FADE OUT

You might find FADE OUT by Patrick Tilley worth exploring. It is set during the Cold War and explores 'First Contact' between aliens and humans. The discussion among the scientists about aliens is detailed and fascinating. The writer sets out how the scientists go about investigating the alien or alien artefact (since it is far from clear whether the creatures is itself the alien or merely the technology of an lien civilisation.) I found it a damn good read and the implications of the alien incursion on human civilisation and government thought provoking. However the threat posed by the alien(s) is not the conventional threat imagined by other writers venturing into this field.

The date was Friday 3rd August. For some people, depending where they lived, the day was just beginning. For others, it was the end of another, perfectly normal, day. Suddenly all the world's radar screens went haywire...This time it had really happened. An alien spacecraft was in orbit around earth. In utmost secrecy, an undercover team of the best brains the US government could muster desperately tried to analyse an enigma that nothing had prepared them for.

Aliens had indeed landed on earth, and it was time for the human race to prepare itself. When an unidentified object of extra-terrestrial origins arrives on Earth, creating havoc and panic the world over, the question of whether we are alone in the universe is finally answered. But this realisation is only the beginning, for the object brings with it a whole host of questions that neither the world's governments or military experts are equipped to answer. Is it a danger to humanity, or an innocent explorative device? Focusing on mankind's reaction to this mysterious object, Tilley illustrates how ignorance can drive civilisation towards the brink of a devastating breakdown.

Nine weeks later, civilisation was on the brink of a total breakdown, more devastating than any natural or man-made disaster. The alien had not used any offensive weapons or threatened mankind in any obvious way. The unknown was here - and it defied all powers of human comprehension.

Fade-Out, a sci-fi novel first published in 1975, looks at the meltdown of society in the face of alien invasion. Don't be put off by the fact it was written so long agao. It can still give any modern alien contact science fiction book a run for its money!