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Although The Man Who Fell to Earth is now inseparable from the David Bowie film of the same name, this novel by Walter Tevis is one of the finest pieces of science fiction to emerge out of the 1960s. The focus of the novel is an extraterrestrial being named Thomas Newton who comes from the dying world of Athena. Due to a nuclear war that wiped out the other species of their planet, the few hundred people remaining on Anhea are slowly expiring from dehydration with only decades left before their final demise. While exceptionally tall, thin, and frail by humanity's standards, Newton is chosen not for his exceptional intelligence (although it is vastly greater than humans), but rather for his substantial strength compared to most Antheans in enduring Earth's heavier gravity. Sending Newton out in the equivalent of a spacefaring rowboat, he arrives here on a desperate bid to save his people.

He arrives on the planet and soon enlists a New York lawyer to patent a wide variety of inventions that not only vastly improve the quality of life on Earth, but also make Newton the richest man in the world. He establishes friendships with two Earthlings, Betty Jo and Nathan Bryce, who help in his day-to-day activities on the planet and serve as public faces for his business interests. The purpose for all of this is so Newton can finance building a spaceship that will travel back to Anthea, carry the Antheans here to Earth, where they can then set about involving themselves in Earth's affairs. As a backdrop to the events of the novel, Earth is on the brink of widespread nuclear war, and a dead planet is of no use to the Antheans. Unfortunately, Newton attracts the attention of the American government and the novel ends on a tragic note.

Overall, this is a fantastic novel. It expresses in Newton ennui of the type many humans feel when exposed to a new environment. In Newton's case, our emotions are quite literally alien and he must grapple with himself as he too slowly develops them. While there is little action, the broader philosophical themes of what it means to be human and whether we are predestined to ruin everything good in this world lends the book a somber air you rarely encounter in science fiction. I purchased a first edition, which sets the story in the mid-1970s, but I have read that later editions shift the timeline forward, leading to some errors in prices and other items, so readers beware. Nonetheless, this is one of the rare volumes you can look forward to reading repeatedly.

Finding the words to articulate my feelings for this poignant story is no easy task. It is one I have chosen to minimize as I feel this a novel best left interpreted by the individual reader. There is much to be gained during the small time spent with this classic novel.

Initially I did not fully discern just how much was happening within this misleadingly simple story of an alien from the planet Anthea sent to Earth in hopes of securing a means to save his own race.

The plot is very basic. Our protagonist and the message he carries is anything but.

The Man Who Fell To Earth is not your typical speculative fiction. You will not find yourself whisked away to futuristic planets among incredible alien races. The only spaceship in this story no longer functions. There are no magical worlds and fantastical events occurring. No, this is not about any of those things. This is a journey of exploration that will take you much further than that. And that journey begins and ends with one man..

Meet T.J. Newton (Tommy). He has been sent to Earth in hopes of saving his race from their dying planet. His plan is simple. Patent Anthean technology (while disguised as a human) and acquire enough money to build a spaceship to bring the Antheans to Earth. However, all does not go exactly as Tommy plans and he ends up acquiring something much larger than any spaceship. Humanity.

“He was human; but not, properly, a man. Also, manlike, he was susceptible to love, to fear, to intense physical pain and to self-pity.”

The Man Who Fell To Earth is a quiet, elegant and lonely look at the deepest of “human” characteristics through the eyes of an alien. Through Tommy’s time with man we observe life and the emotions and traits that encompass our very existence. We are given a new perspective and challenged to observe ourselves outwardly.

Tommy’s time away from Anthea is filled with pain and isolation. He lives alone among man in fear of discovery and even worse, failing. But his time on Earth results in more than he anticipates as he begins to assess his own feelings and the life surrounding him. He quickly sees the suffering and self-destructive behavior of mankind.

This is a slow, saddening excursion into the depths of humanity and existence that remains very relative to this day. The Man Who Fell To Earth, while short in length delivers a surprisingly impactful story full of underlying depth and significance.

My hope is to follow-up with a small review/comparison of the film starring David Bowie in the near future. Imagining Bowie as Tommy was an effortless process as the descriptions fit so fell. I immediately found myself ordering a collector’s edition that has been released just this year. Here is a look at the trailer for the remastered film from last year for those who might be curious.

As this review is about a week late, I now find I can’t help but recommend The Man Who Fell To Earth to all. It still lingers with me as I continue to attempt to fully interpret and dissect all that has been beautifully packed into this classic and deceptively simplistic story. This would be a wonderful selection for a discussion or group reading.

“The Man Who Fell to Earth” is character-driven sci-fi. No ray guns. No alien invasions. Just one man (but not HUMAN) trying to use his intelligence and Earth’s seemingly inexhaustible resources to try and save the rest of his kind – and perhaps mankind as well. His is a lonely endeavor, as he is surrounded only by people who he really doesn’t understand (and who do not really understand him). Ultimately, this is a sad, almost pitiful, tale – yet, for me, both interesting and intriguing as well. Definitely worth reading.

Two caveats:
[1] This book was written before we had the ability to detect planets orbiting around other stars in our galaxy. So the protagonist says he is from our solar system (because, the book “explains”, planets are so rare within the galaxy). We now know differently. (And we also know so much more about the planets in our solar system, too.)
[2] Like the movie “E.T.” and similar storylines from older sci-fi stories, this books had government authorities acting in a callous, thoughtless and invasive manner.
But those are just a couple discordant notes within a thoughtful and thought-provoking story.