Neptune Crossing
The Chaos Chronicles, Book 1
Beschreibung des Verlags
When John Bandicut sets out across the surface of Triton, he’s hardly ready for the storm of chaos that’s about to blow through his life. The alien quarx that soon inhabits his mind is humanity’s first contact with an alien life—a contact Bandicut can reveal to no one. The quarx, part of an ancient galactic civilization that manipulates chaos theory to predict catastrophic events, seeks to prevent a cometary collision that could destroy the Earth. But it must have help. If Bandicut chooses to trust the quarx, he must break all the rules—indeed, sacrifice his life as he knows it—to prevent humanity’s greatest cataclysm. Leaving friends and lover behind, hurtling across the solar system in a stolen spaceship, Bandicut can only pray that his actions will save the Earth. Even if he doesn’t live to see it again. From the Nebula-nominated author of Eternity’s End. DRM-free ebook edition.
Original print edition by Tor Books. Now in trade paperback from Starstream Publications. Also available as an audiobook, narrated by Grammy winner Stefan Rudnicki!
REVIEWS AND QUOTES:
One of the best SF novels of the year — Science Fiction Chronicle
“Jeff Carver is a hard sf writer who gets it right—his science and his people are equally convincing. Neptune Crossing combines his strengths, from a chilling look at alien machine intelligence, to cutting-edge chaos theory, to the pangs of finite humans in the face of the infinite. If you like intriguing ideas delivered in an exciting plot, this is your meat.” —Gregory Benford
“Masterfully captures the joy of exploration.” — Publishers Weekly
“Reveals an alien encounter brushing hard against a soul, and takes us from there to the far reaches of the cosmos, all with the sure touch of a writer who knows his science. Jeff Carver has done it again!” —David Brin
“A complex and believable protagonist—an ordinary man rising to extraordinary circumstances—and an alien presence that is at once convincingly strange and deeply real. I’m really glad to have read this one.” —Melissa Scott, author of Dreamships and Trouble and Her Friends
“One of the very best things Carver has written, a traditional adventure filled with mystery and wonder and featuring a likable and believable protagonist thrust onto a stage for which he is ill prepared.” — Science Fiction Chronicle
“A roaring, cross-the-solar-system adventure of the first water. The kind of stuff that made us all love science fiction.” —Jack McDevitt, author of Seeker and Chindi
“High-octane space adventure: mystery, humor, theoretical physics, and one of the more interesting SF aliens you’ve likely encountered in a long while.” —Allen Steele
“With works such as The Infinity Link... and his popular Star Rigger novels, Carver won acclaim as a master craftsman of compelling hard science fiction. This captivating opener to a new series incorporating the emerging science of chaos theory should keep that reputation flourishing... Carver has created yet another electrifying scenario as well as a winning combination in Bandicut and the sometimes vulnerable yet superintelligent quarx. First-rate entertainment.” — Booklist
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this promising series kickoff about an astronaut exploring the surface of Neptune's moon, Triton, Carver ( Dragons in the Stars ) masterfully captures the joy of exploration, although the story itself follows a fairly standard save-the-world plot. Pilot John Bandicut has been cut off from his internal link to the ``datanet'' by faulty technology, leaving him subject to maddening ``silence-fugues.'' His need for contact makes him a perfect candidate for a symbiotic relationship with the alien quarx, who are trying to save humanity from a mysterious disaster threatening Earth. The quarx, creations whose understanding of Terran culture comes mostly from monitoring old TV and radio programs, have a certain gee-whiz quality, although their interactions with the datanet are intriguing. A rather adolescent love story combines amusingly with an unlikely case of xenophobia, and a fiery conclusion sets Bandicut up for further adventures in yet another alien world, where Carver may find greater room to employ his gift for the fine rendering of difficult scientific concepts.
