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Crossfire [Hardcover]

Nancy Kress
4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)

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Book Description

Feb 22 2003 Cosmic Crossfire
In the early nineties, Nancy Kress took the SF world by storm with her multiple award-winning novella, "Beggars in Spain," which became the basis for her extremely successful Sleepless Trilogy (comprising Beggars in Spain, Beggars and Choosers, and Beggars Ride). Since then she has written more than a dozen novels, most recently the well-received Probability Trilogy, which Booklist praised saying "Kress's characterizations are as sound as ever, but many will be agreeably surprised at her proficiency with military hardware and action scenes. Very impressive."And Kirkus, in a starred review, simply raved: "Kress's always excellent characters wrestle with a splendid array of puzzles and problems, human, alien, and scientific: another resounding success for this talented sure-footed writer." Now comes a brand-new science fiction epic: Crossfire

Crossfire is the story of a human colony settling on a distant planet, a colony formed by Jake Holman-- a man trying to escape a dark past. But as this diverse group of thousands comes to terms with their new lives on a new world, they make a startling discovery: primitive humanoid aliens. There are only a few isolated villages, and the evidence seems to indicate the aliens aren't native to the planet-even though they live in thatched huts and possess only primitive tools. When the humans finally learn the truth, they find themselves caught up in an interstellar war.

In the end, this handful of human colonists will have to choose sides in the struggle. A lot is riding on their decision--not just the fate of their new home, but the fate of all humanity.

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Product Description

From Publishers Weekly

In this far-future novel of planetary colonization and alien first contact, Hugo and Nebula Award-winner Kress (Probability Sun) offers a satisfying thought experiment in science and philosophy, despite a slow start, relatively stock characters and prose less lyrical than her usual. Jake Holman, founder of the Mira Corporation, leads 6,000 private citizens in flight from a troubled Earth to the planet Greentrees, where the expedition gets caught in the crossfire between two alien races: the Furs, DNA-based humanoids who first settled the planet; and the Vines, sentient plants who arrived after the Furs, their deadly enemies of long standing. Shipley, the leader of 2,000 Quakers, sympathizes with the Vines, while his estranged daughter, Naomi, sides with the Furs as victims of Vine bioengineering. Various philosophies, notably Libertarianism as extolled by Jake and New Quakerism, vie with one another. Fans of serious SF will enjoy this tale of bravery, travel, adventure, and personal and social crisis, though the inconclusive ending may annoy some readers, whether or not there's a sequel.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

The first book in a new multivolume work sets up a somewhat familiar situation: interstellar colony financed by benign billionaire is filled by groups seeking room to achieve their identities. Said groups have barely reached the planet Greentrees, however, when they discover it already has sentient, alien inhabitants called the Furs. The groups discover soon thereafter that the local Furs were created as experiments in biological warfare by another sentient race, the Vines, who are, basically, plants and are at war with the technologically advanced, warlike ur-Furs, who subsequently show up and kidnap a number of humans. Caught in the crossfire, the humans need to foil Furs' and Vines' plans if they are to survive. Drawing on their mixed talents and personalities, they succeed for the moment. Kress operates up to her usual high standards in most respects, and she also makes ethical dilemmas as gripping as laser fights, and the results of human-alien contact rather depend on which human contacts which alien. Choice stuff. Roland Green
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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5.0 out of 5 stars Best SF I've read in years July 6 2004
Format:Mass Market Paperback
One of Nancy Kress's strengths is that she is able to create characters whom the reader gets to know. In this respect, I think she's done her best work in "Crossfire."

But that's only one dimension of this fine book. The concept of a first-contact novel is of course not new, but Ms. Kress has put a terrific twist on the concept, and built a riveting story about a settlement of several thousand humans who depart a dying Earth in search of a new start--and get much more than they bargained for.

Of course, if they found a new Eden, we wouldn't have much of a story--and to be sure, once the settlers encounter aliens, the mystery only deepens, and doesn't get any easier once another group of aliens turns up.

So--we have great characters in a good story, but Kress doesn't stop there. The book has a brisk pace to its complex plot, which sweeps the reader through its numerous twists.

Topping it off is a resolution that, like so much in life, leaves important issues unsettled. In this case, I hope that means there will be a sequel!

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4.0 out of 5 stars Superb characters May 28 2004
By A Customer
Format:Mass Market Paperback
A private corporation is set up in order to travel to and colonize a habitable planet Greentrees. The colonists belong to several unrelated cultural groups who manage to get along well enough to accomplish their initial goals. Unbeknown to the humans, Greentrees is used as an experimental station by Vines, plant-like non-DNA aliens who are at war with DNA-based Furs. Vines and Furs arrive at Greentrees in quick succession, and the humans become entangled in their conflict. With the mastery and sophistication that her readers have come to expect from her, Nancy Kress introduces a contingent of life-like, ultimately believable, complex, and unique characters. The chatracters, the overall premise of the book, the abundant details of alien and future human technology and biology make Crossfire a very worthwhile read. However, in the second half of the book, the plot twists are so fast-paced and unpredictable that I found them to be detracting from the quality of the novel. Were Crossfire a script for a TV show, Farscape comes to mind, these plot developments would have been perfect. The advantage of a novel is that the reader can hear the characters' inner voices. The ratio of character introspection to action was about right for me in the first half of the book but decidedly unbalanced in the second half. Still I highly recommend this book because the good points outweigh the not so good points.
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5.0 out of 5 stars Another Home Run for Nancy Kress Dec 5 2003
Format:Hardcover
Nancy Kress has the rare ability to combine interesting characters, moral dilemmas, and approachable concepts of science, fusing them into books that are impossible to put down. CROSSFIRE certainly fits that description.

A large, diverse human colony has settled on a distant planet, only to find that their new world is inhabited. To their relief, leader Jake Holman and his team discover that the aliens are primitive and passive. It also seems that the aliens aren't native to the planet. As he investigates further, Jake uncovers some startling truths about the aliens, the members of his team, and himself. But he has more immediate concerns: trying to stop an interstellar war.

I once heard Orson Scott Card say that good science fiction isn't about the future, it's about the present. In CROSSFIRE, Kress tackles moral issues with an expert hand. This novel is about rights, strained relationships, standing up for truth, sacrifice, redemption, and many more complex issues that we face today. Kress never writes with a heavy hand, but she always gives the reader plenty to think about in the midst of a great tale.
Highly recommended.

364 pages

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