A brand new science fiction novel from the author of The Sex Gates and The Pet Plague. Earth has become a dystopia ruled by giant corporations, where the majority of the population is bonded to a company for life. Twins Jane and Steve are an exception, living an upper class life by means of their parents' stake in a new enterprise--which doesn't suit the great corporation currently governing the world. Just as Steve and Jane realize they are in love--with each other--their parents' company is forced into bankruptcy, effectively making the whole family indebted criminals--and prime candidates for the 'Crazy Ships', the only mode for interstellar travel. Only half the ships will reach their destination and only half of those will return. Steve and Jane are declared adults, and with no visible means of support, are each sentenced to become part of the crew of a 'Crazy Ship', but not the same ship, nor the one their parents are forced to go on. Their only chance of ever seeing each other is to complete the five jumps to which they are sentenced, and to arrive safely on Sporeworld, the prime colony of earth, named after its chief export, giant spores from which exotic medicines are made. Other machinations are going on inside the ruling faction on earth. Knowing that they will soon become deposed, a safe haven is being prepared on Sporeworld, from which even more desperate plans are in the works, plans which will inexplicably involve the twins--if they survive. No one knows what happens to the ships that disappear, but Steve and Jane soon find out when each of the ships they are on fails to make a jump. Now they are truly in dire straits, for they are in the graveyard ofdisappeared ships--but not everything there is dead. The Crazy Ships is a coming of age novel in a future where business is savage, sex is easy, and prospects for the future are dim.
Description:
A brand new science fiction novel from the author of The Sex Gates and The Pet Plague. Earth has become a dystopia ruled by giant corporations, where the majority of the population is bonded to a company for life. Twins Jane and Steve are an exception, living an upper class life by means of their parents' stake in a new enterprise--which doesn't suit the great corporation currently governing the world. Just as Steve and Jane realize they are in love--with each other--their parents' company is forced into bankruptcy, effectively making the whole family indebted criminals--and prime candidates for the 'Crazy Ships', the only mode for interstellar travel. Only half the ships will reach their destination and only half of those will return. Steve and Jane are declared adults, and with no visible means of support, are each sentenced to become part of the crew of a 'Crazy Ship', but not the same ship, nor the one their parents are forced to go on. Their only chance of ever seeing each other is to complete the five jumps to which they are sentenced, and to arrive safely on Sporeworld, the prime colony of earth, named after its chief export, giant spores from which exotic medicines are made. Other machinations are going on inside the ruling faction on earth. Knowing that they will soon become deposed, a safe haven is being prepared on Sporeworld, from which even more desperate plans are in the works, plans which will inexplicably involve the twins--if they survive. No one knows what happens to the ships that disappear, but Steve and Jane soon find out when each of the ships they are on fails to make a jump. Now they are truly in dire straits, for they are in the graveyard ofdisappeared ships--but not everything there is dead. The Crazy Ships is a coming of age novel in a future where business is savage, sex is easy, and prospects for the future are dim.
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