All Seated on the Ground {novella}

Oh, Connie.

This is weak imitation of [b:Bellwether|24985|Bellwether|Connie Willis|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1431535122l/24985._SY75_.jpg|1194887], updated with aliens and playing off of Willis' collection of Christmas stories.

Aliens land in the United States, but despite all the efforts of the world's exports, no one has been able to communicate with them. Meg Yates is assigned to the current Commission and Things Start Happening when her group takes them to the local mall during the holidays.

It focuses on all the wrong things, speeding up and ignoring relationship development in favor of focusing on side characters spewing bigotry, all the better to beat the reader over the head with show more messaging. It's overly rooted in time, referencing such things as The Daily Show and Victoria's Secret. There's sort-of-funny asides, but again, it's so much better in Bellwether.

When I was finished taking names and abuse, I went to ask the mall manager about surveillance tapes, expecting more abuse, but he was so glad to have his mall open again, he turned them over immediately."

I won't say 'don't read it,' but I'd suggest keeping your expectations very low--or doing yourself a favor and trying a different book by Willis. She can truly be an amazing writer and two of her books are among my favorites. This isn't her finest. show less

Aliens land on Earth and, instead of saying, "Taking me to your leader," or anal probing, they simply sit and glare like Aunt Judith. You'll figure it out before the main character does but it's fairly short (novella length) and has some moments of typical Willis humor, so give it a try if you enjoy that sort of thing.

As per usual for Connie Willis, none of this book could possibly have happened if the characters talked to each other. Also, puzzle stories are more fun if the readers are given the clues before the characters have figured out the answer. Possibly she was afraid that her readers might have been smarter than her characters?

Still, it's a nice light and fast read with cute ideas.

Just another Connie Willis book doing what Connie Willis does best: romantic comedy for the rest of us with some mixed in science fiction, comedy of errors and authority figures that don't listen.

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. Oh my gosh, I have no idea what story some of these other reviewers were reading. This is a pretty short work and I had to take a nap in the middle of it. No, seriously, I had to--I was totally falling asleep.

Here are a few reasons you might want to read this:
1. You know every Christmas carol and know all the lyrics.
2. You go apeshit over choral music.
3. You really enjoy reading about humans trying to communicate with aliens...and can deal with when you're reading about Christmas carols and choral music the whole time.
4. You like satire and social commentary...enough to get over those aforementioned things.
5. You want to read all of Connie Willis' work.

I still enjoy Willis' sense of humor. She makes me laugh but there show more were really only a few hilarious moments in All Seated on the Ground. (there were two) However, I still adore Connie Willis and I will keep truckin' through all of her kooky stories. show less

Aliens have landed. Now all they do is stand there and glare. Meg finds herself on the commission charged with trying to communicate with the aliens. Their glaring reminds her of her Aunt Judith. While at the mall with the aliens, the aliens suddenly sit down. Now the problem is finding out what caused them to sit down. Meg hooks up with Calvin Ledbetter, a choir director. Together they must unravel why the aliens are finally responding to something.

After a few pages of introductory exposition the action starts up, and doesn't end until the book does. Willis is a master at capturing the fun of the old madcap romantic comedies of Hollywood's golden era. The only problem is the brevity of the work. I can't wait for her to actually put out show more a full length novel again. show less

This is the quirky, madcap Willis I enjoyed in Bellwether! A quick, fun read with aliens and a heroine on the team organized to study them who is, of course, much more intuitive than her male teammates. Also with Christmas carols, a choir director, and romance.