Contact and Commune

First the space expedition sets down on 5023 Eris to claim the asteroid only to find somebody else was already there. But those that are already there are not human. Nor do they wish to give up the asteroid. And while Earth demands the expedition kick them out it is unlikely that will happen - the beings are from an alternate series of Earths and have technology that could be up to 200 million years ahead of the United World Soviet. Now, add a couple of murders and shake well. L. Neil Smith's works can get very heavy when he decides to debate and lecture instead of tell a tale. In his book he tells a tale, a interesting one, in which he keeps the setting just that, a setting in the background, that colors the story and molds the characters reactions, but doesn't hit us like a hammer. I liked the cover - unlike many sci-fi books the cover shows a real event in the novel and is one of the reasons I grabbed it.