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