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A review by zachlittrell
Who Goes There?: The Novella That Formed the Basis of the Thing by John W. Campbell Jr.
4.0
"Mac, how long have the--cows been not-cows--"
The Thing is one of my favorite movies, and Campbell left an excellent template behind to work from. He cuts quickly and efficiently to the chase of what he's interested in: paranoia. The alien is introduced almost immediately, we figure out its quirk of consuming and imitating other life, and that it can be *anything*. How do you even know if *you* aren't a monster already? How do you outwit something that looks like you but thinks God knows what?
Sometimes the dialogue is clunky and outdated, and the action herky jerky (and quite a bit off-page. Several animals that were disguised aliens are slaughtered in between chapters). But I can see why this has been adapted many times now, because for it's got a nihilistic verve to suggest that, short of luck or the grace of God, humanity could be swept off the board and replaced in 7 days or less.
The Thing is one of my favorite movies, and Campbell left an excellent template behind to work from. He cuts quickly and efficiently to the chase of what he's interested in: paranoia. The alien is introduced almost immediately, we figure out its quirk of consuming and imitating other life, and that it can be *anything*. How do you even know if *you* aren't a monster already? How do you outwit something that looks like you but thinks God knows what?
Sometimes the dialogue is clunky and outdated, and the action herky jerky (and quite a bit off-page. Several animals that were disguised aliens are slaughtered in between chapters). But I can see why this has been adapted many times now, because for it's got a nihilistic verve to suggest that, short of luck or the grace of God, humanity could be swept off the board and replaced in 7 days or less.