The less Lawrence Schoen writes about buffalitos, the more I like him. The Rule of Three is a very clever YA level tale of alien contact. The alien comes to Earth in a part of China that has almost no contact with the outside world. The story is from the perspective of a man with roots there, but who lives in the west, working for the state department. When he hears of the alien, he immediately goes there to be with his grandmother and see it.
The alien's "macguffin" is that it only values, and can work with, things that have a close connection to their maker. No more than three degrees removed. I can make something, and I can give it to someone else, and that person can pass it along again. After that, it becomes disconnected from life. So all of our modern-sourced products are disconnected.
The cleverness is mixed up in the conclusion so I will not reveal it, but the story is well thought out and a solid choice as a Nebula award nominee. Definitely worth the time. Strong 3 stars.
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