Relic

April 16, 2018
Foster (Strange Music) tenderly explores humans’ need for companionship, home, and control of their own destinies in this gentle evaluation of people at their best and worst. Over 10,000 years, humans colonized their remote corner of the galaxy. Then hubris and foolishness lead to the species’ near extermination by a biological weapon. Immune, elderly survivor Ruslan was rescued from planet Seraboth by the three-legged Myssari, who are thrilled to study the last known human specimen. Although the Myssari are compassionate, lonely Ruslan yearns for others of his kind, but he also puts off consenting to his hosts’ cloning program, which could revive the species. To encourage Ruslan’s compliance, the Myssari search for more humans and the location of the ancient human home world called Earth. When two human children are discovered on a planet now claimed by the more aggressive, multijointed Vrizans, bargains and threats ensue. Despite a few missed opportunities for heightened drama, Foster’s sympathetic novel successfully surveys human frailty, the tendency not to learn from history, and an enduring capacity for adaptation and emotional attachment. Agent: Vaughne Lee Hansen, Virginia Kidd Agency.

July 1, 2018

What happens when you are the last of your species? For Ruslan, the last human being, it means that nothing matters except the end. A virulent, man-made plague wiped out the rest of humanity, and while Ruslan was saved by the alien Myssari, his existence as a novelty wears thin. The Myssari are determined to restart the human race using Ruslan's own genetic material, and they also promise a special gift: if Ruslan agrees to cooperate with them, they will use all of their intelligence and skill to find his world of origin, the planet Earth. If that planet still exists, there may still be another living human. In a race against time and disbelief, Ruslan takes a journey unlike any he has ever faced, testing his courage and the strength of that small glimmer of hope. VERDICT The stunning plot of Foster's (Strange Music) stand-alone novel will intrigue readers for not only the "last man in the universe" trope but also the well-developed alien species. A true first contact novel on many different levels.--Kristi Chadwick, Massachusetts Lib. Syst., Northampton

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