#123 in Science fiction
Contact
- 432
- Pages
- about 8 h
- Reading time
- Locus Award for Best First Novel
- NPR Top 100 Science Fiction and Fantasy Books
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Our view
“Contact” is first-contact fiction written by a scientist, and it shows in the best way. The search for intelligent life, its politics and the argument between science and faith are handled with care and hope. Through Ellie, its radio astronomer heroine, Sagan also says sharp things about women’s place in research. Some who wanted a gripping adventure find it closer to an essay with a plot; it is a book for lovers of ideas.
The view of the BookRank editors, written from readers’ ratings and comments. It does not affect the score or the book’s place in a ranking.
About the book
Contact is a 1985 hard science fiction novel by American scientist Carl Sagan. The plot concerns contact between humanity and a more technologically advanced extraterrestrial life form.
Where the score comes from
The sources average 8.2 across 703 ratings. With that many, the reader vote carries 83% of the weight and the score stays at 8.2 — the Science fiction average of 7.8 barely moves it.
| Source | Average | Ratings | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open Library | 8.4 | 102 | 14% |
| Google Books | 8.0 | 21 | 3% |
| Hardcover | 8.2 | 580 | 83% |
Frequently asked
How long is Contact?
It has 432 pages — shorter than 54% of the ranked books in Science fiction.
In this book
Themes this book shares with others — each leads to the best books on it.
If you liked this
Same shelf — Science fiction — with scores between 8.1 and 8.2, closest to this book.
