Status
Available
Call number
Series
Collection
Publication
Tor Books (2017), Edition: First Edition, 352 pages
Description
Fiction. Science Fiction. Thriller. Aliens have landed in New York.A deadly cloud of spores has already infected and killed the inhabitants of two worlds. Now the plague is heading for Earth, threatening 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�but not everyone is willing to wait.… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member SocProf9740
Good solid science-fiction. Nice to see older women in prominent narrative positions. I don't like kids so having a toddler presumably save the day was the least credible or interesting part of this story. Otherwise, the science part is developed and well explained for a large audience. There is
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much time spent in labs and little focus on the societal impact of alien arrival and its consequence. So, if you like a good first contact story with emphasis on the science more than on the politics, have at it. Show Less
LibraryThing member kateprice88
There is nothing quite as satisfying as finally finishing a book you’ve had your eye on at the library. It’s an almost mystical experience – on one hand you know that book will always be there, until, that is, the exact moment you go to check it out at the front desk and it’s inevitably
Tomorrow’s Kin is a novel based off of Nancy Kress’ Nebula and Locus award winning novella, Yesterday’s Kin. This is the story of Dr. Marianne Jenner, a middle aged geneticist who is summoned by the aliens who have recently come to Earth and made camp in New York Harbor. The aliens cannot survive in Earth’s atmosphere, and while they’ve made contact and were granted some space to live, no one has seen them face to face. It comes as a great surprise to Marianne, and everyone else, when she, along with several others, is summoned by them. No one knows what they want, but Marianne is about to find out.
The majority of the story is told from the point of view of Dr. Marianne Jenner. She is quite an interesting person, and one I was very excited to be reading about. Marianne is the sort of main character we see very rarely – a woman past her prime with adult children and grandchildren, and who works in a STEM field. I cannot remember the last time I read about such a character, and that alone pulled me into the story.
The cast is a very large one, though, and while Marianne is the character from whose point of view we experience much of the story, she is not the only one. We also get certain scenes from one of her sons and one of her grandsons. Commentary by a character who is six or seven isn’t always something that keeps me particularly engaged, but Caleb was a rather unique child, and I didn’t find those sections disengaging.
The pacing was just a bit disjointed. Overall, this a slow novel. Time is taken to explore the first contact situation. More than that, the novel isn’t afraid to take the time it needs to explore the bonds of family and look at the bigger picture. However, the middle section of this book did tend to drag a little. The foreboding, sense of the unknown, and excitement are not as prevalent in the middle section of the novel.
Tomorrow’s Kin is not simply another first contact novel. It is more than that. It is a novel that explores genetics, environmentalism, virology, and, most importantly perhaps, family. Outside of aliens, family is what this novel is all about. Marianne watches as her children grow and change, as they work out their issues between one another or else bury them, as they succeed or fail at jobs and relationships. They don’t all agree. In fact, they often don’t. Each character has a different take on why the aliens are really there, what that means, and how that will effect Earth and her people. Yet, no one character ever proves to be wholly right. No one character is ever wholly wrong, either. Not only was this an interesting way to go about setting plot, but it was fairly true to life. No matter how smart Marianne is, she isn’t a genius who can foresee the solutions to problems and events. Sometimes she messes up. Sometimes her children are right. Sometimes she should have listened to someone else’s advice. Sometimes her children should have trusted their parents words just a little harder.
Despite liking Marianne’s character overall, I still found her aggravating at times. Yet, I still found Marianne aggravating at times. Some characters referred to her as too optimistic and naïve. Honestly, she came across more as sticking her head in the sand, especially in later chapters. It was as if she had yelled ‘everything’s fine’ so many times she actually started to believe it.
Overall, I liked the first half of the novel more than the second. The pacing was more consistent, the characters more believable, and the premise more exciting. I’m unsure if I’m going to be continuing with this series. If the library acquires more of series I probably will. If you like first contact stories I would suggest giving Tomorrow’s Kin by Nancy Kress a read, or, at least, the novella it was based on.
This review was originally posted on Looking Glass Reads, a book review blog.
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been borrowed by someone else only a few short days ago. And so begins my tale of reading Tomorrow’s Kin by Nancy Kress, the first book in the Yesterday’s Kin Trilogy.Tomorrow’s Kin is a novel based off of Nancy Kress’ Nebula and Locus award winning novella, Yesterday’s Kin. This is the story of Dr. Marianne Jenner, a middle aged geneticist who is summoned by the aliens who have recently come to Earth and made camp in New York Harbor. The aliens cannot survive in Earth’s atmosphere, and while they’ve made contact and were granted some space to live, no one has seen them face to face. It comes as a great surprise to Marianne, and everyone else, when she, along with several others, is summoned by them. No one knows what they want, but Marianne is about to find out.
The majority of the story is told from the point of view of Dr. Marianne Jenner. She is quite an interesting person, and one I was very excited to be reading about. Marianne is the sort of main character we see very rarely – a woman past her prime with adult children and grandchildren, and who works in a STEM field. I cannot remember the last time I read about such a character, and that alone pulled me into the story.
The cast is a very large one, though, and while Marianne is the character from whose point of view we experience much of the story, she is not the only one. We also get certain scenes from one of her sons and one of her grandsons. Commentary by a character who is six or seven isn’t always something that keeps me particularly engaged, but Caleb was a rather unique child, and I didn’t find those sections disengaging.
The pacing was just a bit disjointed. Overall, this a slow novel. Time is taken to explore the first contact situation. More than that, the novel isn’t afraid to take the time it needs to explore the bonds of family and look at the bigger picture. However, the middle section of this book did tend to drag a little. The foreboding, sense of the unknown, and excitement are not as prevalent in the middle section of the novel.
Tomorrow’s Kin is not simply another first contact novel. It is more than that. It is a novel that explores genetics, environmentalism, virology, and, most importantly perhaps, family. Outside of aliens, family is what this novel is all about. Marianne watches as her children grow and change, as they work out their issues between one another or else bury them, as they succeed or fail at jobs and relationships. They don’t all agree. In fact, they often don’t. Each character has a different take on why the aliens are really there, what that means, and how that will effect Earth and her people. Yet, no one character ever proves to be wholly right. No one character is ever wholly wrong, either. Not only was this an interesting way to go about setting plot, but it was fairly true to life. No matter how smart Marianne is, she isn’t a genius who can foresee the solutions to problems and events. Sometimes she messes up. Sometimes her children are right. Sometimes she should have listened to someone else’s advice. Sometimes her children should have trusted their parents words just a little harder.
Despite liking Marianne’s character overall, I still found her aggravating at times. Yet, I still found Marianne aggravating at times. Some characters referred to her as too optimistic and naïve. Honestly, she came across more as sticking her head in the sand, especially in later chapters. It was as if she had yelled ‘everything’s fine’ so many times she actually started to believe it.
Overall, I liked the first half of the novel more than the second. The pacing was more consistent, the characters more believable, and the premise more exciting. I’m unsure if I’m going to be continuing with this series. If the library acquires more of series I probably will. If you like first contact stories I would suggest giving Tomorrow’s Kin by Nancy Kress a read, or, at least, the novella it was based on.
This review was originally posted on Looking Glass Reads, a book review blog.
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LibraryThing member Shrike58
While I still have to mull over this novel a bit more my overall reaction tends to be on the "meh" side. I like the high concept of it all in terms of first contact being depicted as a highly disruptive event, particularly when taking place in a time of economic and environmental collapse. I like
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the characters being adults with clashing opinions exacerbated by the high stress of their situation. However, like the other work I've read by Kress, I have to admit that I'm not feeling a lot of emotional involvement in the story. The climax of this novel also didn't do a lot for me. I'll still probably read the other books of the trilogy. Show Less
LibraryThing member nkmunn
A mature female scientist protagonist who is a grandmother who works. She isn't/ hasn't been a perfect mom, or maybe she has ? She hasn't been the perfect wife or girlfriend, or maybe she has ? She isn't/ hasn't been the perfect friend or co-worker, or maybe she has ? Why is it so hard to know?
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Because life's not perfect and neither are the people we love, depend on, armoire or even envy. Why? Because good days follow bad days, but sometimes not in that order. She's a unique heroine and i'm glad Kress wrote her onto the page. Show Less
LibraryThing member Glennis.LeBlanc
This novella is set in three parts. First dealing with the aliens and finding out who they are. Marianne is the scientist that has found DNA evidence of a newly discovered mitochondrial DNA sequence that the aliens are very interested in. The second part deals with a few years after the aliens left
A good solid read and I’ll be interested to see where it goes next.
Digital review copy provided by the publisher through NetGalley
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with a few people with this DNA sequence and in exchange they have given us technology that we can build our own ships and come to them. The Earth is also dealing with worldwide disaster from passing through a giant spoor cloud that the aliens warned us but didn’t have the technology to stop it. The third section deals with the spaceships almost being completed. As much as you would think this is a tech story this is more of a people story and how persons and people as a whole react to all of these changes. A good solid read and I’ll be interested to see where it goes next.
Digital review copy provided by the publisher through NetGalley
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LibraryThing member jennybeast
Wow, this book just never lets up. I kept trying to put it down and then I'd turn a page instead and not come up for air for hours. Tragic, hopeful, complex, interesting and thoughtful. Really, really enjoyable what-if with regards to alien contact and evolutionary paths.
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2017
Physical description
352 p.; 9.41 inches
ISBN
0765390299 / 9780765390295