In 2126, the United Kingdom has assumed a leadership role in space exploration. There is a colony on Mars, UK-built ships are exploring the solar system, and the UK-designed Sagan Space Platform is confidently asserted to be the largest man-made object ever placed in earth orbit. That feeling of confidence in human advancement is seriously tested when a 5.2-kilometre-long starship suddenly emerges from a temporal anomaly out beyond Saturn and parks itself in orbit near the platform. A further shock comes after the starship's computers learn to translate earth's languages and it becomes possible to communicate with her crew. The ship is called Warrior, and far from carrying potential invaders from somewhere in deep space, her captain reveals that the ship was built in earth orbit, and has just returned from a 15-year exploration mission that, after accounting for extensive travel in "jumpspace," took 86,985 years in real time.
Returning touches on fear of the unknown, and the lengths to which some people will go to retain power and dominate others "for their own good," or to overcome cognitive dissonance when the world of reality suddenly disagrees with their long-held beliefs. From the crew of the huge ship, to a former evangelist who's been President of the United States for 29 years, to a 15-year-old girl from Denver, who finds the simple act of scolding someone for using the wrong Ham radio channel sets her on course for the strangest adventure of her young life, this is a fascinating science fiction adventure, with a profound warning for today.
Book was released 3 April 2017, so there really hasn't been time to establish any patterns here.
Captain Kimewe Romiwero leaned forward, her hands resting on the weathered stone balustrade bordering the stone-flagged terrace of her family home, looking out over Tufaria Bay. The moonlight reflected off the gently-undulating waters. In the distance, she could see the lights of the great naval anchorage of Koril Harbour. Once, it had been the main anchorage for the Eastern Sea Fleet. Now, after 139 years of peace, it was more museum than anything else. The great capital ships were carefully maintained, but seldom left the harbour, unless it was to participate in some mock battle for a motion picture.
Even that was rare now. It was easier to recreate the battles in a computer.
Behind her, the party noises grew suddenly louder as someone opened the terrace door. She heard soft footsteps approaching. Romiwero straightened and turned. An attractive, middle-aged woman, wearing a dark-green party dress, was making her way across the terrace.
“I thought I’d find you out here,” her mother said. “You always used to come out here when you were little, any time you wanted to get away from people.”
“I like the view,” Romiwero replied.
“Having second thoughts, Kim?”
“Not exactly. Just thinking about all the things I’ll be leaving behind. All the people.” She smiled wistfully.
| Language | Status |
|---|---|
|
Portuguese
|
Already translated.
Translated by Dan Folter
|
|
Spanish
|
Already translated.
Translated by arturo delgado
|
