A few pages into The Listeners I thought I was settling down for a pleasantly boring experience of 1970's science fiction. But halfway through the book, my respect for what Gunn was attempting -- and accomplishing -- began to grow. He writes with subdued passion about the commitment of scientists to what many outside their world consider either a fool's errand or an actual threat to the functioning of society. His "listeners" who work on The Project are fictional incarnations of those who devote their lives to SETI, the Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence." The novel, assembled from short stories published in Galaxy and The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction was published in 1974. It opens in 2025, when The Project has existed for fifty years without a result. But in 2027 a message comes through and a reply is formulated. The message is from the star Capellan in the constellation Auriga, forty-five light years from Earth. Our reply will take forty-five years to reach the Capellans, and an additional wait of at least forty-five years will follow before we receive a response.A novel based around almost a century of waiting is not going to be a real page turner, and much of the human interest elements Gunn brings to his plot are either predictable or awkwardly handled. What makes The Listeners a compelling, modernist novel is its use of that extensive time frame, a structure that means characters realize they will not live to see the next stage of their work. Each chapter focuses on an individual who may work for the The Project, but also include the President of the United States and a fiery Solitarian minister who bases his theology of the fact that man is God's only intelligent creation. During the course of the narrative, Gunn gives us glimpses of a world undergoing considerable social and political change, changes based largely on the global acceptance of the fact the "we are not alone." He also uses quotes from real and imagined scientists alongside works by poets and fiction writers to evoke the intellectual ferment The Project arose from. In the final chapter, representatives from around the world converge of The Project to hear the Capellan reply. Gunn's conclusion is emotional, combining both the ending of a civilization and an breathtakingly rich trove of material from that distant galaxy. By 2118, there are in some cases third generation representatives of Project employees on hand. They work in a building that has seen better days, but immediately after the glare of publicity surrounding the Cappellan reply, the return to that building to continue listening for however long it will take the next message to come through. Now they are focusing on the Crab Nebula.
While the science in this book was believable--if/when we on earth have contact with extraterrestrial intelligence, it is likely to happen in just this way--the human drama was not. That's quite a failing, given the fact the focus of the book was presumably on the characters and how the endeavor of communicating with an alien civilization had on them.Why do sci-fi authors have so much trouble writing believable characters? Is it because they devote so much of their energy on getting the science right, they have none left over for the characters? Is it because they believe their readership comes to sci-fi because all they care about is the "whiz-bang" stuff, and don't care about the plausibility of the relationships? Or is it simply that they are incapable?So we have a SETI crew that has been on the job for 20+ years, and suddenly they become discouraged with their work, about the throw in the towel, when a signal arrives from another star system! You would think that by this time they would have resigned themselves to a certain routine, and if they were going to become discouraged, it would have happened far before this time. (The only thing that has kept them going before this time, we're told, is a charismatic director who has fueled their morale--but that charisma to the reader is hardly apparent.)Contact happens on the watch of the first black president of the USA. (!) It's painful to read this characterization. The president sports and Afro, and at one point does an Amos 'n Andy imitation! Ouch! It so happens that he's having relationship problems with his son--no doubt something that would have gone on for years--but lo and behold, it's all he can think about when the radio transmission comes from space! Indeed, to witness this fellow in action, it's hard to see how he ever became President, whatever race or ethnicity he is.Then the project's charismatic director dies, and his estranged son is sought out to take his place, even though there's little evidence he possesses any practical credentials whatsoever. It's just important to continue the bloodline in the director's position.Pish-tosh!
What do You think about The Listeners (1985)?
This book was written in the 70s but set in 2025 and beyond. It imagines the outcome of an effort like SETI: decades of result-less searching, then finally an answer, and the effects that ensue. The book is divided into several separate sections, each told from a different character's perspective and each at a later date so that the story of many decades can be covered.It's a fascinating and very realistic look at a very real topic. However, I did find the writing style a bit dry and was far more interested in the overall story than most of the individual characters' struggles.
—Emily
Yet another bk that surprises me. There are, what?, SEVEN editions listed here on GoodReads?! & Gunn was the president of the Science Fiction Writers of America. &, yet, I've only read one other bk by him, wch I liked, & he still seems obscure to me. Thank the Holy Ceiling Light / Astronomical Listening Post / Whatever that there are still SF writers whose work is relatively new to me & interesting. This bk manages to be quite a few things in a somewhat short span: 'human' (ie: w/ characters that're developed), 'epic' (ie: covering a 'long' time span & multiple generations of characters), 'utopian' (ie: in its envisioning of the near future - the widespread use of bicycles, universal living wage, eg) & fairly original (ie: in its take on the search for extra-terrestrial life). There's even a black president (predicted for somewhat later than Obama came). It's unspectacular in the sense that the scientists doing the LISTENING are pretty unglamorous & there aren't any stirring fights or sex w/ extraterrestrials (although the latter is hinted at in a pop-culture reference) & it's spectacular in the sense of there actually being contact & what that contact consists of. All in all, a very well-thought-out bk.
—tENTATIVELY, cONVENIENCE
The book is interlocked with spanish, italian, latin and old-english quotes that I absolutely positively hated. Most of them have no connection to the plot whatsoever and only disturb the reader from the main events. There was only one likeable character and that was the protagonist Robert MacDonald. Everyone else was either too mediocre or just deserving frowns. The plot is interesting, but very slow-paced with kickstart introduction and quick ending. Some commonalities can be seen between movie The Contact and this book as the setting is way too similar. I do not recommend this book to anyone except completionists who need to read every book about SETI. There is hardly anything memorable that I will be able to recall in 1 year's time after reading this book. Yeah, and I almost forgot, the "Computer run" chapters were driving me crazy - randomly selected text, again, with very little connection to the rest of the book. 100% time wasting guaranteed. Moreover, the book is terribly typeset, as if somebody was using Word for the first time in their life with the itchy need to try out as many fonts and buttons as possible.
—Marian
