First Contract

Life is going well for Johnson Mukerjii: he's the CEO of a prosperous high-tech firm and he only expects it to get more prosperous from here on out. That is until aliens arrive. They have vastly superior technology and they're practically giving it away. Pretty soon 50% of Americans are out of work, including Mukerjii. All he knows is sales and business, but what could he possibly sell to the aliens?

I really enjoyed this book and I didn't expect to. First off, I misread the title and didn't realize it for a few chapters. That sneaky little "r" really makes a difference. Second, the back copy is completely hokey and ridiculous. But it also completely works with the story. The main character Muckerjii is very cool and he's got a great show more vocabulary. Always a bonus for this Reading teacher. I know I categorized this as middle school but I might consider using it as a read aloud for some verbally acquisitive 4th or 5th graders. There are some terrific wordplays going on. Take the name of the law firm for example: Captious, Invidious, Conniving & Cruik. That's a nice variation on the standard "Dewey, Cheatum & Howe."
This book barely qualifies as science fiction. Yes, there are aliens and even some space travel but it is very light on the science. Which you could view as a good thing; it could lure some new fans into the genre. I love Heinlein but he could get a little heavy with the vectors and trajectories and three dimensional chess. I can't even play one dimensional chess. show less