Publisher Description
C. A. Higgins’s acclaimed novel Lightless fused suspenseful storytelling, high-caliber scientific speculation, and richly developed characters into a stunning science fiction epic. Now the dazzling Supernova heightens the thrills and deepens the haunting exploration of technology and humanity—and the consequences that await when the two intersect.
Once Ananke was an experimental military spacecraft. But a rogue computer virus transformed it—her—into something much more: a fully sentient artificial intelligence, with all the power of a god—and all the unstable emotions of a teenager.
Althea, the ship’s engineer and the last living human aboard, nearly gave her life to save Ananke from dangerous saboteurs, forging a bond as powerful as that between mother and daughter. Now she devotes herself completely to Ananke’s care. But teaching a thinking, feeling machine—perhaps the most dangerous force in the galaxy—to be human proves a monumental challenge. When Ananke decides to seek out Matthew Gale, the terrorist she regards as her father, Althea learns that some bonds are stronger than mortal minds can understand—or control.
Drawn back toward Earth by the quest, Althea and Ananke will find themselves in the thick of a violent revolution led by Matthew’s sister, the charismatic leader Constance, who will stop at nothing to bring down a tyrannical surveillance state. As the currents of past decisions and present desires come into stark collision, a new and fiery future is about to be born.
Praise for Supernova
“An enjoyable, hard science fiction adventure.”—Cinelinx
“Higgins succeeds in expanding her universe and leaving the reader hungry to learn how her debut trilogy will end.”—New York Daily News
“Riveting and thought-provoking.”—Publishers Weekly
Praise for C. A. Higgins’s Lightless
“Gripping . . . sci-fi with a hint of thriller.”—New York Daily News
“[A] measured, lovely science-fiction debut [that is] more psychological thriller . . . contained, disciplined, tense . . . The plot is compulsive. . . . Lightless is the first of a planned series, and you can’t help looking forward to learning what’s next.”—The New York Times
“The stakes in this story are high—life and death, rebellion and betrayal. . . . Higgins continually ratchets up the tension. . . . This is a debut not to be missed.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“A taut, suspenseful read.”—Tech Times
“Absolutely brilliant . . . science fiction as it is meant to be done.”—New York Times bestselling author Seanan McGuire
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In Higgins's riveting and thought-provoking sequel to Lightless, protagonist Constance, who bombed Earth to destroy the solar system's totalitarian government, learns that every decision has consequences. As Constance roams the solar system, she faces challenges to her leadership, both external and internal. She never looked at the potential chaos her plan would cause and ignored the base nature of humanity in a power vacuum. The reality crushes her, just as it does Althea, the technician who tries to teach newly sentient spaceship Ananke how to be human. When the machine "grows up" and challenges the rules of her "mother," philosophical debates and moral quandaries abound. Descriptions of terraforming and the life of a black hole will satisfy fans of hard SF, but the main draw is the excellent, realistic portrayal of people struggling to cope with sudden change and its fallout.
