# Recommend a First Contact novel (sci-fi) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 3, 2004, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-first-contact-novel-sci-fi/277897 "2004-12-03T15:17:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![furt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/439d5e/32.png) [@furt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furt)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2004, 9:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-first-contact-novel-sci-fi/277897/41 "2004-12-10T09:29:42Z")
> [@Dr. Rieux](#): > > Does it answer the burning question, “What does God need with a starship?” Yes, actually. They build a starship so they can travel to the center of the galaxy and re-birth God. Like I said, the end kinda sucks. ---
**Author:** ![HPL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3da27b/32.png) [@HPL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HPL)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2004, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-first-contact-novel-sci-fi/277897/42 "2004-12-10T11:05:51Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > People mentioned The Tripods, but (unless I missed it), not **The War of the Worlds** by H.G. Wells. Definitely a landmark First Contact story. Damn, you beat me to it. It’s particulary interesting when you notice that the Martians are effectively fighting WW2 in 1898…which is why the British Military gets owned. If the Invasion of WotW had taken place 1998…well, the enviromentalists would have to hurry to get the Martians on the endangered species list before any decent army managed to kill them all(NATO would wipe the floor with them without breaking a sweat, the 3rd world would have a tougher time, but could win). ---
**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:** [December 10, 2004, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-first-contact-novel-sci-fi/277897/43 "2004-12-10T11:43:44Z")
**Nor Crystal Tears** by Alan Dean Foster, first contact from the “aliens” point of view, a very fun and light novel. ---
**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:** [December 10, 2004, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-first-contact-novel-sci-fi/277897/44 "2004-12-10T13:49:59Z")
Vernor Vinge’s “A Light Upon The Deep” has a major plotline having to do with first contact between two stranded teens and doglike aliens who have a communal “pack” mind. Really interesting aliens, though I found Vinge’s portrayal of a galactic superculture much more interesting. ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2004, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-first-contact-novel-sci-fi/277897/45 "2004-12-10T15:27:49Z")
Vinge also has a novel set in the same universe: A Deepness in the Sky. Two rival human groups fight over relations with inteligent spiders. Brian ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2004, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-first-contact-novel-sci-fi/277897/46 "2004-12-10T17:40:16Z")
Isaac Asimov’s _The Gods Themselves_ is a pretty unique First Contact read. The nature of the aliens, and the universe they inhabit, is given in plenty of appropriatrly-expository detail. It’s hard for me to think of a good non-spoiling teaser. I will say that within my own reading, Asimov’s aliens are easily the most original and non-human of them all – and yet he manages to keep the reader engaged. ---
**Author:** ![Binarydrone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3da27b/32.png) [@Binarydrone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Binarydrone)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2004, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-first-contact-novel-sci-fi/277897/47 "2004-12-10T17:58:09Z")
> [@Glory](#): > > I really enjoyed [The Color of Distance](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0441002447/qid=1102090085/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/102-9255809-8243345?v=glance&s=books). 100% agree. ---
**Author:** ![Cornelius\_Tuggerson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/13edae/32.png) [@Cornelius\_Tuggerson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cornelius_Tuggerson)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2004, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-first-contact-novel-sci-fi/277897/48 "2004-12-10T20:45:42Z")
> [@SusanStoHelit](#): > > **The Forever War** , though… Good God that book was repetitive! And long. And repetitive. And boring. And repe… You get the idea. > > I normally love long, epic Science Fiction stories, but I actually had to skim whole chapters of that book just to finish it. Lies, all lies. Now that i think of it I can’t argue with you. The book is long and stuff just constantly gets worse and worse in a rather linnear fashion. I enjoy every word of it though. ---
**Author:** ![furt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/439d5e/32.png) [@furt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furt)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2004, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-first-contact-novel-sci-fi/277897/49 "2004-12-10T22:22:21Z")
> [@Icerigger](#): > > **Nor Crystal Tears** by Alan Dean Foster, first contact from the “aliens” point of view, a very fun and light novel. A fave. ---
**Author:** ![furt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/439d5e/32.png) [@furt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furt)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2004, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-first-contact-novel-sci-fi/277897/50 "2004-12-10T22:23:45Z")
Let me expand; in moving some stuff the other day, I came across **NCT** , sat down and promptly reread it. This thread is the result. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-first-contact-novel-sci-fi/277897.md?page=2)