This book explores the possibility of extraterrestrial intelligence, and of humankind’s first contact with it. Drawing its
raison d''être from the worldwide SETI community – those intrepid souls engaged in the quest for life beyond this earth – Dr. Carl Sagan asks us to suspend disbelief as he takes on a voyage of discovery to the galactic core.
The book is divided into three parts – The Message, The Machine and The Galaxy respectively. But this novel is more than a simple fictional narrative; it is an attempt by Dr. Carl Sagan to bring to public notice and to popularize a matter dear to his heart – the search for extraterrestrial intelligence. In common with other practioners of this technique (such as Michael Crichton and Dr. Fred Hoyle), one can expect as much of
science as of the art of storytelling. But the account is gripping nonetheless, and the characters (especially Dr. Ellie Arroway, the heroine) are well drawn.
One of the themes central to this book (besides the search for a signal from the skies) is the role of science and scientists in our society. Whether they belong to and are able to work within the power structure of this or any administration. This forms the backdrop and contributes to the underlying tension as the story unfolds. Dr. Ellie Arroway speaks for science, indeed for the primacy of science, and her worldview comes into constant conflict with the other characters. One suspects that Dr. Carl Sagan is more than a little sympathetic to the views expressed by his heroine.
The book and/or the movie – no review of a major science
fiction work would be complete without a discussion on their relative merits. It is to Dr. Carl Sagan’s and to the producer’s credit that both complement each other wonderfully. If you are a science fiction fan, the book should definitely be read first. Having read the book, one can fully appreciate the finer nuances of the movie. Having said that, it is difficult to match the visual appeal of the movie. And the character of Dr. Ellie Arroway (as portryed by Jodie Foster) truly comes to life in the film.
Known in popular imagination as one of the standard-bearers of science and rationality, in this work Dr. Carl Sagan has shifted ground and taken the first steps towards what may or may not be termed as mysticism. No doubt his science is impeccable as always, but by introducing the human element into his universe he has added a perspective that was heretofore lacking in his purely scienific works. For man is at best an unknown quantity, far removed from the discipline of the predictable laws that govern cause and effect.