lightreads: a partial image of a etymology tree for the Indo-European word 'leuk done in white neon on black'; in the lower left is (Default)
2019-12-12 02:49 pm

The Quiet Invasion by sarah Zettel

The Quiet Invasion

3/5. A research colony on Venus is about to lose funding when it stumbles upon an artifact, then first contact.

Man, it's been forever since I read a first contact book. I didn't realize until now just how out of vogue they have become. This one is fine, if over-complicated. And, straight up, I've always thought that 9.5 out of 10 of the authors who decide to write alien POV are not good at it. This one is doing all the expected things – internal alien social/political conflict reflecting on internal human social/political conflict – and the aliens are just not that interesting to me. Organic tech, living symbiotic cities, blah blah blah. Call me when you come up with something truly alien.