series7 books1953
completed
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After Such Knowledge is James Blish's loosely linked trilogy on the costs of forbidden or dangerous knowledge. It opens with A Case of Conscience, in which a Jesuit scientist studying a seemingly sinless alien race is forced to weigh what he finds against his own faith, continues with the historical novel Doctor Mirabilis about the medieval friar and scientist Roger Bacon, and closes with the two-part Black Easter, in which a magician is hired to loose Hell's demons upon the world for a single day. The three books share a theme rather than a continuous plot or cast.
Fritz Leiberstandalone novel1964
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The Wanderer is a science fiction novel by American writer Fritz Leiber, published as a paperback original by Ballantine Books in 1964. It won the 1965 Hugo Award for Best Novel.
Larry Niven & Jerry Pournellestandalone novel1985
similar byfirst contactcontemporary
When aliens travel to Earth from Alpha Centauri, differences between alien and human psychology result in an unprovoked invasion, and the resulting resistance results in the aliens' use of a devastating weapon.
Carl Saganstandalone novel1985
similar byfirst contactcontemporary
From the front flap of the Simon and Schuster first edition: For centuries humanity has dreamed of life and intelligence beyond the Earth; for decades scientists have searched for it in every corner of the sky; for years Project Argus, a vast, sophisticated complex of radio telescopes, has listened for a signal indicating the existence, somewhere in the universe, of extraterrestrial intelligence. Then, one afternoon, the course of human history is changed, abruptly and forever. The Message, awaited for so long, its very possibility doubted by so many, arrives. Contact has been made. Life, intelligence, someone, something beyond Earth, 26 light-years away, in the vicinity of the star Vega, is calling, beaming across space a wholly unexpected message to say that we are not - have never been - alone. In Contact, Carl Sagan, whose Cosmos enthralled millions of readers and television viewers, has brilliantly employed the freedom of fiction to imagine the greatest adventure of all - humanity's first encounter with other intelligent beings. But the novel is not only about contact between humans and extraterrestrials; it is also about contact, down here on Earth, with each other and ourselves. At its center is a brilliant scientist, Eleanor Arroway, director of Project Argos, who is the first to realize that chapter one of human history is over. It is she who is instrumental in decoding the Message - and in persuading world leaders not to treat it as a threat - she who finds her own life changed by the immense challenge of responding to the Message; she who finally journeys out to experience, in circumstances at once profoundly religious and scientific, the most fateful encounter in human history.
Clifford D. Simakstandalone novel1980
similar byfirst contactcontemporary
WorldCat: Intelligent, alien creatures arrive on Earth from outer space, threatening world stability and presaging the destruction of civilization.
Robert J. Sawyerstandalone novel2000
similar byfirst contactcontemporary
Calculating God is a 2000 science fiction novel by Canadian writer Robert J. Sawyer. It takes place in the present day and describes the arrival of sentient aliens on Earth. The bulk of the novel covers the many discussions and arguments on this topic, as well as the nature of belief, religion, and science. Several planetary civilizations illustrate the logical conclusion of the Fermi paradox.
series2 books1950
completed
similar by+2 more
Hal Clement's Needle follows an alien detective nicknamed the Hunter, a shapeless symbiotic being that can live inside a host body, as it crash-lands on Earth pursuing a fugitive of its own kind and takes refuge inside an American teenager, Robert Kinnaird. Together the mismatched pair must learn to communicate and cooperate, first to survive and later to track down the second alien, which has hidden inside another human in the same Pacific island community. The sequel, Through the Eye of a Needle, published nearly three decades later, continues the Hunter's story.
John Scalzistandalone novel2005
similar byfirst contactcontemporary
"The space-faring Yherajk have come to Earth to meet us and to begin humanity's first interstellar friendship. There's just one problem: They're hideously ugly and they smell like rotting fish. Gaining humanity's trust isn't easy when you look like a B-movie terror. The Yherajk need someone who can help them close the deal. Thomas Stein knows all about closing deals - he's one of Hollywood's hottest young agents who's just closed the biggest deal of his career. But it's one thing to sell your client when she's a hot young starlet. It's another thing entirely when your client is an entire alien species, depending on you to pull off the greatest introduction in this history of man. Stein's going to need all his smarts, all his skills, and all his wits to earn his percentage and his place in history." [Source: front dust jacket flap of Subterranean Press edition]
series4 books1989
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My Teacher Is an Alien is a four-book science fiction children's book series authored by Bruce Coville. The titles include:My Teacher Is an Alien (1989) My Teacher Fried My Brains (1991) My Teacher Glows in the Dark (1991) My Teacher Flunked the Planet (1992)
series3 books2015
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Sylvain Neuvel's Themis Files opens when a girl falls into a hole in South Dakota and lands on the palm of a giant metal hand buried underground; the trilogy picks up years later as she leads the team trying to determine what the hand is part of and why it's there. Sleeping Giants and its sequels are told almost entirely through interview transcripts conducted by an unnamed, evasive interrogator, giving the series a documentary, oral-history feel unusual for first-contact SF. The mystery escalates from an archaeological puzzle into a question of who else is looking for the same answer.
Robin Cookstandalone novel1997
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Earth is bombarded from space by small disks which, in addition to having powerful physical armaments, when handled activate latent viral DNA which causes humans to mutate into alien beings; a small group recognize the danger and attempt to develop a biological counterweapon.
Robert J. Sawyerstandalone novel1997
similar byfirst contactcontemporary
The trial of an alien accused of murdering an Earthman. The accused is a crewman of a damaged spaceship which landed on Earth, and the victim was a scientist sent to talk to them. Evidence reveals the ship was on a mission to destroy Earth, but some crewmen rebelled against the order. (WorldCat)
Sheri S. Tepperstandalone novel2000
similar byfirst contactcontemporary
The Fresco is a science fiction novel by American writer Sheri S. Tepper, published in 2000. It describes Earth's contact with a confederation of intelligent alien races. The Fresco was on the shortlist for 2001 James Tiptree, Jr. Award
Orson Scott Cardstandalone novel1989
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The Abyss is a 1989 American science fiction film written and directed by James Cameron and starring Ed Harris, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, and Michael Biehn. When an American submarine sinks in the Caribbean, a U.S. search and recovery team works with an oil platform crew, racing against Soviet vessels to recover the boat. Deep in the ocean, they encounter something unexpected.
Algis Budrysstandalone novel1993
similar byfirst contactcontemporary
When an alien spacecraft crashes into a swamp on the US Atlantic coast, the fates of the humanoid surviving crew members are described as they separate and attempt to avoid discovery by blending into the American public.
Jack McDevittstandalone novel1986
similar byfirst contactcontemporary
The Hercules Text is a 1986 science fiction novel by American writer Jack McDevitt. It tells the story of a message of intelligent extraterrestrial origin received by SETI scientists. The Hercules Text was nominated for the Philip K. Dick Award in 1986.
Gillian Rubinsteinstandalone novel1988
similar byfirst contactcontemporary
Fourteen-year-old Brenton questions the choices in his life when an alien anthropologist arrives to study an ancient Aboriginal tribe that once lived in the area around his home.