Footfall
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Even though I found this book generally enjoyable it was hard work in places. The alien language and names were quite off putting due to the length of them. The story line of the various characters was not in depth and I didn't really care whether they were killed off or not. Good read in all other aspects.
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Extra! Killer Elephants from Outer Space Invade Earth!
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"Footfall" harkens back to the Science Fiction of the 1950's, with the President and the U.S. military dealing with godless Communists and equally godless aliens. A moving dot is discovered on astronomical plates and the evidence is clear: it is a spaceship from another galaxy far, far away. Attempts to contact the aliens are unsuccessful but as soon as they arrive at Earth their intentions become clear: they destroy the Soviet space station, the moon base and then every dam and major installation on the planet by raining down asteroids. To add insult to injury, when the aliens begin landing troops in Kansas, they look for all the world like elephants with trunks performing the function of hands. Now it is up to President of the United States David Coffey, Congressman Wesley T. Dawson of California, USAF astronaut Major General Edmund Gillespie and his sister-in-law Jeanette Crichton, the Director fo the Lenin Institute Academician Pavel Aleksandrovich Bondarev, the unemployed minstrel Harry Reddington, the captured alien Harpanet and several dozen other characters to save the Earth from the alien threat. Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle have provided a good old-fashioned "pulp" story, where you go along for the ride. My only substantive complaint is that the Snouts, as the aliens are called for obvious reasons, have a convenient Achilles heel (or two) that allows Earth to have a fighting chance against a technologically superior enemy that REALLY controls the high ground. My favorite part is President relying on a group of Science Fiction writers for advice on how to deal with these strange visitors from another planet, which at least avoids the stereotype of the stupid military advisers just wanting to use nukes at the first opportunity. The "science" in "Footfall" is enough to fuel the story without becoming oppressive; the first time I read this novel I remember thinking it was just an excuse to find a story where launching an Orion was a plausible plot device. "Footfall" is not epic science fiction; it is just a fun read that takes us make to those thrilling days of yesteryear when BEM ruled.
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Its hateful, but I loved this one.
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Silly old right-wing pontificating nonsense full of characters of approximately monatomic thickness and jingoistic sabre rattling... Got that of my chest. Great read with compellingly imagined aliens and space battles, and some memorably silly scenes (all courtesy of Jerry's better half, no doubt). Really a sort of unusually right-wing summer blockbuster. However read this book *fast* so that you don't notice the holes (I bet ya Dubya loves this one). Not to be confused with Football, Jimmy Hill's extensive account of martian soccer history.
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One for the creditors rather than the readers
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I am a big fan of the writing of both Niven and Pournelle. This is the worst book I have read by either of them. Poorly developed characters and patchy plot, the most interesting elements were only lightly touched upon. I could not help but come away from the book thinking I was reading a draft rather than a finished piece, and have the underlying impression that it was rushed. Still, to be fair, their worst is better than some authors' best.
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Not their best work
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To start with let me first say that I love Larry Niven's books. His collaboration with Pournelle to write the Mote in Gods eye was also brilliant. With this in mind I bought Footfall hoping for more of the same. Unfortunately I didn't get it. The book is interesting in that it seems to show that the writers have a far greater understanding of their imaginary Aliens than of Humans. Their Human characters are one dimensional and at times their actions and dialogue is painful. It seems obvous that neither writer has any experience of the military, nor did they bother to research any, the Human military sections of the book are easily the worst parts. On the other hand their vision of the Aliens and their skewed but familiar society is excellent, the only problem being that it is nearly impossible to follow the developing alien political situation due to their impossibly long and far too similar names. This could have been a good book and in a few places it is, the bad however far outweighs the good.
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