I was in the mood for a first contact novel, but I already read most of the classics on the topic (Childhood's end, Rendezvous with Rama, etc). So I decided to look for something less known. Normally when I do this, it ends bad. Well, not this time.

“The Hercules text” takes place in a very very near future, where a SETI-like project finally hits jackpot, receiving a non-natural signal that comes from another galaxy.
We are not alone: the novel focuses on the consequences that this newfound knowledge has on our society, from multiple point of views. Politics, religion, psichology, the personal belief of every individual, nothing is left out. And that happens even before a SECOND message is received, a very complex one, containing who knows what kind of knowledge. And who knows how that knowledge will change us…

This is speculative fiction at its best (emphasis on “speculative”). What would happen if. The kind of SF i prefer, because that’s what SF purpose should be: question the path we, as a species, are walking, trying to guess where it will take us.
The Hercules text does this very well, stating in more than one occasion than the contents of the second message, whatever scientific treasure it may contain, is not as important as the first one. Because the knowledge that we may not be alone has the potential to disrupt our way to see the world and ourselves in a much deeper way.

If I really have to split hair, there’s something I really didn’t like in this novel. That’s the way they translate the second message. I believe should something like that really happen, it would take decades (to say the least) to make any meaning of the signal. Here they do it in a matter of weeks. And the first breakthrough is achieved in a very very silly and unrealistic way. Put everything in a computer, press a button and we're done. And I say this as an IT guy. But hey, I understand the necessities to conclude the story with the same set of characters, so that’s ok.

So, read this. Without hesitation.