** Aliens should be weird. **
Interesting concepts of how a superior biotech race could manipulate and control humans, even while trying to maintain a respectful distance. With the right levers, a light touch can be powerfully convincing.
More interesting is the way in which Butler focuses on human desires, as distinct from human emotion. The debilitating effects of social isolation, innate nausea, or deep desire to to believe in fictions all play important roles in the plot.
A book more of exploration than plot like Rendezvous with Rama ; similar premises to Childhood’s End and Foreigner but more enjoyable than both.
** 19th book of 2023 **