Netgalley Review: The Best of All Possible Worlds

The Best of All Possible Worlds by Karen Lord

Grace Delarua is a sociologist and research scientist for the government of Cygnus Beta, a planet that's a lot like early America - almost all of its inhabitants immigrated from somewhere else. Its latest group of refugees are the Sadiri, a highly psychic, logical human race whose planet has been poisoned and most of its population killed. Delarua is assigned to help them settle on Cygnus Beta and plan for the long-term survival of their race. Her main cohort is Dllenakh, a gentle Sadiri man who was offplanet when the disaster occurred. With a ragtag group of other government scientists, they spend a year traveling the planet in search of other Sadiri and settlement opportunities. Along the way, Delarua risks her career to right wrongs, gets answers to some of her deepest questions, finds a family in her colleagues, confronts the ghosts of her past, and discovers a future that she never expected.

I've read some uniquely great novels in the past year or so, and this is another to add to the list. It's unusual, and I loved it. The balance of humor, insight, adventure, and romance (such as it is) is great. I loved Delarua's headstrong bluntness, Dllenakh's kind coolness, and their mutual strength and bravery. In fact, this book seems like it could have started as a post-reboot Spock/Uhura fanfic, and I mean that as a compliment. (Oops, I think I just said too much. About myself AND the book.)

Recommended for fans of: Star Trek, And All The Stars, Firefly

(Disclaimer: I downloaded this book free from Netgalley in exchange for a review.)