First Contact

Upon This Rock #1

by David Marusek

An epic new science fiction series about family, faith, and alien invasion in the wilds of Alaska When a shooting star plunges through the atmosphere and touches down in the Alaska wilderness, only two earthlings are around to witness the event. But they see two utterly different things. What park ranger Jace Kuliak sees is a UFO and the arrival of a dangerous alien species from beyond the solar system. What Poppy Prophecy sees is the star called Wormwood, as recorded in Scripture, and the arrival of a an archangel of the Apocalypse. The thing is — they’re both sorta right. Poppy Prophecy is the despotic patriarch of a large End-Times prepper family that is busily converting a depleted copper mine into its own private doomsday bunker. Their copper mine is a century-old relic from territorial days when East Coast robber barons ruled Alaska and plundered its mineral wealth. Today the abandoned mine sits in the middle of the largest, wildest, most majestic national park in the United States. But Poppy isn’t impressed by mere natural beauty, and he doesn’t mind bulldozing federal land when it suits his purposes. Backcountry Ranger Jace Kuliak does mind, and he and fellow rangers confront the fundamentalist family in an armed standoff over the construction of an illegal airstrip. It doesn’t help matters when Ranger Kuliak falls hopelessly in love with Poppy’s second daughter, the lovely, innocent, and totally clueless Deuteronomy. An uneasy truce between the Prophecys and the park service is shattered when the falling star lands in their back yard and is claimed by both sides. What is it? Who is it? Better yet, of all the pit stops on all the planets in all the galaxies, why did the Visitor choose this particular rock to screw with?

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction

362 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 29, 2017

About the author

Author David Marusek writes science fiction in a cabin in Fairbanks, Alaska. His work has appeared in Playboy, Nature, MIT Technology Review, Asimov’s, and other periodicals and anthologies and has been translated into ten languages. According to Publisher's Weekly, “Marusek's writing is ferociously smart, simultaneously horrific and funny, as he forces readers to stretch their imaginations and sympathies." His two novels and clutch of short stories have earned him numerous award nominations and have won the Theodore Sturgeon and Endeavour awards. “. . . Marusek could be the one sci-fi writer in a million with the potential to make an increasingly indifferent audience care about the genre again . . .”—New York Times Book Review. “Marusek is one of the relatively few contemporary sf writers who seems deeply responsive to the contemporary world”—Encyclopedia of Science Fiction. His current novel project, Camp Tribulation, is a tale of love, faith, and alien invasion set in the Alaskan bush.

Reviews

[Bradley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I came upon this as a total surprise on NetGalley, but a completely welcome one! I've read two of his other highly acclaimed hard SF novels and I didn't care in the slightest what this one might be about.

Why? Because he's just that good and I trust him completely to tell a great tale.

Now that I've finished this book, I'm not revising my statement. At all.

What should you expect here? Alaska. Deep country. We focus mainly on two sides of an issue with very little in the way of alien first contact until much deeper into the tale. That's fine, really, because we're thrown in deep into a family of ultra-conservative and perhaps quite fringe Christians who are so elite that they feel like they're more fundamental than Quakers. With a few notable exceptions as with a satellite cell phone for their online business, they would be, too.

The other side is with the Rangers who naturally have beef with this complex and disturbing family because they're squatting illegally on Public Park land.

Prepare to get fully invested in this family and the area and the Rangers, because this novel is completely fascinating and complex all on this level. And then add an alien who knows how to manipulate humanity. :) Angels! Or demons. :)

Murder, rape, right-wing nuttery, and an almost Waco situation ensue, while all the while, we're learning and emotionally preparing for a huge fallout to come.

This is only the first book in a series and the setup is delicious. The point isn't even that it is a first contact novel. The real strength is in the way it's written... the fullness of its details, and the complexity of its characters, the way they live, react, and survive as they see the world and the devil bear down on them.

I can honestly say that this is an epic setup and I trust the author to knock it right out of the park with subsequent novels! :)

[Liviu · Rating 5 out of 5]

one the best books of the year and quite a big surprise - saw this absolutely by accident and the blurb didn't seem that interesting (another alien probe with nefarious intentions...) but the author (whose earlier future books were of the extremely interesting but difficult prose kind and always on the "try again"maybe this time they will really work for me list) was on my "always check his new books" list so i looked at the amazon excerpt and i just got hooked on the writing and characters and the novel delivered in spades

wouldn't want to spoil too much as it really pays to read the novel and get acquainted with the crazy cast of characters from the Alaskan wilderness (including a cameo of the state's famous governor and vice presidential candidate) so i will note a few things:

- descriptions of nature and the feel of the Alaskan challenge are vivid and show the author is a resident there

- irony abounds

- the story is not quite linear as there are past interludes, but most of the background is separated in a few short story like notes within the last 60-70 or so pages at the end of the novel proper which are referred during the text and can be read then or at the end

some of the things one learns about in the novel are how to make love on a glacier, how to use the Alaska state equalization fund to buy an old copper mine in a national park (here it helps to have 16 children of course), how not to enforce the rule against annoying pets in national parks, how to drive an old school bus over a glacier, what kind of materials were the old testament trumpets made out, what is the current gender and sexual orientation of angels as opposed to biblical times (angels have to adapt to modernity too!) and so on...

- while a first volume and obviously with things just getting started, there is some closure and the action promises only to heat up 9so to speak) in the next volume

Highly recommended and a top 10 book of the year for me

[Tudor Ciocarlie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This novel was such a pleasant surprise. It's a First Contact story, but seen through the eyes of the huge and weird christian family with many extremist views. So they look at everything through the lenses of Rapture and Biblical Apocalypse; and, as we can see in the world today, religion is the most opaque and most distorting of all the lenses, so this book has also many interesting things to say about events and conflicts we are seeing all around us.

[Brian Houston · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great characters in an intriguing start of an arctic ET epic

It's a departure from Marusek's visionary futurism but this is a well crafted character story about the beginning of an ET encounter, wrapped in end time rapture themes. Really enjoyed it and looking forward to the next one.

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Marusek is up to his old tricks--thank the infernal powers of fiction for that. This first-in-a-series leaves many open questions to be answered and I can only hope subsequent volumes start arriving PDQ. Or there will be hell to pay (read the book to get the pun). I don't know if this counts as the first salvo in a new genre of libertarian satirical thriller sci fi, but it is the start of something great. Go, man, go!

[Carlex · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good, an excellent start of a series about first contact. The story promises, the characters are well depicted and I have enjoyed the dialogues.

What if aliens with dubious intentions contact with a family of christian talibans? But the novel has more than this, and frequently the "sense of wonder" comes for the incredible but plausible Prophecys family. I'm impatient to read the sequel.

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

A copy of this book was provided by the author for the purpose of obtaining a review.

I didn’t know what to expect going into this. The religious elements were the wild card and it could easily have gone downhill at any moment……..But it didn’t. This book is superbly written. Everything was so well balanced and laid out.

At no time did I feel attacked or demeaned for being a Christian. (I want to get that out quickly.)

The fascinating balance and contrasting perspectives between religious and secular views for the same event makes up the core of the story. Even at the end I still have trouble deciding if the events are divine or extraterrestrial in nature. I think it’s aliens, but it feels like it’s divine. My brain is both confused and delighted by this contradiction.

Poppy Prophecy, yes that’s his name, is probably the main character if I had to pick one. What was really great was that for the first half of the book I couldn’t tell if he was a “flawed good guy” or a “sneaky bad guy”. (I eventually settled at “flawed guy making excuses for the inexcusable”.) He was never treated poorly except when his own actions showed why he was given that treatment and never based solely on his religion. That might seem like a little thing, but it’s what made much of the controversial nature of the book easily digestible. As for his character, he’s very single minded. This keeps him focused but it also makes it difficult for him to change his mind especially when confronted with new information. In all, I both love and hate his character. I love the way it’s crafted and works, but I hate who he is as a person.

Jace Kuliak is the secular/average joe sort of character that provides a lot of context but doesn’t actually provide much as a character or to the bigger story. As such, he was a bit disappointing. He was mentioned by name in the book description, so I thought he’d have a bigger role. I do have a feeling that he’ll be a bigger player in the next book, so we’ll see.

Deuteronomy Prophecy is the second oldest daughter and fifth(?) oldest overall. She’s a very motherly type and a dutiful daughter too. Her growth is the most interesting and, again, I think she’ll be even more prominent in the next book.

Ginger is also a character worth watching. She’s gone through so much and it’s not even over. For me she provided a good “average” Christian perspective and occasionally the voice of reason. Without her, the latter part of the story would have been flimsy. She really grounded the story in reality and made it relate-able to the average sort of person.

When it came to plot it’s very well done. It’s a little bit not my preference as there isn’t much action or a more cerebral experience. However, I did enjoy it immensely. My one and only point of issue is that I don’t really feel compelled to read the next book. Again, it could just be the style and lack of action. I don’t feel unsatisfied with the experience but it’s hard for me to imagine the many routes the sequel could take.

Something I’d like to add is about the “sidebar” side stories/exposition. Basically they’re linked bits of addition content that can provide context without breakup up the flow of the book. I didn’t read them all but the couple I did read were a nice addition.

In summary, it’s a very well written book that is sensitive to it’s controversial content but doesn’t shy away from it. The plot is good, but lacks a strong hook for the sequel and the characters are extremely organic and real feeling. I would definitely recommend this book and I have every intention of reading more in the series.

For more reviews like this one, visit us at ReadingOverTheShoulder.com

[Alle Bücher müssen gelesen werden · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bestes Buch 2017.

[Charles · Rating 3 out of 5]

Alien Invasion/First Contact Xover with satirical elements taking place in 2009-10, in the Alaskan wilderness in deep winter amongst the somewhat insular permanent population. First book in the Upon This Rock series.

My ebook version was 362-pages long. It had a US 2017 copyright. The book included a Dramatis Personae, Reading List, and a Glossary.

David Marusek is an American science fiction writer. He is the author of five (5) science fiction novels in two (2) series, and several short stories. This is the third book I’ve read by the author. The last being Mind Over Ship (Counting Heads #2) (my review).

Marusek is an underrated author with not a lot of books to his name. I’ve liked most everything I’ve read of his, with the caveat that his long-form works are Serial Fiction. What interested me about this book was it takes place in Alaska where the author lives. Alaska is a locale I have some interest in. I’ve had this book in my virtual TBR for a while—its time had come.

A Sufficiently Advanced Alien lands in the Alaskan wilderness in the dead-of-winter. An evangelical family who believes in religious apocalypticism led by an Abusive Parent who is also a False Prophet makes First Contact in what proves to be an Alien Infiltration. Book ends in a Cliffhanger.

The writing was tight. It’s also: humorous, horrific, and gritty. I found no errors in the prose. The author chose a complicated structure for the story. It contained: multi-character POVs, flashbacks, and peculiar digressions labelled “Sidebars”. The POVs were handled well. However, the large number of POVs consumed more pages then needed. The story would have benefited from fewer characters. The flashbacks were likewise well done, although concentration was required to keep-straight who’s POV was in the past. Sidebars were either a 1st or 3nd person, narrative to reveal major character's thoughts and motivations. The sidebars were Hyperlinked at points within the narrative of my ebook to a location at the ‘back of the book’. There were nine (9) total. They took place in both the present and the past. I can’t imagine how this worked in the dead-tree version of the story?

The characters were good, despite there being a surfeit of them. Picking out the protagonist was hard to do. However, I suspect it was Jace Kuliak, a 20-something, National Park Service Backcountry ranger. His interests are: woman chasing, binge drinking and drug taking in the great outdoors. He initially finds the alien spacecraft, but loses it to the Prophecy family. Jace and Deuternomy (“Deut”) Prophecy mutually experience Love at First Sight in a bizarre, flashbacked Ruby Ridge-like meet cute. Deut was the 19-year old daughter of the antagonist Poppy Prophecy. Poppy was the patriarch of the Prophecy clan consisting of his wife and their 17 children. Pastor Prophecy brought his family to a remote location in Alaska to sit out the imminent, biblical Apocalypse as found in the Book of Revelations. He lords over a survivalist compound that includes an abandoned copper mine. There was also an alien, who appears to be a highly distributed entity?

There were numerous supporting characters. They included Alaskan permanent residents of various political and religious beliefs, grifters, and Feds. Only one Native American character appeared. Most amusing was the female, governor of Alaska. She’s a parody of Sarah Palin .

The story contained sex, drugs, and rock’n roll. The sex was moderately graphic. Note the story included sexual violence that some readers may find disturbing. Softcore drugs and alcohol were consumed, sometimes to incapacitation. Note that marijuana usage was illegal in Alaska until 2014, 5-years after the story. Prior to then, it was a blackmarket cash crop in the state. Rock music was vaguely mentioned. The Prophecy family were also fine musicians and singers of hymns.

The story contained violence. Violence was physical and small arms gun based. It was somewhat graphic. Body count was low.

The Alaskan world building was very good. To quote Poppy Prohecy,

[Alaskans] worshipped dog mushing, hunting, and fishing, booze and drugs, guns of all types, music of all genres, public radio and TV, hard rock gold mining, cage fighting and the military.

In the past, I’ve spoken to folks who have lived in Alaska, although in the more urban locales. Their descriptions of life in remote areas like where the story was set jibed. In particular, I liked the author’s portrayal of rural life during the Alaskan winter. At that time, after the transient 'Summer People' leave, remote, rural areas become isolated by weather and depopulated. In addition, the politics and sociodynamics in Alaska sounded right.

I did notice one technical issue. The Jace character used both an Apple iPhone and an iPad with telephone connectivity in 2010. The iPad was first released in April 2010. It’s unlikely that he could have afforded or was that much an Early Adopter, to have had one in that remote Alaskan location so early.

The alien’s future-tech was likewise credible. It appeared to be a sophisticated application of nanotech? Marusek was very careful about building in the energy requirements of the alien’s creation of an infrastructure on Earth. I was disappointed by the zombification of Earth creatures reanimated to do the alien’s bidding. I’ve seen it before.

In general, the world building of this story was better than the plotting. For example, the modern, winter life in rural Alaska and its graphic detail. The political satire was amusing. The author also did well with the alien tech, and the alien manipulation of the First Contact.

Then there were things I disliked. First and foremost, was the Cliffhanger ending. At this writing, there are three (3) books in the series. It’s unclear, if the third book is the final book. (I have little patience for Serial Fiction.) Despite some really twisty main plotlines, there were some really trite minor ones woven into the story. For example, the Jace/Deut romance was cringy. Finally, the structure of the book was unnecessarily complicated. Between the many POVs and flashbacks, it extended the page count. The series could likely easily have been a duology and not a trilogy with some editing. In particular, the “Sidebars” were peculiar and unnecessary.

However, I likely will be reading the next book in the series, Upon This Rock: Book 2 — Glassing the Orgachine . There’s just enough to keep me interested.

[Ian · Rating 4 out of 5]

**I received this book free from NetGalley.com in return for an honest review.**
All spoilers will be tagged.

This was a pleasantly surprising pick up. The story mostly revolves around an uber-religious family who witness an alien event an interpret it as biblical.
Firstly, I have to say the character development in this story is nothing short of fantastic. The main character, Prophecy is fantastically realistic. A complicated, conflicted yet dedicated man looking out for is family.
Despite the sheet number of characters, I never felt like any were lacking any uniqueness.

The writing was fantastic. Perfectly paced so there was never a lull in the book. Consistently engaging and you always had the feeling that everything you were reading was significant and relevant.

My sole criticism would be that this was clearly the first book of a series, as also indicated in the title. It is clearly very reliant on that. Not many of the mysteries of the novel were revealed or answers given. The book cannot stand alone if necessary. While I am perfectly happy to read the next installment when its ready, I just wish there was a greater sense of satisfaction from having more answers within a self contained story.

Would happily recommend to friends. Very much looking forward to the next book.
This has also encouraged me to pick up other works from David Marusek.

[Andrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well, this was unexpectedly excellent. It explored concepts of alieness, and relationships in an unusual way. I saw juxtapositions and contrasts of three groups - myself and other secular humans, the fundamentalist Prophecy family and the extraterrestrial aliens.

The Prophecy family's reality is alien to me. The extraterrestrial aliens are also alien to me but strangely less so to the Prophecy family as they present through the family's reality. But what about the aliens themselves? How do they view the humans - Prophecy family and others? Does their reality conform with that of the Prophecy family? We have only tantalising hints.

Nice cliffhanger - please hurry up and write!!

ps. Some other reviewers found the Prophecy family section too long. I found it fascinating.

[Roger N. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wish there was more of this book, which is good, right? That enthusiastic "I want to find out what happens next" is leavened with a little "I want even the littlest thing to be explained or resolved", though, which makes it a little less good. I really did like the book, which is a sideways alien invasion story, I guess, and it ends with a hell of a final sentence. I just hope I remember what was going on when the next one hits.

[Erin · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is a fictionalized version of Pilgrim's Wilderness, with space aliens.

[Faith Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

The blurb is an honest and accurate summary, so I’ll repeat it here: “An epic new science fiction series about family, faith and alien invasion in the wilds of Alaska.”

I under-estimated and miscategorised this book on first impression, thinking this could turn out to be a religion-steered message hidden within a science fiction book, i.e. a “what if” wish-fulfilment fantasy where the Christians turn out to be right. That assumption was based on the narrow minded believer character introduced near the start and also some mention of angels and the end of days. What it turned out to be is a good mainstream adventure which includes an obsessed faith character and the poor family he drags around Alaska with him. This man thinks scripture will give him all the answers but that’s a layer of illusion that he accepts and the reader doubts, so we can’t immediately see what’s going on and who is pulling the strings. There are plenty of other characters who aren’t bugbears and do think in mainstream secular ways, which provides the counterpoint to set his family apart from both the average joe and other churchgoing folk.

The reason the story needs that sort of character is because it makes for an interesting story to drop a seemingly alien artefact into this character’s path and see how he dances, what belief interpretation he places upon it. Yes, of course he knows he is right (because he’s mad) but here at last is evidence that the world must accept that he’s right and they’re all wrong. This intervention, this stone plopping into the pond trips a sequence of behaviour which propels the events of the story. If the apocalypse is nigh, the rules and laws no longer matter, do they? It all makes sense to the protagonist but to the rest of us it’s getting crazy.

Interestingly, an alternately-minded individual would think “Aliens! The only possible conclusion!”, using exactly the same erratic object/evidence to validate a conclusion that’s totally different; and thus reveal their own susceptibility to an equally valid/invalid belief system. A paranoid person might be convinced it’s the UN spying on our minds. In other words, as humans, we spot patterns in everything and adapt our behaviour to that pattern. If it fits multiple patterns or theories, people regularly do the wrong thing and settle on one based on their prejudices, then only see what they want to see. When crowds do this, it can become lethal.

The mystery is therefore whether the sudden intrusion into our world is aliens, angels & devils, hallucination or simply secret government stuff that’s dropped off a satellite. Who knows? When a representative of one of the above cultures turns up, we are supposed to wonder if they are the real deal or something quite different that’s just telling people what they want to hear. My shallow reading of psychology flipped my guesses well off the mark. Why, for example, would any external influence’s point of contact with humanity be so flawed? Couldn’t they do better? Even the main character’s lawyer seemed to have so much more about him, so many layers that hadn’t surfaced.

I liked reading about life in a national park in Alaska, land grabbing, seasonally migrating communities and how people living in that state don’t feel secure that their supply lines are at the mercy of their larger neighbour. I also got deeply into the characters and how they interacted (badly) with their opposing views of the world and how we should live. The belief angle was inter-cut with a lot of doubt, so that worked well. Generally, it was well written, gave me insight into another approach with its flaws and benefits, posed some puzzling questions and I liked it, which was unexpected. I think the story would have read better if it was condensed by about a hundred pages but even that served to convey the feeling of being in a setting where things unfold at their own pace, where there’s more time to enjoy your surroundings and take it all in. The winters are hard, the summers are majestic and life is somehow more real than common urban existence where people don’t really live, just burden themselves with constraints and dream of a day far in the future where they will be able to escape – and briefly live for about two years when their life force is spent. The alternative view, to ignore rules and responsibility, live for now and instead put our trust in the supernatural is a pleasingly alternative way to behave insanely. In both lifestyles, reality catches up.

Altogether, an impressive book that should have been tragic but wasn’t, should have had a solid explanation but didn’t, suggested it would conform to an opinionated stereotype but was confounding enough not to, all puzzles, questions and enigmas dragged through pine-scented snow.

[Tyler · Rating 4 out of 5]

First Contact (Upon This Rock) by David Marusek is set in Alaska where a deeply religious family, and separately a local ranger, witness something unidentified falling from the sky into the treeline.

The story focuses in detail on The Prophecys – a family living off the grid in the forests of Alaska – how they survive in the bitter cold, what their daily life is like. They are also deeply, fanatically religious – the father "Poppy" autocratically running the household, with a bible in his holster, regular prayer sessions, etc. waiting for The Rapture.

It was written very well, and had me from the start – the unusual way of living coupled with the strange object that appears in the woods makes it very readable. The SF / First Contact aspect is actually quite minimal, but it didn't detract from the overall story. The ending wraps things up to a degree but there's more to be continued in book 2

[Katya · Rating 5 out of 5]

A strangely-addicting mix of Alaska and religion with a touch of sci fi. That sounds iffy, right? Don't worry. All these ingredients combine into something great. My eyes have been glued to this book for the last three days!!! The ending is satisfying enough for now- it's not one of those annoying cliff hangers- but already I wish there were more to read.

PS: Enjoyed how the author based several characters on real Alaskan players: Sarah Palin as Vera Tetlin, the Pilgrim family as the Prophecy family, etc.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this fun book!

[Christian Orton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hard to rate this one to be honest. I enjoyed reading it for the most part, but it's clearly just the start of a story. Not much happens. I'm sure Book 2 will see more action and plot.

However the characters are deep and rich, especially for how many of them there are. That's what kept me going. And Marusek writes them realistically. All their decisions, I'm thinking "Yes, that's exactly what someone of that personality would do." That's not typically the case with best-seller fiction, I find.

This would make a great series, too. Netflix or whatever.

[Matt Heavner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Crazy Alaska / Pilgrim family (called Prophecy family here) science fiction! Too close to the truth - with lots of slights twists (McHardy instead of McCarthy, Wallisa instead of Wassila, etc). Really imaginative. I don't know if someone who doesn't know the Pilgrim family story/tragedy would get as much from this. The genius is in the slight twist from crazy reality. I can't wait for the second book to arrive!

[Austin Allred · Rating 5 out of 5]

I won this book through a free giveaway.
And I am so glad that I did. What a wonderful sci-fi novel. The author does a great job of making the story feel exciting and making you wonder what is going to happen. Then the ending of the book leaves you definitely wanting to pick up the second book.
Very excited to continue this story and see what the author has next in store.

Would recommend.

[David Gullen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Rollercoaster Adventure

It's been a long time since I've read a book this quickly, a compelling read, an introduction to a big and strange story of alien invasion (or not), of the end times (or not). Many great characters populate this cold Alaskan world, some I only hope get the endings they deserve. To discover, I must read on!

[Michele · Rating 5 out of 5]

outrageous...funny....a page-turner

[Lincoln Thurber · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh, I hate religious extremism and books about that - It is just too depressing.