Hex
Allen Steele

ACE Hardcover
June 7, 2011/ ISBN 978-0441020362
Science Fiction
Amazon

Reviewed by Jan Fields

Starship Captain Andromeda Carson is called up to an unusual mission. Her ship, the Carlos Montero will be the first human ship to enter the system of the reclusive Danui. The Danui have offered humans an earth-like planet to
colonize. At first, Carson hopes the toughest part of the mission will be travelling with her estranged son, a member of the Corps of Exploration. She soon learns far more surprises lie ahead as they discover the "planet" offered by the Danui is almost beyond the imagination and that the Danui are more than reclusive -- they can be deadly.

Although I found the opening pages of the novel painfully slow as they outlined the history of space travel among humans, once a reader wades through the bit of exposition, the story turns out to be a gripping space thriller. Although the science was well above my head, I found it fascinating, but it was the characters that carried the day for me as I saw the best and worst of humanity in the face of fear. For an aging nerd who cut her sci-fi teeth on Heinlein and Clarke, I found the book a delight. Like the best of science fiction, it leaves you thinking -- who wouldn't love that?