The Last Exodus: The Earthborn Trilogy, Book 1

The destruction of Earth is a mere sideshow in this well-grounded, grim tale of first contact. The alien Xalan have ravaged the planet for its water, leaving it nearly uninhabitable. Survivors Lucas and Asha ally with Alpha, a stranded Xalan scientist, to escape doomed Earth in an improvised spacecraft. Alpha, who’s accused of betraying the Xalan, attempts to unite his passengers with the Xalan’s enemies, the surprisingly human-like Soran, but a genetically modified Xalan supersoldier, Omicron, is hot on their trail and takes a personal interest in Alpha’s capture. Debut novelist Tassi gifts his characters with solid motivations and understandable responses to the postapocalyptic setting that invoke a measure of the reader’s sympathy for cannibal chieftains and alien nemeses alike. Some of the themes are well-worn, but Tassi fills in the gaps between action sequences with paeans to reassuring virtues such as hope and trust. (Sept.)