Who Goes There?
Book description
Who Goes There?, the novella that formed the basis of the film The Thing, is the John W. Campbell classic about an antarctic research camp that discovers and thaws the ancient body of a crash-landed alien.
Why read it?
4 authors picked Who Goes There? as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
Although this title seems obscure, most people will recognize the classic movie adaptation under the name The Thing.
For a science fiction story written before the Second World War, this book stands up surprisingly well. It’s the First Contact story we don’t want, where instead of meeting an intelligent extraterrestrial species, we come face to face with a monster. And it is intelligence that saves the day, not brute force or strength.
Although it is out of print, this book can be read online.
From Peter's list on classic science fiction on first contact.
This book was the basis for the movie The Thing, which I love—the first movie, not the remake.
To me, this book is just an awesome setting for a monster tale. Researchers in the Antarctic trapped with a thawed-out alien creature? I mean, come on! That’s everything I want in a book. It’s a quick read, but it’s truly phenomenal… and frightening.
From Michael's list on monster lovers (aka a "beast" for the senses).
Who Goes There is not only a riveting, entertaining, and refreshing tale, contained in a relatively short amount of words which grasps the readers’ pure sense of curiousity and delves with them into the realm of what would or could be, should the unexpected present itself to the contemporary, which it does joyfully and effortlessly.
It is also an impactful investigation into selflessness and what is right, even when it results in no obvious benefit to the doer.
A short book, I would always recommend this as it is not only entertaining and suspenseful but also does not sacrifice any…
From Robert's list on understanding life.
This novella makes my list primarily because it inspired my favorite horror movie of all time: John Carpenter’s The Thing. This is the only book on the list that I wish was much longer, mostly because it’s more plot-driven than character-driven, and the plot is ingenious. Campbell has so many brilliant twists throughout this terrifying tale of scientists in the Antarctic who unearth a frozen alien that consumes and then perfectly imitates its prey. Sequences that last a few pages warrant an entire book unto themselves.
Were Campbell writing in 2022, this novella would’ve been a series of short…
From Dave's list on short sci-fi no one needs 1100 pgs of worldbuilding.
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