To Each This World

Czerneda (The Gossamer Mage) takes readers into a stark, visceral far-future world where the citizens of New Earth peacefully coexist with the affable but enigmatic slug-like alien Kmet. Then human Arbiter Henry Nowak receives a message from one of the six sleeper ships New Earth sent out to colonize other planets two centuries prior to the start of the book—and learns that the entire shipload of colonists were recently killed. The Kmet warn that another alien race, the Dividers, are intent on wiping out humanity, so Henry frantically gathers a crew to search out the other five sleeper ships and the planets they colonized to evacuate all survivors to New Earth before this mysterious foe can find them. Czerneda uses this exciting setup to examine concepts of community, culture clash, trust, and loyalty as the New Earth crew, decked out with their Kmet technology, meet their less advanced descendants who evolved societies along different paths. There’s also the problem of potentially millions of new humans populating New Earth, which may strain the delicate balance required to share the planet with the Kmet. Dense with bizarre aliens and imaginative technology, the intricate worldbuilding sets this apart. Readers seeking substantial science fiction should check this out. Agent: Sara Megibow, KT Literary. (Nov.)