If you are a fan of the science in science fiction, then you will love this new book by award winning author Joan Slonczewski. From biology and chemistry to politics and theology, she has used scientific principles to build a world that is not only believable, but also quite compelling.

Jennifer Ramos Kennedy is a young girl off to college for the first time. She is the daughter of a political family—the granddaughter and great granddaughter of a President, and a descendent of the famous twentieth century Kennedy family. She is a very bright young lady who has recently suffered the loss of her twin brother Jordi. But as a partial clone of her grandmother, a mistake was made during embryonic gene-coding which has caused her to be unable to speak in public. This has made her quite insecure and reliant on her parents. So despite her brilliance as a student, her exceptional talent in the ‘slanball’ court and her outstanding ability as a first response medic, Jenny is really just a normal young woman.

Frontera is a space habitat that orbits the Earth. It contains a college that is dedicated to educating the brightest of the bright young people of Earth, a casino where citizens go to "play" their taxes and a small farming settlement. Frontera is enclosed by a skin of microbial solution that provides most of the power the habitat requires. However, Frontera still relies on its connection to Earth for its existence, and it is not a perfect environment. Maintenance issues crop up constantly and the local wildlife is not always of the cute and cuddly variety; residents must contend with miniature elephants rampaging through homes and two-headed snakes.

Frontera is one of a number of space habitats that are being built as havens for the population of an Earth that is rapidly declining. The Earth is suffering from more than a century of global warming, causing a lack of water and the degradation of the environment. There is a war being fought over Antarctica, the last available fertile farmland; much of the centre of the USA is covered with energy producing solar plates, which in turn are raising the Earth's temperature; many species are becoming extinct; and an alien invasion in the form of cyanide-emitting ultraphytes is causing untold chaos and damage.

The population of Earth and the space habitats are supported by (and reliant on) an internet style system called "Toynet". Windows in the "Toybox" open and close with the blink of an eye as friends and relatives communicate and "Toyrooms" provide a virtual world for entertainment and education. Printers print out anything that is needed from helpers, to clothing, to food and furniture. It is all made of amyloid, a bacterial by-product.

This world is populated with some unusual characters. DIRGS (Direct Intervention Robotic Guardians) are bodyguards of a sort and "mentals" are virtual psychologists. There are plants with a sense of humour and unrecognizable animals. But the genetically enhanced offspring of the moneyed classes are seemingly very similar being "all Monroe lips and Newman chins, with gold rings through their perfect noses".

Jenny's coming of age story is framed by the political aspirations of her family and friends. There are two major parties—the liberal Unity Party that supports science and the ultra-conservative Centrists with their belief that the Earth is the centre of the Universe. She and her friends campaign on Frontera, with the results of the election being so close that the votes of a few students could swing the election either way.

Slonczewski has built a world that is extraordinary in its detail. Her ability to build the story as well as introduce exotic science to the average reader is admirable. She has not resorted to the long denigrated "information dump" of other science fiction writers; rather she has introduced new concepts (such as "Toynet") with no overt explanation, allowing the story itself to illuminate the reader. The Highest Frontier is a book of extraordinary ideas, innovative science and wonderful characters. But mostly it is a book of considerable imagination.