From the Bookshelf of Tyler Public Library…

[close] Charnock takes the reader into the future with intertwined stories of close friends, Millie and Toni, and several generations of their families. Spun snippets inform the narrative of what it means to be a family. Parenting, of course, seems as challenging in the future as it has always been, but Charnock adds a complex layer of futuristic parental options that demand consideration. Society advances to the point where women who choose to conceive and carry their babies to term are considered abusive because they haven’t chosen the expensive artificial womb to nurture their embryos. There are many interesting medical science scenarios to ponder in Dreams Before the Start of Time, such as a fathers ability to choose only his own DNA to create a child, genetic enhancements, and the elimination of infertility altogether. Sci-fi fans will find a great deal to contemplate within these pages.