Summertide (The Heritage Universe) - Softcover

Sheffield, Charles

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0345369378 ISBN 13: 9780345369376

Publisher: Del Rey, 1990

Synopsis

It was just before Summertide, the time when the twin planets, Opal and Quake, would orbit closest to their sun, subjecting both -- but Quake in particular -- to vast tidal forces. And it was to be the most violent Summertide ever, due to the Grand Conjunction of the system's stars and planets, something that happened only every 350,000 years.
Access to the unstable Quake was supposed to be prohibited, but some very insistent travelers were determined to make the trip. Professor Darya Lang, who had made a career studying artifacts left by the long-vanished aliens called the Builders, had a hunch that during this unusal Summertide she might find the Builders themselves. Louis Nenda and the Cecropian Atvar H'sial had their own interests in Quake, and would do anything to get there. And Councilor Julius Graves was hunting murderers -- if they were hiding on Quake, he needed no one's permission to search for them.
Planetary Administrators Hans Rebka and Max Perry had no choice but to go to Quake themselves -- risking their lives to protect the others -- and to learn, just maybe, the secret of Summertide and the Builders . . .
"A well-made puzzle story in the manner of Arthur C. Clarke's Rama books." -- The New York Times

About this title

From Publishers Weekly:

This promising first installment of the projected Heritage Universe series stands on its own, even though many threads are left dangling. In A.D. 6219, mankind has spread across the galaxy, discovering two other star-traveling races and 1236 artifacts, from three to 10 million years old, left by beings known as the Builders. Now one person from each race has detected clues that might lead to another artifact, or perhaps even to the Builders themselves. Conflicts among the three races fuel most of the plot. Wishing to keep the findings secret, their respective governments provide only covert aid--a device Sheffield ( Between the Strokes of Night ) may have employed to justify the small size of his cast, six members of which will clearly be the main characters in future series volumes.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal:

While the twin planets of Opal and Quake prepare for the violent season of Summertide, two planetary administrators investigate the reasons behind a tenacious group of visitors' sudden interest in the ancient artifact that serves as an "umbilical" connection between the two worlds. Political intrigue, mystery, and fast-paced action highlight this hard sf novel, the first in a series by the author of Proteus Unbound. For most sf collections.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Del Rey
• Publication date: 1990
• ISBN 10: 0345369378
• ISBN 13: 9780345369376
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 281