They speak our language so well, but how do we know we’re really understanding each other?

I absolutely adore this author’s earlier lovecraftian books, so I expected to enjoy this solarpunk/first contact sci-fi, as well. But alas, the deeper I got into the book, the more I felt like I just wasn’t getting it. There were certainly some awesome aspects here! I really liked the first contact part of the story, the aliens, all the things that made them different from humans and all the subtle similarities. The whole thing with how their society treated children was so interesting. The whole discussion about them coming to rescue humanity, and how for some it was an opportunity and for others a threat. All the learning about each other and trying to explain and reconcile different philosophies. Those parts were really interesting to read about, although there was one specific development that came sort of out of the left field for me, but whatever, I think it did its job to convey certain ideas.

But then there was also the state of the Earth, and how humanity got there, and all the different societies, and the differences between watersheds and corporations, and all the gender things, and more. And there was the pretty big cast of characters who all wanted spotlight. And the way it was all brought together—I just kept feeling like I was reading a sequel instead of a stand-alone and felt dreadfully lost. Though of course sometimes I was rescued a bit by the parts that tried to explain the context, but then I had a problem with them, too, because they didn’t seem to fit the narrative naturally. And there were parts that I wanted to linger on, like Judy’s entire family and the relationships within it. There was that one scene focused on a conflict resolution that I was really digging, except for a few small beats that felt kind of preachy. Except all the other plot threads didn’t give it much room to breathe. And there were all those domestic moments focusing on diapers and nursing and whatnot that seemed to be there specifically to showcase the family drama but instead just bogged it down.

As a whole, I feel like this is one of those high-concept stories where characters and events all exist mainly to convey specific ideas, opinions, and thoughts. Except the writing style/approach aimed to be more character-driven, and as a result, for me, the book didn’t quite succeed in either.