space

To Own Two Suns by Fran Tabor

Posted By Fantasy Books Curator

To Own Two Suns by Fran Tabor

It’s the beginning of the 22nd century. Captain Jerry Jerrison, head scientist for the first manned flight to explore the outer solar system, has dreamed of meeting aliens since childhood. As they approach Pluto, his ship encounters what seems to be an abandoned alien spaceship.
Muni, the sole occupant, is in a state of Deep Sleep. The ship’s AI (Artificial Intelligence) learns the human spaceship is failing. The AI tricks Jerrison and his crew into boarding the safer alien craft.
When Muni awakens, he pretends he came for the benefit of the human race.
Reality is more sinister. He is there to claim our solar system for his clan. If he fails, his entire family will be killed. Muni is their last hope. Human existence makes his claiming our solar system impossible.
As the novel progresses, Captain Jerrison and Muni must find a way to work together to save both Muni’s clan and the human race.
Morgi civilization will accept humans as True People if and only if Jerrison can personally prove human greatness. Jerrison the Scientist must become Jerrison the Warrior.
Morgi Law: Only against great odds can greatness be revealed.
The immense odds against Jerrison are great enough to win Morgi recognition.
If he fails, all humanity and Muni’s clan will be exterminated. Failure is so certain, Muni’s enemies are already positioning themselves to exterminate humanity and claim on sun.

The Far Side of Evil by Sylvia Engdahl

Posted By Fantasy Books Curator

The Far Side of Evil by Sylvia Engdahl

On completion of her training as an agent of the interstellar federation’s Anthropological Service, Elana is sent to a world whose people may soon destroy their civilization. Since not enough is understood about the situation to justify any interference with their evolution, the Service has no power to act; its agents must go as helpless observers, posing as natives, in the hope of gaining knowledge that may help to save other worlds. This passive role proves intolerable to the young, inexperienced agent assigned to the same city as Elana, a city under totalitarian rule. After falling in love with a local girl who has become Elana’s closest friend, he identifies too completely with the natives and unwittingly endangers the entire world by a well-meant but ill-advised attempt to intervene. Forced to assume responsibility for undoing the damage, Elana finds that only she–at great cost–can prevent an immediate war of annihilation.

From the reviews:

“A surprising, haunting, poetic book . . . full of provocative philosophical and psychological questions as well as tense adventure and romance.” —Commonweal

“Gripping psychological science fiction . . . the relationship between the heroine and her sophisticated, unbrutish interrogator is beautifully balanced and adds another dimension to a story which is already multi-faceted.” —Times Literary Supplement, London

“The author has a direct, forceful style of writing that sparks the reader’s imagination.” —Publisher’s Weekly

The Cronian Incident by Matthew Williams

Posted By Fantasy Books Curator

The Cronian Incident by Matthew Williams

Disgraced investigator, Jeremiah Ward, once worked the Martian beat, now he’s serving out his sentence in a mining colony on Mercury. His golden opportunity arises when a member of a powerful faction on Titan vanishes and Ward is promised, in exchange for investigating this man’s disappearance, a clean slate and a second chance.

Unwittingly, Ward becomes embroiled in a conspiracy, centuries in the making, and begins to realise his one shot at redemption may cost him his life.

From terraforming to colonisation, to the Technological Singularity and the future of space exploration; The Cronian Incident is a must read for fans of thrilling mystery science fiction.