Stolen Earth
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3.9 • 11 Ratings
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- $9.99
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
Firefly meets The Expanse in a future where humanity has destroyed the Earth through ecological disaster and warfare, and a totalitarian state prevents any access to their home...
Environmental disasters and AI armies have caused the human population of Earth to flee. They lie scattered across space stations and colonies, overcrowded and suffering. The Earth is cut off by the Interdiction Zone: a network of satellites that prevents any escape from the planet. The incredible cost of maintaining it has crippled humanity, who struggle under the totalitarian yoke of the Sol Commonwealth government. Many have been driven to the edge of society, taking any work offered, criminal and otherwise, in order to survive. The crew of the Arcus are just such people.
Through the Interdiction Zone, a world of priceless artifacts awaits, provided anyone is crazy enough to make the run. With fuel running low and cred accounts even lower, the Arcus’ survival might depend on taking the job. Yet on arrival on Earth, the crew discovers that what remains of their world is not as they have been told, and the truth may bring the entire Sol Commonwealth tumbling down…
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Nicholas (Re-Coil) paints a grim dystopia but still holds out a ray of hope for humanity in this excellent space opera. Earth has been devastated by war and natural disasters, culminating in unfettered artificial intelligence taking control and leading to a mass evacuation in the late 22nd century. One hundred years later, survivors have found a way to live off-planet, but Sol Commonwealth, the initially benevolent organization that salvaged humanity, has become corrupt, with no limits to its hunger for power. Those who refuse to live under the Commonwealth's tyranny are forced to the Fringe, where one can retain one's freedom—albeit in poverty. Among them is Grayson Lynch, who ended his 20-year naval career when he could no longer stomach Commonwealth's tactics. Now he and his crew of space pirates, each with their own secrets, accept a lucrative mission to recover Old Earth artifacts—only to discover that the history they've been taught is not the full story. Meeting unexpected allies forces them to make unpleasant compromises in the hopes of repatriating Earth. Nicholas does an exceptional job showing how history repeats itself when greed goes unchecked, and offers a different way forward. Fans of optimistic space operas won't want to miss this.
