Overview
In the 22nd Century, Jennifer Kennedy, the shy and tongue-tied counterpoint to her charismatic brother Jordi, is left stunned when Jordi drowns in a flood brought on by advanced climate change. Bereft and fearful, Jenny departs Earth to enter her freshman year at Frontera College, based in the world’s first permanent and self-sustaining space habitat.
In a future when the deadly microbes that caused AIDS and anthrax have been modified to power elevators and cure disease, Jenny just wants to study and play slanball in peace. But as the endless war on the ultraphyte, an invasive alien organism, rages on, Jenny begins to notice that things aren’t quite right—not with her socially disabled roommate, nor at the college, nor in American politics. An accidental discovery reveals that “ultra” has infiltrated to shocking levels of society. Reluctant as she is to enter the spotlight, Jenny must step up to save her school, her country, and the world.
Editorials
From the Publisher
Praise for The Highest Frontier:
"This hip, smart tip of the hat to Heinlein's young adult novels hits all the right notes. It's got a plausible near future, optimism, savvy characters who move into action swiftly. This novel takes us to a place we haven't been in a long time—and I, for one, miss a lot.”
—Gregory Benford, author of Timescape
"And as you might expect from a scientist/novelist, the book is filled with all sorts of technical innovations…this in the story of Jenny Ramos Kennedy, a gifted high school athlete who’s lost her genetically engineered twin brother and is trying to make the best of her first year at college. And wouldn’t you know it, unlike most of our freshman years, this delightfully brilliant novel has the future of Earth hanging in the balance."
—All Things Considered, NPR
"[The] first novel in a decade from a respected author of hard SF (A Door into Ocean, The Children Star) brings out the complexities and anguish of the teen years while portraying a bold community of the future with all its strengths and weaknesses…. SF fans of all ages should enjoy this glimpse into a possible future at once disturbing and exciting by a graceful storyteller."
—Library Journal, Starred Review
"Slonczewski’s world-building has always gone deep; she gives the profoundest thought to how biology, culture, social structure, language, politics and economics combine to shape the future."
—Kirkus Reviews
"Unique characters, witty scientific and societal extrapolations, and a complex, mind-blowing setting make this sedately paced narrative a delightfully amusing read."
—Publishers Weekly
"The Highest Frontier is an unnervingly brilliant novel, one which skewers relatively impartially almost every aspect of present human culture in a future coming-of-age story, with a deep, if cynical, understanding of the future implications of the world we are already beginning to build, but with that cynicism balanced by the realistic idealism of the protagonist."
—L. E. Modesitt, Jr., author of The Saga of Recluce series
“Crammed into this relatively short book are dozens of nifty, gee-whiz-cool-future geegaws that would make any science fiction lover swoon.”
—Locus
Publishers Weekly
Biology professor and author Slonczewski (the Elysium Cycle) projects science, society, and technology from our present into a near future when Earth is under attack by alien cyanide-emitting plants. The oceans have risen, and information is available instantly, displayed right before your eyes. Plant biologist and EMS volunteer Jennifer Ramos Kennedy, whose twin brother died when the New York seawall ruptured, chose Frontera College for its misfit-accepting policies, safe environment, and unique locale: a spacehab tethered to the Earth. Slowly she gets used to being at school, befriends her quirky humanity-hating autistic roommate, falls in love, and endures the social plights that come with being the famous scion of a powerful political family. Unique characters, witty scientific and societal extrapolations, and a complex, mind-blowing setting make this sedately paced narrative a delightfully amusing read. (Sept.)Library Journal
Born into a politically connected family, Jennifer Ramos Kennedy chooses to attend off-world Frontera College, an institution funded by the media and tribal casinos, where the best and the brightest go to hone their skills as the movers and shakers of the future. Though Jennifer mourns the unexpected death of her twin brother, she determines to make the most of her college experience even when disease-carrying insects and invasive biochemical agents threaten to destroy the college's delicate ecology. Set on a future Earth that has been environmentally compromised by alien "ultraphytes," plantlike organisms that can destroy the native flora, this first novel in a decade from a respected author of hard sf (A Door into Ocean; The Children Star) brings out the complexities and anguish of the teen years while portraying a bold community of the future with all its strengths and weaknesses. VERDICT Sf fans of all ages should enjoy this glimpse into a possible future at once disturbing and exciting by a graceful storyteller.Kirkus Reviews
An accomplishedscience-fiction writer and biology professor at a small liberal arts college draws on all her professional experience to portray a young woman's freshman year in space.
Some years into the future, global warming and a cyanide-emitting, apparently mindless alien creature called an Ultraphyte have made the Earth nearly uninhabitable. Jennifer Ramos Kennedy, descendant of three presidents (in fact, a clone of one of them) has been groomed to lead the fight to conserve the planet's remaining resources.Unfortunately, a genetic flaw makes public speaking incredibly difficult, and she's devastated by the recent death of her more charismatic twin brother, Jordi. She literally distances herself from her problems by matriculating at Frontera College, located in a lushly terraformed space habitat. However, Earth politics still demand her attention, as she's linked to several key figures in the upcoming U.S. presidential election, a hotly contested race between the liberal, science-embracing Unity party (read: Democrats) and the Centrists (a conservative, Tea Party–like faction which insists that outer space ends at the moon's orbit). Meanwhile, the Ultraphyte problem also follows Jennifer to Frontera, forcing her from the quiet life she desires to take a public stand. Slonczewski's worldbuilding has always gone deep; she gives the profoundest thought to how biology, culture, social structure, language, politics and economics combine to shape the future. Although the author is solidly on the side of science, she's not blindly so: although the elite genetically engineer their children to be disease-free and brilliant, there's a high incidence of psychological and social disorders amongst them.She's also clear-eyed about the type of personal compromises politicians (including academic politicians) must make in order to win votes and money.
Jennifer's story feels unfinished; readers will certainly hope to follow her through to graduation.