Published three years ago, in 2022, Arkhangelsk by Elizabeth Bonesteel is a phenomenal example of soft science fiction: a speculative novel asking big questions while at the same time focusing less on science and technology than on people.
This is a moderately paced and lengthy book set—if not in the deep future, at least a few hundred years out from the present. Descendants of space travelers have established a colony on a distant and inhospitable planet, believing themselves alone in the universe with Earth in ruins behind them. But when a ship similar to the one they have arrived on appears in the sky above their colony, they realize that their assumptions about the fate of those left behind have been wrong. Paradigms shift, as two very different but equally human cultures meet and begin to challenge one another.
The thing this author does so well—and which really gives this book its soft feeling—is to parse the nuances of every conversation, and every relationship, between people. This takes time, and makes for a longer but arguably more rewarding read. It is also worth noting that the most significant relationship in this book develops between two women; although whether the relationship is romantic or not remains uncertain.
It is a rare thing for a novelist to cinch an ending but this one does: this last page could not be more perfect, given everything that has come before it. This ending is provocative, as in the case of the best science fiction; but also emotionally resonant and moving.