Fluency by Jennifer Foehner Wells

We all know that governments keep secrets, but the American government has been keeping a big one, a city sized one in fact.  In the 1960s they discovered a city size alien space ship orbiting far beyond Mars.  NASA has finally sent a six person team to investigate.

Linguist, Dr. Jane Holloway, is expected to learn how to communicate with the aliens, or should the ship be deserted, decipher their artifacts.  What she does discover, is very different indeed. The voice of an alien, speaks to her in her head, making her question her very sanity.

This is a very enjoyable book that pulled me in from the opening chapter.  I liked the unease of Dr. Bergen, an aeronautics engineer, when he first meets Jane to convince  her to join the program. It made him seem real and approachable.

The concept of a city size ship to explore is a great setting for the novel.  It provides all sorts of opportunities for author Jennifer Foehner Wells to take the story in any number of directions.

The six person crew is interesting.  They were all selected as the best people for the venture, but they also have to get along for the lengthy trip.  There is a good mix of friendship as well as the expected tensions of people who have no say in working together.

All in all, this is classic science fiction, it comes close to being fantasy, but  stays just within the realm of possible.  I look forward to reading more by Jennifer Foehner Wells.

Thanks to Virtual Author Book Tours and author Jennifer Foehner Wells for my review copies.   For additional stops on this tour, including reviews, interviews and contests, visit Virtual Author Book Tours.