4/5 You WILL Believe. (or at least be thoroughly entertained)
  by A. K. Berger (Nebraska, USA)
One of my friends, a deep NON-believer in extraterrestrials, told me that she was moved by this harrowing work. Out of mere curiousity I read it. And...it changed me. Most books on the subject of UFO's and extraterrestrials whiz right by me, and I've forget their message within days. However, Communion has stuck with me, and Whitley Strieber's riveting account continuously resurfaces in my mind. But, sadly enough, this book is not for the faint-of-heart. Its bizarre stories and explicit descriptions are downright frightening; I can honestly say that I have lost sleep over this book, lying awake, wondering if it's true. I would not recommend this book before bed. If Strieber's accounts of his alien abduction are true, then this book is more than a nonfiction work: it is undeniable proof that "they" do exist. But even if Strieber is lying through his teeth, Communion makes for a highly entertaining read.

4/5 Fascinating Intelligently Written Account
  by (NY United States)
I have wanted to read this book for years but always held off because I was sure it would be terrifying. While it does contain a large amount of scary aspects, the book is mostly a very well written, very intelligent examination of one man's experience with the unknown.

Strieber's experiences with missing time, bizarre implants, and the now farmiliar Grey creatures are riveting and offputting at the same time. What makes this book really stand out from most of the ufoology is that Strieber really tries to figure out what the "visitors" as he calls them want with us. He comes up with several interesting theories, and the book is fresh and interesting throughout, never bogging down.

I would highly recommend this read for the open minded and the curious.

5/5 Quite a ride, fact or fiction.
  by
You can believe him, or you can think he's crazy. But after reading this book, you will believe that Strieber firmly believes in what he's saying.

Once in a great while, a book comes along that changes the way one perceives reality. For me, and I venture to say many others, Communion is such a book.

I don't know if Strieber's "visitors" are real physical beings, multidimensional travelers, creations of the human mind, or none of these things. Neither does he. But some of the things Strieber describes in Communion have been experienced by far too many people, to be pure fantasy. There is SOMETHING very strange going on, be it alien abduction or widespread shared dreams. Either way, the subject deserves serious investigation.

Read this book. If you come away believing it, you'll be a changed person. If you come away believing it's fiction, you'll have read one hell of a story.

5/5 Long before X-Files.....
  by J. Wong (Jackson Heights, NY United States)
This book is a true classic among the hundreds of alien abduction books out there. Whitley Strieber writes with sincerity on his feelings and thoughts about his abduction experience, and to the reader he'll come down as just an average human being who had this extraordinary experience. I've read many alien abduction books since, and still feel "Communion" is the best.

As the other reviewers mentioned, it is a chilling story. Yes, I also suffered from nightmares after reading it. Strieber was already known for his other books before "Communion" ("The Hunger", "Wolfen", etc.) Interestingly, Strieber claims that his horror novels were based on his subconscious fears caused by his lifelong abductions, unbeknownst to him when he wrote the novels. Because it is so well written, I think even skeptics would find it at least entertaining if not enlightening. Without a doubt, it's one of the scariest books I've ever read.

Readers of "Communion" might also find "Report on Communion" by Ed Conroy also interesting. I also recommend any book by Budd Hopkins, or "The Andreasson Affair" series by Raymond Fowler.

3/5 Disappointing conclusions
  by
I made the mistake of reading this alone in bed in an empty house over a period of 2 days - what a bonehead. It scared the bejeesus out of me. Every time the house creaked I was up like a shot with a baseball bat in my hands. Thanks Whitley, for depriving me of a good nights sleep. God knows when I'll ever be able to sleep peacefully again! Next time my employer asks me why I've got bags under my eyes and my work performance is suffering I'll say "I've been reading Strieber". Having said that I found the book fascinating, in a very creepy horrible way. I know deep inside of myself that there is a lot more to this universe than meets the eye, and I've even had some weird and unpleasant experiences myself when I was young. Though of the ghostly, not the alien, kind. That said, I was deeply disappointed with the end of this book. I got the distinct impression throughout the book that Whitley was gradually gaining an understanding of these beings, what they were, why they were here, why they were doing what they were doing. But at the end - nothing. I was expecting some final chapter on Whitleys belief of just what it was all about. But no, all I got was talk about the Triad and how it represents the pinnacle of Spiritual evolution. He was saying that he thought maybe these beings were trying to 'join' with us, hence the name Communion, in some way to produce a better, more enlightened, more spiritual byproduct. Well Whitley, I already know how to evolve spiritually, to expand my consciousness. All it takes is a moral ethical life, renouncing mundane worldly things and above all turning to God, the Infinite Spirit, every day in meditation and prayer. What I don't need to advance spiritually is to be woken up in the middle of the night, by giant insectoid beings, frightened to death, stripped naked, beamed up to their craft, and then have things stuck in my head, nose and arse. No thanks. I think I can advance spiritually just fine my own way. One thing I did find intriguing though, on the subject of spirituality. I got the impression that Whitley himself has always been interested in spiritual matters and there are numerous references to him meditating throughout his life and trying to expand his consciousness. This is something that the average human being definitely does NOT do, but I wonder if this is true of most abductees? I have to wonder if those people, through their own spiritual practices, haven't crossed some threshold of consciousness, that the bulk of the human herd is still far below, and that this has opened up their lives to these and other bizarre experiences. If true then I'm stopping meditating immediately! These beings do seem to have the ability to come and go, bypassing locked doors, security systems, and not even being noticed by other people in the same room. It's almost as if there's some astral, or at least non-physical element to this that only people of a certain level of consiousness can perceive - a bit like the ghost phenomena. One person can perceive astral beings, disembodied spirits, whatever you want to call them, while the person standing next to him can see nothing and thinks he's crazy. They're both right, but they're both at different levels of consciousness. One has physical and astral perception, while the other only has physical perception. Well that's my theory anyway, I think it's worth further investigation at least. But that's another complaint about Whitley's story. He had the golden opportunity to do some investigation himself, to ASK these beings anything he wanted, but he didn't. There were many times he spoke to them and they seemed quite open and willing to answer, so why didn't he ask the obvious questions like "why are you doing this to me?", "where are you from?", etc. At one point, when told he was going to be operated on, he rightly said "You have no right", to which the alien responded matter of factly "We do have a right". What does this mean? That is a profound and loaded answer that he didn't inquire further on. Why not? Why do they think they have such a right? I'd love to know that answer, but Whitley didn't ask. Also, although these things frightened this poor guy half to death, he seemed to develop some affection, some love for them. Why? This was also true of the other abductees he met in the support group who nearly all said they felt love and loyalty to these beings, even though they'd been assaulted in all manner of horrible ways. Why? I felt there was something we weren't being told. Like these people had come to some deeper understanding of these beings and their role and found them deserving of love and loyalty. Either that or the aliens messed with their heads and made them feel that way toward them. Finally, there were the constant references to prophecy, to revelation of apocalyptic events in the near future, a recurring theme from many sources, not just alien, in recent decades. But these were only ever touched upon and never expanded. I found that fascinating, but almost deliberately obscure. Once again, Why? Maybe Whitley was saving that for another book. So to conclude, it was a good book that has and will deprive me of a lot of sleep, but with a lot of questions left unanswered that I can't help think Whitley may have known the answer to, or at least suspected. Whitley, if it's not too unpleasant why don't you get that alien being up in your head again and instead of getting her to show you her anatomy, ask her some deep probing questions instead. Now that would make a fascinating book.