Illegal Alien eBook Robert J Sawyer
Download As PDF : Illegal Alien eBook Robert J Sawyer 
When a disabled starship enters the Earth's atmosphere, fear is quickly replaced with awe. The first contact ever between humans and aliens is made. Seven incredibly intelligent members of an advanced race are welcomed by the world. In exchange for the resources and help to repair their ship, they offer to share their knowledge and technology.
But as the people of Earth put their best faces forward, the growing sense of trust is shattered. A popular scientist, part of the aliens' traveling entourage, is found dead — mutilated and dismembered by a mysterious weapon. All evidence points to one of them. Scrambling to avoid a planetary incident, the United States government acquires the country's leading civil rights lawyer to defend the alien. In the unprecedented trial, human and alien cultures clash. And when the search for justice threatens to overshadow the truth, there may be more at stake than accounting for one human life...
Illegal Alien eBook Robert J Sawyer
There are a number of similarities between Illegal Alien, published in 1997, and Robert Sawyer's more recent Calculating God. In both novels, aliens who are apparently amiable travel to Earth. In both, crazy humans make trouble for the aliens. And human and alien characters in both discuss evolution and debate the likelihood of divine creation. Where that discussion becomes the focus of Calculating God, it is a sideshow for most of Illegal Alien, a novel that reads like a John Grisham courtroom drama with the addition of an alien defendant. Still, alien concepts of divinity do become a significant plot point in Illegal Alien, adding to the sense that Illegal Alien was a test run for (or perhaps inspired) Calculating God.A handful of aliens known as Tosoks come to Earth seeking help for an engine problem that has stranded them in our solar system. Two key members of the team assigned to interact with the aliens are Frank Nobilio, the president's science advisor, and Cletus Calhoun, an astronomer who hosts a popular show on PBS. While parts are being fabricated to repair the alien ship, the aliens go on tour. They happen to be in California when Calhoun is found dead, his leg having been amputated and some of his organs removed during a crude dissection. A Tosok named Hask is arrested for murdering Calhoun. He's defended by a Johnnie Cochran clone named Dale Rice. The story turns into both a whodunit and a whydunit. Sawyer's answers to those questions are clever and satisfying.
I give Sawyer credit for doing his homework. His explanation of legal procedures is accurate and his consideration of defense strategies is sound. As courtroom dramas go, this one is about average, but the alien angle gives it an offbeat appeal. Through Hask and other characters, Sawyer indulges in fairly astute commentary on a variety of social issues, including the American system of criminal justice, racism and xenophobia, and the causes of crime, while feeding the reader useful information about evolution and astronomy.
Sawyer has some fun with cameo appearances: Barbara Walters interviews Hask; O.J. Simpson prosecutor Marcia Clark walks through the courthouse; broadcast journalist Miles O'Brien interviews Calhoun; Steven Spielberg attends a reception for the Tosoks. His invented characters (both human and alien) aren't as fully formed as those in Calculating God; they seem like pencil sketches of real people. The novel is nonetheless worth reading for its engaging plot, one that should appeal to fans of science fiction and legal thrillers alike.
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Illegal Alien eBook Robert J Sawyer Reviews
I am a big fan of Robert J. Sawyer and consider him the best scifi writer available right now. This book fall in his middle of the road efforts (I give it 3 1/2 stars). Having read such excellent works such as the Neanderthal series, Calculating G-d, Mindscan and Factoring Humanity, I was a little bit disappointed by this one which is more a like a scifi version of a John Grisham courtroom novel.
A group of aliens lands on Earth and their ship needs repairs for them to leave. Little is known about them or their actual intentions. In the meantime a popular TV personality is murdered apparently by one of the aliens. The LA District Attorney decides to prosecute the accussed alien calling for the death penalty. An aide to the President tries to help the alien and hires one of the top criminal lawyers who had experience working on the OJ Simpson trial.
The book then turns into a courtroom drama with many pages devoted to boring court procedures (note it worked real well in Mindscan but this approach falls short in this novel). You expect the other aliens to revolt but they all seem ambivilent to the whole situation.
Not to give away the ending but the case is somewhat solved similar to an episode of the original Star Trek series (no doubt, Sawyer got his idea from it since he constantly reference Star Trek throughout the book).
I definately would not recommend starting with this book if you are new to Sawyer but if, like me, you want to read all his works then you should definately read this.
Sawyer delivers a great courtroom drama and an awesome look at aliens.
While mostly entertaining, I found this book rather contrived. I didn't enjoy the original OJ trial, and didn't enjoy the rehashing of it in "Illegal Alien" -- complete with a cameo from prosecutor Marcia Clark. Also, the writing style seemed somewhat immature, for lack of a better description. (There was an odd overuse of the name "Stephen J. Gould," for example.)
I found the SF side of the book disappointing as well. The explanation of Tosok evolution is, scientifically, improbably at best. As this forms the basis for the entire story (is the reason the Tosoks came to Earth), I found the book to have a very low "believability factor."
These criticisms aside, I read the book quickly, and enjoyed it overall. Sawyer had some interesting ideas, especially the blending of genres, and I would be interested to read another crossover book like this one. (Without any reference--explicit or otherwise--to the OJ Simpson trial, please!) If you're thinking about buying this book, wait for the paperback edition.
There are a number of similarities between Illegal Alien, published in 1997, and Robert Sawyer's more recent Calculating God. In both novels, aliens who are apparently amiable travel to Earth. In both, crazy humans make trouble for the aliens. And human and alien characters in both discuss evolution and debate the likelihood of divine creation. Where that discussion becomes the focus of Calculating God, it is a sideshow for most of Illegal Alien, a novel that reads like a John Grisham courtroom drama with the addition of an alien defendant. Still, alien concepts of divinity do become a significant plot point in Illegal Alien, adding to the sense that Illegal Alien was a test run for (or perhaps inspired) Calculating God.
A handful of aliens known as Tosoks come to Earth seeking help for an engine problem that has stranded them in our solar system. Two key members of the team assigned to interact with the aliens are Frank Nobilio, the president's science advisor, and Cletus Calhoun, an astronomer who hosts a popular show on PBS. While parts are being fabricated to repair the alien ship, the aliens go on tour. They happen to be in California when Calhoun is found dead, his leg having been amputated and some of his organs removed during a crude dissection. A Tosok named Hask is arrested for murdering Calhoun. He's defended by a Johnnie Cochran clone named Dale Rice. The story turns into both a whodunit and a whydunit. Sawyer's answers to those questions are clever and satisfying.
I give Sawyer credit for doing his homework. His explanation of legal procedures is accurate and his consideration of defense strategies is sound. As courtroom dramas go, this one is about average, but the alien angle gives it an offbeat appeal. Through Hask and other characters, Sawyer indulges in fairly astute commentary on a variety of social issues, including the American system of criminal justice, racism and xenophobia, and the causes of crime, while feeding the reader useful information about evolution and astronomy.
Sawyer has some fun with cameo appearances Barbara Walters interviews Hask; O.J. Simpson prosecutor Marcia Clark walks through the courthouse; broadcast journalist Miles O'Brien interviews Calhoun; Steven Spielberg attends a reception for the Tosoks. His invented characters (both human and alien) aren't as fully formed as those in Calculating God; they seem like pencil sketches of real people. The novel is nonetheless worth reading for its engaging plot, one that should appeal to fans of science fiction and legal thrillers alike.
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