Rejoice

A deeply philosophical look at a first contact story. Steven Erikson uses this tale of first contact as a critique on the excess of humanity. In this story, the aliens are vastly technologically superior to humanity, and have a higher ethical and moral quality too. The first contact here is used to prevent humanity destroying their ecosystem. It manifests through barriers put up around important natural corridors to allow them to recover, and some kind of force that prevents people from acting violently towards each other.

This is a highly optimistic take on first contact. Yes - it paints a highly critical picture of humanity and suggests that we need some outside force to rescue us. It also suggests that we are worth rescuing.

The philosophy is presented through a series of dialogues between the alien and a science fiction writer chosen to act as a spokesperson for Earth, along with a series of vignettes showing the effects of the aliens restrictions on how humanity interacts with itself. The dialogues are quite dry at times, very focused on the philosophy being espoused, but the overarching view being presented is an intriguing one. The critiques of humanity are frequently on point - we are a greedy and self destructive species. The overall optimism of the story helps to counter some of this negativity.

This is not a light read, but a worthwhile and interesting one. Definitely an interesting and deep look at the human condition.