Rating: 
Summary: Thought provoking - Surely not out of print ?
Review: Found in a secondhand book store I'd say this is due for a re-print. Posing a lot of deep questions If you could could be immortal would you want to be ? If you had imense power and technology would/could you still do the right thing ? Dose better communications mean we would be more ? Human ? Kinder ? Understanding ? Weaker ? Can we generalise about people ?All wrapped up in a pretty realistic story, the ending was a little dissapointing maybe because some of the questions don't have answers but just pose more questions. A Great Read - enjoy.
Rating: 
Summary: I can't belive it's out of print!
Review: Having found this book at a public library I feel extreemly lucky in reading it. Not only is this novel captivating, it also asks some sirious questions about who we are and why we do the things we do. This book is highly recomended for those who can find it
Rating:
Summary: Human or Contactee. Which one would you be?
Review: I like to think I'm widely read. This book is, without a doubt, my absolute favourite. The concept of humans changing into immortal/mortal creatures which are gentle but terrify those who refused the gift is enthralling. The characters are each unique, the plot strange and captivating, the writing gentle and curious. No offence to Dr. Wheeler, but without a doubt I would say "Yes". The chance to have eternal life which constantly alters and changes you would be too much to pass up. Wilson outlines this so well you find yourself wishing this book could be real.
Rating: 
Summary: Could have been much, much better . . .
Review: I like various of this author's other books, but I'm sorry to say I couldn't get more than halfway into this one, at which point I gave up. The slow, almost plodding pace reminds me of Clifford Simak, but without the poetry. It's sort of an "after the apocalypse" story, but only one in ten thousand of the Earth's inhabitants don't welcome the end of the world as we know it. They'd rather have near-eternal life, even if it means fundamental changes in the meaning of "humaness." In fact, it's hard to see just what the handful of holdouts object to; most of them are loser-types and not typical of the species. But the real problem is that Wilson spends far too much time and energy developing minor characters, and the major characters aren't all that believable in their response to Contact. Hardly compelling reading, regardless of what Walter Miller's jacket blurb says.
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Summary: Secular Rapture?
Review: I loved this book. A kind of "Childhood's End" and secularized Christian Rapture rolled into one. The author writes like Wyndham or Wells, in that the narrator is part of the action but also dispassionately observing the flow. The protagonist of course wishes to have none of it. While everyone has answered the Big Question of immortality in the affirmative, he is skeptical of apotheosis and throws in his lot on the side of his own mortality. In the end, immortality is at a price, assimilation. The book casts a spell of mystery over the reader in that the aliens and their purpose is never revealed. One wonders if our species is really gullable to the point that any confidence artist coming down the celestial highway pedaling immortality in the form of the savior would make us sell our souls for it. Is the novel a satire then of our moral turpitude or a call to existential redemption? I wish the author would give us more wonderful stories.
Rating:
Summary: Wilson does a good job with this story.
Review: I've read a few other books by Wilson, and I liked them all, so when I saw this one, I was hoping this would be good too. I was not disappointed. Wilson does a good job of telling a difficult story.
The most impressive thing about this story, I think, is that it doesn't really make a lot of judgements. The story focuses on people who decline the Travellers offer of immortality, but it doesn't give the impression that they are any better than those who accepted the offer. It also doesn't fall into the boring cliche of the benevolent aliens who save us from ourselves. It does a good job of presenting both sides without making any assumptions about which is right or wrong, or whether either is. This makes for a much more enjoyable story, and I think that is what I like most about Wilson's books overall, is his ability to stay away from tired cliches or predictable endings.
The only thing that really bothered me about this story was the way the people ascended to the "Greater World" leaving only their skins behind. I wondered why only their skins would be left behind, I didn't get the impression that they needed a physical body at all in the Greater World, so why wouldn't the whole thing be left behind? It seems that t was just the skin only for purposes of dramatic effect for the story, which I thought was a little lazy. But that was a fairly minor point, overall, it's a good story, with good characters that you could really feel for having to make tough decisions in an incomprehensible situation.
I will continue to look for more by Wilson, as he is becoming one of my favorite authors, and this book is definitely worth reading if you can find it.
Rating:
Summary: A Good One- If you can find it
Review: Like RCW's more recent "The Chronoliths", "The Harvest" explores how regular people deal with cataclismic changes to planet Earth, this time in the form of first contact with aliens.
The purpose of the alien visitation is left a little unclear; are they truly benevolent in offering humanity eternal life? Or is it a bait-and-switch, a 'harvesting' of all intelligent life on Earth? Wilson rightly avoids giving us all the answers, leaving higher meanings to the imagination of the reader. Well done.
Wilson has many strengths as a writer, all of which are on display here: Very realistic characters, some clever ideas, low sentimentality and avoidance of smarmy cliches, and finally, an intelligent yet quick writing style. I plowed through this book.
I especially liked the way the aliens made contact with us humans. It's not what you would expect, but it is very easy to believe.
If you like the more recent Wilson books, this one is worth tracking down.
Rating:
Summary: Secular Rapture?
Review: This book begs for a sequel. Where is Mr. Wilson and why is he not writing?
Rating:
Summary: Encore!
Review: This book begs for a sequel. Where is Mr. Wilson and why is he not writing?
Rating:
Summary: Excellent!
Review: This book reminded me of a Dean Koontz novel but with a little more substance and without the golden retriever. Wilson asks the question, what does it mean to be human? Aliens settle in orbit around earth and ask humans if they would like to live forever. However, living forever would mean becoming something not exactly human but perhaps better. 10% of the world population, including the protagonist, decide not to take them up on their offer. The book then follows the adventures of the hero and his few companions who have also declined the aliens' "gift"
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