Keith will be awarding an eCopy of Horizen to 3 randomly drawn winners via rafflecopter during the tour, and choice of 5 digital books from the Impulse line to a randomly drawn host.
Horizon
by Keith Stevenson
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GENRE: Sci-fi
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BLURB:
Thirty-four light years from Earth,
the explorer ship Magellan is nearing its objective - the Iota Persei system.
But when ship commander Cait Dyson wakes from deepsleep, she finds her co-pilot
dead and the ship's AI unresponsive. Cait works with the rest of her
multinational crew to regain control of the ship, until they learn that Earth
is facing total environmental collapse and their mission must change if
humanity is to survive.
As tensions rise and personal and
political agendas play out in the ship's cramped confines, the crew finally
reach the planet Horizon, where everything they know will be challenged.
"Crackling science fiction with
gorgeous trans-human and cybernetic trimmings. Keith Stevenson's debut novel
soars." - Marianne De Pierres, award-winning authors of the Parrish
Plessis, Sentients of Orion and Peacemaker series
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
EXCERPT:
Cait
waited a moment then launched herself into the tube, reaching out as she moved
along to acquire some spin. Nadira disappeared from sight, tumbling over the
lip at the far end in one graceful move.
It
had been obvious from the start that Nadira’s last-minute inclusion on the
mission was going to be problematic. The nukes that took out targets in the
Middle East and Asia, and prompted the Compact’s formation, had been followed
by fifty years of bitter and protracted Pax-led sanctions. Nadira’s presence on
board was meant to herald a new era of détente between the Compact and the Pax
Americana. But while politicians made and broke alliances almost without
thinking, the wounds history inflicted on individuals took longer to heal.
Cait
swung herself over the lip of the tube, feeling her internal organs settle as
she descended the ladder and stopped halfway. On the floor below it was easy to
forget where you were, but from this vantage point the curvature of the drum
was more obvious. The layout inside clustered the harnesses, med lab, gym, ship
controls and so on against the fore and aft walls, leaving a broad walkway
running around the midpoint. Lighting and colouring were muted and shadows
minimal, giving an illusion of space, but it was still just the inside of a
large can. An odd place to spend the best part of a century.
She
took a breath, feeling oddly separated from the others below. She realised that
up until now things had been easy, despite the bickering. Lex’s attentions too
had been part of a game they’d played on the out-system leg. But now it was
very different. Out here they could be sure their bodies would never be found
if disaster struck. There would be no one to mourn them, no marker to show how
far out they’d come. Sure, this had been the case when they were mere light
days from Earth. But it felt more true out here, in the space between the
stars. The hard, uncaring void, as Sharpe would say before pulling some stupid
terror-stricken face and doubling up with laughter. She just wasn’t sure how
far she should go in adapting herself to that difference. She couldn’t quieten
the nagging feeling that she was pushing too hard just to keep up the illusion
of moving towards a solution — forcing Lex to wake Bren early, ordering the
reboot without a more considered study of the situation. Her head hurt too
much, and she
wanted
to sleep. How could that be when she’d only just woken after forty-five years?
People
reacted differently to emergency situations — herself included. Under the
circumstances, perhaps Nadira’s continued aloofness was understandable. Cait
wondered what reaction was the right one for her? She felt dizzy again and
clung to the ladder, closing her eyes and breathing deeply. The drum servos
hummed through the wall, maintaining the spin. Inside there was light, air,
everything was quiet. It was hard to believe they were in the midst of an
emergency, hard to keep focusing on that. But the emergency was real. And that
was why she had to keep going.
Holding
onto that thought, she finished her descent and made her way back to Lex. He
looked up from his monitor as she came close and shook his head.
‘No
change. The implant’s hooked up but I haven’t been able to influence it. I
don’t even know if it’s functioning.’
‘Keep
a close eye on her,’ Cait said. ‘We’re going to reboot the main computer.’
‘What
difference will that make?’
Cait
frowned. ‘I don’t know. Just watch her, okay?’
She
glided over to the command port again. Her PAL was settled above the port,
already linked to Harris’s.
‘I’m
in position, Harris. Ready when you are.’
‘It’ll
just take a moment,’ Harris said over the link.
Cait
began setting up her screen to monitor the key systems simultaneously.
‘You
have to stop her! Don’t let her do it!’
Cait
turned at the noise. Bren was trying to get up; Lex was struggling against her.
She turned to look at Cait, eyes wild as she forced Lex’s hands away.
‘Don’t
reboot Phillips, Cait! You’ll kill us all!’
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Keith Stevenson is a
speculative fiction writer, editor, reviewer, publisher and podcaster. He was
editor of Aurealis Magazine - Australian Fantasy and Science Fiction from 2001
to the end of 2004 and formed the multi-award winning independent press coeur
de lion publishing in 2005. In 2014 he launched Dimension6 magazine and became
a speculative fiction reviewer for the Newtown Review of Books. He blogs about
the ideas and issues behind Horizon at http://www.horizonbooks.com.au and you can learn more about his work at
www.keithstevenson.com.
https://twitter.com/stevenson_keith
https://www.facebook.com/keithstevensonwriter
http://www.keithstevenson.com/
Buy link:
http://www.amazon.com/Horizon-Keith-Stevenson-ebook/dp/B00MT66PT8/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1440170120&sr=1-1&keywords=horizon+keith+stevenson
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GIVEAWAY INFORMATION and RAFFLECOPTER CODE
Keith will be awarding an eCopy of Horizen to 3
randomly drawn winners via rafflecopter during the tour, and choice of 5
digital books from the Impulse line to a randomly drawn host.
http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/28e4345f1273
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