Tomorrow's Kin

June 30, 2014
America turns its back on the world in the name of economic protectionism, but is forced to acknowledge the greater universe when the extraterrestrial Denebs—revealed to be lost descendants of humans mysteriously banished from Earth 150,000 years ago—settle in New York Harbor. Geneticist Marianne Jenner is recruited by the Denebs for unspecified assistance, and she faces a fast-approaching deadline: an interstellar spore cloud that has already swept two Deneb worlds clean of human life will reach Earth in 10 months’ time. There’s plenty of modern science in the story, but the plot’s twists and moral quality feel oddly reminiscent of golden-age stories. Kress has received numerous accolades and awards for her previous works, but this perfunctory novel does little to demonstrate her talents.

Starred review from June 5, 2017
Science fiction doyenne Kress expands her 2014 Nebula Award–winning novella, Yesterday’s Kin, into this sharply observant family drama that, in the best traditions of SF, functions as entertainment, education, and social commentary. The alien Denebs have come to Earth to warn about an interstellar virus. Dr. Marianne Jenner, an evolutionary biologist, discovers that some humans are related to the aliens. Naturally, they wish to meet their Terran relations. Relocated to the alien floating base in New York Harbor, Marianne joins the effort to find a cure for the virus before it reaches Earth, while her three children react to her collaboration: Elizabeth, a Border Patrol agent, wants the alien energy shield tech; Ryan, a wildlife conservationist, sees the aliens as an invasive species; and knockabout Noah finds himself strangely at home with the Denebs. Some humans seek further contact, while others want vengeance for changes blamed on the Denebs. Kress mixes contemporary issues of isolationism and refugee status with classic SF first-contact tropes, threaded neatly with solid scientific theory and speculation, but she always keeps Marianne and her family at the center of events without making the characters or their decisions too obvious or too noble. Agent: Eleanor Wood, Spectrum Literary.