Rating: 
Summary: not science-fiction
Review: This is not a science fiction book. It is a boring commentary on an imaginary society. If you want to read about maffiosi or problems of homosexuals - there are better books for that. I like most of Haldeman's books, this one is his weakest.
Rating: 
Summary: Good! Different but good!
Review: This is not hard science fiction. Looks elsewhere for space battles and robots. This is fiction with science. Very good, exciting, probing, fiction with science. The story mostly follows a couple, one a scientist, in the midst of a possible contact with aliens. I love how the characters hand off scenes to each other! Good stuff!
Rating:
Summary: This book should NOT have been published!
Review: This is the worst book I've read in a long time. Its so bad I threw it away after completing it.
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting, but short, simple, and distorted
Review: This read like a short story stretched into a small novel. The plot was exceedingly simple. While there is nothing wrong with portraying characters in all of their faults, the author seems to have a fairly distorted view of the depth of unusual sexuality and drug use.
Rating:
Summary: An excellent novella
Review: Unfortunately it was published as a novel. There's an extended, complicated but ultimately meaningless subplot that could easily have been done without. This section makes the book drag quite heavily as no progress is made on the central mystery of The Coming. OTOH the characterization is quite good and the ending, while disappointing at first, somewhat thought-provoking. I just wish the useless Mafia junk could have been dumped in favor of more examination of the society's reaction to The Coming or more sleuthing on the part of the scientists.I found the technique of following characters until they "touched" someone else to be interesting and well-done, if not entirely original.
Rating: 
Summary: DISAPPOINTED!
Review: Very disappointed. This was supposed to be about aliens coming to visit the Earth. This was supposed to be Science Fiction. This was very boring. This novel is very little about science fiction, (ok it is set in the future), but more about how the city of Miami and apparently the whole world has become utterly depraved and run by minor mafia hit men. The big surprise ending doesn't land with a bang but fizzles before it gets there. Very disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: Great piece of modern fiction
Review: What may disappoint Haldeman fans is that this book isn't really science fiction. However as a piece of modern fiction it stands out as on of the best works I have read in a long time. Haldeman has really outdone himself this time. The character development, pacing, and most of all the narrative transition are excellent. I found the story to be a hard one to put down. This is simply a great novel.
Rating:
Summary: Not all in English
Review: While I greatly enjoyed reading Haldeman's Forever trilogy and Worlds trilogy, reading the first 30 pages of The Coming was a toil. About every tenth word is in a different language. I have no idea what langauge (if any, it could be giberish) he is using. I speak fluent Latin, Italian, and Russian, but I didn't recognize any of the non-English ones. Imagine trying to read a book with random words blacked-out. It's that bad. I gave-up after 30 pages, and I can't ever remember not finishing a book I started. Unless you're willing to spend time researching other languages to trackdown meanings of words Haldeman uses, don't bother with this one. Your time is much better spent reading the Worlds trilogy.z
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic! A rather unique, thoughtful, sci-fi mystery.
Review: Wow what a ride! I'm teeling you this is book is going to win some awards! I think Haldeman had better dust off some space next to his colletion of Nebulas and Hugos, this book knock my socks off. I have read most of Haldeman's novels and I would rate this one his best science fiction works in many years. The primary plot is pretty easy to explain, but the story goes much deeper: Set fifty years in the future, a professor in a quiet Florida college town studying deep space gamma ray anomalies disovers a very unnatural message in a burst originating just outside the Solar System: "We're coming." The implications of this message are of course incredible. The reactions of the characters feels entirely real. People don't go bonkers. Stores open, the mail gets delivered, oh, and aliens may be showing up on New Years day. As the story unfolds it has as much to do with the affect the message has on the characters in the novel as the mystery of the message itself. The novel has two protagonist, but it is almost an ensemble piece. The story is told from many perspectives and the transitions from character to character are handled in an unusual way that I really liked. Here are the high points of the novel for me: I really liked the way Haldeman makes 2054 feel like a natural extension of today. Most science fiction authors make even the near future seem alien and unnatural. Haldeman's future is very believable, I didn't have to strain to see the canvas he was painting for us. The characters are deep and well written. You could easily re-read the novel and discover how much things you learn late in the novel illumiate small character traits introduced ealier. I guarantee you haven't met protaginist like the couple in this novel! They really seem like people you could know. Definetely not Holywood Action Hereos! Haldeman is a physicist and can write hard science that even a layman like myself can understand. He adds just enough science to keep the story believable, but not so much that it bogs down. I bought this book when it came out, but didn't decide to read it till the other day. I only intended to read for an hour before bed and ended up reading till 4 AM. I only (painfully) put it aside because I had to go to work the next day! I finished the rest the minute I got home. I haven't done that in a long time. The book really is a lot of fun - I think anyone who like an intelligent sci-fi/thriller will feel the same.
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