Hole in the Sky by Daniel H. Wilson

This is a science fiction thriller set in the near future, mostly in Oklahoma. The author wrote The Andromeda Evolution and Robopocalypse, has a Ph.D. in robotics, and is a Cherokee citizen, so you know there’s no coziness expected here. Ancestors, yes. Robotic horrors, definitely.

The story is narrated by five characters, one unnamed. Two are related, and four come together for first contact with alien visitors at the Spiro Mounds complex. The most appealing characters are Jim Hardgray, one year sober, and his estranged teen daughter, Tawny. They belong to the Cherokee nation. Fortunately, Jim listened to some of the lessons that Tawny’s grandmother Elisi taught them. Mikayla works for NASA on the Voyager project and uses AI goggles. Gavin Clark works for the U.S. government on investigating UAPs, or Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena. The novel is dark, but with glimmers of hope, and includes visions of Cherokee ancestors along with predictions of the very near future. Suspenseful, memorable, and unique.

Brenda