Margins
Poor Man's Sky book cover
Poor Man's Sky
2023
First Published
3.97
Average Rating
377
Number of Pages

Part of Series

THE LUNAR MONASTERY TAUGHT PEOPLE HOW TO LIVE IN SPACE . . . AND THEN ONE OF ITS STUDENTS WAS MURDERED Who owns the future? Homicide detective Raimy Vaught is a losing contestant on the biggest reality show the colonization of Mars. Brother Michael is a Benedictine monk who just wants to help the future happen. Andrei Bykhovski is an asteroid miner desperately escaping indentured servitude. Bridget Tobin is a hydroponic farmer studying the greenhouses of Luna. But when a fellow Mars contestant drops dead at a Lunar monastery, these four souls will find themselves on a collision course with forces far beyond the control of trillionaires or nation states. As labor disputes erupt across cislunar space, the actions of individual people will determine whose future will prevail . . . and whose will perish. Praise for Poor Man's Sky : “ Full bore show-your-work SF and a tense lunar mystery! A thrilling read.” —Max Gladstone, Hugo and Nebula Award-winning author “Wil McCarthy’s skill at crafting a believable, deeply science-grounded future is on full display. He brings us the mother of all locked-room mysteries wrapped in a vision of lunar colonization that rings a bit more true than we might be comfortable with. Small, gritty moments of inspired futurism pepper Poor Man’s Sky and remind us that no matter where we go, our human nature follows.” —Kimberly Unger, author of The Extractionist and Nucleation About Rich Man's Sky : “Action SF built on a hard foundation of cutting-edge science.” —Walter Jon Williams “An action-crammed story that darts at hyper-speed from Burning Man, Nevada, to Suriname to a convent on the Moon to an orbiting colony that’s clearly up to something. A jam-packed adventure fizzing with mind-blowing concepts, and a great read!” —Connie Willis “A hard science fiction tour de force, populated by memorable characters in a tale of intrigue, adventure, and irresistible market forces.” —Linda Nagata About “. . . gripping and . . . grounded in archaeology.” — Publishers Weekly “. . . plenty of verisimilitude . . . superbly intriguing and captivating . . . bravura historical recreations, full of conjectural material... Presenting us with a colorful cast of characters from across the millennia who have thick and rich existences, and affirming that the cosmic stream of life flows forcefully despite all small blockades, McCarthy has written a novel that looks both forwards and backwards, thus making a stellar return to the field.” — Locus About Wil “McCarthy is an entertaining, intelligent, amusing writer, with Heinlein’s knack for breakneck plotting and, at the same time, Clarke’s thoughtfulness.” — Booklist “Imagination really is the only limit.” — The New York Times “The future as McCarthy sees it is a wondrous place.” — Publishers Weekly “A bright light on the SF horizon.” —David Brin “Wil McCarthy demonstrates that he has a sharp intelligence, a galaxy-spanning imagination, and the solid scientific background to make it all work.” —Connie Willis “In nearly every passage, we get another slice of the science of McCarthy’s construction, and a deeper sense of danger and foreboding . . . McCarthy develops considerable tension.” — San Diego Union-Tribune “An ingenious yarn with challenging ideas, well-handled technical details, and plenty of twists and turns.” — Kirkus "McCarthy's writing is prescient and engaging. Always a great read!" —Tim Akers

Avg Rating
3.97
Number of Ratings
61
5 STARS
30%
4 STARS
41%
3 STARS
26%
2 STARS
3%
1 STARS
0%
goodreads

Author

Wil McCarthy
Wil McCarthy
Author · 14 books

Science fiction author and Chief Technology Officer for Galileo Shipyards Engineer/Novelist/Journalist/Entrepreneur Wil McCarthy is a former contributing editor for WIRED magazine and science columnist for the SyFy channel (previously SciFi channel), where his popular "Lab Notes" column ran from 1999 through 2009. A lifetime member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, he has been nominated for the Nebula, Locus, Seiun, AnLab, Colorado Book, Theodore Sturgeon and Philip K. Dick awards, and contributed to projects that won a Webbie, an Eppie, a Game Developers' Choice Award, and a General Excellence National Magazine Award. In addition, his imaginary world of "P2", from the novel LOST IN TRANSMISSION, was rated one of the 10 best science fiction planets of all time by Discover magazine. His short fiction has graced the pages of magazines like Analog, Asimov's, WIRED, and SF Age, and his novels include the New York Times Notable BLOOM, Amazon.com "Best of Y2K" THE COLLAPSIUM (a national bestseller) and, most recently, TO CRUSH THE MOON. He has also written for TV, appeared on The History Channel and The Science Channel, and published nonfiction in half a dozen magazines, including WIRED, Discover, GQ, Popular Mechanics, IEEE Spectrum, and the Journal of Applied Polymer Science. Previously a flight controller for Lockheed Martin Space Launch Systems and later an engineering manager for Omnitech Robotics, McCarthy is now the president and Chief Technology Officer of RavenBrick LLC in Denver, CO, a developer of smart window technologies. He lives in Colorado with his family

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