Rejoice, a knife to the heart (2018)
466 pages
English language
Published Dec. 5, 2018
"Imagine a First Contact without contact, and an alien arrival where no aliens show up. Imagine the sudden appearance of exclusion zones all over the planet, into which no humans are allowed. Imagine an end to all violence, from the schoolyard bully to nations at war. Imagine an end to borders, an end to all crime. Imagine a world where hate has no outlet and the only harm one can do is to oneself. Leaders of governments are not in the loop. Scientists have no answers. The military's hardware has stopped working. We're calling, but ET's not answering. Imagine a world transformed, but with no guidance and no hint of what's coming next. What would you do? How would you feel? What questions can you ask - what questions dare you ask - when the only possible answers come from the all-too-human face in your mirror? On the day of …
"Imagine a First Contact without contact, and an alien arrival where no aliens show up. Imagine the sudden appearance of exclusion zones all over the planet, into which no humans are allowed. Imagine an end to all violence, from the schoolyard bully to nations at war. Imagine an end to borders, an end to all crime. Imagine a world where hate has no outlet and the only harm one can do is to oneself. Leaders of governments are not in the loop. Scientists have no answers. The military's hardware has stopped working. We're calling, but ET's not answering. Imagine a world transformed, but with no guidance and no hint of what's coming next. What would you do? How would you feel? What questions can you ask - what questions dare you ask - when the only possible answers come from the all-too-human face in your mirror? On the day of First Contact, it won't be about them. It will be about us."--
First contact of a different kind
A story that turns first contact around its neck, a writing that reads like a progeny of thought experiment and inner exploration. SFF writers are to imagine, imagine big and wide, imagine a game of existence with new rules, and Steven Erikson continues to amaze me on this.
