Yesterday's Kin by Nancy Kress
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Summary: Aliens have landed in New York.
A deadly cloud of spores has already infected and killed the inhabitants of two worlds. Now that plague is heading for Earth, and threatens humans and aliens alike. Can either species be trusted to find the cure?
Geneticist Marianne Jenner is immersed in the desperate race to save humanity, yet her family is tearing itself apart. Siblings Elizabeth and Ryan are strident isolationists who agree only that an alien conspiracy is in play. Marianne’s youngest, Noah, is a loner addicted to a drug that constantly changes his identity. But between the four Jenners, the course of human history will be forever altered.
Earth’s most elite scientists have ten months to prevent human extinction—and not everyone is willing to wait.
The first book I read by Nancy Kress was Beggars In Spain and I loved it so I was very glad to have the opportunity to read this one. First contact stories are a favorite of mine and this one didn't disappoint though I did have a feeling throughout that there wouldn't be enough time to tell a satisfying story. I must admit that my worry was mostly for naught. By the end, it felt fairly complete and I chalk my want of more answer to some things (Noah and the sugarcane, why people with the extra haplogroup get the invites to the Deneb homeworld) to being a greedy reader. I won't spoil but I will say that I didn't exactly see the twist with the Denebs coming and it was a well done reveal. I also liked how Marianne's family and their relationships to one another played out. It felt uncomfortably real.
I'd definitely recommend this to fans of Kress & also to science fiction fans in general. It was a very quick read and is the sort that stays with you, hovering in the back of your mind for some time after you've read it. Absolutely well done. As always, time spent reading Kress is time well spent and I look forward to her next.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.
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