NEW EDEN

A teen guards her whale charges against new and deadlier threats in this follow-up to Under the Heavens (2022).

Kim Teng is no longer Caretaker for the Ark Project whales as they continue their journey on the spaceship Seiiki toward New Eden. Rather than abandon her duties, she continues communicating with the whales via her Link and updates her followers on Earth. Even with being accompanied by two Earth United scoutships and having withdrawn new Caretaker Yoshi, love interest Wren, and droid friend Adonai aboard, Kim fears an attack from the Crusaders, whom she previously supported, or the equally fanatical Adherants. When the Seiiki is sabotaged and crashes on New Eden, Kim races to get her friends into their new ocean home, struggling against limited resources, EU soldiers, and mysterious howling monsters lurking in the jungle. Compared to Kim’s solitary and more focused Caretaker experience, this journey, which includes a missing planet and multiple mind-bending mysteries, feels much broader, sometimes to the plot’s detriment. But the discussions of belief and the theme of change, as explored through the whales, the Seiiki’s computer, Adonai, and Kim herself, shine. Likewise, the religious overlay intersects thoughtfully with the element of colonialism. The romance is mature and realistically developed, and Kim’s history and its effect on her previous relationship is likewise understandable. The cast is diverse in race and nationality.

A thoughtful, exhilarating, and shocking continuation.