Hard Landing

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 show more superpowers. You never quite know who you can trust. Indeed, that is true for most of the characters in the novel. show less

This is one of my favorite Budrys stories. It shows the author's strong sense of human behavior. In this case attempted human behavior. It didn't go anywhere but It was captivating.

Masterly sparse tale of aliens stranded on Earth and becoming involved with human affairs.

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