Carol Kean at Perihelion reviews Nancy Kress’ Yesterday’s Kin.

Kress’ love of science is manifest in all her stories, though the biggest impression she makes on me involves human relationships. Do we know our fellow humans? Do we really? Within families and communities, not just as a species, who do we trust, how far should we go, what must we do in order to fit in?

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The sad note at the end of this story shouldn’t scare away those who insist on happy endings (namely, me). Ken Lizzi’s storytelling talent got me to devour an entire novel full of battle scenes—ugh! Nancy Kress’ keen insights kept me riveted to the emotional duress of a middle-aged mother of three—and I read fiction precisely to escape that scenario. Ultimately, Kress’ heroine does what so many mothers so stoically must, and I’m biting my tongue (er, keyboard fingers) to resist the urge to rejoice and say “Yes! Exactly!”

But that’s what all good writers have us saying when we reach The End.

Read the rest of Kean’s review at Perihelion.

For more info on Yesterday’s Kin, visit the Tachyon page.

Cover by Thomas Canty.