Orion Shall Rise

On a post-nuclear Earth, visionaries who dream of reaching for the stars attempt to revive the forbidden technology that destroyed their world.
"One of science fiction's most influential and prolific writers." —The Daily Telegraph

Centuries ago, humankind was nearly destroyed in a nuclear apocalypse. Many generations have passed since that terrible time, and the remnants of civilization have re-formed into separate, vastly different societies. The dominant culture of a widely diminished Earth, the ecologically sensitive Maurai hold fast to their belief that "non-green" science is an unacceptable evil. But the reborn dream of space flight harbored by a forward-thinking few could herald the revival of the nuclear technology that once ravaged the planet and its people—and the powerful Maurai Federation will take every step necessary, no matter how drastic, to prevent doomsday from dawning again.


An enthralling work of speculative fiction from a winner of the Nebula and Hugo Awards, Orion Shall Rise is a feat of world-building and a sobering view of tomorrow by one of the twentieth century's most revered science fiction masters. Poul Anderson's monumental tale combines science, anthropology, philosophy, and global politics with breathtaking action and adventure, offering an ingeniously unique and provocative vision of humankind's all-too-possible destiny.

This ebook includes the bonus story "The Sky People."
Praise for Poul Anderson

"Anderson has produced more milestones in contemporary science fiction and fantasy than any one man is entitled to." —Stephen Donaldson


"Anderson, far more than many newer science fiction writers, takes the trouble to envision a genuinely strange, complex future for mankind." —The Washington Post