The Book of Strange New Things

This book was really interesting. Yeah, great review, Phyllis. Let me try again. I've been having a hard time solidifying my thoughts on this book, perhaps because there are many ideas swirling around, much like the air on the fictional planet. While there are elements of science fiction to the novel, there are also meditative sections that were very zen, despite Peter's Christianity. This is not shoot-em-up style SF.

A few reviewers have complained about the Oasans' seemingly quick conversion. However, we are told a number of times that the number of Jesus Lovers is under 100, which is a very small percentage of the settlement. There are often small groups interested in what alien cultures have to offer, with humans the aliens this time. Peter was just beginning to crack the language barrier towards the end of the story, so whose to say what else he might have learned if he spent more time with the Oasans?

So, does anyone think that Bea was really writing the emails Peter received, or is it possible that USIC was actually writing them in an attempt to convince Peter that Earth was better left behind? The neverending stream of earthly disasters communicated via Shoot when all other current events were censored struck me as odd. True, long distance relationships don't work, but that's not the moral of this story.

So, not my best review, but I overall recommend this even if you're not typically into SF.