An elegantly choreographed intergalactic ballet.
First Contact. The notion of that first curious meeting between us and another species, shrouded in mystery but brimming with possibility, pits the unknown against inborn curiosity and scientific advancement. The stuff of fiction for most residents of New Pallas. But when their failing planet is at the critical tipping point where resources are severely outweighed by demand, the unknown is humanity’s eleventh-hour option. Perilous as a mission into unexplored territory is, an intrepid scouting team buckles in for a journey that will end in a way that nobody could predict. Hoping only to find a new planet to call home but meeting an alien species for the first time is only the beginning of what the brave voyagers on the Ranger discover about loyalty, survival and the universe itself. A war is brewing, and New Pallas’s explorers won’t have much time to prepare for their position in the conflict, although their place has been thousands of years in the making.
An undeniably appealing story, Those Left Behind pairs fantasy and science fiction in an elegantly choreographed intergalactic ballet. The Ranger is captained by a strong woman with a live-in AI. A guilt-ridden pilot of the vessel happens to be the son of a formidable enemy. And the resident language expert is a member of a commonly ridiculed group of people. All of these knotty layers add to the complicated relationships and situations the characters navigate as they explore dangerous new galaxies. A dynamic space opera with echoes of some very human, very Earthly problems, Scrimgeour has managed to craft an entirely unique and thoroughly engrossing literary macrocosm that will wholly transport readers. There are inherently familiar elements to the writing style that will make readers feel at home, though they couldn’t be farther from it. Complete with power struggles, psychotic family drama, small and large scale ethical dilemmas and vivid intergalactic imagery, Those Left Behind is nothing short of epic.
