I don't often give books five stars, tending to rate on a bell curve as I do, but I thought this was just astonishing. I was a little hesitant to read it, thinking that all the focus on religion might be off-putting to an atheist reader (no-one likes to be proselytised to in their fiction) but instead I got a thoughtful, balanced, heart-breaking exploration of the effect of alien life on religious faith. The intent is to inspire rather than convert, and if what it inspires is (in my case) thought rather than spirituality, then I can only admire the author for being able to hit two audiences with one stone. I cannot recommend it enough.

I borrowed this from the local library, and all I can say is that this is going on my list of books to buy so that I can have my own copy.