Chloe Zerwick

Like Contact and A for Andromeda, The Cassiopeia Affair is another message-from-outer-space science fiction novel. Only rather than dealing with the actual message as the main plot line in The Cassiopeia Affair the plot primarily revolves around the political ramifications of the message itself.

There's main parties in the novel, those that believe the message and wish to use it as a catalyst to join countries together with the common goal of improving humanity through disarmament along with show more implementation of structures to encourage peace. Then there's a second party mainly consisting of a doubtful scientist, his underling and a senator he ropes in to help scuttle the plans being made.

Overall, it's not a bad story, it's enjoyable and there's all the elements of humanity within - greed, distrust, power, deceit, hatred. However I was expecting it to be more science-y and less political whereas it primarily is a novel of politics revolving around the reaction to the message. show less

This is an intelligent and thought-provoking piece of political sci-fi. The discovery of a transmission from another planet at a time of great political strife (America, China and Russia are on the brink of making the Cold War very hot indeed) could potentially bring world peace or world war. Though the consequences affect the whole world, the fate of the world comes down to the petty interactions of individuals - two Hungarian scientists with an old rivalry, an aldulterous drunkard show more encountering an old flame, a young man struggling to deal with his attraction to the boss's wife.

The book is very well written but slow moving, taking me several chapters to really get engaged with the characters. The ending is difficult to predict, but the epilogue gives a strong sense of satisfaction and it really is worth plowing through to the end.

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Exhibition catalogue of Steuben Crystal from the Helen Harper Brown collection at the MFA, St Pete in 1985

Glass history