Steal Across the Sky

an exhilarating cerebral science fiction thriller

The alien Atoners race came from deep space to establish a base on the earth¿s moon. They use the Internet to inform humanity that they committed a heinous crime against mankind ten millennium ago that they cannot rectify. Instead they ask for twenty-one English speaking volunteers to serve as witnesses to see the results of the crime they committed by witnessing and testifying first hand what has occurred on seven planets in which they seeded abducted earthlings. Safety is guaranteed to and from the planets visited.

Cam, Lucca and Soledad respond to the Internet advertisement and are selected by the Atoners as human surrogates. They are escorted to the moonless twin planets of Kular A and Kular B. The humans living on these orbs treat life as expendable as they believe that life does not end with death. What the three human visitors learn they bring back to an earth already reeling from the alien visitation.

STEAL ACROSS THE SKY is an exhilarating cerebral science fiction thriller that asks profound questions about humanity¿s development, religion, and social interaction through the Atoner (apropos descriptor for this group) intervention. The three earthlings represent mankind visiting two planets in which each orb can be seen in the sky of the other; while the Atoners remain mysterious almost Godly due to their superior technology, knowledge, and humble need to atone for their mistake. The residents of the two deep space orbs also seem real even as their culture (their existence actually) on the Kular twins is owed to the Atoners, which makes for a fascinating religious relationship between the settled and those who performed the deliverance. Nancy Kress provides plenty of action, but it is the thought provoking questions to include defining what a crime is that make this a great tale.

3 out of 5 people found this review helpful.

Barely Rates a Four. Could Have Been a Five

This book starts out like a dynamo and then fizzles about halfway through. A group of individuals are selected by aliens called "the Atoners" to travel to other planets in the Universe to act as witnesses for the Earth. Apparently, the Atoners had visited Earth several thousand years ago and had done something to humanity. The witnesses will be able to determine exactly what happened by visiting these remote planets.

The first half of the book focuses on three individuals; Cam, Lucca and Soledad. Cam and Lucca visited two sister planets while Soledad guides them from space. Lucca's planet seems to be inhabited by a bunch of wandering nomads, while Cam happens on a warlike planet. Lucca is injured in his landing and the nomads take him with them as part of their group. Meanwhile an evil king wants Cam dead and sends his emissary, Aveo to capture her. Cam and Lucca's tales are highly intriguing and I could have given the book five stars. However, once they learn what the Atoners had done, the second half of the book focuses on the three on Earth after they have returned months later. The author then introduces another of the witnesses, Frank, who is on a religious mission to make the Atoners give back to mankind what they had stolen.

The second half of the book drags and has none of the real intrigue of the first half. Even with the author interspersed cute advertisements from the future and other little tidbits like memos from the President, the book is not saved from being painfully difficult to finish. By the time the ultimate resolution with the Atoners is reached the reader doesn't care anymore.

A better book would have been to expand the tale of Cam and Lucca on their respective planets and possibly rewrite the second half of the book as a sequel.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Just an uninteresting rehash of modern American life

Although I loved "probability" books to a varying degree this was an utter waste of money. There is very little science fiction in the book and I'm too disappointed to write a lengthy treatise on a boring book.

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

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