Martians, Go Home

This was another reread as I read it very long ago. I hoped I would find it as fun as I had, and indeed, I did. Part of it is I don't mind it was written back in 1954 when typewriters were a thing. Part of it is that the risqué humor (well, for the times) is about the level that I find amusing.

There is a deeper level to it that I found intriguing. What happens when complete honesty in communication is enforced? Folks who routinely fib in their job (sales people who must tout a new product as the Best You Have Ever Seen or politicians who seem to have a fluid grasp of what is truth) having Martians correct them would seem to be rather nice until you think how polite social lies make the world more pleasant.

This is for folks who don't show more mind classic science fiction with a dose of humor. show less

Wow I didn't know what to expect except that this was heralded as one of the best humorous alien invasion novels of all time. Upon reading, it worked quite nicely as pure satire. It didn't even have a tongue in cheek vibe to it. Instead, overnight, we've got 60 million little green aliens from Mars standing around in our living rooms heckling everything we do.

Yikes! This is the complete reversal of MST3K!

And nothing is off limits. Humanity is their version of animals in a zoo, and we can't even blast them away since they just teleport by thought. Yikes!

Better yet, things get wonky in a completely different way, too. Writers and fans of writers who write about writing will get a big kick out of this twist. No spoilers. But it was show more delightfully hackneyed.

Now, in case you're wondering, it really doesn't have much in common with Mars Attacks, but you know, I like both of these, so for me it's a win/win.

This is a great quick read, and it's thoroughly enjoyable. Absolutely fun, fast paced, and utterly solipsistic. Not that it's a bad thing, mind you. In fact, in this novel, it's pretty fantastic.

Yay for SF humor! show less

Luke Deveraux, auteur fraichement divorcé en perte de soi, décide de se retirer en plein désert afin de retrouver la verve littéraire qui débloquera peut-être son prochain roman. Après un réveil brutal où l’alcool coula à flots, il se retrouve face à face avec de petits hommes verts qui, en surnombre, ont subitement envahi la planète terre, et ce, par pur plaisir. S’enchaîne alors une suite d’évènements rapides et surprenants, ne laissant pas de place à l’ennui, le tout sous un ton humoristique, parfois hilarant, et avec une pointe de philosophie sur le sort de l’humanité.

Earth is invaded by Martians. They aren't bad; they aren't dangerous; they're just annoying as hell. How to get rid of them? With Fredric Brown at the helm, you always know you're in for some solid, quirky entertainment.

It seems like every time I try to make room on my bookshelves by getting rid of a few books I end up pulling out this novel and rereading it. Somehow, it always makes the cut and goes back on the shelf. It's not spectacular, but rather a nice, amusing little tale that one can devour in a couple of hours. Simply put, the book is about a Martian invasion of Earth. Unlike The War of the Worlds however, the Martians here aren't out to conquer the Earth. Instead they've come to observe and heckle it. To quote the back cover of the Del Rey October 1981 edition, Brown's Martians were "obnoxious green creatures who could be seen and heard, but not harmed, and who probed private sex lives as shamelessly as they probed government secrets." It show more makes for an amusing tale, and for something first published in 1954, it reads quite well. Aside from obvious anacrhonisms like typewriters (remember those?) and the cold war, the story could have been written today. (Or maybe I'm just getting old.) So, I guess I'll just have to find another book to dispose of and put Martians, Go Home back where I found it.
--J. show less

What would you do if a bunch of little green men appeared one day and proceeded to make life uncomfortable and frustrating and difficult? That's what Mr. Brown explored in this book. By turns amusing, annoying, irritating, and enjoyable (the humor doesn't always quite work), Martians Go Home was worth listening to.

This is the sci-fi equivalent of those Disney movies where the bad guys leer and threaten but are ultimately defeated by being pushed into a body of water.

The Martians call everybody Mack or Toots, stick their tongues out, and emit Bronx cheers. It's just ... dumb.