by Kate Wilhelm
First published 2011
The spacecraft crashes into a cornfield, its crew dead or dying. Only one being survives: a newborn, born to an alien mother who dies moments after delivery on this foreign world. The child was conceived on a distant planet and carried through space in its mother's womb, arriving on Earth through tragedy. But the alien mother's death brings more than just an orphaned infant. Her final moments on Earth set in motion decades of conflict and upheaval that will threaten to destroy the entire planet. The baby represents both hope and catastrophe, an innocent life born from interstellar travel yet destined to become the catalyst for global chaos. As Earth struggles with the presence of this alien child, the planet faces turmoil that could tear civilization apart. The mother's last gift to her child becomes humanity's greatest challenge.
Genres: science-fiction, adventure, fantasy, thriller
Vibes: emotional, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: chosen-one, fish-out-of-water
Setting: Earth
Period: 20th-century, 21st-century
182 pages · Kindle Edition · Gateway
Content warnings: violence