J. Micheal Thomas started publishing his First Contact only in January, and since then, has pumped out nine chapters. It took me some time to get around to reading it, but when I did, I devoured all nine chapters in a day or two of short sittings. Now, I remain in the unenviable position of having to wait for the next chapter.
The theme of first contact has been covered in a lot of different ways before, from Close Encounters of the Third Kind, perhaps the most monotonous science fiction film ever made and one which I would prefer to avoid seeing again by having all of my teeth extracted by a baboon with pliers and a chisel, to the television series V. In First Contact, Thomas approaches alien visitation from a different angle I have not seen done before.
When an alien space ship arrives, to much ado on Earth, people are a little more than floored when the aliens emerge to reveal they are as human as us. What ensues is the pursuit of a lot of different agendas by the natives as the new arrivals try to figure out what the hell happened to their planet. As I have only read to chapter 9, I am still waiting for that answer.
The pace in First Contact is fast. Thomas keeps you moving with hardly any breathing space, which is good. The pace rips through and you catch a lot of the urgency the characters are feeling in their individual experiences of the story’s plot. The pace, however, does not take away from the character development, but rather merges with it. Before you know it, the complexity of some of the characters has simply leeched into your awareness without a big deal being made about it.
Keeping you moving through the story is the eternal presence of mysteries and questions. These questions are teased and hinted at, but the final solutions to them are left until later. There are enough hints and suggestions to keep you wanting more, though. What has happened to the people whom the new arrivals were expecting to find? And are the druids who meet at Stonehenge involved with any of this?1
First Contact has been a great read, and one that has managed to hook me in quick and keep me caught up in the story. For science fiction that is not too hard on the brain and keeps you filled with mystery and wonder, J. Michael Thomas’ story is hard to pass up. I definitely look forward to the rest of the story!
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So far, there are no druids in First Contact.
What a great review! Thanks so much for taking the time to write such a thoughtful analysis. Really appreciate it!