Ambitious, urgent, and emotionally resonant.
Clift delivers a taut, emotional thriller in which one woman’s struggle to protect her child sparks a war for evolution itself. 2102. Earth is nothing but a wasteland of scarcity. Its ecosystems are collapsing beyond repair. Humanity’s last hope liis in the lunar Seed Vault, a genetic treasure trove that could decide humanity’s survival. At the center is Teagan Ward, hardened by experimentation and wary of control. But the Consortium’s real target is her daughter, Diana—a child born not only to endure the stars but to become the template for what comes next.
Clift’s worldbuilding is authentic: devastated coastlines, unchecked corporations, encroaching AI, and dying alien cultures are rendered in concise, telling detail. At the center, the Seed Vault serves both as plot driver and as metaphor for control and inheritance. Clift builds tension through character rather than spectacle. Teagan is a mother scarred but unbroken, her resilience tested by a daughter who is loved as fiercely as she is coveted. To the world, Diana is a genetic template. To Teagan, she is simply her child. That duality gives the novel its heart. Secondary characters, especially the Tritans, bring texture to the narrative by offering perspectives outside of humanity, highlighting how survival is never a singular story but an entangled one. Balancing the impersonal weight of politics and technology with the intimate force of maternal love, Clift turns the Seed Vault into a symbol of legacy and ownership. Who decides what survives? Corporations, machines, or families? In posing this question, Clift delivers a thriller that feels urgent and unsettlingly familiar.
A page-turner.
ElleWon Press
Pub date June 19, 2025
ISBN 979-8990010758
Price $18.00 (USD) Paperback, $2.99 Kindle edition
