Rating: 
Summary: I like Haldeman, but not this book
Review: Joe Haldeman is one of my favorites, but this book just never came together. As one reviewer said, it's a short story plot stretched to a novel. The stretching gives the reader all too much time to figure out the ending too early (I guessed it about fifty pages before the end). The characterization is decent, but somehow I just never got motivated to care about the characters that much. It's like they were just going through the motions. If you've read his early stuff and liked it, I recommend "Buying Time" or any of his short story collections over this. (I think "Dealing in Futures" is the best title for a short story collection ever, and the stories are pretty good too.) Or stick with the Forever X series - Forever Peace is a lot better than this book, and Forever Free is a decent sequel to Forever War.
Rating:
Summary: Great narrative style, great vision, let down ending
Review: Joe Haldeman is one of the few authors whose books I will buy in hardback without a second thought. "The Forever War" remains one of my top 2 or 3 favorite books of all time, in all genres. This book shows him growing still as a writer, not afraid to experiment with style. The story flows from one character to the next in a seamless way: the section transitions are usually continuous with the focus and the action merely shifting to another character in the scene. This is extremely well done, and holds your interest well. It also advances the plot nicely. His vision of life in the near (~50 years hence) future is well realized. It is easy to believe that people will live just like this. Sadly, the ending seems to be just tacked on. It is a letdown. For a book focused on the "Coming" of aliens, I expected a bigger bang, but got only a fizzle. Summary: read if you're a Haldeman fan, but wait for the paperback.
Rating:
Summary: Great narrative style, great vision, let down ending
Review: Joe Haldeman is one of the few authors whose books I will buy in hardback without a second thought. "The Forever War" remains one of my top 2 or 3 favorite books of all time, in all genres. This book shows him growing still as a writer, not afraid to experiment with style. The story flows from one character to the next in a seamless way: the section transitions are usually continuous with the focus and the action merely shifting to another character in the scene. This is extremely well done, and holds your interest well. It also advances the plot nicely. His vision of life in the near (~50 years hence) future is well realized. It is easy to believe that people will live just like this. Sadly, the ending seems to be just tacked on. It is a letdown. For a book focused on the "Coming" of aliens, I expected a bigger bang, but got only a fizzle. Summary: read if you're a Haldeman fan, but wait for the paperback.
Rating: 
Summary: Decent, but somewhat disappointing, sci-fi tale
Review: Joe Haldeman is quite the enigmatic science fiction author. He has the ability to create brilliant narrative, such as "The Forever War", yet still produce disappointing stories like the previously mentioned books sequel "Forever Free" and this book "The Coming". "The Coming" is a quick read with a relatively interesting premise, and given the fact that this book didn't make me angry, uncomfortable, or profoundly disappointed, I will marginally recommend it with three stars. If it were a longer, more involved book, I might be compelled to change that opinion.
"The Coming" focuses on the impact on the scientific community and society in general of a message seemingly from an alien species telling humanity `We're coming' and to be prepared for their arrival on New Year's Day. What enables part of this story to work is that Haldeman does a credible job of representing realistic responses to such an event. The U.S. Government and military want to remove the scientist who discovered this message from the project so that they can take control and exact a military response if necessary (`if necessary' to this government meaning `we're going to attack what we don't understand and we do fear'). There is panic among some segments of society and a variety of conspiracies hatched to thwart the various government plans for responding to this alien greeting or threat. In addition to representing panic, which is a stock sci-fi plot development, Haldeman also focuses on the much larger portion of the population that is enormously intrigued (if not terrified) by this event and are thirsting for any drop of information about `the coming'. One only needs to look back in the past two years with such monumental events as 9/11, Space Shuttle Columbia, and Gulf War: Part Two to realize that this representation by Haldeman is much closer to true reality than any form of panic.
Alas, for all these positive aspects, "The Coming" does have numerous failings that put this book on the fence between a positive or negative recommendation. The first deals with an aspect of Haldeman's writing that pervades all of his novels; that being his insistence on injecting overt sexuality that borders on literary pornography into his stories. In some instances, it works. In "The Forever War", the loosening of tightened morals and rampant promiscuity was used to demonstrate the dramatic change in society and societal values brought about by time and circumstance. While some of the descriptions were graphic, they fit the overall story arc. In "The Coming", the sexuality references seem nothing more than gratuitous eroticism and have little or nothing to do with the plot. One who is not familiar with Haldeman's work might instantly be soured on him by these story elements. Those who are more knowledgeable about his work will expect this, but still find it gratuitous.
The other failing deals with the fact that, despite an enormous buildup to the New Year's Day arrival by these messengers, the payoff is decidedly disappointing. I won't go into detail, because the reader should read it for themselves, but it leaves much to be desired. "The Coming" is not a bad book; it is just not a particularly good one. It certainly has its good moments as well as its not so good ones. At just over 200 pages, though, it's worth checking out.
Rating:
Summary: Decent, but somewhat disappointing, sci-fi tale
Review: Joe Haldeman is quite the enigmatic science fiction author. He has the ability to create brilliant narrative, such as "The Forever War", yet still produce disappointing stories like the previously mentioned books sequel "Forever Free" and this book "The Coming". "The Coming" is a quick read with a relatively interesting premise, and given the fact that this book didn't make me angry, uncomfortable, or profoundly disappointed, I will marginally recommend it with three stars. If it were a longer, more involved book, I might be compelled to change that opinion.
"The Coming" focuses on the impact on the scientific community and society in general of a message seemingly from an alien species telling humanity 'We're coming' and to be prepared for their arrival on New Year's Day. What enables part of this story to work is that Haldeman does a credible job of representing realistic responses to such an event. The U.S. Government and military want to remove the scientist who discovered this message from the project so that they can take control and exact a military response if necessary ('if necessary' to this government meaning 'we're going to attack what we don't understand and we do fear'). There is panic among some segments of society and a variety of conspiracies hatched to thwart the various government plans for responding to this alien greeting or threat. In addition to representing panic, which is a stock sci-fi plot development, Haldeman also focuses on the much larger portion of the population that is enormously intrigued (if not terrified) by this event and are thirsting for any drop of information about 'the coming'. One only needs to look back in the past two years with such monumental events as 9/11, Space Shuttle Columbia, and Gulf War: Part Two to realize that this representation by Haldeman is much closer to true reality than any form of panic.
Alas, for all these positive aspects, "The Coming" does have numerous failings that put this book on the fence between a positive or negative recommendation. The first deals with an aspect of Haldeman's writing that pervades all of his novels; that being his insistence on injecting overt sexuality that borders on literary pornography into his stories. In some instances, it works. In "The Forever War", the loosening of tightened morals and rampant promiscuity was used to demonstrate the dramatic change in society and societal values brought about by time and circumstance. While some of the descriptions were graphic, they fit the overall story arc. In "The Coming", the sexuality references seem nothing more than gratuitous eroticism and have little or nothing to do with the plot. One who is not familiar with Haldeman's work might instantly be soured on him by these story elements. Those who are more knowledgeable about his work will expect this, but still find it gratuitous.
The other failing deals with the fact that, despite an enormous buildup to the New Year's Day arrival by these messengers, the payoff is decidedly disappointing. I won't go into detail, because the reader should read it for themselves, but it leaves much to be desired. "The Coming" is not a bad book; it is just not a particularly good one. It certainly has its good moments as well as its not so good ones. At just over 200 pages, though, it's worth checking out.
Rating: 
Summary: Smoothly written tale of aliens coming to Earth
Review: Joe Haldeman's newest book is The Coming. This is a shortish, nicely executed, book about the receipt of a signal from an alien ship. Haldeman explicitly credits James Gunn's fine novel about receiving messages from aliens, The Listeners, as an influence, but The Coming reminded me much more of a brilliant and underrated novel by John Kessel, Good News From Outer Space. Both books (The Coming and Kessel's novel) use the idea of aliens coming to Earth as a fulcrum for an exploration of U. S. society. The Coming opens with an astronomer at the University of Florida, Aurora Bell, recognizing an anomalous signal from a gamma ray telescope. It turns out to be a short message saying, in English, "We're Coming". And she is able to confirm that it comes from a source about a tenth of a light year from Earth, blue-shifted so that it must be traveling at 99 percent of the speed of light. The novel is neatly structured so that the point of view smoothly shifts from scene to scene, such that each new scene begins from the POV of a character encountered just previously. This gives the whole book a certain fluidity and a certain sense of movement, and it also allows the author to gracefully explore events through the eyes of a wide variety of characters. What we see is a portrait of the city of Gainesville, Florida, in the 2054. The characters include Dr. Bell and her husband, a composer and also a professor; several colleagues of Dr. Bell, significantly including her assistant, a mysterious immigrant from Cuba named Pepe Parker; a restaurant owner in the University neighbourhood; a Mafia bag man; a policeman; a couple of reporters; a homeless lady; a university student making extra money by "acting" in "virtual reality" pornographic episodes; and more. Haldeman uses this tapestry of viewpoints to portray the reaction of the wider populace to the Coming of the aliens, but more importantly, he uses it to portray the social and political and technological landscape of this particular future. Haldeman's portrayal is interesting. The future tech includes highly computerized homes and holographic conference calls and the above-mentioned virtual porn. Environmentally, the world is facing advanced global warming, with much flooding, unusual winters and summers, sunblock essential at all times lest you get skin cancer, etc. The political view of the US is a bit disappointing: his view is a cynical redaction of contemporary politics, with all but unchanged Democratic and Republican parties, and an image-besotten Republican idiot as President. There are snippets of world politics that present some interesting changes: an important subplot concerns a looming war between France and Germany. The major social change in the U. S. that affects the book is that much stricter laws about sexual activity have been implemented: homosexuality is completely criminalized, while even some consensual married activities are apparently against the law. I confess I find these last changes implausible and counter to real social trends in the U. S. today: perhaps I am simply an optimist. His overall future is somewhat depressing but not without hope, and it is quite interest. The characters are well-portrayed and involving. The plot is also interesting, if at times just a bit melodramatic. It turns on political manoeuvring about the proper response to the arrival of the aliens, as well as the calamitous revealing of a dark secret in the Bells' past. There is a certain amount of action and intrigue, resolved nicely enough. And Haldeman's climax, involving the promised arrival of the aliens, is well-handled, and the reader isn't cheated. Overall the book feels just a bit slight, but it's a fine effort, and a good solid read.
Rating: 
Summary: Superb!
Review: Once again Haldeman proves that science and fiction can be weaved seamlessly into a single fabric. Few writers have this gift - to write a piece of "future fiction" that does not seem forced or contrived. "The Coming" is a excellent mix of mystery, science, and a good helping of social satire. It is both interesting and enjoyable to read. I highly reccomend it!
Rating: 
Summary: Ruining A Great Idea: The Coming by Joe Haldeman
Review: Set a little over fifty years in the future, this novel finds our planet in not the best of shape. As many others have theorized, global warming has taken place and coastal cities are either gone or surrounded by large dikes in a slowly failing attempt to keep the waters out of the streets. With the rise in temps, the UV rays have become a major worry along with the resultant increase in skin cancers, as well as other types. Regional conflicts have become more heated while at the same time, through the use of technology; the United States has become much more repressive. The FBI has become a law unto themselves and something known as the cube, has replaced television. But, while things have changed, some things like dirty politics, extortion and murder are all still common. All three are set into motion by the ominous message recorded by Astronomy Professor Aurora "Rory" Bell in Gainesville, Florida. In a repeated gamma burst transmission, the same message is sent over and over again-"We're coming." They apparently are as scientists on the moon confirm the transmission as well as the fact that it came from deep space. Clearly from beyond where any human spacecraft has gone, the ship seems to be three months out from arriving on Earth. In fact, it appears that it will arrive on New Year's Day, 2056 and the event is quickly dubbed "The Second Coming" by the media. The message and imminent arrival of an alien craft swings into motion a number of events over the next three months as detailed in the book, including the eventual arrival of the alien craft. Some events have a direct relation to the arrival, while many, seen through numerous characters do not. The science fiction elements become very secondary as the work focuses more on the human relationships between the many, many characters as well as various casual linkages between them. Which is where the interesting premise and story are tremendously weakened by the execution. Almost every other page, the reader is shifted to the point of view of another character. After fifteen or twenty of these shifts in perspective, it becomes rather annoying as stereotypical character after character is added. At times, the work switches back to the allegedly main characters, but more often than not, it is off in some sort of far-flung jaunt through the actions of a distantly related character. That problem of story telling along with the insertion of two very graphic gratuitous sex scenes which seem to have no purpose other than to serve as titillation on someone's whim, weaken this novel tremendously. In so doing, an interesting premise with lots of potential becomes a lower than average read and a real disappointment.
Rating:
Summary: Haldeman DELIVERS AGAIN !
Review: The book is extremely well written and one I had trouble putting down. The concept of First Contact is not a new idea but the author serves up a story that sucks in the reader until one can't put it down. Haldeman is at the top of his game, as usual and that means a great read. I have read just about everything he has written and I believe this is as good as anything he has produced. This isn't classic space opera nor is it of the Joycean futuristic jargon dependent genre. It is Haldeman. As usual when I finished reading it I wanted more.
Rating:
Summary: A very unusual thriller
Review: The Coming really had me on the edge of my seat for reasons that go far beyond the normal excitement of a plot where the fate of the planet is in the balance. What set it apart from your typical "disaster thriller" is the fact that the characters are not really in the thick of things except at the very beginning and end. I think this is what lends the book such a real feel. The main character is the one who first identifies the message and is involved in the investigation of it authenticity, but she is quickly pushed aside by bureaucrats and somewhat sidelined. What the book is then is a reflection of how those events affect the main characters and the people of the Florida College town where they live. In a unique way the narrative passes on to other people in their lives always winding back to the original cast. It an interesting way of telling a story that I have never seen before. I loved the novelty of it (no pun intended!). The book is quite different not only in narrative style but in the personal politics that Haldeman envisions for the future. The book is quite controversial in that regard and at first I found it kind of shocking. Still the book is quite good and a full meal for the mind!
|
