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Transit

Author: Edmund Cooper

First published published in 1964, this novel it hasn't lost anything of its appeal 40+ years later, mainly because its themes are timeless. Two men and two women are abducted from Earth by aliens and deposited on a conveniently Earth-like planet a mere seven light years from Earth. (Strange our current planet searches haven't discovered it yet! Maybe we will soon.) It may not have a moon and the 'rabbits' have six legs, but you can't expect perfection. Turns out that the four abductees, very different personalities all, are the subjects of a social experiment, helping the aliens to determine what makes us tick as individuals and social creatures. Why it's on the list: It's a 'classic'; one of the best. The theme of aliens abducting people and subjecting them to some form of psychological or social evaluation has been tackled by others, but many of those are imitators of Transit. It is also a 'relationship' novel, with intervals of self-reflection, people making mistakes and correcting them, and eventually finding meanings to their existence that they had never expected to find. Read if you like: People-focused, thoughtful, occasionally meditative, SF; complicated and dramatic, but without nastiness. Easy reading and stuff that leaves you feeling better for having spent your time on it.

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