When astronomers spot a curious anomaly in their charts, man's greatest dream comes true: alien life exists and it's coming towards Earth. Assuming that the aliens will be friendly, humanity is in for a shock. Not only are the aliens clearly planning to invade Earth and rule (or assimilate) humans, their technology is advanced enough to kill from space, either using lasers or - in extremis - by dropping asteroids onto Earth. And yet, humanity fights back, launching their own spaceship and taking the fight into orbit.

This book requires so much suspension of disbelief that it's getting near to orbit. Never mind the aliens and their ability to chuck asteroids; never mind that - even when aliens are attacking Earth, the US and USSR refuse to talk.
What really takes the cookie is that - while under attack, with the communication disrupted and food stores depleted around the country - the US manages to build a spaceship from scratch, within a couple of months. Better still, it's a spaceship powered by atomic bombs, discharged below a massive protective shields. And this cobbled-together things takes on the aliens that have lived in space for generations? My disbelief just got out of orbit and is floating into the interstellar void...

On the other hand, one of the main task forces that aims to counter the alien attack is composed of, wait for it... sci-fi writers! How beautiful is that? A sci-fi book, sending up its own community. Especially as that the sci-fi writers are all a bunch of looneys, spending as much time drinking and horsing around as they do on anything else. I'll forgive a lot, just for that inspired idea!

I'll admit I enjoyed reading this, after the rather painful separation from my disbelief. But I can't quite see me read it again. So into the wide world it goes and may it find a happy home soon.

Left it on the footbridge over the rail station