Damocles
I’ve recently experienced a few of the ‘first contact’ stories in a row in written or visual form. Each of them had a different impact on me. Of the lot (which includes The Sparrow and Arrival), Damocles is my favorite. I think it’s because Damocles is the one that’s actually truly about first contact. The Sparrow was more about man’s faith, and knowing all the facts before we judge someone. Arrival was ultimately answering a question about knowing the future. They were each good in their own way, but didn’t quite give me what I was looking for in a first contact story. Damocles did.
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There is no unspoken distaste for the differences between the two races. This isn’t really Earthers meeting strange aliens. This is Meg meeting Loul and Loul meeting Meg, and then becoming friends. And this isn’t about two groups meeting where one is highly advanced, and the other is practically stone age, either. The humans and Dideto’s technology are only a couple hundred years apart, at best.
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I can’t say that this book is absolutely perfect because it’s not. No book is. However, all things considered, Damocles is everything a first contact science fiction novel should be. It’s not some eight hundred page epic filled with too much information. Instead, coming in at 350 pages, it’s the perfect length for the subject. Sometimes knowing what comes after – the consequences of a meeting – can put a damper on the story as a whole. I’m glad we didn’t have that here. Damocles isn’t absolutely perfect, but it’s close enough for me.
For the full review, please visit Sci-Fi & Scary's Review of Damocles.
