For the First Time, Again

February 20, 2023
Neuvel concludes his alternate history Take Them to the Stars trilogy (after Until the Last of Me) with this exciting race against time. In 1999, 12-year-old Aster wakes up in a Mississippi hospital after witnessing her adoptive father’s death. Her unusual blood tests draw attention from U.S. Col. Benjamin Veilleux, who attempts to bring her against her will with him to D.C. Aster sneaks away and narrowly evades recapture with the help of Samael, who claims to be a friend of the mother she never met. Aster initially rejects Samael’s story that they are both descended from a pair of alien scouts, but submits to his combat training to protect herself from both the government and a different species of invading aliens lured to Earth by a mysterious beacon. The pair hide out from their enemies in a remote Philippine village—until Aster comes up with an audacious plan to send the beacon into space on a probe and so misdirect the incoming aliens. Neuvel keeps the frantically paced plot tight and effectively counterbalances all the action with nuanced character work. Series fans will not be disappointed.

February 24, 2023

When young Aster narrowly survives a massacre at an office party, she is not only left an orphan (albeit an adopted one), but her blood work has shown some very unusual results. On the run, Aster finds herself in the company of a man, Samael, who says that he knew her mother--and that she is the Kibsu, last of an alien race that came to Earth centuries ago. As Aster struggles to accept her heritage, she must elude those pursuing her, including the government, the evil Trackers, and some other very strange people. Aster must also learn the Rules her progenitors followed and try to accomplish their goal: to send humanity to the stars. Balancing actual historic events with the alien pursuit creates an active story. Alternating points of view between Aster and Samael, along with several intervals about the origin of the aliens' arrival, fill in the final pieces of this science-fiction puzzle. VERDICT The final volume of Neuvel's generational alien conflict (following Until the Last of Me) takes the space race in new directions.--Kristi Chadwick

Copyright 2023 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 14, 2023
At the close of Until the Last of Me (2022), the last Tracker activated an ancient beacon that will bring hostile aliens to Earth and now seeks to make amends for the death of an old foe by finding a way to stop the coming invasion. Twelve-year-old Aster is completely unaware she is the 102nd of her genetic line, having been put up for adoption as a baby by her mother, the 101st. When a violent attack leaves her orphaned, homeless, and on the run from the United States military, the FBI, the police, and a giant, homicidal alien, Aster is rescued by someone who should be her enemy, Samael, the last Tracker. The action-packed finale of the Take Them to the Stars trilogy alternates between the arrival on Earth of the original DNA-altered aliens 3,000 years ago and the last two adversaries. The symmetry between these story arcs, centered around actual historical places and events, offers a satisfying, full-circle denouement. Fans of Neuvel's Themis Files trilogy will be delighted with Epilogue II.

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