First Contact, or, It's Later Than You Think

A satirical joyride in the tradition of Kurt Vonnegut and Douglas Adams, First Contact introduces us to the hyper-intelligent Rigelians, who admire Woody Allen movies and Bundt cake, and who urge the people of Earth to mend their ways to avoid destruction of their planet. But the president of the United States, a God-fearing, science-doubting fitness fanatic, is skeptical of the evidence presented to him and sets in motion a chain of events that will change the lives of his young attaché, an alien scam artist, several raccoons, and a scientist who has predicted the end of the universe. Parrot sketch excluded.

A satirical joyride in the tradition of Kurt Vonnegut and Douglas Adams, First Contact introduces us to the hyper-intelligent Rigelians, who admire Woody Allen movies and Bundt cake, and who urge the people of Earth to mend their ways to avoid destruction of their planet. But the president of the United States, a God-fearing, science-doubting fitness fanatic, is skeptical of the evidence presented to him and sets in motion a chain of events that will change the lives of his young attachÉ, an alien scam artist, several raccoons, and a scientist who has predicted the end of the universe. Parrot sketch excluded.

Publishers Weekly

An alien invasion turns the United States, if not the world, upside down in this smart, witty romp—but not in the ways that extraterrestrial enthusiasts might expect. Ralph Bailey is working as a sandwich-fetching attaché to an inept president who assigns him to act as a liaison to the recently arrived aliens. As one of the few White House employees who seems to understand the Woody Allen–obsessed, generally laid-back visitors, Ralph begins to interrogate his existential angst: “I think everything has happened before,” he says to his girlfriend, Jessica Love (it's that kind of book), “...every grief has been endured, every idea has been explored, every joke has been told.” And in Mandery's world, it's certainly the truth. As we meet the intergalactic characters, we find that jokes, situations, prejudices, and even pets are the same no matter where you go. While coincidences add up and characters lives bleed into one another, Mandery's sharp sense of humor and habit of addressing the reader make for a stimulating and intelligent read that's never short on laughs. (Feb.)

Evan Mandery is a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School. He has published two works of non-fiction including Eyes on City Hall (Westview Press), a comical chronicle of his experience working on a doomed mayoral campaign. Dreaming of Gwen Stefani is his first novel.