spectru
3/8/2018
I didn't know much about this book before I began. After beginning, I expected something along the lines of The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russel wherein a Catholic priest is an early visitor to another planet with intelligent life (Lithia in this case) and returns to Earth to face inquisition and possible excommunication. (Unlike in The Sparrow, I was unable to grasp the nature of Father Ramon's heresy.) Then the flavor of the story changes. If book 2 of this novel had been written by Philip K Dick, I perhaps would have been better prepared for the weirdness of events that occurred after the crew returned [SPOILER] bringing with them the fetus of a Lithian. There is a surreal party hosted by a countess, which is crashed by Egtverchi, the Earth born alien (whose name I could never remember) who has matured so quickly that we never get to know him. He then becomes a celebrity with his own '3-V' show, foments a riotous rebellion, and tries to escape by stowing away on a spaceship to his native planet.
I really don't know what to think of this novel. It's been on my to-read list for a long time and it was something of a disappointment.