Knowing nothing about A.T. Sayre, I requested his new book The Asterist on NetGalley just because the description sounded interesting. Bill Jeffries was marking time at a remote outpost, there just in case there’s an emergency and a human was needed to give instructions to the computer that normally runs the relays, when an alien spaceship crashed on the asteroid:
“Thrust into circumstances beyond his pay grade, Jeffries investigates the wreckage and makes the shocking discovery of a four-foot-long spider-like being inside. If the alien still lives, Jeffries and his superiors from light years away must decide if it should be treated as an ambassador, a test subject, or a threat.”
This was an enjoyable read that reminded me a lot of Andy Weir’s Project Hail Mary, except it was more focused (just over half as long), had lower stakes, and didn’t annoy me with misgendering of the alien. There’s a surly, isolated man as the main character, who ends up stepping into a bigger role than he ever imagined or wanted, there’s a very nonhuman alien, there is bonding, and there are hard choices.
I didn’t like the protagonist of Project Hail Mary for most of that book (although I understand that Ryan Gosling’s portrayal of Ryland Grace makes him much more likable in the movie), but I was pleased with his eventual character arc. My feelings toward Jeffries in The Asterist were similar but more extreme: Fairly early on, I was fuming that this guy needed to be fired and lose his pension, because he broke some very important protocols merely because he was miffed that the team of experts being sent to his station acted condescending to him; however, by the end, my sympathies had swung toward him, and I’ll admit I was tearing up just a little bit.
The scientific procedures and their explanations throughout the book seemed reasonable and didn’t take me out of the story. What I found most interesting was following along with Jeffries as he tried to figure out how to communicate on a basic level, gaining clues from the alien’s physiology and deriving deductions from guesses about its origin. Again, that reminded me of Project Hail Mary, but I was also thinking about one of my favorite books in C.J. Cherryh’s Foreigner series, Explorer.
The isolation that Jeffries experienced here is not as extreme as Grace’s: Jeffries wasn’t drafted, but signed up for this posting, as he expected it to boost his retirement pay later; moreover, he was only half a month away by ship from Sector Command and about 45 minutes by transmission (one-way, so 90 minutes for message-and-reply). But of course, that was plenty of time for him to get into trouble when he rationalized that he needed to take a look at the wreck himself (for safety, of course, so he said).
Jeffries stayed cantankerous for most of the book, but that became a lot easier to take when it was directed against what seemed to be a semi-cynical bureaucracy than when he was ignoring first-contact protocols. And it’s a known fact that taking care of people tends to engender warm feelings toward them, so it’s not unreasonable that this asocial man started to feel responsible for his charge, and eventually was willing to take extreme risks. When he started displaying a bit of empathy, I developed a lot more empathy for him.
Speaking of that cynical bureaucracy, Sayre sketched out his worldbuilding with a light hand here, but for me, it felt like the right amount for this tightly focused book. Jeffries did a little philosophical brooding about the bureaucracy, and the so-called “open government” to which officials were paying lip service, and he steadfastly ignored all the upper levels of authority that tried to micromanage him. So it felt like there was a whole universe out there, but it didn’t get in the way of the story.
A lot of the book focuses on Jeffries solving problems (third person, mostly tight-focused on him, and past tense), doing things, and eventually, figuring some things out. I don’t think this book will blow away many readers, but I spent a pleasant few hours with it, and in the end, I found it moving. It’s a solid piece of adventure SF and would be a good palate cleanser between heavier works.
The Asterist, by A.T. Sayre, will be published on Oct. 20. (272 pages)
Content warnings: Alien autopsy, bureaucratic arguments, sickness and possible death.
Disclaimer: I received a free eARC for review via NetGalley.
