Earth 7

by Deb Olin Unferth

An end-of-the-world love story, an epic full of pathos and humor, asking what can be saved of our planet

Well, that’s about it for the story of planet Earth, poor Earth, reduced to not much more than a piece of burnt coal. But, as Deb Olin Unferth shows in her latest electrifying novel, life and love persist, even in the most unexpected, inhospitable places.

Two women meet on a beach of artificial sand. One was raised in a pod in the ocean and the other may or may not be a robot. Their love—or any love—seems so unlikely. Earth is severely depopulated. Some people have given up, gone off to Mars. Others pursue eternal life as digital code. And yet others, like Dylan and Melanie, are holdouts—and some of those holdouts are constructing a vast molecular collection in hopes that a future person may be alive to make a new Earth. Foolhardy? Misguided? Quixotic? Probably. But what can a human (or a robot) do?

By the end of Unferth’s wild, poetic, revelatory, and slyly philosophical novel, the reader has traveled to the very edges of the cosmos as a “soul globule” and between grains of sand as a microscopic tardigrade. A slim book tackling big questions (is all matter conscious? will we tech ourselves into salvation, or out of existence?), Earth 7 is a poignant inquiry into death, mourning, and indefatigable life, the most exhilarating work to date by one of our most original and beloved writers.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction

240 pages, Hardcover

Expected publication June 9, 2026

About the author

Deb Olin Unferth is the author of six books, including the novel Barn 8 and the story collection Wait Till You See Me Dance. Her work has appeared in Harper’s, The Paris Review, Granta, Vice, NOON, the New York Times, and McSweeney’s. She has received a Guggenheim fellowship, a Creative Capital grant, three Pushcart Prizes, and was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award. An associate professor at the University of Texas in Austin, she also runs the Pen City Writers, a creative writing program at a penitentiary in southern Texas.

Reviews

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

A deeply human speculative fiction novel about the planet we live on and the vastness of space. The is smart science fiction for fans of Ursula LeGuin, Octavia Butler and Simon Jimenez. Uplifting and devastating in equal measure this is a book that rewards patience and attention, that wants us to believe in our best selves.

[K.N. Tristan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I know it's only February, but I'm going to go ahead and say this is one of my favorite books of 2026. I was absolutely blown away from page one. The writing style is poetic and philosophical, giving shades of books like A Psalm for the Wild Built and Station Eleven. The character-driven story is immediately immersive, starting out with a scientist taking her young daughter to live in isolation in a pod beneath the sea. That section is pretty difficult to read as someone who grew up in an isolating, abusive environment, but it also rang extremely true to life, and we get a reprieve when the daughter, who becomes the story's central character, escapes the pod to make her own life in the sand. The only criticism I could make is that I wish it were longer, only so that I could spend more time in this world and with these characters.

I received an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Patrick Boey · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastically written speculative novel about mortality and humanity’s relationships with technology, nature, each other - and the earth and universe at large.

With its focus on Mars colonies, underwater/desert laboratories, ‘depop’ (depopulation), AI and biotech implants, it could easily be labelled dystopian, yet it’s infused with more optimism, tenderness and philosophical musing than most in the genre, and reads stylistically more like a contemporary work of literature rather than a straightforward hard sci-fi work - focused far more on the emotion rather than scientific concepts, though not without the latter.

Highly recommend this title - notably one of, if not the only, science fiction novel published by Daunt Books. Five stars! Can’t wait for it to officially release so I can recommend it to all properly.

[Jen G · Rating 2 out of 5]

Two stars for intriguing setting of the seafloor at the start. The premise sounded intriguing, but I found the writing stilted in such a way that I couldn’t get into the story. The writing was choppy. Short little tiny sentences. Could not grasp the larger significance of the story, so I did not enjoy. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

[Jerusha McDowell · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a really really good book. Sci fi plot was minimal but satisfying for someone who needs that (me!).
Overall the book is about meaning and perception in the face of existential horror. It’s raw, and it hurt my heart many times but I could not put it down.

[Emma]

Thank you NetGalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

Sadly, I DNF’d at 28%. The choppiness, lack of syntax and order, and plot that had about as much structure as an overcooked noodle legit made me motion sick. I don’t know what was happening. I don’t think I want to know.