"Her most compelling novel to date"
Though humanity has colonized much of the heavens,
man's reign seems through, as disease and environmental
disaster has become common. The only colony still thriving
is Pandora where the obsession to keep the ecosystem pure
has saved its citizens. However, the other worlds threaten
to destroy Pandora if the scientists fail to stop the
universally pandemic spread of the Diversity crisis. Feeling the same desperate sense of urgency with little
hope, the Pandorans may have found the answer in the DNA of
the Trust family, residents of a nearby-overcrowded space
station. After their mother dies, the two daughters, Chena
and Teal, become the center of attention of a planet and a
universe. As the two sisters flee, everyone wants a piece
of their genes and even the good guys will kill to obtain a
strand or two. Award winning Sarah Zettel has written her most
compelling novel to date with the stirring KINGDOM OF
CAGES. The story line occasionally slows down in order to
allow readers to understand the apocalypse now gripping
everyone while also furnishing her audience with an
insightful look at Pandora's social system. The two
siblings are engaging characters whose coming of age is
speeded up by a despairing populace willing to do anything
for a strand of their genes. Anyone who has read THE QUIET
INVASION or PLAYING GOD will already know how good Ms.
Zettel is. However, this tale is by far her most thought
provoking as the Ayn Rand question of the good of society
vs. the rights of the individual is played out on a
galactic scale. Harriet Klausner
Reviewed by PNR Group Member
Posted August 22, 2001
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