SOJALS rating:

Awful (1/5)

I first read this in April 2001 and most recently in June 2001

Alien first contact has finally happened and they've contacted us. Unfortunately, their medium of communication is disastrous for humans. The medium is a virus designed to inhabit the host and communicate directly with the brain. but human hosts don't fare so well, and now the world's population is dying in fever and delirium.

When the devastating epidemic subsides, there are two type of people: the Pans who survived the infection and now have serious psychological difficulties, and the Tenors who were immune to the infection and see the Pans as dangerously deluded.

The two groups have to reach an accommodation and decide whether to make a response to the alien communication.

Well this is a good book and very well written and some people will love it. It's clearly a superior work. However, it didn't work for me. For me, it lacked tension - in the end I just didn't really care too much what happened. Possibly there was insufficient death and destruction.

In fact a couple of days after first reading it, I had no recollection as to what it had been about. I was unable to dredge up anything to put in this review. So I did my duty and read the book again. and I'm writing this an hour after finishing it. It's still pretty tough. I definitely recall that there was something about virii (or am I thinking of "Virus Clans" or "Darwin's Radio"), and there was a girl and a dog and, oh yes, a boy named Scotty.