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A review by eviljosh
Faith by John Love
4.0
This is a good hardcore space sci-fi, along the traditional (but wonderful) lines that humanity cannot understand what is out there, and probably shouldn't try too hard lest such flickers of understanding destroy us.
The general premise is that there is a ship, or something that appears to be a ship, that visits interstellar civilizations and destroys portions of their militaries. It never attacks non-threatening targets. Then it leaves.
After it leaves, the civilizations inevitably go into social, cultural, and technological decline, eventually losing the capacity for space flight. They "turn away from each other" and become less together than they are alone.
Humanity has encountered the remnants of other civilizations that have encountered this ship, which is nicknamed Faith, and has made some preparation for its own inevitable encounter. These preparations take the form of ships crewed by high-functioning sociopaths. By allowing no others to come in close contact with Faith, humanity hopes to buffer itself against the aftereffects which destroyed other cultures that encountered Her.
It's a good read, and highly recommended. Somewhat disturbing, of course, since it is largely told from the point of view of sociopaths.
The general premise is that there is a ship, or something that appears to be a ship, that visits interstellar civilizations and destroys portions of their militaries. It never attacks non-threatening targets. Then it leaves.
After it leaves, the civilizations inevitably go into social, cultural, and technological decline, eventually losing the capacity for space flight. They "turn away from each other" and become less together than they are alone.
Humanity has encountered the remnants of other civilizations that have encountered this ship, which is nicknamed Faith, and has made some preparation for its own inevitable encounter. These preparations take the form of ships crewed by high-functioning sociopaths. By allowing no others to come in close contact with Faith, humanity hopes to buffer itself against the aftereffects which destroyed other cultures that encountered Her.
It's a good read, and highly recommended. Somewhat disturbing, of course, since it is largely told from the point of view of sociopaths.