Noumenon
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- $139.00
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- $139.00
Publisher Description
‘A striking adventure story that could hold a galaxy in its scope’ – KIRKUS REVIEWS
Astrophysicist Reggie Straifer has discovered a mysterious object in deep space: a strange star, blinking in a seemingly impossible pattern. As humanity plans its first adventures beyond the solar system, Reggie and thousands of others join NOUMENON – a convoy of nine ships on a mission to reveal the origins of this anomalous star. Is its strobing a natural phenomenon or something far more alien?
NOUMENON’s voyage will take centuries. To preserve their talents, the convoy is populated by clones of its original crew. Born and reborn in a sealed society with a single purpose, every individual and every generation must come to terms with inheritances that go far beyond DNA.
Marina J. Lostetter’s stunning debut explores the wonders of deep space and the obsessions, fears and desires of humanity’s first interstellar travellers as they speed toward a single blinking star and a discovery beyond their wildest imaginings.
Reviews
‘NOUMENON is a grand interstellar quest that marries intimate detail with the sweep of social change and discovery across generations. I was enthralled’
Yoon Ha Lee, author of Ninefox Gambit
‘A striking adventure story that could hold a galaxy in its scope’
KIRKUS REVIEWS
‘An ambitious and stunning debut’
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
About the author
The open skies and dense forests of the Pacific Northwest are ideal for growing speculative fiction authors–or, at least, Marina J. Lostetter would like to think so. Originally from Oregon, she now resides in Arkansas with her husband, Alex. When not writing or drawing she can often be found reading spec-fic, or playing it (she enjoys a good zombie-themed board game now and again). And she does it all while globetrotting.
Please visit her online at www.lostetter.net.
Twitter: @MarinaLostetter
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In Lostetter's ambitious and stunning debut, the Planet United Missions of a near-future Earth send a convoy off to investigate an anomalous star. Astronomical observation shows that LQ Pyxidis is variable in a way that suggests it's either a unique opportunity to learn about solar system development or something created by intelligent beings. Convoy Seven travels faster than light, but the journey still takes generations, so it is crewed by clones of Reginald Straifer, the star's discoverer; Akane Nakamura, the principal engineer; and Jamal Kaeden, who creates an artificial intelligence to help maintain the fleet. Given the dizzying timespan of the journey, Convoy Seven itself is in one sense the protagonist. As time passes, grappling with the individuality of different iterations of the various clone lines becomes as vital and necessary to the crew as figuring out what is going on at the star. Lostetter handles a complex and fractured narrative masterfully, never allowing her novel to become confusing or unconvincing. There are no easy answers to the book's questions, but the lingering sense of wonder and discovery thoroughly justifies its title.
