# 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:** 3
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2012, 8:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-good-alien-invasion-novels/621724/41 "2012-05-14T08:16:18Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > I got a malware warning from Chrome on that page. Thanks for the heads-up. I was not trying to infect your machines, though as **Andy L** points out, the connection was eerily appropriate. I run Avast and Firefox 3.6.28 with ABP, but my kids have switched to Chrome and, just now, I confirm it gives the warning. Maybe it’s time I switched too. (FTR, as I understand the warning, it doesn’t detect malware per se, but recognizes a linked-to site as being rated as malware.) Anyway, OP asked for “humanoid” aliens so maybe my recommendation was poor anyway. Unless _H. sapiens_ and its technology is considered “humanoid.” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2012, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-good-alien-invasion-novels/621724/42 "2012-05-14T14:53:50Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > In that genre, I’d also suggest _The Puppet Masters_ by Robert Heinlein. Most definitely. Creepy, and with a pretty cool futuristic James Bond/espionage gloss to it. The movie is quite different, a little cheesy, but fun in its own right, I thought. ---
**Author:** ![Rala](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@Rala](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rala)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2012, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-good-alien-invasion-novels/621724/43 "2012-05-14T15:09:02Z")
_The Midwich Cuckoos_ by John Wyndham. ---
**Author:** ![Snickers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Snickers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snickers)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2012, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-good-alien-invasion-novels/621724/44 "2012-05-14T15:40:46Z")
It’s kind of opposite, in that it’s humans discovering an alien planet and going off to it for a look see, but I found it pretty interesting: [The Sparrow](http://www.amazon.com/The-Sparrow-Mary-Doria-Russell/dp/0449912558/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1337009979&sr=8-1). A team of researchers travels to the planet to study and learn about its inhabitants, and things go wrong from there. ---
**Author:** ![Valgard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/7feea3/32.png) [@Valgard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Valgard)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2012, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-good-alien-invasion-novels/621724/45 "2012-05-14T17:47:26Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Well, Thrintun are **not** humanoid. Sure they are, aside from the wrong number of eye - torso, head, two arms, two legs. ---
**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 14, 2012, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-good-alien-invasion-novels/621724/46 "2012-05-14T18:32:42Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > 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.) Gerrold’s a reasonably healthy guy (as compared to, say, George Martin), so I still hold out hope. Besides, I donated a fair sum of money to charity for the privilege of having a gruesome death in the next book. In an odd way, Mr. Gerrold owes it to me to finish A Method for Madness. ---
**Author:** ![GargoyleWB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gargoylewb/32/199_2.png) [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2012, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-good-alien-invasion-novels/621724/47 "2012-05-14T20:06:46Z")
> [@Gagundathar](#): > > 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 I reread this recently, having loved it when I first read it in the 80’s. With today’s hindsight, it has aged really badly, with the cold war USSR people and plots and settings so ridiculously caricatured that it makes Rocky 4 look like a documentary in comparison. I really loved Greg Bear’s ‘Forge of God’ and ‘Anvil of Stars’, the first book being the invasion, with the sequel being our eventual retaliation. ---
**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 14, 2012, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-good-alien-invasion-novels/621724/48 "2012-05-14T23:04:07Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > How about _Invasion of the Body Snatchers?_ The Pod People are humanoid-by-imitation, that’s why they’re scary. Even the title sounds frightening.:eek:Seriously,that book seems fairly popular.Did you think it was pretty good? ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2012, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-good-alien-invasion-novels/621724/49 "2012-05-15T16:33:56Z")
I recommend the novel [“Battlefield Earth” by L. Ron Hubbard](http://www.amazon.com/Battlefield-Earth-L-Ron-Hubbard/dp/1592120075) (yes, THAT L.Ron Hubbard). The movie was not so good; I found the book quite entertaining. I think people stay away from the book because of the movie, but there’s nothing wrong with the book. ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2012, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-good-alien-invasion-novels/621724/50 "2012-05-15T16:46:24Z")
At the risk of sounding like a total boor - I must disagree most vehemently with the previous poster’s opinion of _Battlefield Earth_. I read it when it first came out, and I finished it because I was then still too young to realize that even navel-gazing was better than finishing dreck and life is too short to give to authors who wrote dreck. It’s a horrible, horrible book, that failed completely to make the bar of being able to approach suspension of disbelief. If you value your time, don’t read it. ---
**Author:** ![SeldomSeen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ba0ec/32.png) [@SeldomSeen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeldomSeen)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2012, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-good-alien-invasion-novels/621724/51 "2012-05-15T16:56:21Z")
Stephen King’s _Dreamcatcher_? The alien invaders are a kind of virus that takes over and controls humans’ minds & bodies. Does that count as "humanoid? ---
**Author:** ![Damuri\_Ajashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Damuri\_Ajashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damuri_Ajashi)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2012, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-good-alien-invasion-novels/621724/52 "2012-05-15T17:18:02Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > 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. +1 ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2012, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-good-alien-invasion-novels/621724/53 "2012-05-15T17:31:03Z")
> [@SeldomSeen](#): > > Stephen King’s _Dreamcatcher_? The alien invaders are a kind of virus that takes over and controls humans’ minds & bodies. Does that count as "humanoid? More importantly, it doesn’t count as “good”. ---
**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 17, 2012, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-good-alien-invasion-novels/621724/54 "2012-05-17T01:28:00Z")
> [@SeldomSeen](#): > > Stephen King’s _Dreamcatcher_? The alien invaders are a kind of virus that takes over and controls humans’ minds & bodies. Does that count as "humanoid? No,I don’t think it does,but I now realize that that was an unreasonable restriction that I added.I should probably check that one out too.Thanks for the suggestion. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2012, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-good-alien-invasion-novels/621724/55 "2012-05-17T04:09:46Z")
> [@JRyan35](#): > > Even the title sounds frightening.:eek:Seriously,that book seems fairly popular.Did you think it was pretty good? Never read the book, only know the story from [three](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invasion_of_the_Body_Snatchers) [film](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invasion_of_the_Body_Snatchers_(1978_film)) [adaptations.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_Snatchers_(1993_film)) (And from excerpts from the book, which Stephen King quoted in [_Danse Macabre.)_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danse_Macabre_(book)) ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2012, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-good-alien-invasion-novels/621724/56 "2012-05-17T04:10:49Z")
> [@Valgard](#): > > Sure they are, aside from the wrong number of eye - torso, head, two arms, two legs. Look, if not even Kirk would hit it, it ain’t humanoid! (Aaaah, what’m I talkin’ about, he’d do a horta . . .) ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2012, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-good-alien-invasion-novels/621724/57 "2012-05-17T04:18:43Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Look, if not even Kirk would hit it, it ain’t humanoid! > > (Aaaah, what’m I talkin’ about, he’d do a horta . . .) Of course he would, hortas are _hot!_ ---
**Author:** ![tullsterx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9bcb4/32.png) [@tullsterx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tullsterx)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2012, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-good-alien-invasion-novels/621724/58 "2012-05-17T19:40:03Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > 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. Yeah, but, not a humanoid race. But, yeah, that’s the first one that came to my mind before the OP specified “human (oid?)” ---
**Author:** ![d-d-d](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b4bc9f/32.png) [@d-d-d](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/d-d-d)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2012, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-good-alien-invasion-novels/621724/59 "2012-12-28T04:11:30Z")
Hi, i agree with Footfall, loved that one, especially with the ‘orion’ being feasible. Best one i have read yet though is Greg Bears ‘The Forge Of God’ ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2012, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-good-alien-invasion-novels/621724/60 "2012-12-28T13:43:04Z")
> [@DrFidelius](#): > > It suffered badly from Turtledove Bloat. I finished the series but none of the follow-ups because, hey, Nazis versus Space Lizards! I always approach a new Turtledove _opus_ gingerly! 😉 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-good-alien-invasion-novels/621724.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-good-alien-invasion-novels/621724.md?page=4)