Footfall

This is a stupendous novel. I decided to read this novel after finishing "A Mote in Gods Eye". Mote was my first experience reading Niven and Pournelle as a team and I was suitably impressed. This book was even better in my most humble opinion.Footfall tells the tale of an alien incursion to Earth in a manner which Hollywood and most authors today never could. There is no pretense, no presuppositions of actions and conduct. The aliens are alien and not just funny almost humans as so often happens in Science Fiction today. The motivations for the aliens are superbly drawn yet completely foreign. The society is bizarre but believable. Wonderful indeed.The invasion is not a rehash of the same tired story told in Independence Day and many other such tales. Why should aliens come to this planet with the same motivations we would approach other planets? Why should aliens be interested in our culture and society in the same way in which we would be interested in theirs? Niven and Pournelle do an excellent job in portraying a realistic scenario that is spellbinding in its breadth and stupendous in its readability. I can't tell more without giving away too much of the tale but rest assured this is a novel worthy of the title classic. Excellent and worth every one of its five stars.

THis excellent sci-fi epic makes ID4 look like a children's nativity play! Although written and firmly set in the 1980s, it is still one hell of a blinding read even today! Elephant-like aliens(more feasible than 'raygun-wielding cats'(!!??) in the latest STARGATE spin-off book) in massive spaceships head for Earth where a takeover is planned. As the aliens attack dams, bridges and other means of communication, and cause natural disasters and even precipitate nuclear devastation with an ingenious Soviet plan to rid the world of the Thukthunthp, as they are known(I think that's how you spell it - the alien vocabulary is pretty strange!), it is up to the military and sci-fi writers, not to mention bumbling politicians, to save the day. And the climactic battles are just stunning! Don't miss this. When you read this, you'll wonder what was so wonderful about ID4 and THE X-FILES.

Another realistic possibility of how our "first contact" with aliens might unfold (ref. The Mote in God's Eye). As with all of the Niven and Pournelle books, they introduce some new perspectives on things (e.g., throwing rocks at us, the alien's battle strategies, and their concept of surrender and more). I enjoyed their use of parallel stories that all came together at the end. The use of alien vocabulary was interesting but sometimes cumbersome (I would suggest putting a glossary in the back of the book). The use of the cast of characters in the front of the book was helpful in keeping the characters straight, esp. the aliens. I would recommend this book to people who don't usually read sci-fi since it's not too "alien" or overly scientific. Whatever you do, DON'T READ THE LAST PAGE UNTIL YOU GET TO IT. Have fun and enjoy.

I have recently reread this CLASSIC for the third time. It remains one of the best alien invasion books around. Some parts may be a little dated, but it is a first class read, and a good place to start reading Pournelle or Niven. These blokes have done more to influence the invasion genre then most.

This book is the best alien-invasion story I've ever read. Niven and Pournelle present thoroughly rich characters on both sides, human and alien. The alien culture is well thought out and fully developed. They have their own language and customs, both of which have a direct, visceral impact upon the story. Essentially, an alien vessel has been observed heading through the solar system toward earth. Not knowing what to expect but acquiescing to the probability of superior technology, earth awaits to establish greetings. Instead, they are greeted with destruction of the space station, destructive raids upon strategic installations earthside, and demands for surrender. How humanity assesses the situation and unites to fight for it's survival manages to induce feelings of pride and global patriotism within the reader. The human characters are multi-national, multi-ethnic, and brilliantly develop a means to thwart and eventually repel the invasion. The human culture and method of attack is sufficiently different from that of the aliens to completely throw the alien's attack methodology askew. Using present, cutting-edge human technology (no warp drives, phasers, or non-existent futuristic weaponry), with space-shuttles, chemical rockets, and ingenuity born of desperation, the humans successfully repel the invasion. The alien technology, although superior, is also plausibly explained in such a manner that makes it understandible as to why they were able to be defeated. Again, the story is in the characters and their participation in the events that give structure and life to the story. The physical appearance of the aliens is both outlandish and surprising, and meshes well with the cultural aspects of the story. The story is involved, exciting, visual, an excellent read, and impossible to put down once started. If a movie could be made adhering strictly to the book and it's storyline and events, it would make Independence Day seem like a Dick and Jane cartoon. Counting the original Foundation trilogy as one, this book is one of my five (5) favorite science books, all time, ever. I recommend it to any science fiction fan, anytime