Contact

Dec 01, 2012 Levi rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction-novels

Carl Sagan writes non-fiction like no one else. This is not meant to be hyperbole: I mean that he really is probably the greatest conveyor of the wonder of real events that the modern English language has known. Of course, to do this he has to be a superb storyteller. Anyone who's read even a couple pages of his work knows his warm, immediate, yet far-thinking style. It only makes sense that he'd want to try his hand at fiction.

With Contact, Sagan largely succeeds. He creates a formidable heroin...more Carl Sagan writes non-fiction like no one else. This is not meant to be hyperbole: I mean that he really is probably the greatest conveyor of the wonder of real events that the modern English language has known. Of course, to do this he has to be a superb storyteller. Anyone who's read even a couple pages of his work knows his warm, immediate, yet far-thinking style. It only makes sense that he'd want to try his hand at fiction.

With Contact, Sagan largely succeeds. He creates a formidable heroine, Ellie, whom we get to witness grow up, fall in love with knowledge, and become a central player in a civilization-shaking drama. At times she's a bit too perfectly molded--surely Sagan wanted to use a strong female protagonist more than he actually wanted to use Ellie herself. But you get the sense that if he had been solely a novelist, each successive book would have brought more intriguing characters. For this purpose, Ellie is guide enough.

And Sagan mostly writes his stories like you'd expect a non-fiction author to do. He injects every page with big thoughts and intriguing scientific questions--which is the joy of reading Contact. The characters share ideas completely within the scope of their roles, because they are highly educated and involved in the most important scientific discovery ever. It's a thrill to get inside Sagan's head and imagine how the scene might play out in the US. Sure, in our world I see far more bombs and blood when the aliens come than the functional building of communication devices, but Sagan does go to lengths to show the absolute difficulty of humanity getting their shit together in time to grasp the knowledge hanging out in space.

I really have to recommend this book for thinkers of all types. There are multiple epigraphs preceding each chapter, offering insights by everyone from William Blake to Bertrand Russell to the authors of The Dead Sea Scrolls. There's politics and poetry and math and love and time travel and, most importantly, the unending inquisitiveness of the mind of Carl Sagan. It's a joy that our own civilization received such a story from such a mind.(less)

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Feb 18, 2009 Keely rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction, novel, reviewed, american

Sagan was a lucid and impassioned defender of rationality and clear thought. Unfortunately, his foray into fiction did little to increase the understanding of his philosophies, and much to muddy the waters of once clear thought. Inspired by Asimov and Heinlein, he decided that fiction was as good a place as any to explore his ideas on science, belief, and wonder.

While we expect long, in-depth explanations from non-fiction, fiction readers want more than just a lecture from the author. They expec...more Sagan was a lucid and impassioned defender of rationality and clear thought. Unfortunately, his foray into fiction did little to increase the understanding of his philosophies, and much to muddy the waters of once clear thought. Inspired by Asimov and Heinlein, he decided that fiction was as good a place as any to explore his ideas on science, belief, and wonder.

While we expect long, in-depth explanations from non-fiction, fiction readers want more than just a lecture from the author. They expect that the characterization, plot, and themes will build the author's case for them, and in a way that will engage the reader without getting bogged down in rhetoric.

Sagan's characterization and plotting are unrefined, and he builds no suspense. His characters often fall into cliche, mere mouthpieces for Sagan to explore this or that view. While Heinlein and Card are known (and sometimes reviled) for lecturing the reader, they still returned to the story at hand, and Heinlein at least made sure his asides were directed to his text.

The more complex the idea, the more difficult it is to show through character interaction and symbolism. Anyone familiar with Sagan's non-fiction work will immediately recognize the same arguments in Contact . Without this foreknowledge, the ideas become lost and muddled.

Many religious readers come away from this book with the sense that Sagan is condoning faith. Sagan struggled in 'Contact' with the themes of 'wonderment' and 'the unknown'. They became so intermingled and vague that they do seem to suggest spirituality. In non-fiction, Sagan differentiated the minute points that separate his brand of rationality from religious faith, but floundered when he found himself in unfamiliar waters.

When presenting an explanation for an idea, he can warn against pitfalls and refine specific points. Contrarily, presenting such ideas through a story requires that the symbolism of the story be extremely precise. The examples in the text must elegantly illustrate the point without leaving leeway for alternative interpretations. This is one of the hardest tasks any writer can set himself, and Sagan's inexperience with fictional construction showed through here.

Sagan hoped to widen his audience, to increase discussion and the understanding of his philosophy. He wanted to ensnare the non-scientific reader by couching scientific ideas in an entertaining story, but in his inexperience, he chose ideas much grander than his story could support.

This book is much more accessible than most of Sagan, simply because it is genre fiction. It is then doubly unfortunate that most readers will know Sagan primarily from this work, since it fails to communicate his ideas to new readers. This book is more likely to cause confusion and misunderstanding than to impart knowledge.

The vagueness of the book leaves it so open for interpretation that both the rational and irrational can grasp onto it to support their own ideas. Sagan should have looked at the conflicts caused by similarly confusing symbolic books (like the bible) and stuck with the clear and concise writing that so often served him well.(less)

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Jul 02, 2008 L Greyfort rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: science, science-fiction, religion, philosophy

"Your god is too small."

The heroine makes this comment about 2/3 of the way through this novel. She is trying to get across the idea that, if your god cannot encompass the knowlege which humans have so laboriously amassed over the millenia (which is only about two teaspoons worth in comparison to the enormity of the universe!), then there is something wrong with the god you've made for yourself.

A lot of what is going on in Sagan's book, it seems to me, is the attempt to explore and express the...more

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Mar 18, 2009 Charlie George rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: sci-fi, 1001-list, religion

I was surprised by how similar the original story was to the movie, as I had heard they butchered it. Not so. The only changes of any weight were in Ellie's relationships to the other major characters, and the removal of dated material relating to the Soviet Union.

Sagan's forte is definitely in non-fiction science popularization, and it is on display even in this work of fiction, where I'm sorry to say, it doesn't make for particularly good storytelling.

I was not surprised by the book's greatest...more

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Jun 22, 2008 Chris rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I can’t say enough good things about the writing of the late Carl Sagan. Previously, the only works of his I had read are his non-fiction works “Cosmos” and “Dragons of Eden”. I didn’t quite know what to expect of his fictional work, though I think I had a few good clues going into it, the first being the fact I’ve seen the film adaptation about fifty times (which I discovered is vastly different than this story, aside from the general, top-level plot) and the second being Sagan’s stated expecta...more I can’t say enough good things about the writing of the late Carl Sagan. Previously, the only works of his I had read are his non-fiction works “Cosmos” and “Dragons of Eden”. I didn’t quite know what to expect of his fictional work, though I think I had a few good clues going into it, the first being the fact I’ve seen the film adaptation about fifty times (which I discovered is vastly different than this story, aside from the general, top-level plot) and the second being Sagan’s stated expectations/hopes/fantasies in his other works when he discusses the forthcoming ‘contact’ from another intelligent civilization which he firmly believes exists, somewhere. While I didn’t know if Carl could write a lick of fiction worth a damn, “Contact” still beckoned.

Much like the message that appears to be originating from nearby the star Vega in the book, Sagan's message penetrates the babbling background noise of commonplace life and I hope that every last one of his readers are glad they were listening with white-knuckled anxiety to that particular frequency. Carl Sagan’s best quality is his intelligent sensibility and incredible sense of wonderment and adventure; his writing and boundless appreciation for the infinite wonders this universe holds is unparalleled, and he’s sickeningly contagious; I dare anyone to read Sagan and walk away without seeing their own existence in a new light. At one point in “Contact” he draws a parallel between the humbling but awesome and enlightening religious experience dubbed ‘the numinous’ or ‘misterium tremendum’ in which the acolyte feels utterly insignificant but absolutely astonished through their epiphany; I was thunderstruck at how accurately he was describing my selfsame helpless reverence for his own powerful work.

One last digression before actually commenting on the book; I can’t imagine what a profound impact the loss of Carl Sagan was to our own exploration of the cosmos. When I think about what we are capable of, and what we are actually actively pursuing, I feel insulted as a human being begging for even a morsel of this knowledge. Astronomers and scientists ultimately blame public ignorance and pitiful government and private funding (with the widespread ignorance as the real culprit driving the budgeting decisions), but when presenting their concepts to the masses, the largest problem I see is that the eggheads just can’t effectively communicate their plans, I can only assume the response from most budget committees is “hey, thanks for completely mind-fucking us with your nth dimensional cosmic jargon and belittling our intelligence in the process of panhandling for a couple of million dollars. Feel free to erase that blackboard-filling-equation before pissing off and taking a flying fuck at a rolling donut”. With his ability to efficiently communicate these things to the layman, Sagan filled a much-needed niche, replaced now by a vacuum and a lack of connectivity between those who could finance such operations and those who dare to espouse these fantastic dreams. We also seem to have lost our balls somewhere along the way in our quest; I understand there is little glory in the Challenger and Columbia disasters, and that both of these tragedies are at the forefront of many minds when contemplating taking that next step in our progress, but seriously, we’ve lost a hundred times as many people in the process of sheep-shearing through the ages, and sure, there’s a major difference in the money lost in these ventures, but it’s time to grow up people. Besides, there’s a good chance we’ll find space-sheep capable of shearing themselves, let’s start looking forward to bigger and better instead of sniveling over past failures.

In “Contact”, Sagan hypothesizes on mankind finally receiving an indication from space that we are not alone. Eleanor Arroway is a radio astronomer bound to the tenets of science and grew up somewhat brash and confrontational due to a poor relationship with her step-father, the nefarious businessman John Staughton. Her 'true' father, a simple, loving, hard-working hardware vendor was taken from her at a young age, and a less-similar replacement than Staughton couldn’t be found in the Milky Way. Ellie’s studies are rooted firmly in the black and white world of science, which is considered uncharacteristic for a woman at the time, and Staughton makes sure to scoff and mock at her passions and desires at every turn, as she slowly gains acceptance and credibility as a radio astronomer. She starts accumulating some serious observation time at premier facilities where she is slowly brought into the search for extraterrestrial intelligence. A thorough skeptic, even Ellie isn’t convinced that SETI is a worthwhile course of action, with thousands of man hours a year spent (effectively) wasting time for little green men.

Until, of course, mankind finally receives a signal, which appears to be the real thing, on her watch.

In order to get confirmation that the inbound transmission from space is legitimate, she has to align the resources of international observatories in order to continue receiving it as the planet turns and to establish credibility from various sources receiving the signal. In two jiggle’s of a jackrabbit’s ass, the authorities swoop down to try to contain the situation, rather displeased that she felt the need to alert foreign agencies of this unprecedented event. The message itself is obviously of intelligent design, patterned around prime numbers with multiple underlying messages within the palimpsest. The first part to be decoded is a doozy, Adolph Hitler announcing the onset of the Olympic games in Berlin. Immediately, the government is less than amused; few things are less expected or desired than a space-faring Fourth Reich. The scientific community assures them that the Nazi broadcast is simply the first earth-bound transmission powerful enough to have reached space, and this is the aliens’ way of confirming that they received are message. The irony of Hitler as our first ambassador to space is lost on few.

After much labor, the message is finally decoded, and it’s a schematic for building a machine, for purposes left unspecified. For the most part, the ‘big brains’ are convinced that the machine is some form of conveyance with which to go and meet this civilization, but the defense agencies of the planet understandably conceive that this thing may very well be a Doomsday Device, or perhaps a Trojan Horse of some sort, upon activation we can either expect that this thing will completely annihilate the planet or transport the Vegan army directly to Earth. These points of view cause quite a sensation, and this is before the religious fanatics begin jumping into the debate, unafraid to compare the Machine (as it is dubbed) to the Tower of Babel, as a blasphemous means to speak with God, and should we be foolish enough to attempt building it, punishment for our insolence is sure to follow.

Naturally, construction begins on not just one, but a pair of Machines, setting in motion a great tale of fantastic adventure in the search for truth and man’s rightful place in this apparently barren universe, dredging up enough speculation to question or validate one’s faith, forging a bond of worldly brotherhood and a desire for a diligent and determined global community, and a moving reaffirmation of the things which make life worth living.

I couldn’t recommend anything better if you have a scheduled week of daydreaming ahead of you, preferably on a sunny beach.

So jump on the bandwagon, find your voice, and cry for the construction of The Machine, or at least whatever the hell we can currently erect that helps us understand and visit the corners of this sprawling playground we were generously given to explore. We’re past the days of launching unmanned flights that contain a phonograph with a golden lp record blindly into space. Let’s face it, knowing our bum luck that thing is going to be intercepted by some amateur DJ on his way to his next gig in the Pleiades, and all he’s going to do is lift some samples from it when he’s scratching away for a hodgepodge of alien species. We can either get our asses in gear and make a mark of our own deliberate fashioning in the cosmos, or be poorly represented to the galactic community by the sweet sounds of frogs mating as some filler in some nimrod's hot 'mix'. Consider yourself responsible for helping make that call.
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Sep 09, 2007 Heather's Mum rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Sagan fans

Shelves: sciencefiction

Short review - huge book.

I liked Sagan and his "billions and billions" charm. I am sorry he is no longer sharing planet earth with us. As with all of his publications, Contact was well written, entertaining & educational. However, it left me wondering if Sagan truly was an agnostic. (or atheist?)

I hate to admit (& regret the fact) that the religious characters in the book do indeed reflect some Christian's attitudes and beliefs. There are times we (Christians) can do more harm than good...more

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Charlotte Sofia I agree with the strangeness of the seemingly spiritual message in contrast to Sagan's scientific nature. At the end of the book, Ellie was essentiall...more
Jan 04, 2011 07:18pm

Jonathan Moore Sagan says in _The Demon Haunted World_ that he doesn't believe that science and spirituality are separate. In fact, he says that the more scientists...more
Oct 19, 2011 08:50pm

Heather's Mum I agree that factual knowledge & discovery in the pursuit of all truth, including scientifically based assumptions or proofs, is not only intellec...more I agree that factual knowledge & discovery in the pursuit of all truth, including scientifically based assumptions or proofs, is not only intellectually stimulating, emotionally gratifying & physically rewarding, but also spiritually exciting! But what exactly does ‘being spiritual’ mean?

Is this ‘spiritualism’ strictly a human attribute?
Obviously, we are not addressing the tenacity & courage of an individual [human or animal.] There is the term ‘human spirit,’ which should not be confused with ‘spiritualism’ as used by Sagan or in this, my viewpoint.

Just what then, does the term mean & how does one acquire or choose their course as a spiritual being?

Is this spiritualism: an equal opportunity, innate birthright; an abstract philosophical feature; a chance happening; an environmentally developed characteristic … or is it a consciously acquired supernatural influence? If the latter, which I affirm, which spirit is guiding us or is being nurtured by us?

Spirituality, …hmmm. That’s an open & potentially Pandoric box of non-specific interpretation. In fact, today the term actually has such a broad span of definition & application that to refer to oneself as “spiritual” is at the very best ambiguous in meaning.

The spiritual pendulum pivots far in the will & deed of good vs. evil. Spirit led angelic personalities selflessly [often sacrificially] dedicate their entire lives & fortunes to “bettering the world” in this &/or the next life. On the extreme opposite of the swing, … murdering terrorists & certain anarchists ‘do [or have done] their ugly deeds’ under the claim of their spirituality. [That they are usually motivated by selfish gain & indulgence is at the least noteworthy.]

Hitler claimed to be a “spiritualist” and indeed he was …but he was definitely not led or affected by a benevolent force. Certain extreme religious factions throughout history [& headlining the current news daily] are dedicatedly committing vile atrocities in the name of their sincerely believed ‘spirituality!’ May I suggest that they actually are quite spiritually led …assuredly, led by demented spirits I want nothing to do with!

In other words, there are spiritual influences of all sorts & at many levels - innately good to heinous & at all levels in between. So, we must ask ourselves, on what definition or choice of ‘spirit’ is our claimed & asserted ‘spirituality’ reliant upon? Scary stuff, actually, if we aren’t sure of the answer …or if we have chosen ill advisedly.(less)
Jul 24, 2012 06:30pm

Aug 04, 2007 Matthew rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: most people

Shelves: fiction, god

(pre) discussions on science and religion with an atheist friend in the US led her to give me her battered copy of this. anticipating a good read and will start on it asap.

(post) I quite liked Contact, though it was, especially toward the end, very different from what I expected. I thought Carl Sagan might come down more on the side of science, and at the start, when introducing Ellie the astronomer vs Pastor Rankin the crazy narrow minded evangelist, he was, but toward the end I wasn't really v...more (pre) discussions on science and religion with an atheist friend in the US led her to give me her battered copy of this. anticipating a good read and will start on it asap.

(post) I quite liked Contact, though it was, especially toward the end, very different from what I expected. I thought Carl Sagan might come down more on the side of science, and at the start, when introducing Ellie the astronomer vs Pastor Rankin the crazy narrow minded evangelist, he was, but toward the end I wasn't really very sure what he thought. I mean, its pretty clear he's an awesome physicist and is probably on the side of science in the science vs religion debate - Ellie seems to be the vehicle for his personal point of view - but I'm not quite sure he thought that religion was all that baseless. Ellie after all has a quasi religious experience, as she herself points out, and is put in a situation where she and a small group have an experience that is (nearly) empirically unprovable and the 'explanation' is that it was all a huge hoax. And while the Pastor Rankin character is obviously a strike against irrational and narrow minded Christians, the Palmer Joss character is a lot more enigmatic, and less easily dismissed.

Otherwise, though, I'm a lot cooler on Contact than many reviews on GoodReads are. Sagan's a good writer, but he's not a novelist. The language is complex but straightforward rather than lyrical, the plot is well-thought and the characters interesting but appear (to me) a little too transparently as vehicles for ideas.

Still, it is interesting to see things as agnostic scientist Ellie sees them. It appears to me what Sagan's trying to get at is that you can't give up rationally trying to account for all the evidence there is, and that if your theory can't account for everything, or there are competing theories that can both account for everything, or certain evidence that no theory can at present account for, then you have to remain agnostic, open to changing your conclusions.

Also managed to get through Ernst Mayr's This is Biology... essentially a glance at the various fields of biology and how they evolved (pun not intended!). Mayr's is the book I expected Sagan's to be - an account of science that categorically denies the possibility of creation, by making various statements about the widespread acceptance of the fossil record, the age of the earth, gradual continuous evolution of one species into another, etc. He doesn't really present the evidence itself though. (less)

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Jul 12, 2012 Mike Jensen rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I actually like a sci-fi novel. Oh, it is a bloody mess from a writer’s point of view, but it is a fascinating mess. Here is what is wrong, followed by what is right.

CONFLICT: The basis of all fiction is conflict. There is hardly any conflict until the final chapters. What passes for conflict before this are a series of small roadblocks to the scientific project that is at the center of the story, and these are disposed of without much fuss one after another. When the bigger conflict finally com...more I actually like a sci-fi novel. Oh, it is a bloody mess from a writer’s point of view, but it is a fascinating mess. Here is what is wrong, followed by what is right.

CONFLICT: The basis of all fiction is conflict. There is hardly any conflict until the final chapters. What passes for conflict before this are a series of small roadblocks to the scientific project that is at the center of the story, and these are disposed of without much fuss one after another. When the bigger conflict finally comes, it is a cliché that is bad for the story plotwise, but by then it does not really matter.

DIGRESSIONS: The book is full of digressions. It seems at times that Sagan really wanted to write about religion, philosophy, the nature of science and scientists, explain scientific ideas for a lay readership, and similar things, more than he wanted to tell this story, which, quite frankly, could have been done in a longish short story. I am usually put off books by such digressions, but Sagan handles the ideas so well and makes the discussions so interesting that they are really my favorite part of the book.

ANACHRONISMS: The book is full of them. It was published in 1985, but takes place in the few years leading up to 1999. History and technology did not work out as it does in this book. We know that the Soviet Union did not survive this long, that camcorders were out by then, and for heaven sakes, why does Ellie need to sneak off to use a telephone when she could use her cell phone? Anachronisms would not have bothered the first readers, but they make aspects of the story seem quaint now.

On the other hand, the characterizations are surprisingly strong coming from someone who is essentially a scholar and nonfiction writer, and Ellie is especially a fascinating character. The plot, when Sagan occasionally reveals it, unfolds in a realistic and fascinating way. The big old cliché ending really is a problem, but so much of this book has been enjoyed by the time you get to it that it seems to matter less than it should, or so it seems to me. I hate sci-fi. I like this book.(less)

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May 28, 2008 Richard rated it 3 of 5 stars

If there are intelligent beings elsewhere in the universe, why haven't we received a message from them yet? and what would happen if we actually did? Near the end of Contact we learn Carl Sagan's speculative but quite plausible answer to the first question. The bulk of the book concerns his answers to the second question, which are unfortunately far less satisfying.

Contact suffers from an excess of exposition and from generally weak character development. (Isaac Asimov could make this work but f...more If there are intelligent beings elsewhere in the universe, why haven't we received a message from them yet? and what would happen if we actually did? Near the end of Contact we learn Carl Sagan's speculative but quite plausible answer to the first question. The bulk of the book concerns his answers to the second question, which are unfortunately far less satisfying.

Contact suffers from an excess of exposition and from generally weak character development. (Isaac Asimov could make this work but few others can.) The only memorable character in the novel is its heroine Ellie Arroway, and even she never comes alive; we're told about her emotional revelations and turning points, but I never felt moved by them. There are no bad guys worth speaking of, and little in the way of suspense and surprise, at least on a human level. The story goes on for too long after its climax; at least one or two post-climax elements could easily have been moved to an earlier point in the story to greater effect. To be fair, the book is outstanding in two respects: its attention to scientific accuracy and technical detail; and the fairness with which Sagan, an atheist, portrays his religious characters. None of them is a caricature or cartoon and some are intelligent and articulate in expressing beliefs that were not the author's own.

Written in the early to mid 80s, the book makes a number of false predictions about its period, the late 90s, which serve as distracting reminders that we're inside a fictional world. The Soviet Union is still intact; America has elected its first woman president; the Millennium is approaching but no one's talking about the Y2K problem; recording media are all magnetic but photography's gone holographic, and so on.

It bears mentioning that the movie version of Contact is in a sense a mirror image of the novel. While the novel follows a bland path to a thought-provoking conclusion, the movie follows a more dramatic path (in many ways improved over that of the book) to a neutered conclusion that apparently assumes that the audience is too dumb to understand the explanation that is, in fact, one of the central points of the book. Similarly, the movie's version of S.R. Hadden was in most respects far more intriguing than the novel's, but the film completely dispensed with the last -- and most interesting part -- of his story.(less)

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Jun 28, 2007 Jen rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: romance-time-travel, sci-fi, loves

I'm a closet science fiction fan, although I suppose one has to be in the closet about it to be... in the closet.

ANYWAY, this is one of my all-time favorite books Ever. I think I saw the movie first and despite not really liking it, my interest was piqued by the book... and a big book, too. I really like long, good reads (chalk it up to my early interest in historical romance novels which for the most part - especially early Johanna Lindsey ones, none of her new crap - are long and big... haha)...more

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Mar 13, 2007 Adarsh rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Everyone

Shelves: fiction

Contact by Carl Sagan is one of the better works of science fiction dealing with extra terrestrials.

I remember being fascinated reading Sagan's earlier work Cosmos. Flying past the planets of our solar system, a chapter at a time, had excited me as it did the entire world.

When I noticed another book by Sagan at the local library, my expectation rose instantly. As I read the back cover and learned that the book touched the topic of extra terrestrials, I had a vague feeling that Sagan would do jus...more

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Apr 28, 2013 Virtuella rated it 5 of 5 stars

I haven't read a lot of science fiction, so I don't have a huge scope of comparison, but this is the best science fiction story I've ever read or watched as a movie. There is something to be said for science fiction written by a first class scientist. Carl Sagan clearly knows his stuff, knows the scientific communities he describes, and his passion for and deeply spiritual commitment to the truth shine through on every page.

There is also something to be said against a science fiction novel writ...more

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Feb 17, 2013 Joe rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: audiobook, scifi

Well, I really enjoyed it. I sound reluctant because it fights you the whole way. You might want to just rename it "Preaching: A Practical Guide to Being Insufferably Obvious". This book is so preachy it hurts.

It's quite a good scifi book, you should read it. Sagan explores the social and political ramifications of knowing that there are more advanced alien races watching you.

What follows is a rant about the childish discussion of religion in Contact.

(Full disclosure: I'm not a christian of any...more Well, I really enjoyed it. I sound reluctant because it fights you the whole way. You might want to just rename it "Preaching: A Practical Guide to Being Insufferably Obvious". This book is so preachy it hurts.

It's quite a good scifi book, you should read it. Sagan explores the social and political ramifications of knowing that there are more advanced alien races watching you.

What follows is a rant about the childish discussion of religion in Contact.

(Full disclosure: I'm not a christian of any kind, I just read history books)
This book... discusses religion. Constantly. That isn't a bad thing. It's just so adolescent in its critiques. There's plenty to critique about religion. "Most philosophers dismiss Aristotelian Universals these days, how does your church cope with that?", or "How do you rationalize offerings to specific Avatars of Vishnu, why not just offer all your prayer to one God?" Contact... is not that intellectually rigorous when it comes to religion.

Ellie fights against new earth creationist preachers through the whole book, who think that the Message from space is a message from God or the Devil. That is the level of theological sophistication we're dealing with here. Crazy american protestants (Episcopalians not included, my American-flavored Anglican friends).

If you thought The God Delusion was intellectually stimulating, you'll enjoy this aspect of the book. Making fun of biblical literalists is like beating a deaf puppy to make yourself feel good. "Yeah Sagan, the bible IS inconstant! Checkmate Christians"

Ok, so yeah, everyone should disagree with Biblical literalists. That's obvious. But the book doesn't even interview a Dominican, or Jesuit. The Catholic church might as well not exist in Contact. Someone who could have just dismissed all of Ellie's concerns with a simple "Yeah we decided the bible shouldn't be taken literally about 1600 years ago. Have you even read St. Augustine? Also we uh, may be the ones who put that particular document together in the first place."

It would be like, if you were discussing WWII with a bunch of your friends, and your WWII vet grandpa was sitting in the next room and you forget to even ask his opinion.
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Feb 13, 2013 Joey Francisco rated it 5 of 5 stars

Tonight, after two days of heavy rain, I looked up and smiled at the stars dotting the night sky.

I'm somewhat of a hard critic, but I had to give CONTACT five stars because it did something truly amazing~it helped me again embrace the wonder and awe I once felt for the universe as the geeky kid that adored science.

This book is thought-provoking, and absolutely beautiful to read. What can I say? It made my heart and soul sing.

As a child I was fascinated by the stars and universe, and even asked...more

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Jan 26, 2013 Lauren Schumacher rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A thoroughly engaging science-fiction novel by master astronomer and skeptic Carl Sagan. Ellie was an understated but satisfying protagonist, and she was a more-than-adequately likable vehicle for the true star of the novel: the scientific possibilities. The unraveling of the mystery wasn't exacrly something I felt I understood, but boy was I ever invested in it. Every piece of "the message" had me on the edge of my seat. In particular, the grainy black-and-white footage of the 1938 Winter Olymp...more

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Dec 31, 2012 Mike Moore rated it 2 of 5 stars

A long and thoughtful consideration on a subject that the author knows nearly nothing about and has very little interest in. I can imagine the conversation that must have planted the seed for this book: some religious adherent trying to explain to a heroically tolerant Carl Sagan how their belief is not rooted in ignorance, but in a functional representation of all aspects of the human condition (not exclusive of science). Perhaps C.S. Lewis was quoted. Someone must have said something like "sup...more A long and thoughtful consideration on a subject that the author knows nearly nothing about and has very little interest in. I can imagine the conversation that must have planted the seed for this book: some religious adherent trying to explain to a heroically tolerant Carl Sagan how their belief is not rooted in ignorance, but in a functional representation of all aspects of the human condition (not exclusive of science). Perhaps C.S. Lewis was quoted. Someone must have said something like "suppose, for instance, you had an experience that couldn't be independently verified..."

Anyway, Mr. Sagan must have been deeply inspired because he went and wrote this book to explore the idea of such an experience. It's a well written book, and despite Sagan's many indulgences and the static nature of his characters (the closest he gets to an arc is having one character say to another "I think you have changed"), it's very readable. However, Sagan doesn't really understand religion and he doesn't really care to. He tries to be evenhanded, but his take is still a shallow caricature of the dynamic between religious and secular thought.

For Sagan, it's clear cut. There are believers and there are skeptics. The skeptics are intellectually and morally superior to the believers in every way, but they might still be wrong (the last part is Sagan being even-handed). What Sagan doesn't grasp is that he is not himself a skeptic, nor does his book at any point present a skeptical viewpoint. This book is a passionate apology, not for atheism, but for SETI. A recurring statement, accepted by everyone in the book as an unassailable truth, is "There can be nothing of greater importance than finding that we're not alone". When the time comes to choose five people to go an meet the aliens, the world leaders decide that a bunch of physics weenies are the best possible representatives of the human race. The characters are constantly making wildly unscientific and frankly goofy assumptions about aliens, alien technology, alien motivations, etc. None of this is in any way indicative of a skeptical outlook.

Of course, no one can be skeptical about everything. If you're going to accept Hume as the great spokesman of skepticism (which I do), than it is something of a dead end, which cannot be pursued to anything close to its limit without devolving to absurdity. I suppose that Sagan might say that being skeptical about God is a good measure of skepticism, neither too much nor too little. A golden mean of skepticism. This might be a fair point, but it's not what the book is about. In fact, the book takes things in more or less the completely opposite direction, suggesting that it's only really possible to be skeptical or a believer about creation, placing everything else outside of consideration.

If this criticism seems abstract or meandering, it's because the book says almost nothing about actual religious thought, or the nature of skepticism. To castigate the one and laud the other without delving at all into their nature will be unsatisfying to anyone who has any interest in religion as part of the human experience. Sadly, neglect of theology seems to be considered the golden mean of intellectual laziness. (less)

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Sep 10, 2012 Kody Boye rated it 3 of 5 stars

Contact begins with the greatest idea of them all—that somehow, someway and somewhere, life exists beyond the small blue world called Earth. It is in these moments of the beginning of this novel that a grand adventure begins to be spelled out. In that adventure rests none other than Doctor Eleanor Arroway, a woman whose intelligence and drive magnifies her far beyond those of her peers.

It is one day, after an extremely-difficult line of work and a declaration that her SETI project will be shut d...more Contact begins with the greatest idea of them all—that somehow, someway and somewhere, life exists beyond the small blue world called Earth. It is in these moments of the beginning of this novel that a grand adventure begins to be spelled out. In that adventure rests none other than Doctor Eleanor Arroway, a woman whose intelligence and drive magnifies her far beyond those of her peers.

It is one day, after an extremely-difficult line of work and a declaration that her SETI project will be shut down, that an unknown message begins to come from the Vega star in distant space—a message bearing, what appears to be, schematics for something far greater than anyone could ever possibly imagine.

As a reader of speculative fiction, and a fan of the science-fiction genre as a whole, I jumped into this book with excitement shortly after viewing the movie adaptation that features Jodi Foster and Matthew McConaughey for the second or third time. Thinking that it would be vastly different than the original movie, I ventured forward believing that the book would offer its unique, original interpretation--something that, regardless of its genre's tenants, would absolutely blow me away. To say that I was underwhelmed would be an understatement, and for that I sadly have to say that I did not enjoy this book as much as I could have.

With science-fiction, there is always a bridging line between the actual science and the fiction itself that can either make or break a book for a particular sub-sect of readers, mainly those who enjoy the idea of far-off worlds and alien civilizations but are not, in the least, intelligent enough to know specifics details about astronomy, radio waves and other technological jargon (this isn’t to say that readers are stupid; I merely mean that most ordinary people don’t have knowledge of such things.) Being a reader following into that sub-sect, I have to say that much of the time, I found the book doing just what it was I feel many science-fiction novels do in order to make up for the fact that there seems not to be enough `science' and too much `fiction'—mainly, of course, making the science much too heavy a role in the story. While I don't necessarily feel that this book lacked the essentials needed to make this a realistic story, I do feel as though the book (and its now deceased author) went to strong lengths in order to make this as set in stone as possible. For that alone I found myself cringing over three-page-long descriptions of certain scientific actions, theories and equations, and while that may have been beneficial to the story in a technical scientific standpoint, I feel as though Contact could have done without so much of the science and more of the fiction itself.

To say that the book is bad would be wrong. The writing is, at times, beautiful; eloquently strung together and written in a way that marks Sagan as someone who also, along with his astounding intelligence, had the ability to write. (Read the opening excerpt I provided and you’ll see what I mean.) While reading certain passages, I found myself blown away at how they were strung together, worded, and ultimately assembled to create the overall mood of the science in the story. To say this is a smart book would be like comparing an apple to a seed, and while the scientific endeavors that line this book is great, I have to say that I felt little emotion connection to the characters—particularly Arroway, who, as our main character, should have had a stronger focus within the overall story—which dealt a huge blow to the fictional connection between reader and main character. It’s dangerous for any writer in any genre to create a character that you can’t sympathize with, understand, or at least be fascinated by, and while Arroway was an intriguing character, that usually is not enough to make the reader like her. In this case, this is where a more emotional connection should have been used.

While I would not recommend the novelization of Contact to most everyone, given its scientific-slant, I can honestly say that the writing itself is beautiful and, if only for a few chapters alone, should be given a chance. While I may have felt a bit disappointed with the novel, that doesn't mean others will follow my path.(less)

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Apr 16, 2012 Jen Julian rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: audiobooked, science, sci-fi

The film version blows. Matthew McConaughey can suck it.

So Carl Sagan, who worked on the SETI program for several years, basically works through the "what if" scenario in which extraterrestrials communicate a message to our planet. The idea seems simple enough, but Sagan explores in detail the political, scientific and spiritual ramifications of such a monumental event ever taking place. Some on Earth seek further understanding of the message and its instructions while others claim it is the voi...more

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Jan 06, 2012 Shweta rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: sff

Science fiction can be really fulfilling but sometimes times I have encountered the outrageous kind too ,though it can be fun ,but not quite stimulating. But once in a while a book comes along which leaves a mark. Contact by Carl Sagan was one of them. When I decided to read Contact I knew what the story was about because I had watched the movie adaptation and even liked it . But there were things I didn't understand well and as I had watched it some 8 years back .At that time my 'School going-...more Science fiction can be really fulfilling but sometimes times I have encountered the outrageous kind too ,though it can be fun ,but not quite stimulating. But once in a while a book comes along which leaves a mark. Contact by Carl Sagan was one of them. When I decided to read Contact I knew what the story was about because I had watched the movie adaptation and even liked it . But there were things I didn't understand well and as I had watched it some 8 years back .At that time my 'School going- not very much into sci fi ' mind didn't get the intricacies of the plot. Quite frankly I didn't like science fiction at that time :)

Plot revolves around the project Argus that is the hub for SETI. When radio signals are picked up, which the scientists at Argus believe to be from extra terrestrials, a much publicised political ,religious and scientific battle of rights and wrongs begins. Ellie Arroway ,the project head of Argus is put at the center of this debate. When the message from the ETs is decoded the scientific community decides to take the step forward into the unknown realm. What follows is the main plot of Contact.

It was a very compelling read. Though it was bogged down with lots of political debate of the time , it had a strong sensible plot. The main focus throughout the story remains on the different approach to understanding the universe and more so it's Maker. Views expressed by Ellie who is a scientist, against the views expressed by the religious leaders. It's a clash of ideologies and beliefs. I am still debating as to which of these theories I want to believe :) A friend once mentioned that atheistic views are abound in this book but after reading it I would say though there is some truth in what my friend said , it does not beat down religious beliefs. It quite descriptively provides a platform for the debate that continues to occur between the two groups even today.

The focus on personal lives definitely takes a back seat in the story . Simply put , it's not a character based book. Though Ellie is the protagonist and does have lots of personal conflict her story is told from some what of a distance, making sure we never loose focus of the big picture.

If you like reading science fiction you will enjoy this book. Though it's outdated in few aspects (It was first published in 1985) you will enjoy the way author visualized outer space and it's beings.(less)

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Dec 23, 2011 Stefanie rated it 5 of 5 stars

Man, I just love Carl Sagan so much. He's so good at sharing the wonder of science in a way that's accessible to people. It's really inspiring. This book is very simple to read, with clear language and an understandable explanation of most scientific phenomena, yet probes deep into both theological and psychological depths like few tales can. The result is something both enjoyable and inspiring.

In Contact, Sagan's ability to capture the beauty and imagination of scientific research through the...more

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Jul 26, 2011 Michael Christopher rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Sagan's book is as vividly imagined as any fairy tale in its depiction of first contact with an extraterrestrial intelligence, and maintains a healthy dose of realism in its portrayal of human and government reaction to that contact. However, the book reads like molasses: Sagan is long-winded and overly wordy, as if he was writing for English majors; in addition to the language, he's far too cerebral in the way he structures the story, and the entire book passes without any emotional reaction fr...more

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Jul 22, 2011 Amanda rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: classics

I saw the movie about a year ago, and I must say that this novel FAR surpassed my expectations. I expected it to be dry and a challenging read, and although there were some places that were dry and difficult to get through, the book as a whole was engaging and intriguing. Some of the science was over my head (physics? red shift?), but for the most part, Sagan breaks down the science into simple language that most people should be able to understand. Mostly, however, this book is an examination o...more

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May 06, 2011 Simon rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Quality science fiction from one of science's all-time great communicators, Carl Sagan. I'm with Carl in the sense that the universe is so mind-bogglingly big it's just absurd - in fact, ridiculously arrogant - to imagine that we're the only intelligent life out there, or even the most intelligent life out there.

There's also a very satisfying bit of far-out alien weirdness at the end of the book, which I really like. I want my imagination stretched a bit when I read this kind of thing. It's lik...more

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Jan 23, 2011 Mike rated it 5 of 5 stars

Although it's an insult to Dr. Sagan, I couldn't help but think "Da Vinci Code from the 80s," especially towards the end. Regardless, aside from being a better written book, it's a completely different story than what was portrayed in the 1997 movie. Despite the few flaws in storytelling and believability in the final chapters, the overall novel is phenomenal.

The first half of Contact is largely similar to the movie, but upon deciphering the schematic for "the Machine," the story takes a very di...more

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Jan 18, 2010 Aaron Eiche rated it 4 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Contact is a good book in terms of understanding how an intelligent civilization might try to contact earth, and how the world might respond. I think the real value of the book however, is in understanding a scientists' approach religion. I have the impression that a lot of what has been written about Carl Sagan has been about his being an atheist, or that he was anti-religion. The picture that these writings brings about is an angry scientist on a quest to destroy faith.

If Sagan was anything li...more Contact is a good book in terms of understanding how an intelligent civilization might try to contact earth, and how the world might respond. I think the real value of the book however, is in understanding a scientists' approach religion. I have the impression that a lot of what has been written about Carl Sagan has been about his being an atheist, or that he was anti-religion. The picture that these writings brings about is an angry scientist on a quest to destroy faith.

If Sagan was anything like his Protagonist, Ellie Arroway, this picture could hardly be farther from the truth. Arroway is consistantly frustrated by people getting in the way of her progress to cling to traditions, or faith that can't be proven. Towards the end of the story, Ellie is confronted with the same practical problem. She returns from her extra-terrestrial encounter with no evidence, and only eye-witness accounts. Turning the situation on it's head, Ellie reluctantly has no scientific proof that what she experienced was real. It's not that Arroway had decided in some vindictive form that God was not real, but simply that she didn't see significant convincing evidence to support the idea. Likewise, she couldn't argue strongly of her experience, and so sets off to find proof. The final ideological point is that scientists (good ones) would willingly accept the existence of God if they had something more tangible to see it with.

I also appreciated the dichotomy between Palmer Joss and Billy Jo Rankin, two christian preachers sitting on relatively opposite sides of the same end of the theological spectrum. Rankin can be described as a Fire and Brimstone evangelical preacher, whereas Joss tries to find relationships to God and Christianity in Science. When I read between the two, I think I see Sagan saying "No, not all religions are bad, and religious people aren't bad either." The interactions with Ellie I think describe the kind of rough relationship that scientists feel living in a culture still (to them) burdened with religion.

I enjoyed Contact. As a story, it makes much more sense to me overall than the film. The film had an excellent pace and a good story, but the book fills the story in, and where the film's script had been altered, you see the practical reasons Sagan wrote his story the way he did.(less)

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Sep 04, 2009 The Fat Astronaut rated it 5 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Oct 11, 2009 Tammy rated it 2 of 5 stars

I wanted to read this book because I so much enjoyed the movie starring Jodie Foster and Matthew McConaughey. The story deals with the following questions: What would be the impact of extra-terrestrial intelligence on the peoples and nations of the world? What would we do? How would we react? What challenges would such a discovery bring? For some reason that film moves me as it explores questions about the intersections of faith and science.

Working upon the premise that the book is always bette...more

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Dec 08, 2012 Michael Cremin rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: sci-fi-fantasy-horror

I first read this book 25 years ago, when I was a freshman in college. I liked it then, and I loved it this time around, too. I had forgotten many of the details of the story, which is to be expected, I suppose. Contact is a hopeful book about science, God, and human potential. I wish Carl Sagan has lived longer so that he could have written more fiction. He was good at it, as he was good at taking complex astronomical theories and ideas and presenting them in such a way that a ten or eleven yea...more

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May 24, 2012 Dianne Owens rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I had the pleasure of watching the film adaptation of the novel years ago, and it . This is my first book by Carl Sagan, but I have been wanting to read it for a while now on account of the film. The following is a review for the abridged audio of the story as read by the always-awesome Jodie Foster.
GIST
When the Earth receives an alien message from Vega, the nations of the world band together to create an alien machine that will change the destiny of the world.
THOUGHTS
Contact follows Ellie Arr...more

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Apr 26, 2011 Nenia Campbell rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: precocious women, women in science, open-minded men, those interested in theology and life Out There

Shelves: 1001-books, x-1980s, if-we-build-it-they-will-come, reviewed, its-life-jim-but-not-as-we-know-it, girls-rule-boys-drool

I really liked this book. Sure, in some places, Sagan went a little overboard on the science part of science-fiction, but he did a good job. I remember back in high school, I had this really nerdy teacher for Astronomy. In addition to theorems and other stuff, he also showed us clips from Star Wars with such criticisms such as "Lasers cannot be contained in such finite space!" or "THERE'S NO SOUND IN SPACE@!!" (he said this every time there was a PEW PEW sound from one of the spaceships). After...more

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South African Boo...: Contact by Carl Sagan	41	13	Nov 01, 2012 11:47pm

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