The colony planet Fremont is joyous, riotous, and very wild. Its grasses can cut your arms and legs to ribbons, the rinds of its precious fruit can skewer your thumbs, and some of the predators are bigger than humans. Meteors fall from the sky and volcanoes erupt. Fremont is verdant, rich, beautiful, and dangerous. Fremont's single town, Artistos, perches on a cliff below rugged mountains. Below Artistos lie the Grass Plains, which lead down to the sea. And in the middle of the Grass Plains, a single silver spaceship lies quiet and motionless. The seasons do not dull it, nor do the winds scratch it—-and the fearful citizens of Aristos won't go near it. Chelo Lee, her brother Joseph, and four other young children have been abandoned on the colony planet. Unfortunate events have left them orphaned in a human colony that abhors genetic engineering—and these six young people are genetically enhanced. With no one to turn to, Chelo and the others must now learn how to use their distinct skills to make this unwelcome planet home, or find a way off it. They have few tools—an old crazy woman who wonders the edges of town, spouting out cryptic messages; their appreciation and affection for each other; a good dose of curiosity; and that abandoned silver space ship that sits locked and alone in the middle of the vast grass plain …

The colony planet of Fremont was supposed to be free of all genetically altered beings—a new home for a pure race. So when Chelo and her brother Joseph, along with four other genetically altered teenagers, were abandoned on Fremont, they were not welcome. They vowed to get off the planet by any means necessary. Joseph and the others managed to escape, but Chelo was left behind with her new found love, forced to live underground. Joseph and the others find that their homeworld is full of vengeance. Believing that the people of Fremont killed the teenaged castaways, they sent a technologically advanced mercenary team to Fremont to eliminate the entire planet's population. With the help of Joseph's father, the youngsters head back to Fremont to try to save Chelo.

Joseph has succeeded in rescuing his sister, Chelo, from a pitched battle on the colony planet Fremont. Now he and Chelo and the love of his life, Alicia, and all of their extended family, are finally returning home. Halfway there, a probe intercepts them, sending them new coordinates and a message from Joseph’s enigmatic supporter and teacher, Marcus. War is brewing. Joseph is wanted for escaping to save Chelo. To stay safe, Joseph must bring his family and friends to the renowned planet of Lopali, where men and women can fly, and peace and freedom abound. Or do they? Alicia has always wanted to fly, but the modifications that give humans wings kill as often as they work. Joseph must learn to actually change humans, to free the fliers of a tyranny that has enslaved them, since their species was born. If he can do this, the fliers have agreed to help him stop the war. But it’s not as easy as it seems.

The second volume of short science fiction anthology. 26 stories from series such as Confederation, The Lost Fleet, Waypoint Kangaroo, Ender, Dream Park, Wayfarers and the Polity. Authors are: Arthur C. Clarke, Jack Campbell, Becky Chambers, Robert Heinlein, George R.R. Martin, Susan R. Matthews, Orson Scott Card, James Blish, E.E. “Doc” Smith, Tanya Huff, Curtis C. Chen, Seanan McGuire, Sharon Lee and Steve Miller, Larry Niven and Steven Barnes, Gardner Dozois, David Farland, Mike Shepherd, C.L. Moore, Neal Asher, Weston Ochse, Brenda Cooper, Alan Dean Foster, Kristine Kathryn Rusch, Kevin J. Anderson, David Weber and C.J. Cherryh.