Seven suburban misfits are constructing a spaceship out of old tanker cars. The plan is to beat the Chinese to Mars—in under four days at three million miles an hour. It would be history in the making if it didn't sound so insane.

“A cosmic coming-of-age novel… enthralling everyman heroics.”—Paul Di Filippo, SciFi.com “Mars sucks.” And if anyone’s allowed to say it, Ray Garcia-Strickland is, since his father was one of the first men to set foot there. Ray’s father is now the manager of the Red Thunder, one of the swankiest hotels on overdeveloped Mars. And Ray has seen his share of gravity-dependent Earthies. Which doesn’t stop him from fearing the worst when Earth is struck by an unknown object, causing a massive tsunami. Living high on his father’s glory was okay, but now Ray must literally come down to Earth—and help solve one of its greatest mysteries…

A third generation Martian, Lieutenant Patricia Kelly Elizabeth Strickland—also known as Podkayne—joins the Music, Arts, and Drama Division of the Martian Navy and is sent to Europa, one of Jupiter's moons, as an entertainer, but she soon discovers that hidden dangers lurk everywhere, in the conclusion of a trilogy that began with Red Lightning and Red Thunder.

Known for �superior science fiction” (The Philadelphia Inquirer), author John Varley returns to his Thunder and Lightning series with a novel of how one man’s volatile genius could alter a starship’s epic plunge into a future where human survival is just a theory… On a voyage to New Earth, the starship Rolling Thunder is powered by an energy no one understands, except for its eccentric inventor Jubal Broussard. Like many of the ship’s inhabitants, Jubal rests in a state of suspended animation for years at a time, asleep yet never aging. The moments when Jubal emerges from suspended animation are usually a cause for celebration for his family, including his twin daughters—Cassie and Polly—and their uncle who is captain of the Rolling Thunder. But this time, Jubal makes a shocking announcement… The ship must stop, or everyone will die. These words from the mission’s founder, the man responsible for the very existence of the Rolling Thunder, will send shock waves throughout the starship—and divide its passengers into those who believe and those who doubt. And it will be up to Cassie and Polly to stop a mutiny, discover the truth, and usher the ship into a new age of exploration…