Here and Beyond

Six hundred humans journey into the darkness of space in search of a new home in this mesmerising speculative debut Six hundred humans journey into the darkness of space in search of a new home in this mesmerising speculative debut

Earthworld is a thing of the past. Welcome to the future. After the collapse of life on Earth as it once was known, 600 people are selected for passage on Shipworld, a spacecraft charting a 360-year voyage to a new planet. Their mission will see generation after generation born, living and dying on board - until one day their descendants finally step foot on the ''Super Earth'' that might offer the last chance for humankind''s survival. But life aboard Shipworld is far from a waiting game. The spacecraft promises a world of its own, a harmonious system free of class distinctions and wealth accumulation. Yet with each new generation comes daunting challenges to the future of their civilisation - from creeping doubts about the nature of reality to an outbreak of disease that could eradicate their population, from rebels who threaten the unity of the mission to a traumatic encounter with a mysterious space phenomenon. An intergenerational epic populated by pioneers and chroniclers, enemies and friends, leaders and legends, Here and Beyond is an intricate and imaginative exploration of the arc of human endeavour.

Autorentext
Hal LaCroix has worked as an instructor at Boston University, a communications specialist with environmental and biomedical research non-profits, and a journalist for newspapers in New England. He is the author of the non-fiction book Journey Out of Darkness, and lives outside Boston with his wife, Elahna. Here and Beyond is his first novel.

Klappentext

Earthworld is a thing of the past. Welcome to the future.

After the collapse of life on Earth as it once was known, 600 people are selected for passage on Shipworld, a spacecraft charting a 360-year voyage to a new planet. Their mission will see generation after generation born, living and dying on board - until one day their descendants finally step foot on the ?Super Earth' that might offer the last chance for humankind's survival.

But life aboard Shipworld is far from a waiting game. The spacecraft promises a world of its own, a harmonious system free of class distinctions and wealth accumulation. Yet with each new generation comes daunting challenges to the future of their civilisation - from creeping doubts about the nature of reality to an outbreak of disease that could eradicate their population, from rebels who threaten the unity of the mission to a traumatic encounter with a mysterious space phenomenon.

An intergenerational epic populated by pioneers and chroniclers, enemies and friends, leaders and legends, Here and Beyond is an intricate and imaginative exploration of the arc of human endeavour.

Zusammenfassung
A brilliant, character-driven debut novel . . . An imaginative journey that's absorbing, thoughtful and deeply humane Lisa Tuttle Guardian