- Hardcover: 300 pages
- Publisher: Golden Gryphon Press; 1 edition (1 Sep 2003)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 1930846185
- ISBN-13: 978-1930846180
- Product Dimensions: 23.2 x 14 x 2.9 cm
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 2,336,623 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
Nothing Human
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More About the Author
Product Description
Product Description
Told from the perspective of several generations of teenagers, this science fiction novel involves an Earth ravaged by mankind, high-tech manipulative aliens, and advanced genetics. Early in the 21st century, global warming has caused sickness and death among plants, animals, and humans. Suddenly aliens contact and genetically modify a group of 14-year-olds, inviting them to visit their spacecraft. After several months of living among the aliens and studying genetics, the students discover that the aliens have been manipulating them and rebel. Upon their return to Earth, the girls in the group discover that they are pregnant and can only wonder what form their unborn children will take. Generations later, the offspring of these children seek to use their alien knowledge to change their genetic code, to allow them to live and prosper in an environment that is quickly becoming uninhabitable from the dual scourges of global warming and biowarfare. But after all the generations of change, will the genetically modified creatures resemble their ancestors, or will nothing human remain?
About the Author
Nancy Kress writes a monthly fiction column for 'Writer's Digest'. She is the author of 18 books and has won three Nebula Awards.
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Customer Reviews
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
3.2 out of 5 stars (6 customer reviews)
16 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Strong first half meanders in second half 3, 11 Sep 2003
By WTDK "If at first the idea is not absurd, the... - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Nothing Human (Hardcover)
Nancy Kress' latest novel, despite its garish cover, deals with a topical issue; genetic manipulation of the unborn. Kress' novel would be little better than an average Michael Crichton thriller if not for her unusual twist; the genetic manipulation being done here is not by humanity but by an alien race called the Pribir.The Pribir were once like humanity (or so they say)and are preparing humanity for life in an environment full of environmental toxics. Their primary means of communication appears to be through a series of complex smells. The resulting children from their experiment are something more than human but still have the same emotional flaws as their peers.
Kress deals with a lot of complex issues here: the environment and our place in it; the rights of those who have been genetically manipulated; the role of any outside culture in influencing another one--even for their own good. As usual Kress handles the plot, characters and themes deftly. What the novel lacks is any sense that it is building to a powerful conclusion.
Nothing Human isn't disappointing just anti-climatic. It's rare that a Kress novel disappoints and no one can write a classic every time. Kress' latest novel has much to admire but it just isn't in the same league as Beggar's in Spain or Probability Moon.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Predictable, 17 April 2006
By R. Kelly Wagner "bunrab@bunrab.net" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Nothing Human (Hardcover)
For the most part, anyone who already reads any noticeable amount of science fiction, or even genre fiction in general, will be able to predict where this plot is going, from the first few pages. There are no surprises, other than a few inconsistencies that leave one surprised when nothing happens to straighten them out.
Kress is a good writer even with a pedestrian plot, so the book is readable, and not a waste of time. It's just not worth saving to re-read or mull over the ideas.
The starting point is test-tube babies from a mysterious clinic who, surprise, turn out to have peculiar mutations. The particular mechanism that results from these mutations is a bit improbable; leaving the unlikelihood aside so that we can accept the notion that aliens can communicate with human children by smell alone, why aliens would choose to use barely-teenage children as their messengers rather than people who would command more respect and attention when speaking to other humans is a question Kress doesn't answer, other than an overall implication in the last third of the book that these particular aliens are rather incompetent. Incidentally, toward the end of the book, when the "new generation" of children is described, I recognized the adaptations that Kress describes as being taken pretty much exactly from an article that appeared in Scientific American a few years ago, on what humans should look like to be well-adapted for our terrestrial, bipedal way of life. Kress adds a couple of unique details, but her characters are nowhere near as original as people who don't read science magazines might think.
If I were going looking for a story about aliens who happen to bring bits of mutation/change to Earth, I'd re-read Larry Niven's "The Green Marauder," for preference. However, that's not to say that people won't like "Nothing Human" and in fact, I suspect that it could well be a read that juvenile humans about the age of our protagonists might enjoy.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
I thought this book was great!, 16 July 2006
By Jeffrey Silverman - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Nothing Human (Hardcover)
I thought this book did everything a good sci-fi book did -- discuss issues and ideas that are important today. Maybe I'm just simple minded, but I thought this book was a lot better then the overall "acceptable" reviews that I've read here.
I also recommend another book (trilogy, actually) that deals with very similar issues in a very similar fashion by Octavia E Butler, the Xenogenesis series, "Dawn"Adulthood Rites," and "Imago".
In fact, the Butler series is so similar in many ways to "Nothing Human" that I can't help but wonder if it wasn't the inspiration for "Nothing Human".
Wahtever, "Nothing Human" was a great read.
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