illegible_scribble
10/19/2019
This novel is the story of an older astronaut who lost a crew member in a tragic accident being brought back into service when a strange alien spaceship appears in the solar system, as an experienced commander for a mission crewed by non-astronaut scientists. Themes include dealing with guilt over making the least worst of a set of very bad choices, greed, and how far humans will go to achieve their greatest ambitions.
The author has done a good job of developing aliens who are very other-worldly and non-human. This story is like a much darker version of Rendezvous with Rama -- with actual character development! -- and I highly recommend it for those who are into "astronauts explore incomprehensible alien object with lifeforms" science fiction.
(content warnings for some body horror, violence, and death)