Newspaperman uncovers far-fetched invasion plot
While his career as a science fiction author lasted more than half a century, Simak also had a day job as a journalist and editor for the Minneapolis Star and Tribune. His stories often take place in the Midwest, and newspapermen frequently figure as protagonists. In this case, the city is unnamed, but it might very well be modeled after Minneapolis. Parker Graves is a reporter for the city’s daily newspaper. Graves and his fellow journalists cover issues of local importance, such as the closing of the hometown department store or the scarcity of available residential real estate in the metro area. Graves’s girlfriend Joy, also a reporter, gets stuck with more mundane fare like a man who breeds tame skunks for pets. Little did anyone suspect that all these various threads would be tangled in a sinister plot that threatens not only the city but the entire world.
In the novel’s first chapter, Graves has an encounter with an alien creature. In my opinion, Simak jumped the gun a little too early with such a startling reveal, but the title of the novel kind of gives away the general gist of the story anyway. This is a mystery/thriller in which the villains are nonhuman invaders. They Walked Like Men is a very entertaining and engaging novel while you’re reading it, but it’s one of those books that when you get to the end you think to yourself, there were some aspects of that story that were rather dumb. This is not a comedy, though it does have some comedic moments. In fact, this is perhaps one of Simak’s more deadly serious novels. Even though this is science fiction, however, some degree of logical believability is reasonably expected, and this story definitely lacks in the credibility department. The physical aspect of the creatures is conceived and handled very well and leads to some thrilling and suspenseful scenes. Their grand strategy for taking over the world, however, defies logic, not only the logic of our real world but even the rules that the aliens have established for themselves. The plot brings up some thought-provoking issues of economics and politics, but the ideas feel a bit half-baked, as if Simak didn’t thoroughly think them through.
enjoyable read than probably 90 percent of the sci-fi authors out there. Every Simak book is worth reading, though some more than others. If They Walked Like Men comes up as a Kindle Daily Deal, by all means buy it, but make sure you also read some of his better novels like City, Way Station, Mastodonia, The Werewolf Principle, and The Visitors.
In the novel’s first chapter, Graves has an encounter with an alien creature. In my opinion, Simak jumped the gun a little too early with such a startling reveal, but the title of the novel kind of gives away the general gist of the story anyway. This is a mystery/thriller in which the villains are nonhuman invaders. They Walked Like Men is a very entertaining and engaging novel while you’re reading it, but it’s one of those books that when you get to the end you think to yourself, there were some aspects of that story that were rather dumb. This is not a comedy, though it does have some comedic moments. In fact, this is perhaps one of Simak’s more deadly serious novels. Even though this is science fiction, however, some degree of logical believability is reasonably expected, and this story definitely lacks in the credibility department. The physical aspect of the creatures is conceived and handled very well and leads to some thrilling and suspenseful scenes. Their grand strategy for taking over the world, however, defies logic, not only the logic of our real world but even the rules that the aliens have established for themselves. The plot brings up some thought-provoking issues of economics and politics, but the ideas feel a bit half-baked, as if Simak didn’t thoroughly think them through.
enjoyable read than probably 90 percent of the sci-fi authors out there. Every Simak book is worth reading, though some more than others. If They Walked Like Men comes up as a Kindle Daily Deal, by all means buy it, but make sure you also read some of his better novels like City, Way Station, Mastodonia, The Werewolf Principle, and The Visitors.
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