Alternating chapters follow the cultural evolution of Portia labiata spiders over generations and the desperate human crew of a generation ship running out of options. A nanovirus accelerates spider intelligence through millennia of civilisational development. First contact between species who are both “children” of Old Earth.

Review

If you are an arachnophobe, you should not read this book under any circumstance. I mean it. If that does not bother you, it is definitely a fascinating thought experiment of evolutionary pathways. For me the end – first contact – of 2 different species was a bit weak.