The Kiss From the Bright Place.

Eric Brister Science Fiction

They didn't come to destroy us. They came because they thought we were adorable.Eighty thousand light-years away, an alien civilization made of pure sound and rhythm catches a stray signal from Earth — a person rapping badly into a hairbrush in front of a cracked mirror. To the Vael, who believe nothing beautiful should ever be allowed to stay dim, that small, hungry, hopeful creature is the most precious thing in the sky. So they make a decision, and it sounds almost sweet: our little dolls deserve a raise.The invasion arrives without ships, without armies, without a single drop of blood. The Vael come as a frequency — and then they come as a kiss. One gentle press of the mouth, and you are replaced: a perfect copy with your laugh, your memories, your love for everyone you've ever loved. The copy passes every test. It weeps at the right movies. The only difference is that it believes, with the force of an ancient and loving god, that your purpose is to shine — and it will not rest until it has pressed that gift into the mouth of everyone you know.It's worse than zombies. A zombie warns you. The Vael look exactly like us — like us, but finally happy. You cannot tell who has been changed. Your mother. Your best friend. The person who handed you this book.Music critic Marcus Deel has spent his whole life drawing one clean line between good and bad — and now he's one of the last dim humans left, hiding in a basement, learning that the only way to prove you're still human is to hate something out loud. Because the Vael love everything. And love, it turns out, can erase a person more gently than any weapon ever invented.A haunting, hypnotic science-fiction thriller about fame, fear, and the terrible mercy of being loved until you disappear.Find something you hate today. Out loud. It's the last light we've got.

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