Child of Venus - Hardcover

Sargent, Pamela

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 006105027X ISBN 13: 9780061050275

Publisher: Avon Books, 2001

Synopsis

Centuries of terraforming have not yet made Venus habitable, but the planet has become a haven for malcontents and trouble is brewing between Earth and her bright sister planet. 15,000 first printing.

About this title

About the Author:

Pamela Sargent is the author of several highly praised novels. Gregory Benford described her novel Venus of Dreams (1986) as "A new high point in humanistic science fiction." Venus of Shadows (1988), the sequel, was called "alive with humanity, moving, and memorable," by Locus. The Shore of Women (1986), one of Sargent's best-known books, was praised as "a compelling and emotionally involving novel" by Publishers Weekly. The Washington Post Book World has called her "one of the genre's best writers."

Sargent is also the author of Earthseed (1983), chosen as a Best Book for Young Adults by the American Library Association, and two collections of short fiction, Starshadows (1977) and The Best of Pamela Sargent (1987). She has won the Nebula Award, the Locus Award, and has been a finalist for the Hugo Award. Ruler of the Sky (1993), Sargent's epic historical novel about Genghis Khan, tells the Mongol conqueror's story largely from the points-of-view of women.

From Publishers Weekly:

Nebula and Locus award-winner Sargent's latest novel completes her masterful SF trilogy (Venus of Shadows and Venus of Dreams) about terraforming the planet Venus. Thanks to the advanced technology of the Habbers (humans who long ago left Earth to carve out habitats inside asteroids), colonists live and work in reasonable comfort within domed settlements on Venus's surface while progress continues on making the planet's atmosphere breathable advances that irritate to no end the jealous Earth-based Islamic power base of Mukhtars. Through the eyes of young Mahala Liangharad, Sargent gives readers an intimate view of life as a colonist, caught between two rival powers limited by the Mukhtars to those jobs deemed necessary to the colony's growth, while the mysterious Habbers seem to offer something more. Then Habber electronics pick up a radio signal from an alien intelligence 600 light-years away, and shifting priorities threaten the delicate balance of power between Earth and space, as well as the completion of the terraforming itself. As in previous books, Sargent brings her world to life with sympathetic characters and crisp, concise language. The only weak moment is the novel's last section, told a little too swiftly, which folds the story back on itself to confront a millennium of sweeping changes in humanity and its place in the universe.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Avon Books
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 006105027X
• ISBN 13: 9780061050275
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 448