The Homecoming [Hardcover]

Barry B. Longyear (Author), Alan M. Clark (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1989

Highly intelligent dinosaurs come back to reclaim the earth as their home.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Hugo, Nebula, and Campbell Award winner, Barry Longyear is author of Enemy Mine, made into a major motion picture by Fox. Recent works include The Enemy Papers and Yesterday?s Tomorrow. Having completed training as a PI, he has entered the world of mystery writing with The Hangman?s Son. He lives with his wife, Jean, in New Sharon, Maine. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Hardcover: 150 pages
• Publisher: Walker & Company; First Edition edition (November 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0802768636
• ISBN-13: 978-0802768636
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,801,134 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Hugo & Nebula winning author of Enemy Mine (made into a major motion picture by Fox)

BARRY B. LONGYEAR is the first writer to win the Hugo, Nebula, and John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer all in the same year. In addition to his acclaimed Enemy Mine Series, his works include the classic Sea of Glass and Infinity Hold series, SF & fantasy novels, recovery and writing instruction works, and numerous short stories.


Nominations and Awards*:

1979 (Nomination) John W. Campbell Award for best new writer.
1979 John W. Campbell Award for best new writer.
1979 Hugo Award, best novella, "Enemy Mine."
1979 Nebula Award, best novella, "Enemy Mine."
1979 Locus Award, best novella, "Enemy Mine."

1979 (Nomination) Hugo Award, best novelette, "Homecoming."
1980 (Nomination), Hugo Award, best novelette, "Savage Planet."
1980 (Nomination), Locus Award, best novelette, "Savage Planet."
1980 (Nomination), AnLab Award, best novelette, "Savage Planet."
1981 (Nomination) Locus Award, Single Author Collection, Manifest Destiny.

1981 Distinguished Achievement Award, University of Maine at Farmington.

1982 (Nomination), AnLab Award, best short story, "Collector's Item."
1984 (Nomination) Prometheus Award, best novel, The Tomorrow Testament.

1990 (Finalist) Philip K. Dick Award, best novel, Infinity Hold.

1990 (Nomination) Prometheus Award, best novel, Infinity Hold.
1991 (Nomination) Prometheus Hall of Fame, Circus World.

1993 (Nomination), Locus Award, best novelette, "Chimaera."
1994 (Nomination), Locus Award, best novelette, "The Death Addict."

1999 (Nomination) Prometheus Hall of Fame, Circus World.

2002 (Nomination), Locus Award, best novella, "Silent Her."

2006 AnLab Award, best novella, "The Good Kill."
2007 AnLab Award, best novella, "Murder in Parliament Street."

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Dinosaurs return, December 1, 2010

By 

TChris (Tzer Island) - See all my reviews
(TOP 100 REVIEWER)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Homecoming (Hardcover)

The Homecoming is one of the Millennium series of books published by Byron Preiss. Each book dealt with a different science fiction theme. The subject of Project Pendulum is dinosaurs (a subject that isn't exclusively in the realm of sf, like time travel or first contact, but dinosaurs do make occasional appearances in sf novels).

Dinosaurs left the Earth in appropriately large spaceships, hung out in suspended animation for quite a long time, and are now ready to reoccupy the planet. Their plan is complicated by the discovery that strange creatures called humans now occupy the Earth. The dinosaurs disagree as to their next step: some favor wiping out the humans with The Power while others want to negotiate. They settle for fact-finding, inviting humans to a meeting on one of their ships. Baxter, a former astronaut now in the business of public relations, is quickly tapped for the job of working things out with the dinosaurs.

Barry Longyear obviously didn't mean for this short novel (more of a longish short story) to be taken seriously. As comedy, it has its moments, particularly as Baxter tries to explain humor to the dinosaurs (Robert Klein playing the blues, tapping his leg, and singing "I can't stop my leg. I can't stop my leg" really is funny, but try explaining that to a dinosaur). Given the way the book ends, it might be intended to convey a serious message, but a rather obvious one.

Byron Preiss (1953-2005) was known for his efforts to marry the printed text with visual art. The Millennium series furthered that ambition by pairing stories with illustrations. The Homecoming features several black and white drawings by Alan Clark. He does a nice job on the dinosaurs. I'm no art critic, but the people in the drawings look like puppets carved from wood. Maybe that's what he intended. The hardcover is printed on bright white, heavy, probably acid-free paper, so if you can find a copy, it should last a long time.

The Homecoming is amusing, but not much more than that. I would give it 3 1/2 stars if that option were available.

2 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent intro to science fiction., February 2, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Homecoming (Hardcover)

I love Bary Longyear and this book did not disappoint. Suppose the dinosaurs did not become extinct, they just left, and now they have returned and they want their world back. My son absolutely adored this book from the time he was ten or eleven and, years later, he remembers it still. Both of us recommend it highly.