Apostles of Mercy

Apostles of Mercy is the third book in the Noumena series (apparently intended to be five books). In this installment we continue to follow Cora, who is acting as the main interpreter/liaison for a group of aliens on Earth. While Cora is trying to figure out her relationships with both humans and aliens, there is more trouble brewing as another group of aliens is discovered.

Consistent with the first two books, this novel is action-packed. Drama, battles, explosions, espionage - you really want to keep turning the pages. I find the author's depictions of the aliens thought-provoking. Many times aliens are written basically as humans, but with horns or purple skin or whatever. If not that, then the other choice is just generic “monsters.” Sci fi where the authors really try to imagine truly alien intelligence is fascinating. (I think Arrival does a good job of this, and maybe also Project Hail Mary?) This series is trying to do that as well - and mostly succeeding.

Overall, fun read and a great series (I think I liked this book less than the first but more than the second).