Today I finished reading Rejoice, A Knife to the Heart, Steven Erikson's first foray into science fiction. It's a first contact story in which an alien ship abducts a citizen in broad daylight, then starts making drastic changes to Earth as an "Intervention" to save Earth's biome. The abductee (Samantha August) is intended to be the spokesperson for the aliens.
The structure of the novel is in separate parts - the first the abduction, the middle is in the impact the changes on Earth are having on citizens, and the ending is Samantha's speech and the next steps for the Intervention. The author wanted to make the novel have some points of difference to it, and it does - for example having a respected SF author as the spokesperson (as opposed to a politician who will have ulterior motives and influences), makes sense and works well.
The bulk of the novel (the middle section) that's describing the impact on citizens, is in effect a detailed study and philosophy on humanity and what drives us. There are some very interesting and intelligent issues raised, though I thought it dragged after a while and slowed the pace right down until near the end. The ending itself is abrupt and leaves it wide open for a second book.
So overall I thought it was good - a pertinent commentary on humanity with a positive message - but the middle section was too slow and a bit of a let down for me, plus it would have been nice for more resolution at the end (though I guess if another book's coming it's understandable).
