A Matter for Men (The War Against the Chtorr, Book One) [Paperback]

David Gerrold (Author), Boris Vallejo (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 1983

With the human population ravaged by a series of devastating plagues, the alien Chtorr arrive to begin the final phase of their invasion. Even as many on Earth deny their existence, the giant wormlike carnivores prepare the world for the ultimate violation--the enslavement of humanity for food! Reissue.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 397 pages
• Publisher: Pocket Timescape (August 1, 1983)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671464949
• ISBN-13: 978-0671464943
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (53 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,119,834 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Compelling, thought provoking, horror entwined with hope, March 29, 2001

By 

MISTER SJEM "sonofhotpie" (CALIF BAY AREA United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: A Matter For Men (The War Against the Chtorr, Book 1) (Mass Market Paperback)

CONCEPT: Earth has been invaded by the Chtorr culture; a mix of especially nasty and powerful beings that make up this alien ecological chain. First, ¾ of the humans were wiped out by the plagues and now gigantic worm like creatures are further slaying people while they infest the American lands.

SCORING: Superb (A), Excellent (A-), Very good (B+), Good (B) Fairly Good (B-) Above Average (C+), Mediocre (C ), Barely Passable (C-) Pretty Bad (D+), Dismal (D), Waste of Time (D-), Into the Trash (F)

DIALOGUE: A STRUCTURE: A HISTORY SETTING: A- CHARACTERS: A MONSTERS/ALIEN DEVELOPMENTS: A DEEP THOUGHTS: A EVIL SETUP/ANTAGONISTS: A EMOTIONAL IMPACT: A SURPRISES: A- TECHNOLOGY: A- PACING: A LITTLE THINGS: A OVERALL STYLE: A FLOW OF WORDS: A CHOICE OF FOCUS: A TRANSITIONS/FLASHBACKS/POV: A COMPLEXITY OF WORDS/SYMBOLISM/THEMES: A

OVERALL GRADE: A

WHY IT WORKED FOR ME: First off, I was drawn in and I usually don't go for sci fi books. That simple. The means of describing such a disastrous infestation would turn most people off who don't want to read such a gloom and doom story. I have to admit that at times things seem bleak when they think of coexisting rather than eradicating the Chtorrans. But the story kept driving forward and you're compelled to follow with it. Great characters, great dialogues and great writing style (see below for the latter point). This story works best for people who appreciate investigate stories and aren't afraid to read about the tumultuous emotions raging in this novel. A lot of these people are on the edge or still carrying anger around. For me, that was pretty fascinating. Gerrold revealed it no only from a scientific viewpoint (as most sci fi authors do), but also from an emotional viewpoint. Flashbacks, for the most part, connected with the current story in scope or belief. Thus, it was an easy flow. The class taught by Whitlaw was totally new to me. Now that's the way a class should be taught; not with the drones we have now in the education system.

OVERALL STYLE: Loved the dialogue (see above). Also loved the metaphors and similes . . . " . . . her head blossomed in a sudden flower of red." Or "I turned in time to see the Chtorran falling forward through a shower of glass fragments. They glittered around it like tiny sparkling stars. In one smooth movement, it poured through the glass and flowed down off the stage and into the shrieking audience. It hit the front rows like an avalanche." His play with words are magnificent. I really could feel the story flow as I read it and it never ever . . . ever dragged.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is hard sci-fi, January 21, 2006

By 

Michael Lynn Mcguire "mmcguire" (Sugar Land, TX United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: A Matter For Men (The War Against the Chtorr, Book 1) (Mass Market Paperback)

This is very hard sci-fi. Do not pick up ths book without having many hours available to you to finish it. Once started, the book sucks you in gradually so that you say, "just one more chapter". When you finish the book at 5:50 am the next morning, you will be exhausted as if you had just run a 10K.

The above also applies to the three follow-on books.

I have read this book at least 5 times. Maybe 8. I lost count many years ago.

Gerrold's site, www.chtorr.com , claims that there will be a fifth book and a sixth book and a seventh book. I will believe it when I see it. I suspect that these books are so strenuous to write that the man might not have the strength to finish them anymore. There is a taunting preview of book 5 at http://www.chtorr.com/books-chtorr5/chtorr5.htm .

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars When will this be back in print?, June 25, 2002

By 

Samer T Ismail "SF & classical music fan" (Danbury, CT) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Matter for Men (The War Against the Chtorr, Book 1) (Hardcover)

~A Matter for Men~ hits the ground running, and doesn't look back; I can't imagine anyone not being shocked by the end of the first chapter. Gerrold does an excellent job of depicting a world just barely surviving a series of plagues, only to be beset by attacks from the Chtorrans (think large pink worms that think *you're* lunch).

Jim McCarthy is an excellent protagonist, and he clearly develops over the course of the novel--while surviving numerous life-threatening encounters with the Chtorrans--becoming, to quote Coleridge, "a sadder and a wiser man" by the end.

The book did remind me of Heinlein's ~Starship Troopers~, although I think this book is an order of magnitude better: almost everything that happens in Gerrold's book is, if not likely, at least plausible. [The one notable exception would be the fate of Jim's friend Ted; I didn't quite understand the motivation for his actions late in the book.] In particular, the flashbacks and sidebars seem particularly well-placed and don't disrupt the narrative. [There are questions raised that aren't answered, but as there are six more books in the series (three of those not yet published), I suspect many of those questions will be answered later.]

Gerrold wrote this as the first book in a series of seven (so far, four have come out; fans have been waiting a decade for the fifth), and they're all out of print. Gerrold has said there are plans to bring the first four books back when the fifth comes out; I, and many others, eagerly await their re-release.