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Invasive
Once a dedicated pilot, Robin has one final to land a ship of pilgrims on a new world. There her husband can work as a botanist among people who share his faith, her kids can grow up in open spaces, and she can settle down to life as a full-time mom.
When she agreed to the idea, it didn’t sound so bad. But now that she’s pregnant with her third child and light years from home, things go sideways.
The colonists’ nature-worshipping religion hides a system of power and control. The planet was promised to be uninhabited, but something is stalking the colony from deep in the forest. And the colony ship will never lift off again.
When Robin ventures into the forest to find out what threatens her people, she finds the line between peaceful pilgrims and rapacious invaders is thinner than she realized.
When she agreed to the idea, it didn’t sound so bad. But now that she’s pregnant with her third child and light years from home, things go sideways.
The colonists’ nature-worshipping religion hides a system of power and control. The planet was promised to be uninhabited, but something is stalking the colony from deep in the forest. And the colony ship will never lift off again.
When Robin ventures into the forest to find out what threatens her people, she finds the line between peaceful pilgrims and rapacious invaders is thinner than she realized.
296 pages, Paperback
Published December 3, 2025
4 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
January 16, 2026
GIANT CAT CENTAURS WITH A WARRIOR CULTURE CLASH WITH DESPERATE HUMANS ON A LUSH WORLD--
Jenne writes classic science fiction stories, with a fantastic balance of everyday characters, geeky engineering, relatable problems, and hope. What I love is how she's optimistic but realistic.
Her villains are never cardboard cutouts, and her heroes are real people, flawed and persistent, and likable. INVASIVE is her take on a crashed starship, its survivors encountering an alien race so alien that initially they don't recognize them sentient. The tale is told with shifting povs, but Robin is our protagonist: a pregnant starship captain with a botanist husband and kids, who accidentally gets caught up in a puzzle that might save or doom not only her fellow survivors, but also the indigenous people on the planet.
Jenne manages to weave several points of view, including alien ones, quite effectively, to show how people handle impossible choices, and how they fix them. This is hopepunk at its finest. Never saccharine or didactic, just a tale told by survivors who find their way through.
The indigenous people, the Eosians, as the humans call them, have a truly fascinating warrior matriarchial culture, as well looking a bit like giant six-legged cat centaurs. I really loved learning about them.
Ultimately, this is a story about how two very different groups can work it out, despite tragedy and differences. A fantastic story for our current time.
My comparisons would be two of my favorites of all time: Grass by Sherri S Tepper, and Golden Witchbreed, by Mary Gentle. Jenne holds her own in their august company.
Jenne writes classic science fiction stories, with a fantastic balance of everyday characters, geeky engineering, relatable problems, and hope. What I love is how she's optimistic but realistic.
Her villains are never cardboard cutouts, and her heroes are real people, flawed and persistent, and likable. INVASIVE is her take on a crashed starship, its survivors encountering an alien race so alien that initially they don't recognize them sentient. The tale is told with shifting povs, but Robin is our protagonist: a pregnant starship captain with a botanist husband and kids, who accidentally gets caught up in a puzzle that might save or doom not only her fellow survivors, but also the indigenous people on the planet.
Jenne manages to weave several points of view, including alien ones, quite effectively, to show how people handle impossible choices, and how they fix them. This is hopepunk at its finest. Never saccharine or didactic, just a tale told by survivors who find their way through.
The indigenous people, the Eosians, as the humans call them, have a truly fascinating warrior matriarchial culture, as well looking a bit like giant six-legged cat centaurs. I really loved learning about them.
Ultimately, this is a story about how two very different groups can work it out, despite tragedy and differences. A fantastic story for our current time.
My comparisons would be two of my favorites of all time: Grass by Sherri S Tepper, and Golden Witchbreed, by Mary Gentle. Jenne holds her own in their august company.
January 2, 2026
This is my second Jenné book and as usual, she's managed to capture humanity through the lens of science fiction. This is such a beautiful mix of classic first contact with themes of parenthood and ecology. Loved it.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews