Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #58427 in Books
• Published on: 2001-11
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 288 pages

Customer Reviews

A good story, well told.
Ok - I confess I am a huge fan of Joe Haldeman so this might be somewhat biased.

This is not the hard Sci-Fi of "The Forever War", "Mindbridge" or "All My Sins Remembered" but is closer to "Tool of the Trade".

Anyway, the basic story is that, in the not too distant future, the people of Earth are once again walking down the path to a World War. A message is received on earth from a ship that is one tenth of a light-year away, travelling at just under light speed -both of which are well beyond Earths technology. The message is "WE'RE COMING". The story relates the events leading up to "The Coming" and how it affects the discoverer of the craft and the people who live and work around her.

As ever Joe Haldeman creates the structure of a believable society with heros, villains, the normal and the strange. Again he uses the multi-viewpoint method of telling the story (is there a name for this?) which works well and keeps the story moving along at a brisk pace. I found it compelling reading and although the ending was somewhat predictable it didn't disappoint me.

Disappointing.
Joe Haldeman has written some great books but sadly this is not one of them.

The plot follows the discovery that earth is to be visited by extraterrestrials and the impact that this has on the many protagonists told from their multiple points of view. This works for the most part but in a faintly detached manner that fails to engage any sympathy for the many characters. (There is also an editorial howler on page 223 that would suggest that there were too many points of view to keep track of!) The ending too is somewhat predictable.

That said, although "The Coming" doesn't live up to the high standards Haldeman has set himself in the past, it is an easy read on a crowded commuter train. It will not win the author any new converts but may satisfy the cravings of his existing fans.