The Coming, by Joe Haldeman (Ace, 2001)

In 2054, the world is a very different place, but not so far removed from the society we know today. Technology has improved in leaps and bounds with holography andcomputer intelligence, social studies has taken slightly different leanings, the government is a bit more corrupt, and homosexuality has been deemed illegal. A war is brewing between France and Germany, and skin cancer is on the rise. All this is overshadowed, however, when Professor Aurora “Rory” Bell, an astronomer with the University of Florida at Gainesville makes a stunning discovery. An alien object has appeared out of nowhere, traveling near the speed of light. Its destination: Earth. Date of arrival: Jaunary 1st, 2055. Its message: “We’re coming.” Nothing else.

Overnight, the worldbegins to spin out of control, and a rich ensemble of characters take the stage to present an intensely human, personal drama about the end of the world as we know it, the fear of the unknown, and the anticipation of what humanity dubs, “The Coming.” With three months until the alien ship arrives, people prepare in different ways, embracing science, religion, fear, and hope. Rory and her musician husband Norman struggle to stay together as outside forces try to tear them apart. Political pressure coming from as far on high as the President herself seeks to silence Rory, or usurp her vision into a political and military advantage. Criminal elements seek to take advantage of the commotion, looking to blackmail the couple over Norman’s proclivities, an affair of passion that, if revealed, could destroy their careers. Meanwhile, Rory’s colleague may not be all that he seems, another is perfectly willing to sell her out, and everyone has a different opinion on what to do with the aliens. Embrace them? Destroy them?

As the Coming draws closer, war seems imminent, a shocking development cripples the American government, and the aliens’ power demonstrates their overwhelming superiority. But is it all just an elaborate hoax, as some suspect, or are the aliens for real? Or is the truth even stranger than that? The answers will come only on January 1st, when they make their first -and last, maybe- appearance.

The Coming is without a doubt Haldeman’s best book in quite a while, combining a keen grasp of social politics with a thorough understanding of human nature. This isn’t so much a story of aliens or First Contact, as it is a story about people, and how they react. Utilizing a subtle, yet effective literary technique of linking narratives, in which each character hands off to the next as they encounter, talk to, deal with, and observe one another, Haldeman places the reader in the distinctly unique perspectives of over a dozen different people. And while some roles are less than others, they nevertheless serve as cunning links between events and experiences. Rory hands off to reporter Daniel Jordan who gives over to Normal Bell, who bumps into mobster Willy Joe Capra, who observes reporter Marya Washington conducting an interview on the ‘cube’, who meets Rory’s assistant Pepe Parker, who’s in the room when Rory gets a call from Gainesville’s Mayor, and so forth, round-robining to tell a complete story about humanity.

Ultimately, The Coming manages to throw just enough curve balls to make the ending both unpredictable and not as obvious as it seems, just enough questions left unanswered to cast doubt on even the most concrete of character conclusions. But what’s genuine is the message delivered at the end, and the process in which characters and readers alike get there. Sharply told, easily grasped without a PhD in physics, with believable characters and a plausible plot, this is a highly satisfying book, one that was over far too soon.
While Haldeman has delivered books in the same vein before, with Forever Free and Forever Peace both dealing with the ideas of humanity, war, and peace, this is by far a superior story. This is definitely a don’t miss for any reader of science fiction.


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