Landscape with Invisible Hand

Based on an ARC from Netgalley

I really loved the idea of the not conquering or malevolent alien overlords, but also not quite benevolent either. There's a lot of fear when it comes to first contact stories, a lot of mobilizing the world to defend our planet etc., and benevolent aliens are sometimes viewed with suspicion because of the what's-in-it-for-them idea. This is a great look at a species that comes to help Earth advance technologically through things like job automation and superior medicine but unfortunately our economic system still exists and it just widens the gap between the haves and the have-nots. It struck me as a warning message to our increasingly technological society that we need to focus on compassion and fairness going forward or risk losing it altogether.