Good News From Outer Space

Good News From Outer Space
AuthorJohn Kessel
Cover artistCityline Communications
LanguageEnglish
GenreScience fiction
Published1989
PublisherTor Books
Publication placeUnited States
Pages402[1]
ISBN978-0-312-93178-0

Good News From Outer Space is a science fiction novel by American writer John Kessel. It is predominantly a satire[2] telling the story of a resurrected reporter, George Eberhart, investigating alien involvement on Earth just prior to worldwide hysteria surrounding the countdown to the year 2000.[1] The book was described as "madcap" and containing "gonzo plotting", which lent itself well to the satirical points Kessel was trying to make.[3]

Plot

In 1999, George Eberhart, a tabloid journalist, has been resuscitated from a suicide by a new scientific process, known as the "Han process". Amidst premillennial hysteria across the United States, compounded by both biblical prophecies concerning the End of Times and Ufologists reporting sightings of giant alien spacecraft.

The resurrected George leaves both his job and his wife, Lucy, and discovers in Raleigh, North Carolina a series of unusual incidents the locals believe are angelic interventions, but that George suspects are due to alien interference with the progress of humanity.

Rev Jimmy-Don Gilray is convinced that God is send a messenger to Earth on January 1, 2000.

Both men may be correct as either the messenger may be aliens or God, or even the Devil.[4]

Reception

Reviews

The SF Book Review found the story enjoyable and scary, noting that it is very dark.[4] The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction found the book to be a dizzying look at humans as they approach the millennium calling the book formidable.[5]

Awards

In 1990, Good News From Outer Space was nominated for the John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best Science Fiction Novel, the Nebula Award for Best Novel.,[6] and the Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel.[7]

References

  1. ^ a b "Good News from Outer Space". Publishers Weekly. January 1, 1989. Retrieved February 18, 2019.
  2. ^ Stableford, Brian M. (2006). Science Fact and Science Fiction: An Encyclopedia. Taylor & Francis. p. 458. ISBN 9780415974608. Retrieved February 18, 2019.
  3. ^ Harris-Fain, Darren (2005). Understanding Contemporary American Science Fiction: The Age of Maturity. University of South Carolina Press. p. 133. ISBN 9781570035852. Retrieved February 18, 2019.
  4. ^ a b "Book review of Good News from Outer Space by John Kessel".
  5. ^ "SFE: Kessel, John".
  6. ^ "Good News From Outer Space". Fantastic Fiction. Retrieved February 18, 2019.
  7. ^ "1990 Locus Poll Award". Speculative Science Fiction Database. Retrieved February 18, 2019.


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