When scientists discover an alien artifact on Venus, intrigues and conflicts proliferate. Dr. Helen Failia struggles to transform her disdained research station into a permanent Venus colony. Dr. Veronica Hatch fights to restore her lost reputation and communicate with the mysterious aliens. An ambitious chemist protects a dark secret by any means necessary. An incognito radical seeks to rekindle Mars's failed rebellion on Venus. The U.N. will do anything to control its space colonies. And the aliens have agendas of their own--not to mention far more advanced and dangerous technologies.

In addition to The Quiet Invasion, Sarah Zettel has written the critically acclaimed SF novels Reclamation (winner of the Locus Award for Best First Novel and a Philip K. Dick Award finalist), Fool's War (a New York Times Notable Book of 1997), and Playing God. --Cynthia Ward END


From Publishers Weekly
Zettel (Fool's War, etc.) has a gift for creating fascinating aliens with rich cultures and radically different, though still comprehensible, mindsets. She's somewhat less successful at portraying intergalactic politics, though in this novel she valiantly struggles--and almost succeeds--in generating a realistic future where a nearly omnipotent United Nations on Earth controls what happens to the colonies on Mars, the Moon and, especially, Venus. The Venus colony is the life's work of Dr. Helen Failia, who has done everything possible to make the base a self-sufficient outpost rather than a temporary research station. Just as Helen is about to lose funding for her beloved city, the surface of Venus sprouts what appears to be an alien artifact. Closely monitoring the humans' discovery of the artifact are aliens from another planet, who are looking to claim Venus as their new home. These aliens are in dire straits because their ancient, living cities are falling ill and dying. Their complicated belief system dictates that they cannot colonize Venus if humans have a legitimate claim to the planet, but if they judge the humans insane, they can destroy them like weeds. While Zettel's humans plod through the fairly pedestrian plotting, her aliens soar forward in unexpected and wonderful ways, making this a first-contact novel worth reading and relishing. (Feb.) Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Library Journal
The discovery of an alien artifact on Venus comes at a crucial time for the research colony of Venera, but the complications that result when a living alien species lays claim to the planet drive both humans and aliens to the verge of armed conflict. Zettel (Reclamation) endows both her human and alien characters with depth and variety, highlighting the concerns common to all sentient life. Strong elements of action and intrigue breathe life into a tale of social conflict and personal crisis. Recommended for most sf collections. Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Booklist
Venus seems uninhabitable, but scientist Helen Failia has made it her life's work and believes her orbiting research station should be a permanent Venusian colony. Others on board regard Venus as providing a long-awaited opportunity to rebel against tight UN control of colonies on Mars and the moon. When an alien installation is discovered on Venus' surface, a team of artists, scientists, and reporters is sent to explore. Artist Veronica Hatch becomes convinced that the installation is a fraud. But who assembled it, and why? The station is thrown into tumult, only to be silenced when real aliens suddenly appear to save the lives of a surface team. Ambassador T'sha and the People, whose world is dying mysteriously, see Venus as their last hope. Zettel alternates point of view between humans and aliens, thereby demonstrating her gift for creating fully realized cultures. As in Playing God (1998), tension builds slowly during human-alien interaction, as the two peoples discover differences and similarities and come to a riveting confrontation that bodes either a new era or the deaths of millions. Roberta Johns


From Kirkus Reviews
Doctor Helen Failia has bent rules and twisted arms to get her huge research city, Venera, built. Venera hangs in Venuss atmosphere at a level where conditions are favorable, unlike the planets scorching, suffocating surface. But now, even though funds are drying up, Helen refuses to accept money from the wealthy backers of scientist Grace Meyershe insists that her weird absorber molecules are evidence of Venusian life. So she and her colleagues are astonished when a surface probe discovers an abandoned building that seems to prove alien activity. Veneras UN bosses bring in additional investigatorsand scientist/artist Vee Hatch duly denounces the artifact as a fake. Zettels (Playing God, 1998, etc.) readers, however, know that furry, winged aliens are indeed exploring Venus. Though the aliens are biology whizzes and inhabit vast living cities, their own planet is dying of ecological collapse, cancer, and rampant disease, and they find Venus congenial. When the aliens rescue a damaged human shuttle, Vee swiftly learns how to communicate with them. The UN orders a security blackout and threatens to occupy Venera, whereupon independence-minded Helen promises the aliens Venus in return for help against the UN. But the aliens are split: One faction wants peaceful coexistence with humanity; the other to grab Venus and exterminate humanity. Never mind the overcomplicated plotting and so-so characters. The big problem here is the aliens. How, for instance, at 900F, do they avoid incineration? What, in acidic carbon dioxide air at 90 atmospheres pressure, do they breathe? -- Copyright ©2000, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Everyone wants something from Venus." "Dr. Helen Failia wants her orbital research city, Venera, to become a permanent Venusian colony. Dr. Grace Meyer wants to vindicate her theory of alien life. Techno-artist Dr. Veronica Hatch wants an inspiration. The U.N. wants to keep space colonies under its control, while covert rebels on Venera want to liberate the Moon and Mars from the U.N." "All any of them need is a miracle, which is unlikely on an uninhabitable world of lethal heat, deadly pressure, and poison winds. But that's exactly what Venus yields, when a robot probe discovers on its surface a ruined building that promises proof of ancient extraterrestrial life." "Then the humans are contacted by other, quite living, aliens. And for these avian beings known as the People, Venus is a true miracle. For the People's world of Home is dying, struck by a mysterious plague, and a refuge must be found. After centuries of desperate exploration, the People have found only one planet that can sustain them: Venus. And the aliens can't understand why humans would claim a world they can never use." "Now, suddenly, a planet named for a goddess of love is primed for war, even as three females - T'sha, Veronica, and Helen ... diplomat, artist, scientist - try to keep the search for life from becoming the death of three worlds.

FROM THE CRITICS

Science Fiction Weekly

The Quiet Invasion is a fantastic tour of Venus, with plenty of fresh ideas, excitement and all-out wonder on the itinerary.

Library Journal

The discovery of an alien artifact on Venus comes at a crucial time for the research colony of Venera, but the complications that result when a living alien species lays claim to the planet drive both humans and aliens to the verge of armed conflict. Zettel (Reclamation) endows both her human and alien characters with depth and variety, highlighting the concerns common to all sentient life. Strong elements of action and intrigue breathe life into a tale of social conflict and personal crisis. Recommended for most sf collections. Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.

Faren Miller - Locus