Illegal Alien

258 Pages·2011·1.03 MB·English

by  Sawyer Robert J

Praise for Illegal Alien
The Globe and Mail’s pick for the Best Canadian
Mystery Novel of the Year
Finalist for the Crime Writers of Canada’s
Arthur Ellis Award
Winner of Japan’s Seiun Award for Best Foreign
Science Fiction Novel of the Year
“This is one fine courtroom drama, with enough twists in the plot to keep any
mystery fan flipping the pages; it puts Perry Mason and John Grisham to shame.
The novel is far too good to attempt to summarize; let’s just say that Sawyer
delves into all sorts of strange and wonderful conflicts, including the war
between science and belief, and just what God may or may not be. Illegal Alien
is the best Canadian mystery of the year.”
—Margaret Cannon,
The Globe and Mail
“So many science-fiction accolades have been showered on Robert J. Sawyer
that it’s all too easy to forget his prizes include an Arthur Ellis Award from the
Crime Writers of Canada. Sawyer’s Illegal Alien embraces clues, criminals and
cross-examination in an immensely satisfying whodunit.”
—Toronto Star
“Innovative, imaginative, and pioneering—not just excellent science fiction but
also excellent popular literature. A fast-paced, exciting book that shows the
imaginative heights to which science-fiction writers can climb when they
combine SF with something else.”
—The Washington Post
“As gripping as anything encountered by Perry Mason.”
—Hugo Award winner James Gunn
“Sawyer mixes tongue-in-cheek humor with courtroom drama and impending
doom for humanity. The result is a tightly written page turner that satisfies from
the start.”
—The Denver Rocky Mountain News
“An intriguing mix of science fiction, mystery and courtroom drama.”
—The Hartford Courant
“Few novels (science fiction or otherwise) can match Illegal Alien for
imagination and intelligence. Sawyer has created a smart and satisfying mystery,
and we’re caught looking the other way when he springs his big surprise at
novel’s end. After we’ve shaken our heads a few times, and caught our breath,
we’re left thinking not about a writer’s cleverness, but about ourselves.”
—Mystery News
“A tour de force of intricate, puzzle-like complexity. Well worth reading for its
cleverness, its portrayal of a fascinating alien race, and its thematic consideration
of the role of philosophical and religious beliefs among rational beings.”
—Science Fiction Ages
“As always, Sawyer provides crackerjack characters, a fresh approach and an
intelligent, complex plot. Highly recommended.”
—H.J. Kirchhoff, The Globe and Mail
“Robert J. Sawyer skillfully blends courtroom drama with first-contact science
fiction—Arthur C. Clarke, meet John Grisham. Sawyer displays an impressive
depth and breadth of both legal and scientific research—his aliens and his
lawyers are equally credible. Illegal Alien admirably combines the hard side of
science, law, and order with the softer side of compassion and idealism.”
—The New York Review
of Science Fiction
“Some of the best trial scenes in SF, an intriguing mystery, interesting aliens,
and a sinister backplot, all excellently balanced. Add another hit to Sawyer’s
string.”
—Science Fiction Chronicle
“An enjoyable thriller where legal points and jury psychology matter more than
astrophysics. The trial is fascinating, the ending satisfying, and lawyer Dale
Rice, who is both principled and unscrupulous, is a fine character.”
—Starlog
“Sawyer deals metaphorically with the issue of racism in the courts, but
entertains the reader with sharp wit along with the heavier themes.”
—The Nashville Tennessean
“Blends the world of John Grisham with that of Frederik Pohl or Larry Niven.
Sawyer’s skillful use of dialogue moves the case and the novel briskly along.
Illegal Alien has a lot to offer those who enjoy sophisticated morality plays.”
—The Winnipeg Free Press
Praise for Robert J. Sawyer
“By any reckoning Sawyer is among the most successful Canadian authors
ever.”
—Maclean’s
“Sawyer is Canada’s answer to Michael Crichton.”
—Toronto Star
“A writer of boundless confidence and bold scientific extrapolation.”
—The New York Times
“Robert J. Sawyer’s novels—intelligent, literate, and immensely readable
explorations of the biggest ideas there are—prove that science fiction is now
literature.”
—The Halifax Chronicle-Herald
“Can Sawyer write? Yes—with near-Asimovian clarity, with energy and drive,
with such grace that his writing becomes invisible as the story comes to life in
your mind.”
—Hugo and Nebula winner Orson Scott Card
“No reader seeking well-written stories that respect, emphasize and depend on
modern science should be disappointed by the works of Rob Sawyer.”
—The Washington Post
“Sawyer is the dean of Canadian science fiction.”
—Ottawa Citizen
“Sawyer is on a par with giants like Asimov and Heinlein— and, perhaps more
than any other science-fiction writer working today, he understands that it’s a
genre about ideas.”
—Mystery News
“Sawyer is one of the most successful Canadian writers ever. He has won
himself an international readership by reinvigorating the traditions of hard
science fiction, following the path of such writers as Isaac Asimov and Robert
A. Heinlein in his bold speculations from pure science. Almost alone among
Canadian writers, he tackles the most fundamental questions of who we are and
where we might be going— while illuminating where we are now.”
—National Post
“If Robert J. Sawyer were a corporation, I would buy stock in him. He’s on my
(extremely short) Buy-On-Sight list, and belongs on yours.”
—Spider Robinson
“Robert J. Sawyer is just about the best science fiction writer out there these
days.”
—The Denver Rocky Mountain News
“It is clear that the Canadians regard Robert J. Sawyer as a national treasure, as
well they should.”
—Orson Scott Card’s InterGalactic Medicine Show
PENGUIN CANADA
ILLEGAL ALIEN
is one of only seven writers in history—and the only Canadian—to
ROBERT J. SAWYER
win all three of the science-fiction field’s top awards for best novel of the year:
the Hugo, the Nebula, and the John W. Campbell Memorial Award; he’s also
won an Arthur Ellis Award from the Crime Writers of Canada. The ABC TV
series FlashForward is based on his novel of the same name. He lives in
Mississauga, Ontario. Visit his website at sfwriter.com.
ALSO BY ROBERT J. SAWYER
Novels
Golden Fleece
End of an Era
The Terminal Experiment
Starplex
Frameshift
Factoring Humanity
FlashForward
Calculating God
Mindscan
Rollback
The Quintaglio Ascension Trilogy
Far-Seer
Fossil Hunter
Foreigner
The Neanderthal Parallax Trilogy
Hominids
Humans
Hybrids
The WWW Trilogy
Wake
Watch (coming in 2010)
Wonder (coming in 2011)
Collections
Iterations (introduction by James Alan Gardner)
Relativity (introduction by Mike Resnick)
Identity Theft (introduction by Robert Charles Wilson)
For book-club discussion guides, visit sfwriter.com.
ILLEGAL
ALIEN
ROBERT J.
SAWYER
PENGUIN CANADA
Published by the Penguin Group
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Penguin Books Ltd, Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England
Published in Penguin Canada paperback by Penguin Group (Canada),
a division of Pearson Canada Inc., 2009
Originally published in the United States by Ace Books, an imprint of The Berkley
Publishing Group, Penguin Putnam Inc., 1997
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 (OPM)
Copyright © Robert J. Sawyer, 1997
All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or
by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.
Publisher’s note: This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons
living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Manufactured in the U.S.A.
LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES CANADA CATALOGUING IN PUBLICATION
Sawyer, Robert J.
Illegal alien / Robert J. Sawyer.
ISBN 978-0-14-317510-0
I. Title.
PS8587.A389835I45 2009 C813’.54 C2009-905538-4
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