Rating: 
Summary: Very disappointing
Review: This is a disappointingly weak book, especially from a master like Haldeman. Although it is ostensibly a first-contact story, most of the book is devoted to subplots of Mafia blackmail and political in-fighting that are only tangentially related to the eventual alien encounter. Most of the time I felt like I was reading a mystery/action thriller rather than a science fiction novel.Perhaps the most bizarre problem with this book is that a significant portion is devoted to characters that have no meaningful connection to the overall plot. Haldeman takes constant breaks from the main narrative to tell us about bartenders, college students, and homeless people. Many of them are genuinely interesting characters, and throughout the book the reader will wonder how they will eventually tie into the story. Unfortunately the book ends without ever tying them in, and the reader is left wondering why Haldeman spent so much time telling us about such irrelevant characters. Considerable attention is given to a young, beautiful medical student who supports herself by starring in pornographic videos. Haldeman describes her sexual escapades in lurid detail, but she never contributes anything to the plot or interacts with any of the other characters in a significant way. It appears that Haldeman included her in the story for no other reason than a gratuitous pseudo-pornographic interlude. 'The Coming' isn't a complete wash; most of the characters are genuinely interesting, and it's entertaining to watch them run around Gainesville trying to blackmail and backstab each other. Unfortunately the book's potential is spoiled by its irrelevant characters and subplots.
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