After the Syzygy by J.D. Sanderson is exactly what you want from a thought-provoking, centuries-spanning first contact novella.

I have really enjoyed J.D. Sanderson’s work in the past. If you haven’t already, you can check out my review for his twilight-zone inspired short story collection Around the Dark Dial here. I like it when sci-fi books teach me something new about science or astronomy (it’s not a requirement for me, but it’s nice when it happens) but I’ve never had that happen right on the title page before. ‘Syzygy’ was a completely unfamiliar word to me before the release of this book, and I had to look it up. In astronomy, it refers to an alignment or conjunction of three or more celestial objects, but more generally as a union or relation between objects and it’s used across different fields like mathematics, psychology, and philosophy. And I really loved the multi-layered implications, as well as the way it’s used in the book itself.

Blurb

Will We Find Them?

In 1977, humans placed the Golden Record on the Voyager spacecraft with the hope it would be found by an alien civilization in the future.

In 2036, the alien equivalent arrived on Earth.

When the news leaks to the press, a global wave of fear, panic, and disinformation leaves people to wonder if the damage can ever be undone. In an attempt to quell unrest, several world governments begin an open exchange of ideas and information, hoping to understand the alien signal. As decades and centuries pass, humanity works together to answer one question.

Review

I very much enjoyed After the Syzygy, and I’m a sucker for optimistic sci-fi. This is overall just a marvellous first contact story that leaves you feeling somewhat bittersweet at the end. We’re treated to the gradual, faltering progress of humanity following the discovery of an alien signal. From the initial shock and ensuing civil unrest, to re-organisation and focus on technological progress, we see humanity come together with the goal of eventually meeting the Signallers. It’s a great multi-generational story, too, spanning hundreds of years across six chapters with different characters in each as they build on the progress of their forbears.

There’s a danger with this kind of story of not spending enough time with the characters before moving on. Asimov’s first Foundation book suffered horribly with this and ended up feeling barebones and hollow. Not so with After the Syzygy. Each chapter is constructed as a short story in its own right and the characterisation is well done despite being a short vignette into their lives.

There was a moment in one of the chapters where information was revealed rather quickly, and it came across as being at odds with the otherwise solid pacing of the rest of the book. However, what was revealed really upped the intrigue factor and set up the ending very nicely. There was plenty left to the imagination, too, and the book never felt overburdened with technical discussion—in fact there was very little of that, as it focused much more on the human angle.

The worldbuilding was excellent. We have a world filled with optimism, scientific and technological progress, looking back on our today and calling it a tumultuous time period. I particularly liked the commentary about focusing too much on scientific progress to the detriment of art and creativity—having a one-track mind, desperately striving to be able to make first contact, but forgetting the importance of cultural development that needs to go hand in hand with it. It’s a great way to say that, yes, scientific discovery and technological innovations are a brilliant goal, but the arts are just as necessary. Few sci-fi worlds remember to give human creativity the credit it deserves.

Overall, an excellent, thoughtful first contact novella. Bravo!