Review: minor spoiler in this review
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 08 30, 2013
What really sets this book apart is the dialogue among the characters about how to react to aliens and how aliens will affect their planet. The characters have some deep, frank discussions that reveal their own biases, fears, and hopes. There is a long buildup to the first contact with aliens and we get information as the characters get it. The reader has a chance to reflect on how she or he would behave in this situation. That doesn't mean the books lacks action, though. It's exciting enough that aliens have come to Earth, but the characters (U.S. Army Rangers and a MSF doctor) struggling to get out of war-torn Malawi.*spoiler ahead*The one thing I didn't like was when two humans are taken to the alien craft. I found the setting very hard to visualize and it just felt too much like science fiction for me. I realize a lot of people like this kind of stuff, but I'm more taken with the human experience. The time on the craft is a relatively small portion of the book and it is interesting when the aliens finally explain why they came to Earth.On the whole, I enjoyed the book. The typos bothered me, but the story was good and the characters were well developed.I received a complimentary copy of this book in order to review it.