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Larry Niven

Jerry Pournelle

Footfall Mass Market Paperback – April 12, 1986

by Larry Niven (Author), Jerry Pournelle (Author)

493 ratings

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“Nobody does it better than Niven and Pournelle. I loved it!”—Tom Clancy

They first appear as a series of dots on astronomical plates, heading from Saturn directly toward Earth. Since the ringed planet carries no life, scientists deduce the mysterious ship to be a visitor from another star.

The world's frantic efforts to signal the aliens go unanswered. The first contact is hostile: the invaders blast a Soviet space station, seize the survivors, and then destroy every dam and installation on Earth with a hail of asteroids.

Now the conquerors are descending on the American heartland, demanding servile surrender—or death for all humans.

Praise for Footfall

“Rousing . . . The best of the genre.”—The New York Times Book Review

“Fast-paced.”—The Philadelphia Inquirer

Print length

608 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Del Rey
Publication date

April 12, 1986
Dimensions

4.2 x 1.3 x 6.8 inches
ISBN-10

0345323440
ISBN-13

978-0345323446
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Editorial Reviews

Review

“Rousing . . . The best of the genre.”—The New York Times Book Review

“Nobody does it better than Niven and Pournelle. I loved it!”—Tom Clancy

“Fast-paced.”—The Philadelphia Inquirer

From the Inside Flap

DOES IT BETTER THAN NIVEN AND POURNELLE.

I LOVED IT!"
--Tom Clancy

They first appear as a series of dots on astronomical plates, heading from Saturn directly toward Earth. Since the ringed planet carries no life, scientists deduce the mysterious ship to be a visitor from another star.

The world's frantic efforts to signal the aliens go unanswered. The first contact is hostile: the invaders blast a Soviet space station, seize the survivors, and then destroy every dam and installation on Earth with a hail of asteriods.

Now the conquerors are descending on the American heartland, demanding servile surrender--or death for all humans.

"ROUSING . . . THE BEST OF THE GENRE."
--The New York Times Book Review

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Del Rey (April 12, 1986)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Mass Market Paperback ‏ : ‎ 608 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0345323440
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0345323446
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 10.1 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 4.2 x 1.3 x 6.8 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #239,491 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #3,065 in First Contact Science Fiction (Books)
- #3,656 in Alien Invasion Science Fiction
- #5,086 in Space Operas

Customer Reviews:
493 ratings

Customer reviews

5 star		59%
4 star		22%
3 star		11%
2 star		4%
1 star		4%

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Top reviews from the United States

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Nicholas Quinlan

Just skip it.

Reviewed in the United States on January 15, 2020

Verified Purchase

I’ve struggled to start this review because there are so much in the book worthy of critique.

To begin, we’re introduced to a world where every character (even the most insignificant) knows each other and happens to be exactly in the right place at the right time. Ridiculous coincidences abound and have no reasonable explanation.

The characters are not developed but are little more than a collection of facts about themselves. The most a character changes in the book is being promoted. Oh, and several fall deeply, madly, committedly in love over the course of days. Others have dalliances away from their perfect marriages because they’ve been in space a month.

Now characters established including the president, the Russian Chairman, KGB, generals, admirals, astronauts, and scientists, but who is placed as the ultimate hero of this story? SCIENCE FICTION WRITERS. This book seems to have a Henleinic belief that the only thing necessary to save the world is a good writer, but the authors indulge themselves further putting poorly disguised versions of themselves as the ultimate heroes (who get laid thanks to the help of the president.)

All this might be overlooked if the book finished and let the reader consider anything: the nature of humanity, war, peace, unity or anything else. But instead the book ends with little more than a poorly constructed victory.

Skip the book and read The Mote in God’s Eye.

Though not the author’s fault the Kindle version of this book is riddled with errors.

12 people found this helpful

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Desert Rat

Best of all alien invasion stories

Reviewed in the United States on August 23, 2019

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Despite being the best of the alien invasion stories I give 4 rather than 5 stars. It was published in 1985 and I would have given it 5 stars at the time but it suffers the fate of nearly every SF story set in the very near future- it become anachronistic to the extent that suspension of disbelief sets in. (In the book to Soviet Union still exists while 21sr century China does not. No mobile devices, no social media, no stealth technology, no 911 and 18 years of middle east war. Each of these could have a significant impact on how the plot unfolds.

However, this may be the most complex (and best) example of fictional alien psychology and culture although rivaled by Pierson’s Puppeteers. I wish the alien naming conventions flowed a little more simply as the effort to pronounce them distracts from the glow of narrative.

Perhaps someday the authors (or someone else with permission) could produce a Footfall 2.0 updated to contemporary technology and history.

6 people found this helpful

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Allen W. Mcdonnell

Still Excellent

Reviewed in the United States on July 31, 2019

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I have owned this novel in paperback for since its original publication. Bought the kindle version earlier this week for ease of access to reread it and discovered it is just as good today as it always was. Highly recommended.

This novel takes place in a projected 1990's where both the USA & USSR have small lunar bases and the USSR has a rotating space station in orbit that produces artificial gravity to keep humans healthy indefinitely while living in space. Aliens invade and do horrible things, but their psychology is so different from that of humans neither side understands each other in terms of motives and reactions until the final battle at the very end of the novel.

7 people found this helpful

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Barrestwin

The ending is not credible. And nasty. Shame on you.

Reviewed in the United States on March 4, 2019

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I was going to give 5 stars, but...
"The design was right,
"The colour was bright,
"But the sm*ll was an awful failure"
I liked very much
* all the sci-fi writer doing "bit-parts and cameos". There were probably some thinly disguised politicians too.
* the science was solid. Remember, from 1985, so takes place ~ 1995, the authors coudn't see Bill Gates & Co coming, they coudn't guess the Berlin wall falling, and not cell phones etc.
* the aliens are realistic. And they grow on you. Much nicer than the Earthlings actually, and more and more the more we get to know them... I think the authors realised this, and to save the story, they had to make them more stupid as the tale developes.
I didn't like
* the very USA centered "saviors of all mankind" view. Escpecially since the authors almost gleefully get rid of everyone they don't like. In nasty ways. The Soviets do help, and why shouldn't they? So when a joint attack is planned, "We will both nuke them, and you, please, nuke Kansas!" I don't blame the Soviets for thinking they might be set up. "We expend all our nukes, and then you don't, and then you wipe us out?..." And it does seem as if this is what happens. The USA promises to fire all their Pershings, but did they? Maybe. The Fithp mention that only the Soviets (and submarines) sent off missiles, but this is early, there is no way the Fithp could know that the USA keep nuclear weapons on another continent, surely! And the Fithp were busy neutralising these missiles, but were kept so busy that the nuclear attack on Kansas (occupied by the Fithp) was sucsessful. The Fithp also destroyed all missile bases. In the Soviet Union. But also, of course, those in Germany and Great Britain.... Neat! And that is the very last we hear of them. Really... And what about Kansas? Are they second rate citizens? Apparenly. "For the good of all of us..."
* No! Don't even try to negotiate! They started it. Well, admittedly, many wars are started with misunderstandings, but not even trying to ask why?
* so it is not much of a surprise that "No, we will *not* negotiate, bring on your Dinosaur Killer Meteorite". Which they have figured out will land in the Indian Ocean. Safe for USA... And let us *not* warn people. Think about how much trouble that would mean...
* so of course, billions of dead, all of India. Central Africa would have turned in a salty swamp, etc. And this should have figured more, afterwards. World wide starvation. In the USA too... And if India had just one nuke left, I know where they would have sent it.
* communications work far to convieniently when really needed.
But, cheers for John Fox, and for Jenna resigning. Buh for Gen Toland.
And I hope Wes's wife sticks a knife in him. And the Fithp realise that promises under duress can be honourably ignored. *They* had progressed to negotiation.
And for Goodness sake!! If ever there was a use for the UN...
And the Kzinti purr softly.
And for younger readers: Google "Reagan+Star Wars +science fiction" 44 billion $

5 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

BAHAMIAN

Good but.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 25, 2019

Verified Purchase

I am a fan of these authors but. Generally a good read but too many unlikely solutions for both sides. Two examples. Can you imagine any government gathering a bunch of fiction writers as subject matter experts and giving them effectively veto powers on policy. No neither can I. How about a non technical civilisation, with poor dexterity building high tech mechanisms that they don't understand? No it doesn't add up. Sorry but they have stretched reality a little too far.

4 people found this helpful

F. M. Havicon

Word-bloat novel but the science is accurate

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 22, 2020

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Long winded word-bloat novel, set in the political climate of the 1980s, so somewhat out of date...but an ok read if you want a fluent fast-to-read book of the Steven Baxter style. Features a US president (fictional) so you know it's a great big ego stroke for American patriotism. That aside, the science is spot on, as you'd expect from Niven ever since his blooper in Ringworld, where he had earth turning the wrong way, he'd foolishly confused the direction of the terminator movement as the same as earth's revolution. It's all calculated out to ten decimal places now. A book of its time, but valuable for those who love exploring the recent history of science fiction, good, bad or indifferent.

Rocketman

A story with detail and pace.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 17, 2020

Verified Purchase

I am happy reading long books as they show dedication from the author and detail in the story. Footfall carries you on with many different views, including the alien invaders story! As I'm only about a quarter of the way through the book it entices me on, just need the time required to keep my attention on the book.

Charles Griffiths

Absolute classic

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 29, 2015

Verified Purchase

Absolute classic. Often copied but never beaten. Read it first as a teenager and now in middle age. Just terrific alien invasion stuff without all the magic, whizz bang or impossible stuff...just the laws of physics and showing the difficulty of interstellar invasion (be warned all you wannabe interstellar invaders, physics is against you). Why has no-one written another one of these as welled this one?

3 people found this helpful

RockUK2014

Alien Invasion with all the trimmings!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 27, 2021

Verified Purchase

The ebook reader is amazing and has mastered the alien language! Much more fun listening to someone else trying to pronounce it. I need a sequel please.

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