"Invaders from Earth" by Robert Silverberg

This is a layered cynical satire about corporate greed, politics, and the power of media. I thought it was similar to the plot of the movie Wag the Dog, only set in space and written in 1958!

Ted Kennedy is a public relations man whose firm is hired by a space exploration company that wants to mine the moon of Ganymede for radioactive minerals. There's only one problem: the indigenous aliens who live there do not want Earthmen drilling on the planet.

In order to turn public opinion away from the aliens in favor of his client, Ted cooks up an elaborate hoax. He convinces the people of earth there is actually a colony of humans on Ganymede that will be cruelly slaughtered by the dangerous aliens--and the UN must intervene to stop them.

I have somewhat mixed feelings about Robert Silverberg's ninth novel, which was first published as half of an Ace Double in May 1958. On the one hand, I feel it is Silverberg's most mature, sophisticated novel up to this point in his career. It has proven popular--staying almost continually in print for over 60 years. It is now in print in the UK only, through Gollancz Publishers.

On the other hand, the book also makes unnecessary and disappointing changes to the original novella "We, the Marauders". Coincidentally this novella (which was also republished in book form as half of a Belmont Double in 1965) is now back in print in the US as an e-book.

One of the great flourishes in the novel is Silverberg's depiction of a Leap Year Holiday, one day celebrated every four years during which the laws and dictates of civilization are set aside for wanton revelry.

My biggest complaint about the novel concerns the relationship between Ted and his wife Marge. In both versions, Marge is shocked at Ted's callous disregard towards the Ganymedes, and she leaves him for his sensitive colleague Dave Spalding. After Ted's change of attitude, which occurs when he visits Ganymede and observes the tactics of the Corporation firsthand, Ted apologizes for his behavior and convinces Marge he has changed. In the novella, Marge forgives him, but it is too late to save their marriage. When Ted leaves to become the new UN ambassador to Ganymede, he goes off to space alone in an attempt to rectify the damage his life's work has wrought. Silverberg lightened this ending for the novel. Now, Spalding is exposed as a hypocrite who dies from a self-inflicted gunshot wound during a fight with Ted. Marge and Ted reunite and eventually fly off to Ganymede together. The new ending robs the story of its well-earned, bittersweet gravitas.

Notes on other differences between the novel and the original novella:

- Several scenes are extended, sometimes only by one or two sentences, to add descriptive color and background information. This included allusions to the "bosomy" female assistants in Ted's office and a discussion of how ancient Egyptians handled leap years.

- Additional dialog is added to amplify the character of Dave Spalding and foreshadow his seduction of Marge.

- Additional scenes describing the poetry and philosophy of the Ganymede aliens. This provides greater motivation for Ted's change of heart towards them.

- In the longer version, the aliens are pacifists, so Ted never gives them weapons and they never fight the humans from the Corporation.

- A short scene in which it is revealed Ganymede is not as mineral-rich as previously believed. This makes the Corporation seem even more dastardly, and it cheats the story of a legitimate ethical nuance that perhaps the aliens should not be allowed full self-determination if it impedes the economic stability of Earth.

- The events of the final three chapters are significantly altered. Ted's brother does not hide him for two months (this compresses the timeline). There is a fight between Ted and Dave, a new shootout in Ted's office building, and an additional car chase through the superhighways of New York City.

The longer version retains the final confrontation scene on the floor of the UN, in which events get wrapped up a little too quickly, a little too tidily, and with too much melodrama.

Another fun fact: Silverberg re-used the three main character names Ted Kennedy, Marge, and Dave Spalding in his 1959 short story "The Insidious Invaders". That story bears no other relationship to this novel.  (Craig Childs, Goodreads)