‘At the end of his description of the first contact, in a locked file, Father Yarbrough ... wrote of you, “I believe that he was inspired by the Holy Spirit. Today I may have looked upon the face of a saint.”’
‘Stop it. Leave me something.’ [p. 298]
Audiobook reread on a lazy Boxing Day -- perhaps inspired by the excellent Jesuit priest in Snake-Eater. I first read this novel in 1997, when it was a submission for the Arthur C Clarke Award (which it won): some thoughts from an informal review back then. I hadn't reread since 2007, and was surprised at how much I remembered -- mostly about the humans, rather than the Runa and the Jana'ata.
The audiobook is splendidly narrated by David Colacci, who manages a huge range of character voices. Listening to the novel gave me a better appreciation of its structure: the pacing, the braided timelines, the suspense. And the pivotal scene, the scene where Sandoz's eager anticipation is destroyed, is incredibly powerful when experienced at speaking-pace rather than reading-pace.
I had a big argument with a well-known genre writer about this novel. He dismissed it as 'homophobic': I countered that the worst thing that happens to Sandoz is not with Hlavin Kitheri, but with Askama.
In some ways the novel is dated: AI is depicted positively, climate change is barely mentioned, and of course SETI has not picked up any songs: nor are we asteroid-mining. But the emotional and spiritual elements are timeless, precise and profoundly moving. Still one of my favourite SF novels ever, though often harrowing.
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