Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 6/24/83; site uwvax.ARPA Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!floyd!harpo!seismo!uwvax!neves 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