Customer Reviews

Fade-Out

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Just re-read the book yesterday, makes surprisingly good read even after 20 yrs and the unexpected collapse of USSR! One of the best 'alien contact' sci-fi tales ever written, IMHO. Surprised X-Files never used his ideas! Ranks right way up there with 'Rendevous with Rama', 'Solaris' and 'Stranger in Strange Land'. Patrick delivers the goodies:- his grasp of details and dramatic-tension is masterful. Anyone who knows Patrick Tilley's email address pls contact me at cthulhufatagn@hotmail.com! Patrick is one of the very best, and this book a sadly 'lost' classic of hard sci-fi:- they don't come harder than this.

Just re-read the book yesterday, makes surprisingly good read even after 20 yrs and the unexpected collapse of USSR! One of the best 'alien contact' sci-fi tales ever written, IMHO. Surprised X-Files never used his ideas! Ranks right way up there with 'Rendevous with Rama', 'Solaris' and 'Stranger in Strange Land'. Patrick delivers the goodies:- his grasp of details and dramatic-tension is masterful. Anyone who knows Patrick Tilley's email address pls contact me at cthulhufatagn@hotmail.com! Patrick is one of the very best, and this book a sadly 'lost' classic of hard sci-fi:- they don't come harder than this.

I first read this book as a teenager in the 70's, and was stunned. An excellent balance between finely detailed science fiction (such as the kind Robert L Forward excels at), but with a human warmth and an odd spiritual twist that sneaks up on you. While I would have loved to have seen this become a trilogy, perhaps Tilley's greatest strength was in resisting the temptation to franchise this wonderful tale into tawdry little strip mall like installments, watering down the impact of the original. If someone ever figures out that this is a script that would write itself, it could still be made into a grand "alternate universe" saga...I would hate to see someone update it from it's 70's context. My hardcover copy is well worn from repeated re-reading...my only hope is that I could produce at least one novel this wonderful.

Though 23 years old, this book is amazing in its descriptions of the government's handling of a close encounter of the third kind and the subsequent effects thereof. Tilley, an Englishman, writes about the Montana countryside and folks as if he'd lived there all his life, and his characterizations of federal employees, including the president, are right on the money. It's unbelievable this book never made it to film. One can only hope it will be rediscovered.

I found the book Fade-Out to be extremely compelling from the first page to the last! If you like books with a twist, then this is the book for you. The plot is well thought out and executed with just the right amount of intrigue to interest even mystery readers. You will not be able to put it down.

The premise of Fade Out is that a spaceship arrives in the Earth's orbit. Interesting start, because you probably wouldn't even look at this book if you didn't have a passing interest in this topic, or at least the idea of "Are we alone?" and/or "Is there a smarter race out there than us?"

I really enjoyed some parts of this book but at others, the pace is kind of slow. There are also some really irritating bits. For instance, I thought the description of the spaceship was very cliched - imagine a "flying saucer" and you've got it; the disappearance of a couple of people is never explained; and the ending is a major cop-out and really disappointing.

To summarise, this is a book with some interesting ideas that are never fully developed. That's a shame, because it could have been brilliant.

After reading all the 5 star reviews, and having loved the Amtrak Wars (vols 1-6), I was really looking forward to this book. I enjoyed Fade-Out but what happened at the end? I found the ending extremely unsatisfying, I even checked to see if someone had ripped out the last chapter of my book. I would have liked a little bit more explanation (or even any). Anyone can write an impossible situation, I expect a good author to solve it.

I finished reading this book five minutes ago and feel compelled to write something about it.

This is an excellent book. I've described it to a couple of friends as a story about 'the admin behind an alien landing' - although this describes the book well, it undersells how compelling and exciting FADE OUT is. Reads like a Hollywood Blockbuster, constantly fascinating, interesting and well-researched, FADE OUT builds to a wonderful crescendo and has a pay-off that will leave you thinking.

If you're a geek for details and like your sci-fi grounded very much in the real world this is a must read. I'd compare it to books by Arthur C Clarke in it's level of detail and authenticity. It might be a little slow to start and there's a few unanswered questions, but on the whole it's great. Read it and be absorbed - a true classic that should be revered as such. Highly recommended.

A very enjoyable and believable what-if story,one of the better first contact novels I've read with some decent characterisation. The spaceship scenario was interesting as was the whole behind the scenes government storyline, only gripe I have is the abrupt ending, the story only briefly touched on telepathy and not what that gift caused to the planet, bascially what happened to the population Mr Tilley? Like I say just a minor gripe to what was a great read.

PS. Fade In

That's the title sorted, you can have that gratis.

I'M NOT THE WORLDS BIGGEST LOVER OF SCI-FI BOOKS BUT THIS OLD CLASSIC WILL GRAB YOU FROM PAGE 1. WHY NO FOLLOW ON AND WHY NO FILM ?