HOME AND SOL

The population of an endangered world journeys across the universe in search of a new home in this SF debut.

The star of the technologically advanced planet called Home is rapidly dying, and its leaders need a solid rescue plan. Fortunately, it seems, timely signals arrive from Star XM66F. The military seeks to paint XM66F as a danger that needs to be conquered. Scientists propose using the massive new starship Nomad to transport Home’s population to the compatible star system XM66F. Democratic Home overwhelmingly votes for the scientists’ rather than the military’s option, but a rogue military operation set in motion before the vote threatens the migration. Two Home ships lying in wait damage the renegade Bear, which was on an unauthorized mission, but it escapes into a wormhole and is able to limp to XM66F-2, which is, you guessed it, Earth. But after a short encounter with helpful humans, they opt to hide and hope for rescue. Back on Home, Nomad finally launches. But the large ship barely clears the wormhole, which collapses, leaving Nomad’s crew without a return route. Earth in the near future is a world diminished by plagues, wars, and climate change. The Home survivors fortunately meet some open-minded humans, but there are others who aren’t as welcoming to this large group of aliens. What author Cosens does best here is show how two compatible races take very different paths to ultimately end up in the same place. Home did most things right, and yet its sun begins a steady decline, causing residents to flee. Earthlings did mostly wrong, but their resilience allows them to come back time and again. For a group of aliens, the characters behave quite similarly to humans. Maybe that’s why they fit in so well on their adopted planet. The Earth characters are equally credible. This volume cries out for a sequel; at the novel’s conclusion, the possibilities for this blended society are just beginning to be explored.

An SF adventure that capably combines the alien and familiar.