On a spaceship where human fertility has been artificially halted, nobody is expecting to find a human baby left on their doorstep. But that is exactly what happens in Olvia Waite’s Nobody’s Baby. Now it’s up to Dorothy Gentleman to find out who this baby is, who his parents are, and how exactly he came to be. And she needs to find out fast, because the last thing they need is a ship full of wild babies!
[Note: While I am reviewing this novel independently and honestly, it should be noted that it has been provided to me by Tor Publishing Group for the purpose of this review. Warning: My review of Nobody’s Baby contains some spoilers!]
A wild baby on board!
The Fairweather has been hurtling through space for centuries with the same passengers. When they get too old, new bodies are created, and their memories are transferred to the new vessel. But they remain the same people. Fertility is on hold because who knows what carrying a baby to term in space could do to the mother or the baby. And population control is important in such a limited environment, too.
But despite all this, Dorothy gets an odd message from her nephew one morning: “At what age do human children grow teeth?” She answers, but the odd questions about babies keep coming, prompting a visit to Ruthie and John, her nephew and his husband. Imagine her shock when she walks in the door to the sounds of a screaming baby! There aren’t supposed to be babies on the Fairweather! But here one is. So once the screaming is quieted (babies get hungry, something Dorothy remembers but John and Ruthie haven’t quite grasped), the trio sets off to gather clues and figure out just where this miracle came from, and make sure that no new miracles follow him!
The Fairweather is a technological marvel, but it is still subject to human follies
Nobody’s Baby is the second book in Oliva Waite’s Dorothy Gentleman series. In the first, we learned more about the Fairweather’s mission. It’s a spaceship heading far away from Earth to start humanity over on a distant planet. The journey is so far that it will take many human lives to complete. Instead of having a dynamic population of humans who age, reproduce, and die, the creators had a different plan. The passengers on the Fairweather upload their memories to a memory book. When they die, the ship creates a new body (it has special machines called retromats that can create anything, including a functioning human body), and those memories are uploaded into it. It’s like the same person. Thankfully, the ship starts everyone over at age 20 (who wants to go through puberty twice?). And thanks to the bodies being artificially created, the ship is able to prevent anyone from being fertile.
Or so everyone thought. The sudden appearance of a baby leads to questions about how it happened and to fear that it could happen again. Apparently, the fear isn’t so much about supplies; the Fairweather can create anything that is needed, and thanks to a sophisticated recycling system, it has plenty of raw materials. The real problem is real estate, something that is always at a premium on a spaceship. So it is vital that little Peregrine must be the only one until the ship makes it to their destination.
Now the Fairweather has been traveling for centuries, so everyone on board is very much an adult. And very few passengers seem to know what to make of a baby suddenly appearing. Some even argue about whether he should be considered a piece of luggage! The biggest problem is that there are no rules for what to do with new babies on the Fairweather because there was never supposed to be a new baby on the Fairweather. There are rules for babies once the colonists reach their planet, but they are based on a vastly different life than what is being experienced on the Fairweather. In addition to solving the mystery of who, what, and how surrounding the baby, Dorothy must find a way to protect Peregrine and integrate him into ship life. It seems obvious, but obvious isn’t always what it should be when dealing with humans.
Nobody’s Baby is a quick read with snappy dialogue
Nobody’s Baby is billed as a “slim novel” by the publisher. I’ve never quite heard that term before. I’d just call it a novella. It was a very quick read, I finished it in a day! Waite uses fastpaced dialouge to keep the reader firmly engaged in the story. The mystery isn’t super complex, but there isn’t enough time in the small text to create one. That’s okay, though, because it’s less about the mystery (people have sex, make a baby, panic, try to hide it) or the motives (jealousy and selfishness) than it is about the characters. Dorothy is smart, funny, and logical. Her nephew, Ruthie, is both a problem solver and a dreamer, which leads him to interesting solutions that sometimes overlook easier, obvious answers. Dorothy and John’s exasperation with and love for him is sweet and funny at the same time.
These three are the main focus of the story and have the best interactions, but all the characters have fun interplay that will have you smirking and giggling. It made the book very enjoyable and left me wanting more. Anyone looking for a quick pick-me-up or a fast laugh should check out Nobody’s Baby today.
Rating: 8/10
Nobody’s Baby is now available to purchase at your retailer of choice.
Learn more about the book at the official website for the title.
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