SPACE VAULT

A mother protecting her newborn daughter is at the center of Clift’s expansive SF sequel.

The installment opens in 2102 Lagos, Nigeria, where protesters are targeting the Network for Indigenous Plants, Agriculture, and Horticulture complex. West Africa’s sole seed distributor, NIPAH, shrouded in secrecy, isn’t owned by locals, but by top government officials and powerful oligarchs. This opening storyline offers a glimpse into the book’s near-future world, which is dependent on the genetic modification of plants. In Iowa, Shiko Tanaka, born in a rotating space habitat and sent to Earth for his first job with GLOSCOM, an agricultural science company, soon learns his employer’s practices contribute to “environmental degradation, loss of biodiversity, and socioeconomic inequalities in access to nutritious food.” Shiko starts investigating GLOSCOM’s possibly nefarious interest in planet Earth, which leads him to Lagos and NIPAH. Meanwhile, far above Earth, the Tritans, a High Council of aliens on a spaceship whose home planet is dying, must revive their planet or move to another one. They send out probes for suitable new homelands and find Earth promising. After all, the blue planet’s levels of pollution mean it will soon be uninhabitable for humans, but the land is still productive despite its many barren patches. The Tritans might also steal seeds from the seed vault, whose bioengineered plants may help restore their ailing planet. Teagan Ward, the lead, doesn’t appear until later in novel, when she’s giving birth to her baby, Diana, in California. The genetic modifications Teagan underwent in lunar prison also prepared her body for Diana, “a species designed for survival beyond Earth” with “enhanced cognitive processing, superior cellular regeneration, and resistance to radiation and extreme conditions.” From there, the disparate story lines quickly converge as Clift ramps up the action, showcasing his deftness at building suspense: “The sound grew louder, like the steady hum of machinery, blending with the rustle of the grove’s leaves. It was almost hypnotic, yet unnerving.” If the story’s scope and large cast occasionally overwhelm readers, mesmerizing worldbuilding and Teagan’s likability keep it from spinning out of control.

A dense, rewarding sequel with a strong emotional core.