# Any good alien invasion novels? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 12, 2012, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-good-alien-invasion-novels/621724 "2012-05-12T20:10:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![A\_Sniveling\_Mess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b19c9b/32.png) [@A\_Sniveling\_Mess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/A_Sniveling_Mess)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2012, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-good-alien-invasion-novels/621724/1 "2012-05-12T20:10:54Z")
Recently I began a thread about historical fantasy novels;well,this is another genre that I’ve developed an interest in.I’d like an alien invasion-type novel that: Is a little "creepy,"but not frightening enough to give Arnold Schwarzenegger nightmares; includes humanoid aliens,rather than animal-like ones; and is of any length,so long as it’s interesting. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. ---
**Author:** ![Ashley\_Pomeroy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c68b51/32.png) [@Ashley\_Pomeroy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashley_Pomeroy)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2012, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-good-alien-invasion-novels/621724/2 "2012-05-12T20:59:00Z")
If you’ve got several days free, I can heartily recommend Harry Turtledove’s _[Worldwar](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Worldwar)_ series, which mashes together an alien invasion, alternative history, and World War II without being a complete train wreck. ---
**Author:** ![A\_Sniveling\_Mess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b19c9b/32.png) [@A\_Sniveling\_Mess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/A_Sniveling_Mess)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2012, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-good-alien-invasion-novels/621724/3 "2012-05-12T21:15:56Z")
> [@Ashley\_Pomeroy](#): > > If you’ve got several days free, I can heartily recommend Harry Turtledove’s _[Worldwar](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Worldwar)_ series, which mashes together an alien invasion, alternative history, and World War II without being a complete train wreck. It’s funny that you mention that series,because actually I just ordered the first book of the series on the Internet a few days ago.Does the whole series include basically the same subjects and the same characters,or do they vary widely from book to book?I was wondering because I was afraid that,with the series being so long,the plot might get stale by the end of the last book. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2012, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-good-alien-invasion-novels/621724/4 "2012-05-12T22:05:55Z")
> [@JRyan35](#): > > It’s funny that you mention that series,because actually I just ordered the first book of the series on the Internet a few days ago.Does the whole series include basically the same subjects and the same characters,or do they vary widely from book to book?I was wondering because I was afraid that,with the series being so long,the plot might get stale by the end of the last book. The WorldWar series (four books) all take place over the course of just a few years (1941-1945). So the cast is pretty consistent. The Conquest series (three books) takes place from 1963 to 1964. There are many characters who are holdovers from the earlier series and some new characters but the cast within the trilogy is again consistent. The final book, _Homeward Bound_, is something of an epilogue to the series and is spread out over several years from 1972 to 2031. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2012, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-good-alien-invasion-novels/621724/5 "2012-05-12T22:09:43Z")
Another alien invasion classic is _Footfall_ by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle. It’s a single novel so you can go through it in a lot less time than Turtledove’s series. ---
**Author:** ![Gagundathar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a183cd/32.png) [@Gagundathar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gagundathar)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2012, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-good-alien-invasion-novels/621724/6 "2012-05-12T22:09:56Z")
The very first instance that came to my mind was “Footfall”. In my opinion, it is probably the best written and most realistic-feeling alien invasion novel. Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle have written many things together and this is in their top tier of great SF novels. ---
**Author:** ![Gagundathar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a183cd/32.png) [@Gagundathar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gagundathar)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2012, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-good-alien-invasion-novels/621724/7 "2012-05-12T22:10:59Z")
Ninjaed! Argh! ---
**Author:** ![A\_Sniveling\_Mess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b19c9b/32.png) [@A\_Sniveling\_Mess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/A_Sniveling_Mess)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2012, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-good-alien-invasion-novels/621724/8 "2012-05-12T22:33:10Z")
Hey,it looks like Little Nemo and Gagundathar posted suggestions for \*Footfall[/I]at almost exactly the same time.It seems like a very popular book in the alien invasion novel genre.But don’t the aliens in that book look like elephants? ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2012, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-good-alien-invasion-novels/621724/9 "2012-05-12T22:39:07Z")
I was going to say… The Fithp are “baby elephants wearing disco shoes and hanging from hang-gliders” according to one eye witness of the invasion. Great book though. ---
**Author:** ![Icerigger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icerigger/32/432_2.png) [@Icerigger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icerigger)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2012, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-good-alien-invasion-novels/621724/10 "2012-05-12T23:04:46Z")
Childhood’s End by Arthur C Clarke. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2012, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-good-alien-invasion-novels/621724/11 "2012-05-12T23:10:44Z")
> [@JRyan35](#): > > Hey,it looks like Little Nemo and Gagundathar posted suggestions for \*Footfall[/I]at almost exactly the same time.It seems like a very popular book in the alien invasion novel genre.But don’t the aliens in that book look like elephants? The aliens look like aliens. Quite frankly if you’re looking for alien invasion books where the aliens look just like humans, you’re probably going to end up reading in the bottom half of the genre. Better SF authors are usually going to try to make their books seem more “realistic” and that means they’re often going to use non-human aliens. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tooth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c67d28/32.png) [@The\_Tooth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tooth)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2012, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-good-alien-invasion-novels/621724/12 "2012-05-13T00:26:01Z")
The War Against The Chtorr counts because fingerbabies are humanoid. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2012, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-good-alien-invasion-novels/621724/13 "2012-05-13T00:34:01Z")
> [@The\_Tooth](#): > > The War Against The Chtorr counts because fingerbabies are humanoid. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it. Anyone considering reading the Chtorr series should go in knowing that the series is incomplete and probably will remain that way. (The last book published was in 1993. The most recent update was apparently in 2004 when David Gerrold released the titles of the remaining three books. And told people to be patient.) ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2012, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-good-alien-invasion-novels/621724/14 "2012-05-13T00:36:30Z")
If you can find a copy, you might like “Pandora’s Planet” by Christopher Anvil - the alien invaders are the heroes (it’s complicated)… ---
**Author:** ![A\_Sniveling\_Mess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b19c9b/32.png) [@A\_Sniveling\_Mess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/A_Sniveling_Mess)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2012, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-good-alien-invasion-novels/621724/15 "2012-05-13T01:57:08Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > The aliens look like aliens. Quite frankly if you’re looking for alien invasion books where the aliens look just like humans, you’re probably going to end up reading in the bottom half of the genre. Better SF authors are usually going to try to make their books seem more “realistic” and that means they’re often going to use non-human aliens. Duly noted.The general consensus seems to be that it’s a good book,so hopefully I’ll get a chance to read it soon.Thanks for helping. ---
**Author:** ![Reepicheep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ed655f/32.png) [@Reepicheep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reepicheep)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2012, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-good-alien-invasion-novels/621724/16 "2012-05-13T06:02:12Z")
Invasion Book One of the Secret World Chronicle by Mercedes Lackey & Steve Libby & Dennis Lee & Cody Martin World Divided: Book Two of the Secret World Chronicle by Mercedes Lackey & Steve Libby & Dennis Lee & Cody Martin Both of these books are based on the game City of Heros - so the major characters are “metahumans”. These are fun books to while away a few afternoons they are not deep thinking invasions novels. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2012, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-good-alien-invasion-novels/621724/17 "2012-05-13T06:14:55Z")
I recommend Highways In Hiding by George O. Smith. An oldie but goodie. An alien space organism invades Earth and things get very, very science fictional. [You can legally download it for free](http://freesf.blogspot.com/2007/04/highways-in-hiding-george-o-smith.html) thanks to Project Gutenberg. ---
**Author:** ![Manduck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manduck/32/256_2.png) [@Manduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manduck)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2012, 8:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-good-alien-invasion-novels/621724/18 "2012-05-13T08:52:51Z")
You could read War Of The Worlds. You probably have already, but if not, you should. It’s the granddaddy of them all. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2012, 10:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-good-alien-invasion-novels/621724/19 "2012-05-13T10:03:22Z")
> [@Ashley\_Pomeroy](#): > > If you’ve got several days free, I can heartily recommend Harry Turtledove’s _[Worldwar](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Worldwar)_ series, which mashes together an alien invasion, alternative history, and World War II without being a complete train wreck. I was not impressed by the first book. ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2012, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-good-alien-invasion-novels/621724/20 "2012-05-13T11:59:45Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > I was not impressed by the first book. It suffered badly from Turtledove Bloat. I finished the series but none of the follow-ups because, hey, Nazis versus Space Lizards! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-good-alien-invasion-novels/621724.md?page=2)