Friday, December 19, 2025

Hole in the Sky

Hole in the Sky by Daniel H. Wilson, 288 pages

When strange things start happening in the sky above Oklahoma, everyone from military leaders to astrophysicists to the people who live on the Cherokee reservation below the titular "hole in the sky" are on high alert and wondering what could possibly be happening. It's obvious that whatever's going on is an alien response to the golden record sent out on Voyager spacecraft in 1977, but whether that response is diplomatic, investigative, or hostile, nobody knows, which means everyone has to be prepared for all contingencies.

Told from the rotating points of view of a U.S. military leader, a rogue astrophysicist, a mysterious hidden interpreter of cosmic prophecies (all of which have been true), and a Cherokee man attempting to rebuild a relationship with his teen daughter, this first contact story is a bit of a different spin than we usually see. While the plot wanders a bit at times and there's a bit more gore than I prefer, I really appreciated seeing an indigenous take on alien contact. I haven't seen that perspective before, and the way it's presented here makes it an excellent story.

No comments:

Post a Comment