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ericvormelker 's review for:
Contact
by Carl Sagan
I first read this one sometime in the gap where I wasn't tracking what I was reading, not long after it came out in '85. Rereading it now, it's quaint, but I also remember how much it resonated with me that first time. I remember having vivid moments where his metaphors felt so right as a physicist (I got my BS in Physics in '85). And his perspective of science and God also lined up so well with where I was then. Some of the arguments he presented between the lead character and a preacher, I'm sure I was thinking "YES!", but reading it now, it reminded me of arguments I have in my head with my fundamentalist brother or other imaginary Trumpers. It was fun to see amusing references to the internet, using excessive terms that felt a little Heinlein and Asimovish -- he was clearly aware of it, as a Cornell prof, but it's interesting to compare this novel to William Gibson's work, which actually predated it by four years. While Sagan was using terms like "open-channel asynchronous telenetting", Gibson was saying "the net". That said, I still really enjoyed it. Giving it 5* for the me that read and loved it 35 years ago.