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22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Worth finding a copy of this book, February 22, 1998
Better known for his "Dorsai" books, Dickson wrote this single-volume story of a first contact between humans and aliens in the late 1980s. It's an excellent, thought-provoking book. Earth has been conquered by a humnoid people known as the Aalaag, whose technology is so superior to that of 20th century humans that no human can even begin to understand how it works. Even more, the Aalaags refer to humans as "cattle" and think of them as little better than we usually think of our domesticated animals. The Aalaag language is utterly incomprehensible to most humans, so only a tiny number of linguistic specialists can speak a rude approximation of it. The story is an account of how one human, the best at speaking and understanding Aalaag, devises a way to (maybe) get the Aalaag to free humanity and leave Earth. The book has weaknesses -- most of the human characters are undeveloped, although the main character is finely drawn. And this is not a "rock-em, sock-em" action book by any means -- long dialogues dominate the narrative. But the heart of the book is carried on Dickson's skill at conveying the surface-similarities of Aalaag and humans, then in using the dialogue and action to convey just how different the two species are in reality. The climax of the book gives one a lot to think about. For those who get tired of the "Star-Trek" approach to first contact -- where clever humans figure out the key to alien behavior within a few hours -- this book is a wonderful counterpoint. It suggests just how hard it could be to understand another species. If that sounds like your cup of tea, it's well worth the effort to look for a used copy of this book.
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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A "victory" over oppression, December 15, 2004
This is one of the best science fiction stories ever written. Several years before the tale begins, an alien race called the Aalaag arrived on the Earth and easily take control. Their technology was so far advanced over humans that all military resistance was futile, the most advanced human technology could not even reach the level of scratching their paint. The Aalaag are also a species with a strict code of honor, and their goal is to harness the resources of Earth to build the Aalaag strength so that they can eventually reclaim their worlds. Many centuries before, an even stronger species had taken over the Aalaag home systems, forcing them to flee out across space, looking for new places to live. While the presence of the Aalaag has brought an end to war between humans and created a very ordered society, the Aalaag mentality is such that the humans are considered to be the equivalent of cattle. The main character, a linguist named Shane Evert, is one of the few humans capable of speaking and understanding the Aalaag language. He is a translator for the Aalaag governor of Earth, in some ways one of the highest ranking humans on Earth. As the story begins, he witnesses an Earthman being killed by the Aalaag for an act they consider rebellion. An Aalaag youth unintentionally injured the man's wife so he attacked the Aalaag with his bare hands. According to Aalaag law, the man must immediately be put to death by being impaled on spikes and all humans in the area forced to watch until the man is clearly dead. Evert is repulsed and draws an image of a cloaked man with a staff under the dead man. With this act, he takes the first step in becoming the pilgrim, the worldwide symbol of human resistance to the occupation. However, he knows that any overt resistance against the Aalaag is futile, so he must find a way to fight back without overtly challenging the Aalaag. As his plan develops, he creates a worldwide network of resistors, which grows to include the covert security services of the major nations. They all cooperate to prepare for the day when humans finally challenge the power of the Aalaag. Shane uses his knowledge of the Aalaag to convince the governor that they will achieve no real value if they continue their hold over Earth. He is genuinely surprised when the Aalaag governor agrees and they abandon Earth without destroying any structures or killing any humans. What makes this story so powerful is the interaction between the alien race and the humans. Even though the Aalaag governor and Shane talk at length about their differences and their similarities, and do find some common ground, in the end the governor still considers the humans to be ungovernable cattle. Dickson is superb in creating an ending that gives you pause. Instead of a joyous triumph at the human "victory" over such a powerful foe, it is very bittersweet. Human national rivalries resurface even before the Aalaag are gone and you think deeply when Evert is told that the reason the Aalaag are leaving is because they consider the human species to be unworthy. Despite their actions of enslaving the human race, the Aalaag are very honorable beings, and they have many admirable qualities.
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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
I was disappointed!, January 9, 2004
This review is from: Way of the Pilgrim (Paperback)
Previously I read "Wolf in Iron" by Gordon Dickson, and it is one of the best post-holocaust novels I have ever read. A truly wonderful book, and brilliantly written. I was expecting the same qualities in this book. But here is something altoghether different. Perhaps it is because Dickson is trying to tell the story from the viewpoint of the protagonist, Shane Everett. Little Shane Beast is a translator working for the nine foot tall alien occupiers of earth. Cold dispassionate and unemotional beings, Shane must behave like them to survive. And not only does he survive, but he excells. Is this why the whole story is told in such a cold, logical and dispassionate prose? The plot is simple and bare, as clean as the cities in the Aalaag occupied world. There are no plot turns, no multiple plots, no side character, no maturing of the hero. Nothing. The tale is simple to the point of starkness. Something that I found to be unsatisfying in the extreme. The premise of language as a route to understanding has been done far better in "Fine Prey" by Scott Westerfield. There are many more interesting and uplifting novels about alien invasion of earth. What this book does deliver on is the horror of earth being occupied by a race who are so far above us that we cannot reach an understanding of their technology. A race that does demote us to the status of beasts. As top dog on our planet we have a dreadful superiority complex. We imagine that eventually we would get the better of any alien species we encounter. But what if we couldn't. Dickson's Aalaag are so superior to us that a single fully armored warrior would not be in danger should the whole planet rise against him. Humans become as powerless as a hive of bees to him. As long as we produce output we achive the status of being useful. Otherwise we are little more than pests. Perhaps it is this very vision that makes this book so unsettling?
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