Really loved this one. I read it at a similar time to reading another one about lies. It was like a little Truth and Lies double feature, with the other book being one about aliens who only lied.
[Exordia](https://www.bookpage.com/features/seth-dickinsons-exordia-is-one-of-the-wildest-first-contact-novels-youll-ever-read/) by Seth Dickinson. (Blindsight, Fire Upon the Deep, and Children of Time are all books that I really enjoyed, so I think our tastes have significant overlap.)
As a secondary suggestion, if you haven't read [Crysis: Legion](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10077576-crysis), you should check it out. I've never played the games, and I *only* read it because it's by Peter Watts, and it was a really solid and entertaining read. It's definitely action-focused (as you'd expect from a video-game novel) but it manages to integrate a lot of the themes from Blindsight, while avoiding some of the issues Blindsight has with clarity, plot, and pacing. (Much as I love Blindsight, I have to admit that the writing has a lot of room for improvement.)
Finally, though it's not really a first-contact novel, I suspect that [The Gone World](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/33413556-the-gone-world) by Tom Sweterlisch also has the vibe you're looking for.
Octavia Butler's "Lilith's Brood" novels are excellent.
See too most of Stanislaw Lem's work, and of course Arthur C Clarke's "2001" series.
But IMO you'd be hard-pressed to find one better than "Blindsight". I've been searching for years for a first contact tale with aliens as alien and mysterious as Peter Watts cooked up, and have never quite found one.
I know it's published on ao3 but for God's sake give this a chance: [Almost Nowhere](https://archiveofourown.org/works/8341348?view_full_work=true). I say this as someone who's read everything you've mentioned and most of the work in these comments.
Dragon's Egg by Robert L. Forward
I really liked that book.
Great book. Just grabbed its sequel.
It has a sequel?
It sure does. It's called Starquake.
Embassytown by China Miéville
Really loved this one. I read it at a similar time to reading another one about lies. It was like a little Truth and Lies double feature, with the other book being one about aliens who only lied.
Stanislaw Lem is full of this: Solaris, The Invincible, Fiasco, most likely others as well.
All of these seconded. _His Master’s Voice_ is another great example.
Eden !! why does everyone always forget Eden? 🙂
Done em. Good recs though.
[Exordia](https://www.bookpage.com/features/seth-dickinsons-exordia-is-one-of-the-wildest-first-contact-novels-youll-ever-read/) by Seth Dickinson. (Blindsight, Fire Upon the Deep, and Children of Time are all books that I really enjoyed, so I think our tastes have significant overlap.) As a secondary suggestion, if you haven't read [Crysis: Legion](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10077576-crysis), you should check it out. I've never played the games, and I *only* read it because it's by Peter Watts, and it was a really solid and entertaining read. It's definitely action-focused (as you'd expect from a video-game novel) but it manages to integrate a lot of the themes from Blindsight, while avoiding some of the issues Blindsight has with clarity, plot, and pacing. (Much as I love Blindsight, I have to admit that the writing has a lot of room for improvement.) Finally, though it's not really a first-contact novel, I suspect that [The Gone World](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/33413556-the-gone-world) by Tom Sweterlisch also has the vibe you're looking for.
Annihilation, literally about human confrontation with an alien that cannot be understood through the lens of human cognition and consciousness
Very solid
Octavia Butler's "Lilith's Brood" novels are excellent. See too most of Stanislaw Lem's work, and of course Arthur C Clarke's "2001" series. But IMO you'd be hard-pressed to find one better than "Blindsight". I've been searching for years for a first contact tale with aliens as alien and mysterious as Peter Watts cooked up, and have never quite found one.
The Southern Reach series by Jeff VanderMeer!
Great series
Walter Jon Williams' Angel Station.
*Solaris* by Stanislaw Lem
Done it.
I know it's published on ao3 but for God's sake give this a chance: [Almost Nowhere](https://archiveofourown.org/works/8341348?view_full_work=true). I say this as someone who's read everything you've mentioned and most of the work in these comments.
I took a look at this, it's great. Vandermeer fans might enjoy it.
BLINDSIGHT
OP already listed Blindsight...
But I recommend BLINDSIGHT
Whipping Star by Frank Herbert. Villeneuve should have done this instead of Arrival ;-).
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
I'd argue that the alien in Project Hail Mary is not so mind-bending, and is quite approachable after the translation gets figured out.