The Radiant Dark
The discovery of an alien communication changes a family’s trajectory in Alexandra Oliva’s rich speculative novel The Radiant Dark.
When scientists announce that a repeating light pattern is a message from extraterrestrials, Carol drops her newborn son, Michael. Later, she names her daughter Rosanna, after the Rossians, the beings discovered the night she was conceived. Overwhelmed by simmering anger and resentment toward her husband, Carol resolves to be the best mother. In the years between the global response to the Rossians and beyond, Carol, Michael, and Ro navigate a world wherein aliens exist, and families still split like light in a prism.
A sense of wonder permeates after the discovery of the Rossians, though the story remains grounded because of its heartbreaking missteps and resonant triumphs. Even as Michael and Ro repeat the patterns of Carol’s childhood, like being adultified, cast as emotional caretakers, and filled with unresolved anger, the trio’s fraught connections to one another are centering.
Explanations of the science underpinning deep space communication are found throughout the book. Concepts in the field of space science are illustrated by the content and analysis of the messages traded between the species. The book’s timeline spans over thirty years, settling on pivotal years that coincide with life events and scientific milestones.
The narrative excavates the emotional and psychological trauma of the core family through their engagement or disengagement with Rossian existence: Carol turns to spirituality, Ro turns to science, and Michael turns to nature. By following their parallel approaches, often in consecutive sections, the book shows how the ties that bind them stretch thin but do not break.
The Radiant Dark is a poignant first contact novel about the universal search for belief, connection, and understanding.
Reviewed by
Dontaná McPherson-Joseph
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