One of the two leads of the novel is Cora, a young woman who's having to deal with the fact that her absentee father is on the run from the authorities, and that his quest for 'the truth' has made the lives of his family difficult to say the least. Of note, "Fremda" is an adjective meaning "foreign", "Ĉefo" is a noun meaning "chief" and "Esperas" is the present tense verb form of "to wait".

There are still a lot of interesting plot twists and the weirdness of the aliens is maintained through their technology and weapons; when two of the aliens come into conflict, Ellis successfully portrays the idea of humans interfering as being akin to a gnat trying to stop a jet fighter dogfight. The way that Lindsay describes him makes him so inhuman, more akin to combination of animal and machine; or as she described in my interview with her, a mix of the Xenomorph and Eva from Wall-E. And there is also a third amygdaline subspecies, one that is only mentioned in passing and is referred to as "non-biological".Government Conspiracy: The United States government has been covering up proof of extraterrestrial life for quite a while when the story begins. There has long been an axiom in their civilization that intelligence is almost impossible to evolve and their ancestor was unique. The aliens use them as a functional Sure, Let's Go with That translation of proper nouns that have no native human vocabulary.

My point it, everything is understandable, although it is a bit of work to understand at the beginning. But in becoming an interpreter, she begins to realize that she has become the voice for a being she cannot ever truly know or understand, and starts to question who she's speaking for - and what future she's setting up for all of humanity. Interspecies Romance: By the end the book, Cora and Ampersand's relationship is edging out of mere friendship and into something a bit less platonic. Left Hanging: A number of key plot threads are not resolved by the end of the book, likely being saved for the sequels.But there were also times she came across as naive and foolish, and seemed to not really have her life together. Made of Iron: Cora is disemboweled by Obelus and loses a lot of blood; this following having her arm torn open in a multi-vehicle crash the day before. And if it meant getting bitched at by her mother and an indefinite period with no car, then oh well. These Hands Have Killed: Cora and Ampersand discuss the effect of having taken a life after Cora has accidentally caused the death of Vincent Park.