Our Child of the Stars (Quercus) by first-time novelist Stephen Cox takes a number of well worn science fiction tropes – a crash-landed starship, an alien survivor up against the odds, and a big, bad government out to quash the rights of the individual – and invests them with a new energy thanks to some sympathetic characterisation and fine storytelling. What is thought to be a meteor falls to Earth near a US town; nurse Molly Myers is called on to help an injured child who turns out to be the only survivor of a crashed extraterrestrial vessel. When government officials arrive to investigate the crash site and arrest a colleague of Molly’s for hampering their work, she and her husband Gene flee with the alien and attempt to keep one step ahead of their pursuers. What makes this such a satisfying read, apart from the thrillingly rendered chase (and the refreshing notion that not all aliens are bent on inimical invasion), is the characterisation of Molly and Gene, a childless couple given this one miraculous chance to show love for an adopted son. This is an optimistic take on the ET theme, done without the schmaltz of the film.
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