Illegal Alien by Robert J. Sawyer
Friday, September 9, 2011 at 7:19PM 
Published by Ace on December 1, 1997
There are a number of similarities between Illegal Alien, published in 1997, and Robert Sawyer's more recent Calculating God. In both novels, aliens who are apparently amiable travel to Earth. In both, crazy humans make trouble for the aliens. And human and alien characters in both discuss evolution and debate the likelihood of divine creation. Where that discussion becomes the focus of Calculating God, it is a sideshow for most of Illegal Alien, a novel that reads like a John Grisham courtroom drama with the addition of an alien defendant. Still, alien concepts of divinity do become a significant plot point in Illegal Alien, adding to the sense that Illegal Alien was a test run for (or perhaps inspired) Calculating God.
A handful of aliens known as Tosoks come to Earth seeking help for an engine problem that has stranded them in our solar system. Two key members of the team assigned to interact with the aliens are Frank Nobilio, the president's science advisor, and Cletus Calhoun, an astronomer who hosts a popular show on PBS. While parts are being fabricated to repair the alien ship, the aliens go on tour. They happen to be in California when Calhoun is found dead, his leg having been amputated and some of his organs removed during a crude dissection. A Tosok named Hask is arrested for murdering Calhoun. He's defended by a Johnnie Cochran clone named Dale Rice. The story turns into both a whodunit and a whydunit. Sawyer's answers to those questions are clever and satisfying.
I give Sawyer credit for doing his homework. His explanation of legal procedures is accurate and his consideration of defense strategies is sound. As courtroom dramas go, this one is about average, but the alien angle gives it an offbeat appeal. Through Hask and other characters, Sawyer indulges in fairly astute commentary on a variety of social issues, including the American system of criminal justice, racism and xenophobia, and the causes of crime, while feeding the reader useful information about evolution and astronomy.
Sawyer has some fun with cameo appearances: Barbara Walters interviews Hask; O.J. Simpson prosecutor Marcia Clark walks through the courthouse; broadcast journalist Miles O'Brien interviews Calhoun; Steven Spielberg attends a reception for the Tosoks. His invented characters (both human and alien) aren't as fully formed as those in Calculating God; they seem like pencil sketches of real people. The novel is nonetheless worth reading for its engaging plot, one that should appeal to fans of science fiction and legal thrillers alike.
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