Genetically modified humans discover what life can be like without modification in Lemmert’s debut SF novel.

After a horrible nightmare, Aurora awakens to an alert that all staff on the New Horizon spaceship need to report for an announcement. The ship has been hit by an asteroid, which perforated the hull. Fortunately, there were no casualties, but the ship needs to be repaired, and the Sol system is the nearest and best place to do so. Aurora is intrigued by the prospect of traveling to the Sol system, as that’s where the original, non–genetically modified humans still reside—specifically on Sol-3, aka Earth. Aurora is part of a group called the Sisterhood, and the result of thousands of years of genetic modification. Earth scientist Nicolas Munyakazi hears about the landing of the Sisterhood’s ship on the moon and figures that it’s his chance to show that his work, which includes an animal sanctuary on Earth, is “more critical to the general good than the Sisterhood’s mining rights to the land underneath it,” which he’s afraid they’ll invoke now that they’ve returned. The Sisterhood may have helped Earth from being fully destroyed by the Secular Global Warming Disaster more than 1,000 years ago, but they’ve never truly seen what Nicolas’ sanctuary is like and how beneficial it could be for people everywhere. Aurora’s scientific nature also makes her curious to study unaltered humans. Over the course of this novel, Lemmert explores deep questions about what it really means to be human and even regarding the meaning of life itself. Readers may find that some story elements unnecessarily sidetrack the main plot and slow the story down, such as Aurora’s shopping trip on the moon. However, they often help to make clear the sense of otherness that the Sisterhood have in relation to Earth humans. Overall, despite the often serious subject matter, the work maintains a brisk pace, and the scientific elements will be particularly entertaining to fans of hard SF.

A diverting spacefaring tale and an intriguing examination of humankind.