The aliens are coming. Human beings spy their ships about five years off, and society barely keeps from falling into chaos at the news. By the time the week of the arrival is here, the United States, like many countries, is under martial law. Naturally, people are panicking. For his own part, down-on-his-luck high school Latin teacher, Austin DeSantis, cannot see any other explanation than that the aliens are coming to kill them all. Mired in despair, he plans on spending all his money on a night with an internet-famous prostitute. When misfortune robs him of that chance, he turns to armed robbery and even stealing from his own mother to get the money. This is the part of the book that is the hardest to read but it is luckily short. Once the aliens land the action really gets going. 

Then the aliens land, speaking only Latin and bowing before the pope in Rome. It turns out the aliens are claiming to be Catholic and have come to earth to request access to the Eucharist. This does nothing to assuage anyone’s fears. Most people think it’s a ruse meant to help them take control of humanity. 

Austin finds himself plucked from his spiraling life and thrust into the role of translator for the US government, who want someone unconnected with the Church to interpret for them, at least that is the reason they say they want him along. Part of the tension of the story is trying to figure out which stories that the American general is telling are true and which are false. 

He accompanies the US general and the head of the Vatican observatory onto one of the alien ships, where they are greeted by Virgil, a sentient bipedal robot built by the aliens to serve as a diplomat for them. Austin quickly finds himself mired in an interspecies political intrigue far beyond his abilities to navigate. Incongruously he begins to regard the strange astronomer priest and the sentient robot as friends. Suspense builds until (and this is not a spoiler; it’s in the prologue) the aliens are goaded into violently attacking those they see as enemies of the Church. Austin finds himself faced with an impossible choice– saving the world by betraying the alien and church friends he has made or watching his civilization burn. 

This is a thrilling page-turner that will have you racing to get to the ending, but it’s more than a Catholic style Independence Day. At the heart of all the intrigue, Austin is seeking a way to live with himself and the mistakes he has made. The back of the book says this is a sci-fi retelling of Augustine’s Confessions, and it very much is a story of contrition and redemption. The ending nearly brought me to tears. There are subtle nods to Augustine throughout the book, mostly through the use of character names and other subtle references. Fans of the spiritual classic will enjoy picking out these easter eggs, but readers can enjoy the story without any knowledge of St. Augustine at all. 

Fans of sci-fi alien stories, action thrillers, and deep emotional characters will devour this book quickly. If you are looking for a cozy read, this is very much not that. Though nothing sexually graphic is shown, porn use and sexual fantasy are openly discussed. The violence, although not present throughout the whole of the book, is also gut-wrenching at times and includes child death as well. If readers are concerned about whether they can handle this or not, reading the opening prologue is a good test to see if it is a good fit. Many teenagers should be able to read this with no issue, but I write all this so that both teens and parents can make an informed decision on what is best for them. Certainly, no evil action is condoned or glamorized in the book. 

Is this the right book for your non-religious friends and relatives? Again, the best test for this is the premise. If your non-Catholic reader isn’t put off by the idea of aliens who are bluntly Catholic, it will be a thrilling and enjoyable read. Thus, Catholic readers, will find it most edifying. 

I’d describe this story as a mix of Arrival with Augustine’s Confessions. Fans of action stories and classic invasion stories will find this a fresh and intriguing new take on the genre. With its focus on the interpersonal drama, fans of soft-sci-fi will find much to enjoy in M.R. Leonard’s inaugural fiction. I heartily look forward to more from him.