Maximum Light [Hardcover]

Nancy Kress (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 15, 1997

The latest sci-fi bio-thriller from the author of "Beggars Ride" and "Oaths and Miracles". In a near-future America when pollutants have left eighty percent of the population sterile, genetic manipulation of the human genome is a serious crime. But some people will resort to almost anything to have a child Targeted print ads.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

In Maximum Light, which takes place in the near future, synthetic chemicals are destroying the fertility of nearly every species on Earth, including humans. The birthrate has dropped so low that the human population consists primarily of people over the age of 50, and children are considered precious resources. Shana Walders and Cameron Atuli get caught up in a bizarre conspiracy to create hybrid human/animal "substitutes" for couples desperate for a young one to love. But when 75-year-old Congressional advisor Nick Clementi becomes involved, he discovers that the conspiracy goes far deeper than anyone would believe, and the future of the human race may be at stake. This fast-paced thriller from veteran science fiction author Nancy Kress keeps the plot twists coming, which makes Maximum Light a difficult book to put down once you've started.

From Booklist

In the 2030s, human fertility has drastically declined because of the effects of environmental pollution on the human endocrine system, and an underground economy exists to supply people with children or child-surrogates and to carry out illegal genetic research. Retired scientist Nick Clementi, gay dancer Cameron Atuli, and street kid Shana Walders each stumble on part of the secret linkage between the government and the illegal researchers. After being in danger of their lives for a good part of the book, they join forces to expose the connection and to push genetic research and pollution control that may solve the fertility crisis. This is not Kress at her best; the ending, in particular, seems forced and scanty. But her scientific rigor, her interesting characterizations, and the well-observed details of the future she envisions will hardly scare off her fans, old--and new. Roland Green

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Tor Books; 1st edition (November 15, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 031286535X
• ISBN-13: 978-0312865351
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.8 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,148,049 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Maximum Light" is a highlight, March 30, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (Orion Nebula) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Maximum Light (Hardcover)

Kress is one of the current bright lights in science fiction. "Maximum Light" makes her shine all the brighter.

The story is set in the near-future, where an ecological disaster has savaged male fertility and the remnant aged population has legislated away technology need for the survival of the human race.

Kress weaves a story of a dying "senior citizen" scientist/politician, a young hellion, and one of the minority fertile men (who happens to be gay) into a punchy story. The story is well written. It is almost cyber-punk. Kress handles the three character perspectives well, although not perfectly. The two male characters had (IMHO) very female perspectives. These shaded into the "true" female character's. In addition, I paged through the didactic passages on "mankind fouling their own nest via better living through chemistry". However, the story's 250-odd pages meant these sections were mercifully short.

This book was a big surprise to me. The book seemed to thin to be any good. However, it was dense with ideas. In a period of bloated trilogies, pre-sequels, and never-ending-stories it is an example of how a talented author can write a story and end it without requiring the readers to wait two years. In places "Maximum Light" reminded me of Sterling's "Holy Fire" (recommended). These two novels ("Maximum Light" and "Holy Fire") may be the leading-edge of a gerontology sub-genre.

This book is real good. It not perfect, but "real good". Recommended.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not bad, but not top shlef science fiction., February 5, 2003

By 

Steven Laine (Pleasanton, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Maximum Light (Mass Market Paperback)

This was my first book by Nancy Kress. Without knowing anything about else about her writing career, I could tell she is an experienced writer, with a good ability to communicate fairly complex ideas in straight forward fashion. She takes a solid premise - fertility has dropped to the point where the future of the species is threatened - and runs it through the impact on society. Youngsters are a treasured, indulged resource, while old folks litter the parks and streets, and infertile couples yearn for even one child, human or otherwise. That piece of the story is pretty well done.
The science fiction part of the story is a little weak, a danger when writing about the "near" future. The setting isn't that far into the future so there isn't THAT much different from society and technology today. For example, a hooker isn't wearing just a wig. No, this is sci fi, so she's wearing a holo(gram) wig. Kind of a cheap add-on thrown in during the editing process I thought as I read along. However, I have to add that there was a nice, light non-intrusive techno touch late in the book when Shana, the young female hero, rents a car. She pulls into a gas station to use a terminal to print out driving directions. That was nice, and almost here now. Sort of like making MapQuest easily available in public.
I also liked the multiple, first person approach. The story evolves through the eyes of the several main characters, Shana, a young, rough and tumble female soldier, Cameron, the young, gay male dancer and an old, wealthy scientist with political ties in addition to money (I'm forgetting his name right now.)I enjoyed this by the time I got to the end but had doubts as I was reading along. This sort of story is handled much more deftly by writers like Neal Stephanson in Snow Crash and Diamond Age. I would read another novel by Kress but I'm not going to actively chase it down.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not good enough for Kress, March 25, 1999

By 

Priscilla Ballou "Emma's Aunt Scilly" (Roslindale, MA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Maximum Light (Mass Market Paperback)

I'm afraid I must join the ranks of those who like Kress but were disappointed with _Maximum Light_.

The book kept me engrossed during my morning and evening commutes, but it wasn't enough -- good enough or real enough -- to be excellent. I didn't feel comfortable with the picture Kress draws of women of the next generation: biologically-driven baby-obsessors. I found insulting her belief that women would rather have mutant living dolls than be without (real or pseudo) offspring. I also think she gives the government too much ethical credit. I don't want to include too many spoilers, but I will say that I don't think the choice offered to some characters near the end of the book is at all realistic. More likely would have been termination with extreme prejudice!

I did enjoy this book during my commutes, so I don't want to totally slam it, but from Nancy Kress I expected more. I *do* like that she's moving into a liklier near-future for her stories, and I hope she will keep writing about that world. It has promise of being very interesting. Unfortunately, the promise is not yet kept.