Bright Morning Star

by Simon Morden

Simon Morden is an award-winning novelist as well as a bona fide rocket scientist, with degrees in Geology and Planetary Geophysics. In Bright Morning Star he delivers perhaps his finest work to date, a ground-breaking take on first contact.

Sent to Earth to explore, survey, collect samples and report back to its makers, an alien probe arrives in the middle of a warzone. Witnessing both the best and worst of humanity, the AI probe faces situations that go far beyond the parameters of its programming, and is forced to improvise, making decisions that have repercussions for the future of our entire world.

“Morden has a natural talent for a plot that keeps the reader guessing.” - The Guardian

“Morden is a master storyteller” - Interzone

Genres: Science Fiction, Audiobook, Fiction, Science Fiction Fantasy

190 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 24, 2019

About the author

Aka S.J. Morden
Dr. Simon Morden, B.Sc. (Hons., Sheffield) Ph.D (Newcastle) is a bona fide rocket scientist, having degrees in geology and planetary geophysics. Unfortunately, that sort of thing doesn’t exactly prepare a person for the big wide world of work: he’s been a school caretaker, admin assistant, and PA to a financial advisor. He’s now employed as a part-time teaching assistant at a Gateshead primary school, which he combines with his duties as a house-husband, attempting to keep a crumbling pile of Edwardian masonry upright, wrangling his two children and providing warm places to sleep for the family cats.

His not-so-secret identity as journeyman writer started when he sold the short story Bell, Book and Candle to an anthology, and a chaotic mix of science fiction, fantasy and horror followed. Heart came out to critical acclaim, and Another War was shortlisted for a World Fantasy Award, but with The Lost Art, things suddenly got serious. Contracts. Agents. Deadlines. Responsibility. Scary stuff. The Lost Art was subsequently a finalist for the Catalyst Award for best teen fiction.

As well as a writer, he’s been the editor of the British Science Fiction Association's writers’ magazine Focus, a judge for the Arthur C Clarke awards, and is a regular speaker at the Greenbelt Arts Festival on matters of faith and fiction. In 2009, he was in the winning team for the Rolls Royce Science Prize.

Reviews

[Sebastian · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a wonderful old-school first contact story with an excellent premise, well written and engaging, and it is interesting and novel to read something happening in the “right now”, but I have to knock a star off for the vagueness and unrealistic optimism of the last few chapters. This is the second novel I’ve read of his, and Morden seems to have a tendency to create “character roles” and then just sticks people-shaped things in those roles, which then leads to lack of dimensionality, or cardboardiness of characters in an otherwise beautiful book.

[Julie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Starts out good with 1st person and we pick up clues about who this person is who is telling us the story. Until about halfway when things get political and it just goes downhill from there.

Don't get me wrong. I'd love it if the events in the book actually happened in real life. However I don't think it would be that simple. Especially in certain countries.

Nah, it's a pipe dream.

[Bill Boyd · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a First Contact novel should be

This novel takes place in Ukraine prior to the Russian invasion, therefore it duplicates many opinions of the time (at least from a British view). But that is a strength. We can view it all in hind site, because Russia invaded. The novel explores many ideas, like the development of AI into sentience, that it could be benign. That the nature of our moral and ethical codes are independent of religion. That honesty is perhaps a sacred value for our species, as is critical thinking. Oddly I see the beginnings of precisely the future found in this book. As the Ukrainians have made this a defensive war of Western values. Which leads me to a final question. Is Zelenski a space alien.

[Julian · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nice idea undermined by childish philosophising

What starts as an interesting discussion of what it is like to be an alien on Earth, told from the alien’s perspective, soon fails. You see, this isn’t an SF book, but a treatise on the tired old canard ‘wouldn’t it be nice if everyone was nice’. ‘Imagine’ with lasers, as it were.

You see, our narrator reforms the world by the simple process of ordering countries to stand down armies and stop making or buying weapons. And naturally, what happens? Of course, global peace breaks out all over. Because there are no terrorists. There are no people with a grudge. There are no fanatics. There are no narcissists. There are no people who simply like hurting and killing.

When put like that, it’s obvious that the author is not the sharpest tool in the shed, but it gets worse. You see, how does the narrator do this? By threats regarding access to whizzy alien technology. By being an all-powerful external agent, backed up by a non-specifically terrifyingly violent space-ship in Earth orbit. And yet, as we see near the end, where the author satirises proper political interviewing, the narrator cannot accept that he is responsible, that he has forced peace on the world, at the barrel of a gun.

In other words, the ever-so-ethical narrator has enslaved humanity, and the author is so self-satisfied that he cannot see that that is what his book about bringing peace is: a hymn to threats of violence and terror wielded by a dictator who refuses even to take responsibility for his actions. And it isn’t satire. The author clearly believes every word of it.

This book is contemptible.

PS I wonder if the author is even aware that ‘morning star’ is one of the titles of Lucifer - the tempter and emissary of evil?

[Donna Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sympathy for the... Fallen Robot Angel?

This is the superbly intelligent, highly philosophical story of the "lost" robot: an AI data-gathering probe sent to Earth from the ship "Mother".
The robot is collecting samples in a forest when it comes across a group of soldiers carrying out an atrocity of war: the murder of civilians in a location where their intent to keep the murder a secret is clear. Encountering a survivor, a boy called Petro, the robot is given the opportunity to learn how to communicate with humans, and through its increasing awareness we learn about the horror of the ongoing war.
From its programming, the robot knows it should communicate with Mother, but Mother will not talk back. All the robot knows is it should return data, that it is not of earth, but about its origins and purpose it knows nothing. And yet the various humans it encounters are determined to read particular purposes and intent, and symbolism. In the process of trying to protect those who have helped it, the robot must turn its questions inward.

I just read one review of this book that asks, did Morden not know that the title referred to Lucifer? Ha! Well, here's where knowing about your religious philosophical texts will give you an extra layer of appreciation for what Morden has done here, but I must stress you do not need such a background to love the story. It's brilliantly told through this uniquely 'innocent' narrator. The use of the plural you to address us humans individually as part of the collective whole of humanity is inspired, and in these times it's wonderfully refreshing to read something that is both clever and optimistic.
Of course, the title is very clever, because of the distinction that the Morning Star is 'bright', so not your fallen angel...but here is this robot, blazing through the sky in his burning pod, falling to earth and people query its provenance and intentions, but they also decide to follow...
I think I would follow the robot too. Recommended for anyone who would enjoy a fairly quick read that is thought -provoking, sad, and ultimately uplifting.

[Gustavo Lanzas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simon Morden is new to me, I basically picked this at random. It was a quick read, and uses a first-person narrative all the way thru, which is a little different, but makes sense in the context.

The story is told from the point-of-view of an AI alien probe that lands in the middle of a conflict somewhere in Europe (seems very much like Crimea) and begins to collect data on humans based on what it sees and experiences in the middle of this war.

The probe experiences the range of the human condition - from kindness and compassion to selfish anger and violence. In a way, it's the ultimate objective observer, and its character arc is an interesting commentary on consciousness, human behavior, compassion, and morality - particularly morality devoid of emotion from a purely intellectual angle.

I was really surprised by this one. Has some dark bits, but the characters develop quickly, and have surprising depth, even the ones that appear briefly. The narrative style takes a little getting used to, but the payoff is excellent.

[Mark Ford · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good story about a lone sentient probe arriving on Earth in a war zone and eventually ushering in a new age of peace.
I think the author is pretty naive and over optimistic about humans and there ability to work together for a better future but I'm a jaded cynical bastard so I'm biased.
The first 3/4 of the tale was entertaining enough but the last bit lost it for me.
Not great and not terrible, just meh!

[Paul Bard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderfully executed SF novel. Best book by Morden so far, and the third I've read.

What makes it so striking is the representation of the implicit prometheanism of rationalist game theoretic calculations.

The fundamentally optimistic nature of the AI character makes it easy to overlook the game theoretic implications it engages in. Are they for real? I would have appreciated a fuller fleshing out of these implications, which would have required a very different and more difficult book, with multiple voices.

Watching the AI narrator develop along Piagetian lines is fascinating, however we might question whether rationalism even CAN develop without emotional and instinctive intuitions. The uncharitable reader might consider the ending a deus ex machina, but I disagree: it follows from Robot's behaviour that it is designed as a moral and ethical creature from the very start.

These ethical biases must be built in to artificial intelligence, inevitably. So the more interesting question is the provenance of Robot's makers, how they came to create it, and their methodology. Because that presages the algorithms we will surely have to follow ourselves in the future, for better or worse.

[Lawrence · Rating 2 out of 5]

What would first contact look like from the perspective of an alien? That’s the central theme of this novel. Told in first person perspective of Robot, a sentient probe that’s here to learn and explore.

It’s a great theme, and it’s used to explore many aspects of humanity, like war, genocide, hierarchy, nationalism, humor medicine. But it’s super tedious. Personally after Robot disassembles the 2nd car, I was beyond done with the “watch me describe a car engine without using ‘car’ or ‘engine’ because I’m an alien and don’t know what those are.” That’s fine in a short story, but in this one it goes on ad nauseam. I actually listened to the audiobook and had to put it on 1.5 speed after the first couple chapters.

It started super slow, and doesn’t get into any human relations until like 25% of the book… which means there’s zero plot until then.

I pretty much only finished it to see what happened, and because I love Mordens other work so freaking much.

There’s also a solid complaint about the naïveté of the geopolitical outcome, which is really a commentary on current world affairs. Again, this would be excused in a short story, but to just keep driving at it, at length… again, tedious.

[Maurizio Codogno · Rating 5 out of 5]

Come ci può vedere una sonda aliena

I libri Newcon Press sono di solito interessanti, e quindi sono contento di recensirli. In questo caso, però, "interessante" non basta a dire quanto mi sia piaciuto questo libro. Parlare del Primo Contatto dal punto di vista di una specie aliena non è naturalmente nulla di nuovo; Morden però sceglie di farlo dal punto di vista di una sonda aliena, il che cambia completamente le carte in tavola perché non solo è diversa la logica con cui si vedono le cose, ma anche la conoscenza di partenza che è nulla e viene man mano creata. In effetti mi sono accorto che mentre sono riuscito spesso a capire a cosa si stava riferendo la sonda, ci sono stati vari casi in cui ho fatto ipotesi errate, come nel caso di Pedro. A posteriori era tutto ovvio, ma i primi indizi li avevo persi...
La seconda parte del libro, quando la sonda diventa una specie di deus ex machina nello scacchiere mondiale, è secondo me più debole: Morden mette in bocca alla sonda le proprie idee, che per quanto apprezzabili segnano una bella differenza con quanto eravamo abituati a considerare. Ad ogni modo raccomando a tutti la lettura!

[Ansate · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a lovely book. Our protagonist is a survey probe from another civilization, looking like a robot, but acting like a full AI, a person. Meeting humanity is bumpy to say the least, but their perspective on our civilization is fascinating to follow along with. It's a little sad, but ultimately one of the most hopeful books I've read in a long time. The characters are great and more than likable enough to keep me engaged. [return][return]Having read other books by Morden, I'm doubly impressed with his range - this felt like none of the others I've read.

[Heli · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting story. First person narrative of an alien AI probe sent to Earth to collect samples and report to Mother, a vessel that brought it to orbit. I like that it is not set in America as many books nowadays are. Though I find it difficult to believe that an alien sentient being could bring peace to earth, it is a nice viewpoint. The beginning of the book was strong and intriguing, but the end fell a little flat.
Thank you LibraryThing early reviewers and NewCon Press for a copy of this book.

[Igor Veloso · Rating 4 out of 5]

There’s good storytelling here and I can see this one on Netflix as a movie. (I’ll just throw the idea over there to pick up.)

This is the most interesting story of first contact I read in a while.
A Probe of unknown origin is sent to planet Earth with a very complex but straightforward mission: survey, collect and report. According to its limited data, presents itself to the reader as a tourist simply taking photos of things and places of interest, storing them and sending them home for everyone to remember. To him, everything is alien, whether its an organism or fabricated. Addresses us using the pronoun you and its aware enough to say I. Honestly, it was the best and most relatable approach and keeps paying off throughout the book.

Unfortunately, it lands in the middle of a warzone, facing situations out of his control and out of his purpose. Its functions are highly adaptable but the goal is one and one only, and that’s what makes the whole plot interesting. Everything it does is with the purpose of exploration even if it looks or sounds cold and uncivilized. It acts and sees the world akin to what we think of a genius level child.

It may be a tale of discovery but its also a Coming of Age story of a Robot.

While witnessing and experiencing the worst and the best of humanity, he’s forced to improvise towards our behavior and the reader can expect it to be as analytical as possible, but also as simple and fluid to understand. It uses some technical language and when it comes to observing living organism interactions, he unashamedly uses Darwinian language, mainly dominance. Because on an evolutionary level that’s what we do all the time: whether we try to win an argument or simply smile, its an unconscious game.

The scale of the story slowly increases to the point of Game Theory and the nuances of geopolitics, and I feel this is important to add. Simon Morden loves to keep the reader guessing, and to those more familiar with sci fi and real space science, you’ll keep guessing about where these events stand on the Fermi Paradox, but also uses real and actual events to portray a very plausible reaction to first contact in a cultural and political sense.

I think the best way to enjoy this novel is to not read too much before hand. I feel the synopsis is perfect. At least worked for me. However, I feel like some things must be put out there because as a reader I also like to know where I should embrace, forgive or keep distance.
That said, while I always avoid spoilers, I’m going to give some fair criticisms (probably too strong of a word) that might tell a tidy bit too much:

- Its clear it happens in present day or at least a very near future and has reference to current controversial and real situations like Fake News, Government secrets, war climate and even certain politicians everyone talks about. There’s even a couple jabs about “owning someone (women)” that the Robot doesn’t understand.

- Its not necessarily preachy and keeps up with the logic of the Robot so to speak, however, I still see the views of the author (or maybe the mainstream world?) in there. The moral of the Robot seems to get more and more partisan, and not just in a survivalist/explorer sense, but the author seemed fit to name some personalities and situations but leave some of the Robot’s most immediate (world building) interactions unnamed and vague. It looks like a mix of “I’ll take an opportunity to criticize this guy” with “I’m avoiding going specific here not to create a ruckus”. I feel like it should get personal in all aspects, specially when its established many things are the same as the reader’s real world.


Conclusion

Its a plausible First Contact tale mixing well the (violently) cautious and (naive) good nurtured nature of humans.
The book is bloody and shocking enough. Portrays violence in a gory enough way. It shows war and body language in a very consistent manner, getting to the right amount of politics. I found the text fluid and sometimes humorous, reminding me of a few AI movies. Uses technical terms but nothing that makes you think too much.
It keeps you very entertained though, not only because of the idea it portrays but how slowly but surely the events unfold to bigger ones. A bigger scope with bigger consequences. Its like watching a child learn, grow and having a bigger impact on the community.

Morden takes advantage to mention a few of the pros and cons of our current technology, although leaving the sentence to the ones wielding it.

The only issue I had was it came to a point where I felt some specific details were being left out while others blatantly were not, (9th paragraph) but for the sake of what? Why was that? There was no reason for the Robot or organisms it interacted with to ignore it. It almost felt like there was a “He Who Must Not Be Named” in the room, at times. I can see and empathize why some points might become controversial once it started naming them, but it still felt selectively cautious.

Regardless, I give this book a solid 4 starts. I did love this tale and it read like drinking water.
Recommending it to sci-fi fans, maybe specifically fans of First Contact and ET movie. If you looking for a real life approach (not Hard Science though) to modern human reaction to aliens, I’d point you to this one.

[John Herbert · Rating 2 out of 5]

The concept of an alien probe sent to Earth and how it reacts, drew me to this book, I must admit.
I was a little disappointed really - I was perhaps expecting a bit more action, a bit more confrontation, but in the end it was all a tiny bit tame.

The moralising by the robot did get a tad tiresome but it was a scenario from a different angle I suppose.
My under enthusiasm, i believe, is probably coming across, but it is what it is.

[Dolizoss · Rating 4 out of 5]

First 3/4 of the book are excellent Sci fi, and the Robot is one of the best AIs I've ever read, up there with Justice of Torren and I love it.
However last 1/4 becomes vague, nebulous and spanning unknown number of years. While I understand why that is done, the optimism of the ending feels unearned and unsatisfying especially in comparison to how good the build up to that point is.

Still, a very good read.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting concept, but ended abruptly

I really liked the concept and it was a joy to follow the robot in first person as it learned and became more human (if you will).

However, the story seems to end abruptly just after introducing new characters and plot elements.

I really liked Simon’s “mars novels” and can recommend them both.

[Jeremy · Rating 4 out of 5]

It had it's slow moments that I felt like I was trudging through, and internally thinking, "Just get on with it!" However, I also believe those parts were necessary for the author to stay true to the character, and to build upon later.

I gave it five stars on Hoopla, four stars here.

I recommend this book to anyone who likes SciFi.

[Anthony Edwards · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting and enjoyable

Robot the central character was well written and a thoroughly believable personality. I found this book thoroughly engrossing. A good read for 9 up, I'd say

[Oliver · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entertaining but I felt a little childish. It starts quite strong, but in the end gets a little too much with too many deus ex machina moments.

Still a good audiobook, hesitating between 3 and 4 stars, but rounding down this time.

[Peter Staples · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing!

Such a excellent book, and unlike many stories I’ve read lately,it filled me with a sense of optimism. I also enjoyed the way the story held together all the way to the end.

[Matt Francis · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the principle but I was left a bit underwhelmed at the ending. If this is the scene setter for another book they may read well together but overall there was too much deus ex machina in the last couple of chapters for me to really like this one.

[Jorogarn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just perfect, thank you.

[Craig Russo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite good.

[David Shields]

Superb, once again. Simon Morden is a phenominally talented writer. Unusual start, and very touchinf at the end.

[CLIVE Talbot-Brown · Rating 2 out of 5]

A bit simplistic, a bit naive, a bit 60s hippy idealism, hints at a fringe European conflict in its narrative which is slightly uncalled for.

[Caitlyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sci-fi is not usually my jam but this book was really well written And I really enjoyed it

[Doug · Rating 3 out of 5]

Starts off slowly, but builds up a good head of steam. Not great, but a good read.

[CorrieGM · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the most fantastic books I have read this year.
The story is told from the point of view of an extraterrestrial probe. That makes the book difficult to read, especially in the beginning. But you will be rewarded.
The probe does not know the things we humans know and it looks at things differently. So, in the beginning, every time the probes describes something, you have to think hard what it means.
Later on, when the probe starts learning the language, the reading gets easier.
I like the probe very much, the way it thinks and the consideration it shows.
Initially the probe lacks moral and social graces; sometimes it made me stop in horror.
I like the way the probe described the way people tried to dominate each other.
I like the view of the probe on the women and I like the women in the book very, very much. They are tough women.
Though I was afraid the book would have a terrible ending, the end is acceptable enough.

[Jstatt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simon Morden's done it again! This book is now one of my favorite Sci-Fi books I've read, and I highly recommend it to someone who likes a bit of light sci-fi. The story is told through the eyes of an alien probe sent to earth, which makes the book a bit hard to understand at some points, especially during the beginning when the robot doesn't know how to describe anything with much detail so just ends up calling various things cubes, spheres, or megafauna. This isn't too much of a problem, not for long. Anyway 4/5 stars or 8/10, will read again.

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Robot is a fascinating character

A little bit preachy but a great primer on space related issues and earth ethics. A space probe landed on earth from another planet becomes increasingly sentient and concerned to effect world peace. Entertaining, inspiring, and enlightening. Great read.