There's no way I can write a review of Eifelheim by Michael Flynn without spoilers. So if you read this, get the book to see how the author weaves everything together.
Cliologist (some kind of historian) noticed that a small town, Eifelheim, disappeared off the face of the earth. We're in the Medieval Times. The historian, Thomas, along with a research assistant, and his girlfriend, Sharon, pieced together the story. It seems that a flying ship crash-landed in the nearby forest next to Eifelheim. The aliens looked something like giant grasshoppers.
Everyone of course is afraid of these strange beings. Since this is Medieval times, they were thought to be demons, except these demons were afraid of people.
One thing I liked about this novel is that the priest is a good man. He was not a pedophile. In fact, this priest found a little girl and cared for her. He also helps with the sick, including disrobing and washing the sick women and the author treats the priest's caring as perfunctory. The Black Plague hits the village and the priest works as nurse, and priest.
When the villagers gradually meet the aliens most of them help them with food and taking care of the wounded. Of course, some stay away and call them demons. The aliens weren't used to the cold so the villagers gave them warm clothing and took them in their homes to be near a warm hearth.
When the Black Death came, the aliens helped with the sick villagers. The aliens weren't affected by the plague, at all. But they gradually died off because they weren't getting the nutrition they needed. So Tom and Sharon concluded that everyone died in Eifelheim and those that didn't, left and told the story about the demons that kept the town from ever being inhabited again.
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