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A review by theaurochs
The Man Who Fell to Earth by Walter Tevis
4.0
Whilst slightly dated, like a lot of sci-fi from the era; this is a very powerful work of fiction.
A man from Anthea (whilst never confirmed, it's pretty much guaranteed to be what we call Mars) comes to Earth in a last ditch effort to save his dying civilisation. Earth, the Antheans reason, is similar to their own planet and civilisation in earlier days. He, T.J. Newton, has the wisdom and knowledge of the advanced and yet doomed Anthean civilisation; they ultimately fought each other to the brink of collapse with nuclear weapons, and wasted what remained of the natural resources of their planet.
When he arrives on Earth though, Newton finds that a lot of things don't quite match up with what he had learned from television broadcasts. He finds himself drawn to alcohol, and a downward spiral of depression. All the while he endeavours to create a fortune on Earth with his advanced knowledge of engineering so that he can use the resources to build a rescue vessel to return to Anthea. He sees the constant misuse of his inventions- the classic dilemma of a pure scientist whose work is used to create weaponry, or even just unethical diversions; toys, media etc. This is framed explicitly as a reflection of the Manhattan project, which one of the other scientist characters in the book had worked on.
Ultimately the US government become suspicious of his incredible inventiveness, and have the most believable reaction to an extraterrestrial- they throw the book at him to ensure his patents and paperwork are up to scratch.
As the novel continues, Newton becomes more and more jaded, ultimately deciding that humanity, and by extension the Antheans, are just not worth saving, and therefore abandons his whole enterprise.
Surprisingly relevant and deeply poignant, this is a quality novel that deserves its place among the classics of early sci-fi.
A man from Anthea (whilst never confirmed, it's pretty much guaranteed to be what we call Mars) comes to Earth in a last ditch effort to save his dying civilisation. Earth, the Antheans reason, is similar to their own planet and civilisation in earlier days. He, T.J. Newton, has the wisdom and knowledge of the advanced and yet doomed Anthean civilisation; they ultimately fought each other to the brink of collapse with nuclear weapons, and wasted what remained of the natural resources of their planet.
When he arrives on Earth though, Newton finds that a lot of things don't quite match up with what he had learned from television broadcasts. He finds himself drawn to alcohol, and a downward spiral of depression. All the while he endeavours to create a fortune on Earth with his advanced knowledge of engineering so that he can use the resources to build a rescue vessel to return to Anthea. He sees the constant misuse of his inventions- the classic dilemma of a pure scientist whose work is used to create weaponry, or even just unethical diversions; toys, media etc. This is framed explicitly as a reflection of the Manhattan project, which one of the other scientist characters in the book had worked on.
Ultimately the US government become suspicious of his incredible inventiveness, and have the most believable reaction to an extraterrestrial- they throw the book at him to ensure his patents and paperwork are up to scratch.
As the novel continues, Newton becomes more and more jaded, ultimately deciding that humanity, and by extension the Antheans, are just not worth saving, and therefore abandons his whole enterprise.
Surprisingly relevant and deeply poignant, this is a quality novel that deserves its place among the classics of early sci-fi.