The Lesson

"Turnbull is a rising star in the science fiction and fantasy world."

-- "The Verge"

"Cadwell Turnbull paints a stunningly intricate portrait of humanity, capturing hopes and dreams, flaws and failings with remarkable depth and texture. The Lesson is a blast to read and a meaningful exploration of the bearing of colonialism and the perils of human ambition."

-- "Sylvain Neuvel, author of The Test and the Themis Files trilogy"

"Cadwell Turnbull's The Lesson brings an alien invasion to St. Thomas with a breadth that encompasses the past, present, and future. As his well-drawn characters wrestle with interspecies challenges, Turnbull imparts lessons that both embrace and transcend culture and race to drive at the heart of what it means to be human."

-- "Tananarive Due, American Book Award winner, executive producer of Horror Noire"

"In The Lesson Cadwell Turnbull, by setting his story in St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands, makes something completely new of the old theme of humans' first contact with superior aliens. Putting these 'colonizing aliens' in a place shaped by colonialism opens new perspectives on issues of race and culture and sex and exploitation. But the true wonder of this novel is its beautifully realized portrayal of Charlotte Amalie and its deeply human and complex characters, young and old, all of them transformed by the arrival of the ambiguously motivated Ynaa. It's a story of mystery, romance, tragedy, and redemption. Like Octavia Butler and Ursula K. Le Guin before him, Turnbull uses the tools of science fiction to illuminate the human heart. The Lesson stands at the beginning of what I expect to be a long and illustrious career."

-- "John Kessel, Nebula Award-winning author of The Moon and the Other and Pride and Prometheus"

"I came for the aliens and a war of the worlds. I stayed for the deadpan St. Thomas humor; the complicated, charming, sexy island folk; and Turnbull's delicious prose. He may not only be a new voice in sci-fi, but also a major new name in Caribbean American literature."

-- "Wilton Barnhardt, New York Times bestselling author of Lookaway, Lookaway"

"Turnbull's bold and provocative debut pits aliens against slavers, aliens against the descendants of slaves. On the island of St. Thomas, a family collides with intergalactic meddlers, stranding two lovers with souls in distant worlds. A forbidding panoply of colonial mischief."

-- "Kris Lackey, USA Today bestselling author of Nail's Crossing"

"A parable of cultural conflict, conflicting moralities, colonialism, and the costs of being a decent person in the midst of desperate times...This is one of those books in which the setting becomes almost a character in itself. The Virgin Islands and their people are drawn in vibrant detail...Turnbull has been compared to Octavia Butler, and in his case I think the observation is a valid one. The Lesson isn't just a serious, important book--it's also a fun and rewarding one."

-- "Analog Science Fiction and Fact"

"[A] rich debut novel about family, love, and loyalty in turbulent times...Turnbull uses a beautifully drawn cast of black characters to convey the complexity of ordinary hardship in extraordinary times. This is an ideal story for fans of Emily St. John Mandel's Station Eleven and other literary science fiction novels."

-- "Publishers Weekly (starred review)"

"Emotional prose and distinctive characters highlight an incredible story that will touch readers' hearts and minds. A compelling tale of invasive occupation and emotional uprising, Turnbull's debut is complex and enthralling. It's a must for all libraries, and the writer, who crafts speculative stories with black characters on par with Octavia Butler, is definitely one to watch."

-- "Library Journal (starred review)"

"Turnbull artfully incorporates the history of slavery and colonialism on the US Virgin Islands into the story, imagining that history's legacy on a future in which it's hard to differentiate between the cruel nature of man and alien. The Lesson is an impressive first book that takes a classic science fiction archetype and makes it feel new."

-- "Booklist"

"Bring[s] to mind the urgent and vibrant writing of Octavia Butler...From beginning to end, The Lesson is thrilling, moving and thought-provoking. This may be Turnbull's debut, but it reads like the work of a seasoned writer. It's also proof that science fiction is more than entertaining--it's a vital genre that lays bare the perils of the age and the boundlessness of the human spirit.

-- "Shelf Awareness"

"The Lesson is a welcomed addition to the new wave of Virgin Islands literature. The plot is smooth and exciting, the polemics are subtle but smart, and the characters are heartfelt."

-- "Tiphanie Yanique, author of Land of Love and Drowning"

"The Lesson is a story that should not be missed by readers who embraced such books as Emily St. John Mandel's Station Eleven or even Arthur C. Clarke's Childhood's End...It's a tribute to Turnbull's storytelling that everything unfolds through scenes that ratchet up a slow-burn tension that climaxes in something truly gripping and shocking...The Lesson is definitely one of those books that wants to provoke a deeply individual response from each of its readers, rather than spelling out a conclusive, pedantic "lesson" for us all. Perhaps that's a good storytelling lesson more writers ought to heed."

-- "SFF180"

"A compelling and layered narrative that explores colonialism and our messy human flaws through a diverse and painfully real cast of characters. The Lesson is smart, full of dry wit and creeping dread--a unique and artful debut."

-- "M. K. England, author of The Disasters"

"Three families wind up in a horrific cycle of violence in a book about family in turbulent times in a debut that has been spoken of in the same breath as last year's standout Rosewater."

-- "B&N Sci-Fi & Fantasy Blog"

"Remarkable...Turnbull's writing is affecting and intelligent, dropping wisdom like cherry bombs...A daring and thoughtful book...that presents racial issues and questions in a genuinely new way, which makes it a book that, I hope, will stand the test of time."

-- "Locus"

"Sometimes the aliens don't land in New York or London. In fact, the alien Ynaa ship that catalyzes the emotional landscape and drives the action of this debut novel lands in the harbor of Water Island, one of the US Virgin Islands...A persuasively--almost musically--worded meditation on colonialism and whether it's really possible to return home again."

-- "Kirkus Reviews (starred review)"

"Rather than collapse his premise into a straightforward colonial allegory, Turnbull uses the Ynaa occupation to explore what social violence means to the communities that embrace or suffer through it, and whether we as individuals have anything to say about it. Some of the early critical comparisons of The Lesson to Octavia Butler can feel just a little gauche--black authors somehow always seem to be compared only to each other--but Turnbull's fearless commitment to his novel's ambivalence more than earns it."

-- "Fiction Unbound"