Remove ads

Let's Talk about First Contact Fiction (AKA Recommend me a First Contact series to read)

Lord_Asmodeus

Lord_Asmodeus

Here is your magical cryptic riddle-tumour:
Location
I AM A TIME MACHINE
This is a place to discuss (and recommend) first contact fiction. Of course, science fiction/alien first contact is probably the most popular and common kind, but I see no reason to limit discussion to that, alternate history and fantasy first contact, such as they exist, are welcome here as well. Of course this is also not-too-subtly an attempt to get recommendations for my own personal reading pleasure, and I encourage anyone else to do likewise.

Personally, while it technically counts, I don't really consider anything first contact if it doesn't introduce the other and have at least some measure of culture clash. I won't enforce this interpretation on anyone else though. I'm personally also not really a fan of calling stories that deal with discovering alien artifacts or something with no actual aliens first contact, since there isn't really any contact (so for example, Rendezvous with Rama might be an excellent science fiction story, but to me isn't much of a First Contact novel)

For my own part I've read a fair few recently. I would personally recommend Chanur's Venture by C.J. Cherryh and it's sequels, as well as her Foreigner series, which are excellent books dealing with first contact and then continued contact between aliens species.

I also just recently re-read Hal Clements Iceworld, which I enjoyed thoroughly, and am in the middle of Mission of Gravity which seems like it will be very promising.

I'm also a big fan of the Worldwar series by Harry Turtledove. I certainly have problems with many of the books (more to do with unrealistic behavior by human characters than by the aliens) but overall I think they're a very interesting series, and the alternate history take on First Contact is something I really liked.
 
Last edited:
If you are interested in something rare, there is Lagoon by Nnedi Okorafor: a first contact scenario that takes place in Africa (Lagos, Nigeria to be precise). The plot turns essentially around the interaction of an alien ambassador and three Nigerians (a scientist, a soldier and a hip-pop artist if i remember things right). Fair warning, it's an Afro Futurist take on the genre, so the focus isn't solely on the meeting between the aliens and earth, there are people with special abilities, beings from African's myth and folklore etc. It's well-written and has the added benefit of providing an uncommon setting for a first contact event.
 
Lagoon was fun.

I also recall enjoying John Scalzi's Agent to the Stars. It was his first novel, and he released it on his website for free. IIRC it follows a talent agent contacted by aliens to help manage their first contact.
 
Accelerator said:
Details
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Without spoiling things too much I can say that at least one trickster spider goddess belonging to the Igbo people myths will make an appearance. (Edit: think of a female version of Anansi, he's more well known in North America, although his stories come from the Akan people folktales.)

(Edit 2 : He's more well known in North America meaning more used in American fiction, and so more known through them worldwide.)

Beside that the main characters of the book will have various superhuman abilities, thematically related to what they do in their everyday life (a marine biologist, a soldier and as I've said a hip-hop artist).

It's a really fun cocktail.
 
Last edited:
Jame White's Sector General series about a multispecies space hospital involved quite a few first contact scenarios. Later books include the Rhabwar, an ambulance ship tasked with seeking out distress signals believed to be from unknown species. Partly because it turns out saving people's lives is a great way of getting a positive first contact reaction, and partly because performing advanced medicine on an unknown species is a pretty specialized field.

The novel Illegal Alien by Robert J. Sawyer begins with a first contact, then things take a left turn when a human ends up murdered and one of the aliens is the apparent culprit. Further details would be spoilers.

If you've never read it, The Mote In God's Eye is one of the classics in first contact stories.
 
You must login or register to reply here.
Remove ads
Back
Top