The Necessity of Stars by E. Catherine Tobler
E. Catherine Tobler is a titan across speculative genres. A World Fantasy Award, Hugo, Nebula, Utopia, Locus, and Sturgeon plus an exceptional editor (she edited my novella), it should really be no surprise that Tobler knows how to defy when it comes to genre. The Necessity of Stars will haunt you, and you need to be haunted by it.
The Necessity of Stars is about first contact, but this isn’t your epic Close Encounters of the Third Kind tale. It defies that epicness and instead analyzes the heart and sinews of it. It’s about the precariousness of memory, and also climate change, connection in a ravaged world, and the disconnect between that connection and memory. This vital science fiction novella defies the genre while embracing it.