Ray Amic has crafted a complex work with enermous scope in his debut novel, "The Fate of Venus." This richly layered novel explores what it means to be human, encompassing life on Earth in the distant past and future, the small meaningful moments that make up our lives, and the scientific decisions that change our world forever. The United States of America launched the first message into space aboard Pioneer 10, hoping it would one day be found by intelligent beings. This hope is answered when the message is detected and captured by the inhabitants of the planet Sedik O Seven. The people of...