Ring of Swords

This was a very different take on the first contact trope. The book describes aliens responding to their first encounters with humans. It explores what it means to be "people" and considers the topics of morality, war, sexuality, and gender politics. It's an ambitious novel that worked pretty well. My only beef with it was that the names of the aliens were confusing, and that there were a lot of them. I often wasn't sure who was talking, other than two of the more prominent alien characters. But overall, I liked it, finding it fascinating and well-written. This book was nominated for an Otherwise Award for its exploration of gender issues.

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