In Maximum Light, which takes place in the near future, synthetic chemicals are destroying the fertility of nearly every species on Earth, including humans. The birthrate has dropped so low that the human population consists primarily of people over the age of 50, and children are considered precious resources. Shana Walders and Cameron Atuli get caught up in a bizarre conspiracy to create hybrid human/animal "substitutes" for couples desperate for a young one to love. But when 75-year-old Congressional advisor Nick Clementi becomes involved, he discovers that the conspiracy goes far deeper than anyone would believe, and the future of the human race may be at stake. This fast-paced thriller from veteran science fiction author Nancy Kress keeps the plot twists coming, which makes Maximum Light a difficult book to put down once you've started.
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 3.5 / 5.0
Kress at her best:
This is a first rate science fiction novel by one of the best writers in the genre. It is set in the near future, about thirty years from now, when chemical contamination of the environment has resulted in a precipitously falling birth rate and a high incidence of birth defects. Three totally different characters work to uncover an illegal business in the growing/manufacturing of human-animal babies. The intricate plot is beautifully constructed with suspenseful and logical twists and turns. Its greatest... more info
Not bad, but not top shlef science fiction.:
This was my first book by Nancy Kress. Without knowing anything about else about her writing career, I could tell she is an experienced writer, with a good ability to communicate fairly complex ideas in straight forward fashion. She takes a solid premise - fertility has dropped to the point where the future of the species is threatened - and runs it through the impact on society. Youngsters are a treasured, indulged resource, while old folks litter the parks and streets, and infertile couples yearn for even... more info
worth a read, but she can do better:
I love Kress' particular sci-fi "style" which involves biological advances (no spaceships here, sorry) and ethical issues. This is actually one of her older works but it doesn't fail to satisfy. The premise here has to do with societal reaction to mass infertility caused by the huge amount of chemicals induced into the human environment -- and the really scary thing about this one is that, as bizarre as some of the situations seem to be, they could very easily happen. I remember reading a couple years ago... more info
A good book from a great writer:
"Maximum Light" is very good indeed. It is a great adventure story and a great piece of speculative fiction. If you are interested in the scientific hypothesis behind the endocrine/toxics element of the plot, I highly recommend "Our Stolen Future," by Theo Colburn.
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