Contact - carl sagan
I have to confess two things: I didn't know Carl Sagan was behind the movie Contact, nor that there was a book.
As science fiction goes, Contact is a fantastic read. A radioastronomer catches a signal from a star, which turns to have a message encoded, and that message is for building a machine. It is unclear what the machine would do, but why would someone go through all the trouble of sending instructions if it wouldn't be worth doing it?
Of course the book was written during the cold war, so the Soviet Union/USA tension is present.
The instructions forced humanity to create new technologies, as well as to dedicate vast amounts of money to it. What I liked about the book, which is less present in the movie, is the geoeconomical context. Why paying for something you don't know if it'll work or what it'll do. How do you distribute resources around the globe, how do you share data (and why would you do it if you want to stay ahead from the others.)
What I didn't like about the book is that in many cases it goes the extra mail to explain stuff. From why the main character (Ellie) behaves in a given way, how science works, to more philosophical digressions. Sometimes the book reads like an effort to show you how smart the author is, and how many things he actually knows.
In may cases (likely not by chances), reminded me of Project Hail Mary - Andy Weir and his need to explain everything, even how to convert from kilometers to miles.
Overall, it was worth reading for the contextual value the book has, and because it was written by Carl Sagan.
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