Published in 2002, Faber's The Crimson Petal and the White has since sold more than a half million copies. Here, in one of his more fantastical novels, gung-ho pastor Peter is sent by the mysterious USIC to the new planet Oasis to ascertain the peacefulness of the natives. But missives from wife Bea suggest that Earth is in collapse, and Peter, questioning the motives behind his assignment, is torn between love and duty.

This latest book from Faber (The Crimson Petal and the White) begins as a pedestrian story about a missionary and then gets really interesting. After an emotional leave-taking from his wife, Bea, protagonist Peter is strapped into a hyperspace vehicle bound for a distant planet. Under the auspices of USIC, a corporation secretly colonizing the planet Oasis, Peter is tasked with serving the planet's indigenous population. A group of these cloaked humanoid beings has a hunger for the teachings of Jesus and the Bible, which they call "The Book of Strange New Things," and cultivating them is a priority because USIC needs the food they provide for a barren Oasis. Peter rapidly goes native and bonds with the aliens, though at the expense of his long-distance relationship with Bea. He learns the secret behind the aliens' love of Jesus and nearly dies in the process. VERDICT The grim plight of these enigmatic beings' lives explains their attachment to the Christian message, which puts it in a different light. Maria Doria Russell's The Sparrow meets the loneliness of Stanislaw Lem's Solaris; recommended for lovers of thought-provoking sf. [See Prepub Alert, 4/14/14.]—Henry Bankhead, Los Gatos Lib., CA