The Man Who Fell to Earth by Walter Tevis

 

The author of The Queen's Gambit considering his next move.

Walter Tevis’ The Man Who Fell to Earth is about an alien who comes to Earth from the planet Anthea, which sounds a lot like Ray Bradbury’s Mars – an ancient, depleted world that is home to a dying race. The alien, who calls himself Thomas Newton, tells us there are only about 300 Antheans left and that the tiny spaceship he came in was 500 years old. Their world didn’t have enough fuel remaining to allow them to send more than one.

Review

Science fiction is never about the future; it’s about the present in which it is written. It’s important to keep that in mind when reading old science fiction stories. The Man Who Fell to Earth was written in the early 60s, so its depictions of subsequent decades are merely projections of the technologies and cultural trends of the 60s. And Tevis isn’t really interested in trying to imagine the world of the 80s and 90s anyway. He is, instead, far more interested in using his extraterrestrial character to explore the feelings of alienation and existential despair shared by many in the culture of his time.

While the Antheans are different in appearance from humans, they aren’t so different that Thomas Newton can’t disguise himself to pass as human. Eventually, he earns some money and hires an attorney to secure patents for his “inventions.” In truth, Newton invents nothing; he simply adapts existing Anthean technologies. These inventions make Newton rich, which in turn allows him to establish a base of operations for his real goal.  

I wasn’t a fan of the 1976 Nicholas Roeg film, in which Newton’s goal is to transport water to Mars. His motivations in Tevis’ novel are far more complex and interesting. This is a bit of a spoiler, so you may want to skip the rest of this paragraph if that sort of thing bothers you. Newton’s goal is to use Earth’s resources to build an interplanetary ferry that will bring more Antheans to Earth. By disguising themselves, the Antheans will fit into Earth societies, as Newton has done, so that they can eventually gain control of terrestrial governments and militaries. Ultimately, they plan to do two things: save us from ourselves and establish a new homeland (and a future) for themselves.

Tevis wrestled with alcoholism, and so too does his alien. Perhaps the genius of this novel is that it doesn’t depict the sort of extraterrestrial invader that we’re used to, i.e., one that proceeds with superhuman efficiency and determination. Rather, Newton is beset by emotional as well as physical frailties. He suffers from self-doubt, he broods in alcoholic despair, he makes mistakes. And, one more spoiler, he fails. Completely.

So, no, this isn’t a rollicking sci-fi adventure. It might be more accurate to describe it as something more like a Raymond Carver story by way of Kurt Vonnegut (but not as fun as the latter). Tevis didn’t describe any future that came to pass, but his description of the heart in conflict with itself remains pretty true.