Book excerpt: Aliens try to atone for past wrongs to humanity and take twenty-one humans on a revelatory journey in this science fiction novel by a Nebula Award–winning author. The aliens appeared one day, built a base on the moon, and put an ad on the internet: “We are an alien race you may call the Atoners. Ten thousand years ago we wronged humanity profoundly. We cannot undo what has been done, but we wish humanity to understand it. Therefore, we request twenty-one volunteers to visit seven planets to Witness for us. We will convey each volunteer there and back in complete safety. Volunteers must speak English. Send requests for electronic applications to [email protected].” At first, everyone thought it was a joke. But it wasn’t. This is the story of three of those volunteers, and what they found on Kular A and Kular B . . . Praise for Steal Across the Sky “Kress skillfully explores the consequences of her ideas. . . . Arrestingly ambiguous and persuasively set forth—in the best science-fiction tradition, guaranteed provocative no matter what your personal opinions.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)