Fade-Out

I first read this book as a teenager in the 70's, and was stunned. An excellent balance between finely detailed science fiction (such as the kind Robert L Forward excels at), but with a human warmth and an odd spiritual twist that sneaks up on you. While I would have loved to have seen this become a trilogy, perhaps Tilley's greatest strength was in resisting the temptation to franchise this wonderful tale into tawdry little strip mall like installments, watering down the impact of the original. If someone ever figures out that this is a script that would write itself, it could still be made into a grand "alternate universe" saga...I would hate to see someone update it from it's 70's context. My hardcover copy is well worn from repeated re-reading...my only hope is that I could produce at least one novel this wonderful.

I'M NOT THE WORLDS BIGGEST LOVER OF SCI-FI BOOKS BUT THIS OLD CLASSIC WILL GRAB YOU FROM PAGE 1. WHY NO FOLLOW ON AND WHY NO FILM ?

Just re-read the book yesterday, makes surprisingly good read even after 20 yrs and the unexpected collapse of USSR! One of the best 'alien contact' sci-fi tales ever written, IMHO. Surprised X-Files never used his ideas! Ranks right way up there with 'Rendevous with Rama', 'Solaris' and 'Stranger in Strange Land'. Patrick delivers the goodies:- his grasp of details and dramatic-tension is masterful. Anyone who knows Patrick Tilley's email address pls contact me at [email protected]! Patrick is one of the very best, and this book a sadly 'lost' classic of hard sci-fi:- they don't come harder than this.

Though 23 years old, this book is amazing in its descriptions of the government's handling of a close encounter of the third kind and the subsequent effects thereof. Tilley, an Englishman, writes about the Montana countryside and folks as if he'd lived there all his life, and his characterizations of federal employees, including the president, are right on the money. It's unbelievable this book never made it to film. One can only hope it will be rediscovered.

I found the book Fade-Out to be extremely compelling from the first page to the last! If you like books with a twist, then this is the book for you. The plot is well thought out and executed with just the right amount of intrigue to interest even mystery readers. You will not be able to put it down.