Product Description

Jacque LeFavre is a tamer - a member of one of the tough and honed exploration teams that, since the dramatic discovery of the Levant-Meyer Translation, humankind has been able to send to the stars. And Jacque's first world is the second planet out from Groombridge 1618. It isn't an especially promising place; the planets accompanying small stars rarely pan out. But the strange and mysterious creature that Jacque and his colleagues find there, with its gift of telepathy, leads to contact with the alien and enigmatic L'vrai, and confronts humankind with an awesome opportunity - and appalling danger.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #752063 in Books
• Published on: 1977-08
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 192 pages

About the Author
Joe Haldeman was born in Oklahoma in 1943 and studied physics and astronomy before serving as a combat engineer in Vietnam, where he was severely wounded and won a Purple Heart.

Customer Reviews

Oh, Mr Gollancz, Where's the Last Chapter?
Indeed. Chapter 53 - "For they shall be called the children of God" seems to have been missed out of my copy - and all the others I've checked in various bookshops. Even without the last few pages, this is an entertaining and original read that uses a variety of different narrative techniques (including graphs, tables, mathematical formulae, staffing rotas and scripted dialogue) to convey the story of the discovery of an alien creature able to channel the telepathic abilities of people who touch it. Don't be put off by Haldeman's experiments with narrative presentation - if you enjoyed The Forever War then you'll enjoy this as well.

Perhaps better than The Forever War
Though certain elements seem dated now (the typewriter memos, with deletions using slashes!), this is the Haldeman book I enjoy rereading the most. The style can be a little tedious at first, being made up of extracts from diaries, official reports, etc., but a fascinating story builds up during the first half of the book. The main protagonist is believable, and I find it easy to accept him as real. The 21st century world as portrayed in the book is also easy to buy into. Though the ending is perhaps weaker than the first part of the book, I do love the little twist at the end, and it finishes the story far better than the ending of Forever War. Recommended.