The Book of Strange New Things

Why it’s on the list: Michel Faber’s novel of a missionary sent to preach to an alien species while his marriage fails at home — the most literal version of the premise that first contact is a religious problem.

Where I heard about it

• @politicalmath — one of three book covers he posted on X (June 2026) in reply to the claim that a coming Spielberg alien film would have people of faith “second-guessing their own religion.”

Connections

• Out of the Silent Planet and Speaker for the Dead — the other two covers in the same post.
• Science Fiction