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Published Aug 2009
464 pages
Genre: Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Speculative, Alt. History
Publication Information
In the 1980s, an alien starship visited Earth. While investigating what appeared to be a sarcophagus bearing the preserved body of its builder, astronaut Keith Stoner was trapped and cryogenically frozen. After his body was eventually returned to Earth and revived, Stoner discovered that he had acquired alien powers. Using these new powers, he built a new starship and left Earth.
Now, after more than a century of exploring the stars, Keith Stoner returns to find that the world he has come back to does not match the one he left. The planet is suffering the consequences of disastrous greenhouse flooding. Most nations have been taken over by ultraconservative religion-based governments, such as the New Morality in the United States. With population ballooning and resources running out, Earth is heading for nuclear war. Stoner, the star voyager, wants to save Earth's people. But first he must save himself from the frightened and ambitious zealots who want to destroy this stranger—and the terrifying message he brings from the stars.
"[A] clumsy mashup of wildly different universes..Bova's decision to merge two unrelated sets of books is baffling, and Keith's arrogant machinations transform the Grand Tour universe in ways that its fans are unlikely to appreciate." - Publishers Weekly
"After a gap of nearly 20 years, this fourth volume in the 'Voyagers' series displays... Bova's consummate ability to tell an absorbing tale ... The author's outspoken philosophy provides food for thought for his many fans and readers who enjoy hard sf." - Library Journal
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Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Dr. Ben Bova has written more than 120 futuristic novels and nonfiction books, and has been involved in science and high technology since the very beginnings of the space age. President Emeritus of the National Space Society and a past president of Science Fiction Writers of America, Dr. Bova received the Lifetime Achievement Award of the Arthur C. Clarke Foundation in 2005, "for fueling mankind's imagination regarding the wonders of outer space." His 2006 novel Titan received the John W. Campbell Memorial Award for best novel of the year. In 2008 he won the Robert A. Heinlein Award "for his outstanding body of work in the field of literature."
Dr. Bova is a frequent commentator on radio and television and a widely popular lecturer. Earlier, he was an award-winning editor and an executive...
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