Writing for Kirkus Reviews, John DeNardo selected Nancy Kress’ Yesterday’s Kin as a Top Speculative Fiction Read in September.
Kress is an author who grabs the “What if?” premise of science fiction with both hands and delivers thought-provoking pieces of literature.
Read the rest of DeNardo’s picks at Kirkus Reviews.
For more info on Yesterday’s Kin, visit the Tachyon page.
Cover by Thomas Canty.
For the Chicago Tribune, Gary K. Wolfe reviews Nancy Kress’ Yesterday’s Kin.
With so many overbudgeted and underthought movies involving giant alien spacecraft suddenly appearing above the world’s cities, it’s interesting to see what a skilled and experienced science fiction writer can do with this familiar trope. Nancy Kress has always written stories as accessible to the novice as to the seasoned fan, and “Yesterday’s Kin” gets my vote as this summer’s most inviting introduction to science fiction for new readers. It’s short, suspenseful, populated with well-drawn characters and based solidly in speculations drawn from evolutionary biology, particularly concerning human haplogroups — groups which share a common ancestor.
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With the clock running, much of the plot plays out like other scenarios of impending apocalypse, but Kress’ skill in portraying the human reactions to the threat — particularly among Marianne’s own troubled family, each of whom comes to play an unexpected role in the outcome — gives the novel an almost intimate feeling of a family drama. This manages to unite with the scientific speculation and the large-scale spectacle in a small marvel of narrative economy that should appeal to the most occasional science fiction reader as well as the fan.
Read the rest of Wolfe’s review at Chicago Tribune (subscription required).
For more info on Yesterday’s Kin, visit the Tachyon page.
Cover by Thomas Canty.
With the help of Goodreads, we’re giving away a copy of the “fascinating, intelligent and intuitive” Yesterday’s Kin, the new book from the multiple Hugo and Nebula award winner Nancy Kress.
“In short, Yesterday’s Kin was a joy to read. Not only was the prose easily digested, but the scientific speculation and facts behind the story really helped in raising enjoyment. A thoroughly recommended novel.”
—SFF World
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.
“Aliens arrive and set up a research station in New York, offering their friendship and aid. There’s a cloud of spores heading for Earth, and the aliens (dubbed Denebs despite coming from another star entirely) have firsthand experience dealing with it. In exchange for the technology that made their interstellar travel possible, the aliens want human help in curing the plague caused by the spores that have already destroyed two of their own colony worlds. Geneticist Marianne Jenner is one of the scientists who have been asked aboard the alien station, but even among her own family there is a difference of opinion about whether these extraterrestrials can be trusted. Verdict: Kress has proven that she can pack a huge amount of story into a small container (as with 2013’s title After the Fall Before the Fall, During the Fall), and here the author expertly explores one family’s experience of alien visitation.”
—Library Journal
“… fascinating, intelligent and intuitive… . Yesterday’s Kin is highly recommended.
—Nerds in Babeland
For more info on Yesterday’s Kin, visit the Tachyon page.
Cover by Thomas Canty.
At Bibliotropic, Ria reviews Nancy Kress’ Yesterday’s Kin.
Much of the science discussed in the book is presented in layman’s terms, and with the exception of the definition of a haplogroup, there was nothing that I didn’t understand the concepts behind nor found that they didn’t make sense. However, I admit that I’m an amateur geneticist and anthropologist at best, so people with more experience in these fields may find the presented scientific arguments somewhat lacking. I really can’t say. But for my part, and for what I suspect will be the vast majority of readers, the concepts are sound and present some interesting speculation about early humanity and diverging evolution. You come away from Yesterday’s Kin feeling a little bit more intelligent.
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The twist ending… Actually, let me stop there. The ending has multiple twists; it’s not just one thing that you think will go in a certain way and then ends up surprising you. It’s about 3. Which was impressive on its own, since the whole story was dealing with multiple complicated issues. I’d started to suspect one of the twists about 2/3 of the way through. Another began to dawn on me thanks to a throwaway musing from early on; it took a while for me to see it for what it was, not just a throwaway thought process but an important setup in a tale that wastes no space on the unimportant. If you keep that in mind, one of the twists may not come as much of a surprise, but it is still interesting to see how it all plays out and ties together. I hesitate to give any details, though, because anything specifics would be spoilers and really would spoil some of this well-crafted story.
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But if you’re looking for a quick short sci-fi read with a solid grounding in anthropology and biology, then I definitely recommend Yesterday’s Kin. Kress has some talent at cramming a complex issue into a short space, condensing events just enough to be concise while still being clear, and leaving every moment filled with appropriate tension and development. It’s a worthwhile read, and it’s bumped Kress up on the list of authors whose work I need to read more of.
Read the rest of Ria’s review at Bibliotropic.
For more info on Yesterday’s Kin, visit the Tachyon page.
Cover by Thomas Canty.
Val (Rob Weber) at Val’s Random Comments reviews Nancy Kress’ very interesting Yesterday’s Kin.
Nancy Kress is one of those writers who, in my opinion, does better at writing short fiction than novels. Her best length appears to be the novella, of which she has produced a number of memorable ones. The best known is probably Beggars in Spain, which formed the basis for the novel of the same name. A few years back I also read Act One, which garnered her a number of award nominations. I was quite pleased that I was able to get an advance copy of her new project Yesterday’s Kin through NetGalley. Like After the Fall, Before the Fall, During the Fall it is either a short novel or a novella. I don’t have an exact wordcount but I think it falls short of most definitions of a novel. Novel or novella, it doesn’t really matter. Yesterday’s Kin is a very interesting read.
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Kress again drew inspiration from genetics in this novella. The genetic research the main character is involved in does not only shed light on the development of humanity but also has a link to the aliens. There is quite a bit of population genetics in the story. Concepts such as haplogroups, mitochondrial Eve and the population bottleneck of 70,000 years ago show up in the story. When you read this story it really hits home how much genetics have been able to contribute to our knowledge of the development of the species, supplementing branches of science such as archaeology and paleontology.
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The use of genetics in science fiction is widespread but I can’t think of any other author in the field who takes her inspiration from recent scientific research in the field like Kress does. The life sciences are a very important part of her story but she consistently manages to keep her stories quite close to the everyday life of the characters. It is not the sense of wonder Kress is looking for, but the impact on everyday life. They are a combination of fascinating science and well drawn characters. Stories that are both emotionally powerful and thought provoking. In many ways Yesterday’s Kin is a signature Kress novella. If you liked her other work, you can’t really go wrong with this one. I have read Kress stories where the elements of the story fall into place more convincingly but it is still a high quality read. I wouldn’t be surprised if it ended up on a few award shortlists next year.
Read rest of the review at Val’s Random Comments.
For more info on Yesterday’s Kin, visit the Tachyon page.
Cover by Thomas Canty.
At Read What I Like, Amy Softa reviews Nancy Kress’ Yesterday’s Kin.
Had I decided to skip this story, which I read in a matter of hours, I would have missed out on a very creative piece by an award winning author. This is a smart science fiction story, and all the science sounds plausible and most of the time wasn’t too much over my head. Near the end there was a few parts where my eyes glazed over and I had no clue what what being mentioned, but it didn’t affect my enjoyment of the story. Science was never my strong point in school, despite the fact that I do enjoy science fiction stories tremendously.
I also enjoyed the story as a study of human nature and the author’s perception to how we would react to an ‘alien invasion’. Unfortunately I don’t think she was very far off. I also liked the twist she threw in for the aliens, and I can’t say anymore and remain spoiler free.
Read the rest of Softa’s review at Read What I Like.
For more info on Yesterday’s Kin, visit the Tachyon page.
Cover by Thomas Canty.
Library Journal weighed in on Nancy Kress’ Yesterday’s Kin.
Kress has proven that she can pack a huge amount of story into a small container (as with 2013’s title After the Fall, Before the Fall, During the Fall), and here the author expertly explores one family’s experience of alien visitation.
For more info on Yesterday’s Kin, visit the Tachyon page.
Cover by Thomas Canty.
Meghan Duff squeezes in some last summer sci fi reading and offers a Don’t Fear the Ink review of Nancy Kress’ Yesterday’s Kin.
Because Yesterday’s Kin was a fast read! Be careful. There may be a space/time issue with this particular book.
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Dear Author Kress, do we get to see these worlds again? [Redacted spoiler] Please, oh, please?
If you like first contact stories that are more about watching humankind figure out how to deal, you’ll enjoy this book.
Read the rest of Duff’s review at Don’t Fear the Ink.
For more info on Yesterday’s Kin, visit the Tachyon page.
Cover by Thomas Canty.
At SFFWorld, Mark Chitty praises Nancy Kress’ Yesterday’s Kin.
Yesterday’s Kin is a relatively short novel, but one packed with plenty of inventiveness, and more than a few surprising revelations. Because of these it’s quite difficult to discuss much of the finer story elements without venturing deeply into spoiler territory. I’ll try and keep it short and sweet, and avoid too much detail wherever I can.
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The revelations that come through as the story develops are interesting and not unexpected. Kress handles them well, not dwelling too long on irrelevant details, nor bringing any implausibility to the tale. Her dealings with the characters are also well done, each of them feeling very real with plenty of depth and motivations.
In short, Yesterday’s Kin was a joy to read. Not only was the prose easily digested, but the scientific speculation and facts behind the story really helped in raising enjoyment. A thoroughly recommended novel.
Read the rest of Chitty’s review at SFFWorld.
For more info on Yesterday’s Kin, visit the Tachyon page.
Cover by Thomas Canty.
The Bookaneer really enjoyed the science in Nancy Kress’ Yesterday’s Kin.
One of the aspects that I really enjoyed in Yesterday’s Kin is the science. The plot involves everything from panspermia to the mitochondrial Eve to the bottleneck event theory. The story itself centres around Marianne and her children, the belligerent Elizabeth, the passionate Ryan, and the hapless Noah. Yet although the story is about families, I felt distanced from all of the characters, unable to connect or empathise with any of them. This strange sense of isolation is oddly fitting: in some ways, the characters are cut adrift from one another, trapped in mutual incomprehension of each others’ minds and hearts. Marianne’s emotional and mental distance from her children, her closest family, serves to reinforce and intensify the book’s overall theme of biological kinship.
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As always seems to be the case with alien stories, much of the plot focuses on determining which side of the trope these particular aliens fall on. While the overall story is promising, I think this would have worked better as a short story rather than a novel. For me at least, it felt as though much of the book’s volume was taken up with rambling or repetitious scenes, and while these may have served to increase the tension, I found them rather tedious. While the ending is interesting, it is eminently guessable from about halfway through. Perhaps my disconnect from the characters warped my viewpoint, but I felt that given the rather limited worldbuilding, the story was too drawn out for the meagre payoff.
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At the same time, the book is a fast and enjoyable read. I loved the way that Kress intertwined the themes of alien-human ties with family ones. Some of the characters’ thoughts about relationships were especially poignant.
Read the rest of the review at Bookaneer.
For more info on Yesterday’s Kin, visit the Tachyon page.
Cover by Thomas Canty.
