A review by steelcitygator
Footfall by Jerry Pournelle, Larry Niven

3.0

A decent sci-fi romp that isn't groundbreaking (to the modern reader at least, can't say about the 80's when it was originally released) but is fun for the most part. Close to a 4* at times through the strength of the authors prose more than anything but there were just too many plotlines and they seemed stretched more than necessary so by the end of the book I felt my engagement with the overall plot slipping a bit. Maybe didn't help my e-reader edition was filled with editorial errors (I believe this had something to do with the file I had specifically not the actual book but felt it necessary to put out there for how it might have altered my enjoyment). It hits a lot of modern tropes, true, but there's some interesting bits to raise the tension. The sci-fi wizards helping the government got me a chuckle. The absurdity of the idea helps make their easy discoveries through images much easier to stomach in my mind.

The interesting first part where there is anticipation of the craft is interesting though I think the middle is where the book shines in it's impact on earth. The difference in cultural and behavioral reasoning between humans and the aliens was well done and made for interesting quieter sections away from the action taking place on earth.

Overall, a decent read and fairly quick to get through for it's length. A good pallet cleanser if you are reading a lot of heavy stuff of different variety and you want a lighter sci-fi book to go through.