Public Service

 

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Book Review: Strange Planet and Stranger Planet by Nathan W. Pyle

Strange Planet and Stranger Planet
by Nathan W. Pyle (741.5 Pyl)

These two volumes are small hardback collections of the comic strips that appeared in Pyle’s web comic “Strange Planet”. comics — usually four-panel strips — look at life from a typical “fish out of water” perspective. The central characters are simplistically-drawn “aliens” — long stretchy bodies, rounded oblong heads, and huge eyes. But the main alien family is just a typical suburban family dealing with typical suburban issues. The main difference is that the aliens don’t have traditional terminology for the everyday things WE take for granted, and the terms they end up using are often very utilitarian, in a “Captain Obvious” sort of way. One alien finds a cat that is happily purring and can only describe it as “This being is vibrating”. The straightforward, seemingly unemotional humor this juxtaposition of terminology creates can lead to lots of silly observations on life.

 

The art is intentionally very basic, and yet Pyle manages to convey a great deal with a limited number of details. For instance, the otherwise expressionless faces take on a totally different dimension when an alien squints his eyes to convey an unexpected emotion. But it is mainly through dialog that the humor comes through.

 

At its heart, this is a humor strip — and both volumes ARE very funny, in a wry, tongue-in-cheek fashion.

[If you like these two volumes, you’ll probably want to search for Pyle’s strip online — you can follow him directly on his website, and via various social media platforms.]

[ official Strange Planet/Nathan W. Pyle web site ]

 

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library — Public Service

 

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The Massacre of Mankind by Stephen Baxter

The Massacre of Mankind
by Stephen Baxter

This is the first-and-only authorized sequel to H.G. Wells’ classic 1897 SF novel, The War of the Worlds. Though numerous unofficials sequels and follow-up volumes have been published over the years, The Massacre of Mankind is the first approved by the Wells estates. Baxter has been writing acclaimed SF for decades, both on his own and partnered with such genre luminaries as Arthur C. Clarke and Terry Pratchett.

The Massacre of Mankind is set in the1920s, some 14 years after the events in Wells novel. In most ways, this novel is not only science fiction but also “alternate history”, as the events of 1897 have had a severe impact on England (and most of the rest of the world) — government has become more dystopian, and across the planet, preparations are underway to fight back, if a new wave of Martian invaders is detected. Many don’t believe it will happen again, but Walter Jenkins, the narrator of the Wells’ original novel, has been researching and studying, and he believes the earlier invasion was merely a scouting mission, and that the full-scale invasion is still to come. Though he is correct, he’s having difficulty getting anyone to believe his outlandish theories. Fortunately, he convinces Julie Elphinstone, his ex-sister-in-law, and an American investigative journalist…just before the little puffs of smoke on the surface of Mars indicate a new invasion fleet has launched — and this time there will be hundreds of them coming to our world.

This is a fast-paced adventure, with fascinating explorations of the scientific concepts that the characters could have debated at the time, based on what was known to them — sure, from our time period nearly a century later, some of the science looks a little shaky, but for the 1920s, it was fairly cutting edge. Baxter does an incredible job of matching the style of storytelling that Wells employed in the original novel — this really does feel like a classic genre novel from 100 years ago! And yet, unlike the majority of fiction from that era, The Massacre of Mankind features a number of very strong female characters, who are shown to be just as, if not more, capable then their male counterparts. This novel is huge — a bit of a doorstop of a book — but in the end, I enjoyed it very much, and I do highly recommend it, especially if you’re a fan of Wells’ original novel.

[If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try The Time Ships, an officially authorized sequel to H.G. Wells’ The Time Machine, also by Baxter.]

[ publisher’s official The Massacre of Mankind web page ] | [ official Stephen Baxter web site ]

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library

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Arrival (on DVD)

Arrival
[DVD Arrival] 

Louise Banks is a linguistics professor (played by Amy Adams). One morning most of her students were missing from class and the ones that showed up asked her to turn on the news. Alien spacecrafts had mysteriously appeared in 12 different places across the globe. Banks is visited by a colonel in the military (played by Forest Whitaker) who recruits her to come to Montana where a ship has arrived in the US. There she works with physicist Ian Donnelly (played by Jeremy Renner) to try to communicate with the aliens to see if they are here as friends or foe. They communicate using a markerboard with the two aliens they have dubbed Abbott and Costello. The situation becomes a race against the clock when the Chinese government decide to pursue military action against the ship located on their land instead of working with the aliens. Banks and Donnelly must find a way to understand the alien language and communicate with them before war could break out.

I really enjoyed this movie. We saw it in the theater and I checked it out just to see it again. I highly recommend it. There is a definite twist in the end.

[If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try Passengers, Interstellar or Edge of Tomorrow] [Based on the novella “The Story of Your Life” by Ted Chiang, which is available in traditional print format.]

[ Internet Movie Database entry for this film ] | [ official Arrival web site ]

Recommended by Carrie K.
Bennett Martin Public Library

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Alien

Alien
[DVD Alien]

"In space no one can hear you scream!" I can still remember this advertising catch phrase, from the first time I saw this film. I had read the novelization already, and was young enough that I needed my dad to go to the Cooper Theater with me to get me in to this R rated film. Knowing the plot, I ended up covering my face at the "chest-burster" sequence in the ship's mess hall. Now, years...and multiple viewings later, I can still look back on Alien as one of the classiest, most compelling science fiction films made in the last 30+ years. Referred to by critics as a "haunted house in space" film, Alien (especially the extended cut) triggers a lot of visceral reactions. Though later films in the Aliens franchise have thrown dozens of the deadly predators at the screen, there's nothing quite like the creepy quality of having a single one of these creatures stalking the Nostromo's crew through the darkened halls. And Sigourney Weaver shines in her role as Ripley -- although she's even better in the follow-up film Aliens. Alien is a near-perfect film -- terrific performances, spine-tingling soundtrack, gorgeous visuals, and one of the scariest creature designs ever seen on film. No matter what you may think of Prometheus, the prequel film that came out this summer, I highly recommend revisiting the original Alien. [If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try Aliens, Alien³ or Prometheus.] -- recommended by Scott C. - Bennett Martin Public Library

[ Internet Movie Database entry for this film ]
 
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Startide Rising

Startide Rising
by David Brin

Startide Rising is one of the most impressive science fiction novels I've ever read. It is the second in Brin's Uplift Saga, following Sundiver. The background and plot of Startide Rising are complex, and hard to hint at in a brief recommendation -- In the far future, an Earth space vessel crewed by uplifted dolphins, humans and chimpanzees is the first to stumble across a derelict fleet of ancient starships, presumably left behind by The Progenitors -- the oldest and most revered species in known space...the race that seeded and "uplifted" (helped to evolve) most of the other known species to space-faring capabilities. On the run from other space-faring races who would kill for access to the technologies represented by this abandoned fleet of starships, the Earthship Streaker has crashed on a water planet, trying to hide from its pursuers long enough for the crew to affect repairs to their vessel. Filled with brilliant ideas, political and military confrontations and maneuverings, and some of the most fascinating human and alien characters in genre fiction, Startide Rising won a triple crown of the three top awards the year it came out -- the Hugo Award, the Nebula Award and the Locus Readers Award. It was followed by The Uplift War and then another complete trilogy set in the same universe. If you love Hard SF -- science fiction in which the extrapolations of believable science and technology form a critical element -- this is essential reading. Although the libraries don't own it, I recommend a companion volume Brin released, Contacting Aliens: An Illustrated Guide to David Brin's Uplift Universe. Brin's aliens can be quite unusual, and this guide helps to "see" them more accurately. It may also be helpful to read Sundiver -- although it is not essential to an understanding of what's going on in Startide Rising. You can order both through our InterLibrary Loan Service. -- recommended by Scott C. - Bennett Martin Public Library

[ official Uplift Saga page on the official David Brin web site ]

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New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide web site. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide blog individually over the course of the entire month.

An October Staff Recommendation - Barlowe's Guide to Extraterrestrials

To see all October Staff Recommendations, visit the Staff Recommendations page on BookGuide

This wonderful illustrated guide is an essential part of any serious science fiction fan's permanent library. Wayne Barlowe has been described as the John James Audubon of otherworld creatures. Here, he brings to vivid life fifty alien and inhuman creatures made popular in works of science fiction, fantasy or horror literature. His illustrations are so detailed, they often appear to have come from anatomy textbooks. Curious to see what the Mesklinites from Hal Clement's "Mission of Gravity" look like? How about Larry Niven's three-headed Puppeteers? The Thing, from John Campbell's unforgettable "Who Goes There?" Or take a gander at the Overlords, from Arthur C. Clarke's "Childhood's End". These and many more -- including an artist's sketchbook -- await you within the pages of this unique genre gem. Also...if you enjoy this one, try Barlowe's The Alien Life of Wayne Barlowe and Barlowe's Inferno. -- reviewed by Scott C. [Bennett Martin Public Library]

[ Wikipedia page for Barlowe ] [ official Wayne Douglas Barlowe web site ]

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