Hard Landing

by Algis Budrys

The body was found dead on the tracks, electrocuted. The autopsy confirmed what some had always feared, that we are not alone in the universe-and that even now, visitors are still at large. Thus started the investigation that revealed the startling story of four stranded aliens and their desperate struggle for survival. Fallen from the stars, they started with nothing more than a first-aid kit and instincts. Fighting their own insecurities and prejudices, they slowly blended their way into a primitive society they found to be at once brutal, accepting, abusive, and opportunistic. But one of them trades technological advancements for personal wealth and protection; he risks blowing all their covers-and sets in motion a chain of political machinations that could alter the course of history.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Ebooks, Audiobook, Aliens, Speculative Fiction, Novels

Paperback

First published March 1, 1993

About the author

Algis Budrys was a Lithuanian-American science fiction author, editor, and critic. He was also known under the pen names Frank Mason, Alger Rome, John A. Sentry, William Scarff, Paul Janvier, and Sam & Janet Argo.

Called "AJ" by friends, Budrys was born Algirdas Jonas Budrys in Königsberg in East Prussia. He was the son of the consul general of the Lithuanian government, (the pre-World War II government still recognized after the war by the United States, even though the Soviet-sponsored government was in power throughout most of Budrys's life). His family was sent to the United States by the Lithuanian government in 1936 when Budrys was 5 years old. During most of his adult life, he held a captain's commission in the Free Lithuanian Army.

Budrys was educated at the University of Miami, and later at Columbia University in New York. His first published science fiction story was The High Purpose, which appeared in Astounding Science Fiction in 1952. Beginning in 1952 Budrys worked as editor and manager for such science fiction publishers as Gnome Press and Galaxy Science Fiction. Some of his science fiction in the 1950s was published under the pen name "John A. Sentry", a reconfigured Anglification of his Lithuanian name. Among his other pseudonyms in the SF magazines of the 1950s and elsewhere, several revived as bylines for vignettes in his magazine Tomorrow Speculative Fiction, is "William Scarff". He also wrote several stories under the names "Ivan Janvier" or "Paul Janvier." He also used the pen name "Alger Rome" in his collaborations with Jerome Bixby.

Budrys's 1960 novella Rogue Moon was nominated for a Hugo Award, and was later anthologized in The Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Volume Two (1973). His Cold War science fiction novel Who? was adapted for the screen in 1973. In addition to numerous Hugo Award and Nebula Award nominations, Budrys won the Science Fiction Research Association's 2007 Pilgrim Award for lifetime contributions to speculative fiction scholarship. In 2009, he was the recipient of one of the first three Solstice Awards presented by the SFWA in recognition of his contributions to the field of science fiction.

Budrys was married to Edna Duna; they had four sons. He last resided in Evanston, Illinois. He died at home, from metastatic malignant melanoma on June 9, 2008.

Reviews

[Bradley · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the first Algis Budrys I've read and while I didn't fall in love with it, it certainly had its good points.

It's first contact from the PoV of humanlike aliens that had crash-landed here half a century ago and who tried to make ends meet however they could.

Honestly, it read like any other kind of fish-out-of-water culture shock kind of novel that would have worked just as well as anyone seriously from the boonies coming to America for the first time, only these people saw some things a bit more clearly. And they were definitely appreciative of the American experience.

There have been tons of stories like this, of course, and while it feels dated and optimistic, even when it truly wasn't, it seemed quite old-fashioned for SF.

Not bad, mind you, it just had that old optimistic feel while trying to show itself as gritty and realistic.

Or maybe I just feel like we live in some bad times. Whichever, lol

[Erik Graff · Rating 4 out of 5]

I never met Algis Budrys, but I knew his son pretty well. Jeff Budrys lived above the On the Tao restaurant/bar near the corner of Morse and Sheridan at the time and was close to Tom Kosinski, a friend from high school days. Not himself much of a science fiction fan, he was a collector of lizards. Once, while urinating during one of his parties, a bit drunk, something of that nature ran across the rim of the toilet--a geico, I learned, my fundamental soundness of mind having been reaffirmed.

Jeff ran a floor sanding business back when he still lived in East Rogers Park, Chicago. When I and some friends purchased the three-flat where I now live, he and his crew did our floors to the satisfaction of all.

I'd been first exposed to Algis Budrys as a kid, reading his'The Falling Torch' in elementary school, caring little, however, for its authorship. Later, having met Jeff, I consciously looked for his father's work, picked up 'Michaelmass' and read it over in Michigan. Neither book had much impressed me, but 'Hard Landing', a retrospective account of aliens stranded on earth combining elements of historical with science fiction, did.

[Olethros · Rating 3 out of 5]

-Curioso, interesante y poco común.-

Género. Novela corta.

Lo que nos cuenta. La tripulación de una nave espacial alienígena queda atrapada en nuestro planeta tras un accidente. Su aspecto externo es similar al de los humanos, por lo que su labor de mimetización entre nosotros, siguiendo parámetros preestablecidos en manuales para esta clase de crisis, debería ser sencilla, pero seremos testigos de los diferentes problemas y destinos que esos alienígenas deberán enfrentar. Esta edición incluye, también, un relato largo del autor sobre un directivo empresarial que debe dejar a un lado sus planes de salida de la corporación para hacer frente a la crisis que ha desatado un increíble descubrimiento técnico de uno de sus empleados.

¿Quiere saber más de este libro, sin spoilers? Visite:

http://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com/...

[David Nichols · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like Joseph Conrad, Algis Budrys achieved authorial fame in a language he learned later in life. Born in Lithuania, Mssr. Budrys became an SF writer in the United States, and subsequently an editor, a writing teacher, and an affiliate of L. Ron Hubbard's controversial Writers of the Future. His best-known novels, ROGUE MOON and WHO?, were published in the 1950s and '60s, but this short novel of 1993 may be better than both of them. HARD LANDING tells the story of a crew of humaniform aliens, remote observers of Earth's growing industrial civilization, who crash-land in New Jersey in the 1940s, and must then blend into and survive among the general American population. Budrys provides a thoughtful explanation of why alien UFO pilots might prefer not to make open contact with humans, and a plausible account of the lives that two of the marooned crew members subsequently make for themselves, one as a commercial writer and the other as a secret adviser to a very high-ranking American politician (whose real identity Budrys reveals late in the novel). It is a mature tale, crisply written, tightly plotted, and seasoned with dry wit, and Budrys respects his readers' intelligence, keeping exposition to a minimum and allowing readers to figure out several mysteries (like the name of the Earth illness that afflicts one of the crewmen) themselves. Highly recommended.

[Joshua Koerner · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my first book by Algis Budrys, and I didn't know what to expect. It had a great contemporary feel. It's a serious of dossier accounts of a crew of aliens that crash lands on Earth as each one goes their separate ways and tries to assimilate into Earth culture, with varying results.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hard Landing is a short novel and I was expecting that when I finished it I would want more, but no it was the perfect length for the plot and it was an very enjoyable plot. The story of 5 aliens who crash land on Earth and their lives there. This was a very good read and I really enjoyed it.

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a story about some aliens that crash land on Earth and have to blend in with the local population. When one of the aliens dies, the case is picked up by a government bureau that keeps track of unusual humanoids. You'd think that this is some X-files like thriller, but it's a bit more mundane than that; turns out one of the aliens wanted a less mundane existence and decided to subtly manipulate technology and government to make himself rich and powerful. He had to do it very subtly because the whole reason his people didn't just rescue their downed aliens is that they don't want humans to know that advanced aliens exist, and they'd be very pissed if he was giving fire to the mortals or whatever. In the end I believe it turns out that he deliberately crashed the ship to give himself the opportunity to be a big fish in the little pond.

It was interesting enough, but nothing to write home about.

3 of 5 stars

[Timothy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am especially interested in a specific variety of science fiction: the kind that explores the ideas of ufology from the “aliens’” perspective: especially sub rosa contact; evasion of detection. The classics in this field include Zenna Henderson’s tales of The People.

Algis Budrys's Hard Landing does this fairly well.

There are of course many “standard” First Contact stories, including Clifford Simak’s late-in-career The Visitors, which was written in the standard multi-character pop-thriller style, not in Simak's emblematic pastoral style. It nevertheless does a good job of advancing a truly “alien” visitation, but certainly not from the alien POV.

Budrys offers us very human-looking aliens — and a combination of first-person and third-person narrative techniques. With the first-person accounts often being from the aliens.

This is actually a very clever fix-up novel. And it intersects with history in an interesting way, which, to avoid spoilers, I will leave unexplained. The ending is touching, I think, and makes this a very human book after all.

[Jason Mills · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hard Landing
by Algis Budrys

A puzzling tale: a stark unfamous five
Who crash to Earth and quickly go to ground.
It’s luck enough they even all survive,
To then disperse, not knowing where they’re bound.
Each must find their niche in this America,
Build a quiet life, don't rock the boat.
They’ll pass, bar minor esoterica,
For human, but thus lack an antidote
For all too human failings, panic, lust,
Arrogance, entitlement and violence,
Brought down in the end by cold mistrust,
When all each had to do was keep his silence.
Like Who? the problem facing the outsider
Is imitation spreads the chasm wider.

[Doug · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this up based on review from others, suggesting this was written by one of the classic sci fi writers. And indeed the writter, Algis Budrys was active until 1978 and then waited 15 years to put this book out (1993). At least to me it still has the feel of 'early' sci fi, but it's quite well written and the story flows well. I enjoyed it and recommend it.

[K. Counihan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good Story

A little fragmented in the telling of the story, but still interesting. The story is told in the point of view of 4 aliens who crashed. Each goes to a different parts of the U.S.A.. The story more or less is told in alternating chapters by each alien.

[John Reis · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the story of four aliens whose spacecraft crashes into a bog on the New Jersey Shore in the late 1940s and their attempts to survive on Earth without being detected.

It’s constructed from several different memoirs and official reports. Odd but a compelling story.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short, but intelligent little sci fi story.

[Marion · Rating 4 out of 5]

So glad to discover this author. Like the story and looking forward to more. Liked the narration as well.

[Mailmanr5 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Somewhat enjoyable older sci-fi.

[Sharon Zink · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent plotting and writing. The story is about the crash of a UFO and what happened to the individual spacemen.

[Jon · Rating 4 out of 5]

So far as I knew, every single inhabitant of Earth was tougher than I. It made a fellow proud to be a soldier.

[Walther · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quite interesting exercise of prose... pity it went nowhere... I read it without breathing, so to say... and was left with a big dose of dissapointment. Anyway, a good read.

[VENCIL SELVAGE · Rating 2 out of 5]

Story is dated more like a novella.I have read a lot of sci-fi and found this to be dull and confusing.Very juvenile but I finished it.

[Frank Salvatini · Rating 4 out of 5]

hard landing review

Relatively slim plot with some very amazing twists and turns. Well worth spending the time to read. you will be well entertained.

[Nolan · Rating 1 out of 5]

Stupid, pointless, not worth a full-blown review.

[Brooks · Rating 2 out of 5]

excellent concept, fairly well written.
i devoured it.
I wish i could remember where i heard about it in the first place.

[Robert Whelan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Documentary style investigatory story about five aliens that crash landed on earth. Very enjoyable book.

[Brian Moreau · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this, reminded me of Walter Tevis’s “The Man Who Fell To Earth”.

[Tyler · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting snapshot that felt like it was missing an actual story. I feel like I was waiting for it to set up a mystery to be solved, or introduce more of a consequence that would shake the status quo. Instead, it was just "here is what happened, the end". Well written and I think worth the read if you're curious how it handles the premise but lacking in the execution.

3.5/5 stars

[Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

A body with some anatomical anomalies turns up by a railroad track. A crew of pass-for-human aliens crash-lands on Earth. Survivors work to fit into human culture. But wait, there’s more. The humanoid aliens are in a long-term conflict with some swamp-gas aliens. Both would like a piece of Earth real estate. The story is told through a series of reports, interviews, and diaries, not all of which are dependable. A reader becomes actively engaged in the who-done-it. Everybody is a suspect. Nobody is especially likable.

What does it all mean? Hard Landing (1993) was Algis Budrys’s first novel since 1977, and it reminds me of his most famous novel, Who? (1958). The Earth resembles a small European country caught between two Cold War superpowers. You never quite know who you can trust. Indeed, that is true for most of the characters in the novel.

[Edward III · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was given this book by Algis at a con. The anomaly aspect of the tale made a real impression on me. A fast and enjoyable tale.