Description: A compelling thriller of alien contact, human surveillance, and the deep mysteries of the universe--and of ourselves Robert Charles Wilson, says the New York Times, "writes superior science fiction thrillers." His Darwinia, a Hugo finalist, won Canada's Aurora Award; his most recent novel, The Chronoliths, won the John W. Campbell Memorial Award. Now he tells a gripping tale of alien contact and human love in a haunted but hopeful universe. At Blind Lake, a federal research installation in Minnesota, scientists are using a technology they barely understand to watch everyday life in a city of lobster-like aliens on a distant planet. They can't contact the aliens or understand their language; all they can do is watch. Then, without warning, a military cordon is imposed on the Blind Lake site. All communication is cut off with the outside world, and no one knows why. The scientists go on with their research. Among them are Nerissa Iverson and the man she recently divorced, Raymond Scutter. Ray believes their efforts are doomed, that culture is arbitrary, and the aliens will forever be an enigma. Nerissa believes there is a commonality of sentient thought; our failure to understand is due to our own ignorance. The behavior of the alien she has been tracking seems to be developing an elusive logic--and she comes to feel that the alien is somehow aware of the project's observations. But her time is running out. Ray is turning hostile, stalking her. The military cordon is tightening. Understanding had better come soon.

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