114. (September 2022) The Man who Fell to Earth by Walter Tevis — The Tabletop Roleplayers' Book Club

The Man Who Fell To Earth #3

clash_bowley — Mon, 10 Oct 2022 00:33:08 +0000

The painting of Icarus (Landscape with the Fall of Icarus by Peter Bruegel the Elder) figures prominently in the novel, and prefigures the later events of the book. Did you interpret the discussion of the painting as such while reading? Did you misinterpret it? Did you mis the importance at the time? How well did this work for you?

The Man Who Fell To Earth #2

clash_bowley — Mon, 10 Oct 2022 00:21:40 +0000

The novel has three main characters, the alien Thomas Newton, the scientist Nathan Bryce, and the housekeeper Betty Jo. How and if did these characters affect you? Did you feel for their situations? Did you understand and sympathize with them?

The Man Who Fell To Earth #1

clash_bowley — Mon, 10 Oct 2022 00:18:10 +0000

This book was written in 1963, and carries the problems of its day forward, like most SF. I have seen the 1974 film with Bowie as Thomas Newton twice, and have not yet seen the new series. How does the novel hold up after 60 years as SF? How does it hold up as a novel?

The Man Who Fell To Earth #5

clash_bowley — Mon, 10 Oct 2022 00:40:17 +0000

How would this novel fare as an RPG? Could elements of this book find their way into your games? What elements would you take?

The Man Who Fell To Earth #4

clash_bowley — Mon, 10 Oct 2022 00:38:08 +0000

I read the book after seeing the movie - in the theaters upon release, then well afterward. this question presupposes a familiarity with both film and novel. What did you feel about the differences and similarities? How well did Nicholas Roeg translate this book to film? The film was released about a decade after the novel, were there changes in the film because of this?

The Man Who Fell to Earth - new series

RichardAbbott — Sun, 25 Sep 2022 19:20:05 +0000

Hi all, we have been watching the new (this year) series of The Man Who Fell to Earth which I can thoroughly recommend. It's not a remake of either the earlier film or the book, but more of a kind of next-generation follow-on. It also has lots and lots of Bowie allusions liberally scattered through the plot and dialogue just to keep you connected to the film version.

Has anyone else seen it?

The Man who Fell to Earth: Description and back cover blurb

RichardAbbott — Sat, 06 Aug 2022 17:41:30 +0000

The remarkable novel upon which the stunning cult film was based.

'Beautiful ... The story of an extraterrestrial visitor from another planet is designed mainly to say something about life on this one' NEW YORK TIMES

Thomas Jerome Newton is an extraterrestrial from the planet Anthea, which has been devastated by a series of nuclear wars, and whose inhabitants are twice as intelligent as human beings. When he lands on Earth - in Kentucky, disguised as a human - it's with the intention of saving his own people from extinction. Newton patents some very advanced Anthean technology, which he uses to amass a fortune. He begins to build a spaceship to help the last 300 Antheans migrate to Earth. Meanwhile, Nathan Bryce, a chemistry professor in Iowa, is intrigued by some of the new products Newton's company brings to the market, and already suspects Newton of being an alien. As Bryce and the FBI close in, Newton finds his own clarity and sense of purpose diminishing.

Discover the book which inspired the classic film with David Bowie and the new Paramount+ series with Chiwetel Ejiofor!