Those Gentle Voices

by George Alec Effinger

"Because it's there ..." That was why Earth men climbed Mt. Everest and why, in 2017, they set out for the distant star, Wolf 359. They learned in 1988 that intelligent inhabitants from a planet orbiting Wolf 359 had been signalling Earth. That fact was reason enough to dispatch a manned and womaned probe to explore and investigate. But perhaps there was another reason for the journey. A reason too incredible for Earth people ever to imagine. A reason they might never understand even when they land on the planet they call Jennings' World.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Science Fiction Fantasy

190 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1976

Reviews

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

Those Gentle Voices is one of Effinger's best space-centric science fiction novels. Published in 1976, it's set in 1988 (when humanity gets a message from an alien race from the star Wolf 359) and 2017 (when they send a mission out to meet them). It's subtitled "A Promethean Romance of the Spaceways," which is quite appropriate. It's a thoughtful book, ahead of its time in regards to gender and racial equality, and an engaging story as well. I wonder if the title came from The Moody Blues? I wonder if the planet named Jenning's World was a nod to early sf writer Will F. Jennings (Murray Leinster)? We'll never know... in any event, Effinger was a fine writer who shouldn't be forgotten, and this is one of his better novels.

[Mike]

Too slow-moving, and too inclined to tell rather than show. Also, I happen to know enough about the extreme importance placed on emotional stability and the ability to work together when selecting real astronaut crews that the bunch of maladjusted individualists on the spaceship crew rings fatally false.

[Colin Maclaughlin · Rating 2 out of 5]

One of my favorite authors, so I thought I'd pick up this paperback from 1976, but this book had too many annoyances. It starts off with a computerized search for intelligence in space, but the technology really shows its age. Computers with punch cards in the late '80s?

A signal is heard, and a starship is sent to investigate with the worst, most unlikable crew of scientists possible. And they find life on another planet, but our crew lacks any sense of wonder or awe at the experience. Like, if we found mere algae in space it would be a scientific revolution, but this crew lands on a lush world with forests and grasses and they're bored and disappointed unless they find the intelligent aliens.

So they do, and it's a humanoid! Why a human?? No explanation why the alien man looks just like Earthlings, we just have to accept it. The captain of the party immediately interferes with the natives' culture because he's an a-hole, but the primitive natives almost immediately grasp the concepts of fire and language and tools etc. These aliens obviously have latent talents and intelligence orders of magnitude above Earth people, but why? Why did they evolve such amazing brains if they didn't have language or tools? It doesn't make sense.

The pace of the aliens' cultural revolution explodes unrealistically, going from the stone age to a space traveling advanced society in less than a generation. The writing here is good, but it feels like the book took a weird shift somewhere. The early chapters focused on the minutiae of sorting computer printouts in a converted house, but now an entire planet is transforming in a few pages with the details glossed over. I feel like I stuck this one out to the end only because it was short.

[Gina Andrews · Rating 5 out of 5]

A group of scientists gets to work transcribing what they believe are radio signals from another planet. When technology has advanced enough, another group, all with different strengths, is sent out to find the beings who are sending the signals. What could go wrong?

[Adam Meek · Rating 4 out of 5]

An inventive and bizarre first contact story from Effinger. There is a plot twist that ties it in with some of his other novels.

[Devero · Rating 1 out of 5]

Come romanzo è davvero pessimo, scritto male e con alla base un paio idee veramente mal sviluppate.
I protagonisti sono tutti dei dementi, e meno male che dovrebbero rappresentare il meglio dell'umanità. La trovata di iniziare dal capitolo 2 e di chiudere col capitolo 1 dopo il 5 è segno della pochezza del romanzo. pessimo davvero.
Mezza stella basta e avanza. Arrivo a 1 stella per il racconto, Acronos di Lee Killough, presente alla fine del romanzo, che avrebbe meritato più spazio. E per fortuna che c'erano le strisce di Wiz e simili.

[Rita · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not my favorite Effinger, but still it makes you think. I've been going through boxes of old things and found this along with The Dharma Bums and A Coney Island of the Mind. Brings back memories...

[Justin · Rating 2 out of 5]

http://librarianaut.com/2013/06/30/bo...

[Liriope · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good, interesting old sci-fi novel. Well-written. A bit short.