"Who Goes There?": The novella that formed the basis of "The Thing" is the John W. Campbell classic about an antarctic research camp that discovers and thaws the ancient, frozen body of a crash-landed alien. The creature revives with terrifying results, shape-shifting to assume the exact form of animal and man, alike. Paranoia ensues as a band of frightened men work to discern friend from foe, and destroy the menace before it challenges all of humanity! The story, hailed as "one of the finest science fiction novellas ever written" by the SF Writers of America, is best known to fans as THE THING, as it was the basis of Howard Hawks' The Thing From Another World in 1951, and John Carpenter's The Thing in 1982. With a new Introduction by William F. Nolan, author of Logan's Run, and his never-before-published, suspenseful Screen Treatment written for Universal Studios in 1978, this is a must-have edition for scifi and horror fans!
Who Goes There? (RosettaBooks into Film)
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"One of the finest science fiction novellas ever written." --Science Fiction Writers of America
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"An expert in the art and science of scaring the hell out of people." On William F. Nolan, author of Who Goes There? SCREEN TREATMENT, included in the Rocket Ride Books edition.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
25 of 26 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
John W. Campbell's classic tale of isolation and paranoia is the literary equivalent of 50 year old scotch (in this case, 70 years.) It just keeps getting better with age. If your only familiarity with this story is the cinematic adaptations, this your big chance. From the first paragraph, Campbell establishes a sense of foreboding and crushing claustrophobia that just doesn't translate to film. As a bonus, you get William F. Nolan's 1978 screen treatment. I thought it had a quirky 70's vibe. Sort of, Philip Kaufman's "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" meets Disney's "Escape to Witch Mountain."
A quick note on the cover art. Too much of today's science fiction is jacketed in cluttered, over painted, or just repetitive imagery. However, Rocket Ride Books took the high road with a restrained, well balanced, but still eye-catching cover piece that captures the essence of the story. In fact, they've done an all together first rate job with this re-issue. I look forward to whatever they have planned next.
A quick note on the cover art. Too much of today's science fiction is jacketed in cluttered, over painted, or just repetitive imagery. However, Rocket Ride Books took the high road with a restrained, well balanced, but still eye-catching cover piece that captures the essence of the story. In fact, they've done an all together first rate job with this re-issue. I look forward to whatever they have planned next.
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Who Goes There? is a novella written by John W. Campbell that was first printed in 1938. It is the book that was later adapted for The Thing From Outer Space and The Thing. I was eager to read this since The Thing is one of my top 5 horror movies of all time. I immediately noticed that a lot of the characters have the same name which was great since I felt like I could put a face with the characters. One small difference is there are more characters at the research facility. One of the things I loved about the movie is the feeling of isolation. Since you have more characters the isolation terror is not as pronounced, but that does not take away from the book at all. One other difference is the novella seems to focus most of its attention on the physiology of the alien. You get a lot of focus on the researchers debating on what they should do with the recently discovered alien.
There are more little differences in the book, but I am not going to get into all of them since I think fans of the movie should read this novella. The main story is only a little over 100 pages, so it doesn't take that long to read. I'm glad I read it because it changed my mind about calling The Thing a remake of The Thing From Outer Space. I'm sure when talking to other horror fans, I will reference The Thing as a remake just for conversations sake, but I don't think that's quite accurate. If anything, it's more of a re-imagining of the story. When you compare the movies, I would say The Thing is a more faithful adaptation to Who Goes There? Obviously, some situations and tools had to be adapted since technology and science had advanced, but the changes were minimal. So, is The Thing really a remake since it is more faithful to the original story? I'll leave that for you to decide.
After reading the novella, there is a 36 page screenplay written by William F. Nolan, which is his take on the Who Goes There? novella. As many people may know, William Nolan was the author of Logan's Run. This screenplay definitely has the same feel as those old, classic sci fi movies. There is not much in the way of horror in this screenplay. If a movie was created from this screenplay, it would probably be rated PG-13 since most of the scenes where aliens convert humans seem to be cut aways. If there was to be another movie based on the Who Goes There? novella, I hope it would be more of a sci fi movie than a horror movie since I think The Thing still holds up and would be hard to improve on.
So from reading the novella and the screenplay in this book, I really have an appreciation for the original source material. It truly is an incredible piece of writing considering here we are, over 70 years later, and people can still find ways to take the original story and put a modern spin on it. I am amazed at how flexible and influential Who Goes There? is. It has influenced so many of the movies we have seen over time. I would recommend this novella to sci fi movie and book fans so they can appreciate how influential this story is for themselves.
There are more little differences in the book, but I am not going to get into all of them since I think fans of the movie should read this novella. The main story is only a little over 100 pages, so it doesn't take that long to read. I'm glad I read it because it changed my mind about calling The Thing a remake of The Thing From Outer Space. I'm sure when talking to other horror fans, I will reference The Thing as a remake just for conversations sake, but I don't think that's quite accurate. If anything, it's more of a re-imagining of the story. When you compare the movies, I would say The Thing is a more faithful adaptation to Who Goes There? Obviously, some situations and tools had to be adapted since technology and science had advanced, but the changes were minimal. So, is The Thing really a remake since it is more faithful to the original story? I'll leave that for you to decide.
After reading the novella, there is a 36 page screenplay written by William F. Nolan, which is his take on the Who Goes There? novella. As many people may know, William Nolan was the author of Logan's Run. This screenplay definitely has the same feel as those old, classic sci fi movies. There is not much in the way of horror in this screenplay. If a movie was created from this screenplay, it would probably be rated PG-13 since most of the scenes where aliens convert humans seem to be cut aways. If there was to be another movie based on the Who Goes There? novella, I hope it would be more of a sci fi movie than a horror movie since I think The Thing still holds up and would be hard to improve on.
So from reading the novella and the screenplay in this book, I really have an appreciation for the original source material. It truly is an incredible piece of writing considering here we are, over 70 years later, and people can still find ways to take the original story and put a modern spin on it. I am amazed at how flexible and influential Who Goes There? is. It has influenced so many of the movies we have seen over time. I would recommend this novella to sci fi movie and book fans so they can appreciate how influential this story is for themselves.
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
This is a great story! However, Amazon needs to remove the editorial review which states there are "seven stories." I purchased the Kindle version thinking it was going to be a collection of short stories. It is only the Who Goes There? novella. Under the Product Details it also states the print length is 256 pages, which may be the print length of the 7 short stories but can't be the length of the one as I finished reading it in less than a day. Regardless, $5.79 is a great price for the book. I just wish I had known it was only the one story.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
No wonder so many movie versions were produced
A great old classic, perfect for Kindle reading. I would never have expected to find so much enjoyment in re-reading this story. But it is an oldie, and it's been a lot of years...
Published 8 days ago by Glenn F. Buzbee
4.0 out of 5 stars
The Thing
A marvelous book which was also used as the basis of two excellent movies.
A shame that (as usual) Hollywood gives credit to the producers and directors but basically... Read more
A shame that (as usual) Hollywood gives credit to the producers and directors but basically... Read more
Published 10 days ago by Doug L.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wow
This book's plot is surprisingly close to the plot of John Carpenter's The Thing, or vice versa rather. Read more
Published 16 days ago by Ollie
4.0 out of 5 stars
you seen the movies, now read the book
I have seen all three "Thing" movies first, then read the book.
(I watched Carpenter's version about 30 times)
The book is filled with technical data mixed with... Read more
(I watched Carpenter's version about 30 times)
The book is filled with technical data mixed with... Read more
Published 23 days ago by cfi
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great ending
Great easy read.. the tension.. someone is a monster.. but who?? If you loved carpenter's version you won't be disappointed
Published 1 month ago by W. B. Clauser
5.0 out of 5 stars
Like a train accident can't take your off of it..
A lot twist and turn with this story and you wonder what going to happen next. It gives a hole new meaning to the sentence of "Don't trust anyone."
Published 1 month ago by Be great if it stop skipping
5.0 out of 5 stars
Classic still the best
Who Goes There is a classic scifi tale that is still as fun a read as ever. It was the basis for the famous movie The Thing -- though the ending - how they figure out who has been... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Michael E. McCarthy
5.0 out of 5 stars
the thing Is
I have always loved "the Thing From Another World" movie (old black & white), so decided to read where it all started. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Beverly Ton
4.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting read.
I enjoyed reading this. Very different from the Carpenter movie. Most of the characters are the same and the thing is the same, but the plot is very different.
Published 1 month ago by Patrick M. Moylan
4.0 out of 5 stars
Had to read it after seeing the movie.
Love the John Carpenter film, so naturally I had to read it. Very different vibe than the movie, but quite good. Very Short.
Published 2 months ago by Dave
