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From: neves@uwvax.ARPA
Newsgroups: net.sf-lovers
Subject: Re: Battle Field Earth
Message-ID: <168@uwvax.ARPA>
Date: Wed, 21-Mar-84 15:33:38 EST
Article-I.D.: uwvax.168
Posted: Wed Mar 21 15:33:38 1984
Date-Received: Thu, 22-Mar-84 02:09:28 EST
References: <2108@ihuxf.UUCP>
Organization: U of Wisconsin CS Dept
Lines: 23

Battlefield Earth is a good book.  I bought it a few weeks ago when it
came out in paperback (I'm a sucker for large books) and was surprised
it was as good as it was.  Believe it or not I was not bored reading
any part of the 1100 pages.  It is none stop action in the tradition of
the early science fiction of the 40's and 50's.  The story (which is
man vs alien) and future environment is believable and interesting.
Unlike many large books it does not span centuries but takes place in
just a few years time with a relatively small main cast of characters.

The story revolves around an alien mining company that has taken over
earth to mine its minerals.  The human race has been largely decimated,
there are just a few thousand left, living like primitives.  An amusing
couple of paragraphs in the beginning of the book shows how the mining
company found out about earth.

"  Man apparently sent out some kind of probe that gave full directions
to the place, had pictures of man on it and everything.  It got picked
up by a Psychlo recon.  And you know what? [...] The probe and the
pictures were on a metal that was rare everywhere and worth a clanking
fortune.  And Intergalactic paid the Psychlo governors sixth trillion
Galactic credits for the directions and the concession."
-dave