“Starfall,” from the orbital mind of Stephen Baxter, is a masterpiece of epic space opera, which is due out soon from PS Publishing, the “
In a star system 49 nine years out from Earth, between Sol and Alpha Centauri, the hope of all humanity rests in a few out dated GUTdrive starships guided by the brilliant rebel leader Flood. Flood must assemble this haphazard fleet into an armada to challenge Earthworm defensives. The Earthworms know not what incubates bellow the Earth’s crust and in the molten mantel due to the mad scheming of Shira, the Empress of Sol and the known universe. Will Food be in time to save the human race? Will he be able to slip past Captain Stillich and his brilliant First Officer Pella? Why is Flood and the rebellion willing to sacrifice billions to dethrone Shira? And why entrust an Earth born soldier with the terrible task of piloting the Fist, the last ditch suicidal effort that would set humanity back centuries in devastation?
There is a lot of story packed into this 89-page novella, a story of galactic war full of intricate battle plans and last minute strategy that will consume you, pull you through the plot, as a black hole devours time and space. Told from multiple perspectives that keep you guessing as the story unfolds, you are transported into a multi-world future that doesn’t know the danger that exists in a shimmering pool of mathematical possibilities that resides in one of Earth most protected bunkers deep be bellow one its most populous cities.
One of those perspectives is that of Densel Bel, born on Earth, family on Footprint (one of the distant colonies between Sol and Alpha Centauri), and fiercely loyal to both. Densel is captain of Fist Two, one of the GUTdrive starships on a suicidal, kamikaze mission to impact with Earth at speeds never before recorded in Sol, an impact speculated to devastate an entire hemisphere. He is a man of conviction and steadfast, a hero who to his children who will never understand his sudden disappearance and abduction from Footprint where he lived a life of love, but also a life of lies as Suber, waiting to be abducted for just this type of mission. Densel is thrust into Flood’s plot against Shira, which is already fully in motion. Little does he know, he will be instrumental in Earth’s final salvation.
Meanwhile, Sol’s finest speculative strategists are preparing for the eventuality of an imminent threat from the furthest reaches of space. Captain Stillich and his First Officer Pella lead the defense preparations. Using fiber optic cable from a distant past and hardware recovered from museums, Earth will re-wire to ensure a communication infrastructure and global security. They must puzzle out a way to stop GUTdrive starships traveling at impact speeds and ensure against unknown rebels that might or might not already be on their way.
Besides the human drama, Baxter includes the perspective of smart viruses that ride and multiple within the beauty of a comet. They are hungry. They are chaos. They only know that the one named Flood has promised them a world plentiful of food and complex systems in which to flush. And so they wait, and they pray to Flood, for the promised land that is come.
Baxter’s novella is hinged upon the idea of the imagination. It isn’t what we know that can hurt us. We can plan and prepare for what we know. It is what “None of us can imagine—” (51) that will be our undoing. The idea that we must speculate and plan for the unknown and what seems truly impossible is one that all governments must undertake in the name of security. However, what if the thing the nation must be protected from does not come from without, but from within, and what if that thing is the nation’s leader? What then? What then?
You don’t want to miss this epic battle to save humanity. Prep-order you copy now.
Baxter, Stephen. “Starfall.” PS Publishing, 2009
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