Until the Last of Me

October 1, 2021

Mia's family has always lived by the dictum "Always run, never fight," and now, with the space race looming, she's ready to "take them to the stars," as the series title suggests. But their enemies are closer than ever, and for the first time in 100 generations, Mia might have to turn around and fight. With a 100,000-copy first printing.

Copyright 2021 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 6, 2021
Neuvel’s thrilling second Take Them to the Stars alternate history (after A History of What Comes Next) continues the story of Mia, the hundredth generation of identical alien women living camouflaged on Earth, whose purpose is to nudge humanity toward space exploration. Still mourning her mother—who died to stop a Tracker, of another alien race bent on finding a device hidden by Mia’s ancestors—Mia spends much of the 1960s on Mallorca raising her daughter, Lola. When the Trackers catch up to them, Mia and Lola flee, crisscrossing the globe for 20 years while closely following the advances of the human space race. Word of an ancient bow discovered in China that might have a connection to their family’s past takes the women to China in 1981 amid extreme civil unrest. Meanwhile, Samael, the only Tracker raised to have some counterweight to his brutality by his human mother, leads his brothers through Egypt on a hunt for the device, chasing stories of an ancient priestess with exceptional powers. Though it lacks the nail-biting action of its predecessor, the focus on Lola’s emotional state and Samael’s struggle not to become a monster add depth to the drama. This is an exciting bridge to the next installment.

February 25, 2022
Set between 1968 and 1989, book two in Neuvel's Take Them to the Stars series begins six years after A History of What Comes Next (2021). It is a time of technological advancement and historic events--pocket calculators, computers, the moon landing, Nixon in China, the Challenger accident, discovery of a hole in the ozone layer, and the Pioneer and Voyager missions to the outer planets. The discovery of an ancient artifact created by one of their ancestors draws the ninety-ninth mother and her daughter, still running from their hunters, into a search for a message from the past. Newly recovered references to an earlier mother-daughter team from fifth century BCE in Egypt lead the male siblings who have relentlessly hunted the women for generations on a similar search. But unfolding changes in the goals of individuals on both sides have left everyone wanting to just end it all, and the coinciding searches seem destined to lead to a final, climactic confrontation. Series fans and readers of speculative thrillers built around actual historical events will eagerly anticipate book three.

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Starred review from February 1, 2022

Mia is one of the Kibsu: over 100 generations of women working to guide humanity to the stars. Now in the late 20th century, she and her daughter Lola may finally see the first people launch into space. Yet the Tracker, the men who work to destroy not only Mia, but also what her family has done, is always close behind, and the only way that Mia may be able to move things forward is to break the First Rule: "Always run, never fight." Traveling the globe, Mia races against the clock to find more answers about the pursuit of her people and see if they can survive the mounting odds against her family and the future of the human race. Including chapters from the points of view of Mia's daughter Lola as she prepares for her part of the journey, along with the Tracker as he pursues the women, creates intimate perspectives and unpredictable results. VERDICT Balancing scientific details with character arcs and exciting action, Neuvel's follow-up to A History of What Comes Next is an exciting science fiction thriller that will in turn inform and surprise readers.--Kristi Chadwick

Copyright 2022 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.