Starbound, by Joe Haldeman
Posted: Wed Jul 21, 2010 11:31 pm
A few years ago Joe Haldeman wrote a Heinlein-inspired coming-of-age novel about a young woman who traveled with her family to Mars where she became embroiled in an alien plot to control humanity. Carmen Dula, the young girl, became a pariah in the eyes of some, and a hero in the eyes of others when the conflict reached a head - ostensibly because of Carmen's failure - and the aliens struck out and nearly destroyed the Earth. Haldeman's newest novel is called Starbound. It's the first sequel to Marsbound and continues the story just shy of ten years after the end of the first book. The repressive governments of Earth have unified somewhat and become even more repressive out of fear of the Others; the aliens who attacked. To deal with the problem they have started constructing a fleet of warships to travel to a distant star called Wolf 25, the home of the Others. But in one last attempt at peace they have built the Ad Astra, an unarmed flying iceberg equipped with engines powered by Martian technology that is capable of traversing the 25 light years between Wolf 25 and Sol in twelve short years. Crewed by seven humans and two Martians, the people of Earth fear that the Ad Astra will reach Wolf 25 more like the Flying Dutchman than a ship of peace...Please click here, or on the book cover above, to be taken to the complete review..
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