Melisa Michaels (1946–2019)

Surprisingly Norton-esque, and very enjoyable. Unfortunately it doesn't look like there's any sequel, or other books in this universe. Ugly is fascinating, and she doesn't get to magically overcome her upbringing (well, OK, she does eventually. But it's not a quick and easy task, even after she's found). Hawke is also interesting, though I don't like his coping mechanisms as much. And the insight into the two of them at the end is lovely - two solitaries who have to figure out how to be a pair (that's not a spoiler, it's obvious they'll be together. I did say it was Norton-esque). Friend is neat, too, if a trifle too convenient at times. An interesting universe that we don't get to see much of, because the story is focused very small - just casual mentions of Terrans ruling planets across the galaxy, the People and other aliens (aliens? They're extremely humanoid...), varied cultures among the Terrans, etc. I enjoy her Skyrider series, this is entirely different and very well done.… (más)

In the future, humanity has spread outward, colonizing all the way to the asteroid belt, and mutations have caused a social divide between those who can survive only in freefall, Fallers, and those who need exposure to gravity to survive, Grounders. There are also Floaters, people who have one of each gene, and can survive in freefall or gravity fine.

At least, that's what everyone has thought. Now, a new scientific discovery has revealed that the simple genetic profile doesn't completely cover it- some children who have been genotyped as Grounders have been proven to be perfectly comfortable in freefall from puberty on- or even from birth.

The lines are blurring, and in an Earth society that believes that Fallers and Floaters are freaks at best, monsters at worst, this is not a welcome discovery. The terrorist group MAMA, Mothers Againt Mutant Accession, is gaining in power and boldness, with deadlier and deadlier attacks...

...and the hot-shot pilot Skyrider is the last to find out about it. She's been taking some time off and living in peaceful isolation on her new rock- with her new lover, Ian Spencer, con man and computer wizard. Isolation and content ignorance- that is, until an infant shows up in her airlock, without tripping any of her proximity alarms- and a group of unmarked ships show up immediately after, gunning directly for the airlock.

The Skyrider has no idea what to do with the infant, but Ian refuses to give it away to an orphanage, hinting at such a past of his own. When Ian takes off after an argument, the infant proves to have the Floater Factor, and some old friends in dire straits come asking for shelter from MAMA, the Skyrider leaves the infant in their care goes on a journey of her own to find some answers.

This is, unfortunately, the last book published in the Skyrider series- but it goes out well. This book is a return to the Skyrider's first-person POV, and e get to see more of the society of the terraformed Mars and a future San Francisco, some older characters return, and some new significant minor characters are introduced.

I wish there had been more, but according to an interview with the author*, the sales on the series weren't good enough. However, unlike some series cut off too soon, the plot threads of this book as well as several that have carried through the series are resolved in a satisfying way. I would highly recommend the series if you are looking for a fast-paced sci-fi series with a tough and likable female protagonist.

* http://www.sff.net/people/jbailey/melisa.htp - note that the story "I Have a Winter Reason" mentioned in the interview, which features the first appearance of the Skyrider, is available in the hardcover anthology Isaac Asimov's Aliens and Outworlders, ISBN 0-385-27912-4. It's an alternate but very similar version to the opening of the first book, Skirmish, covering Melacha's return to Earth and her reunion with Michael, and probably not worth tracking down unless you are a completist.… (más)

In the future, humanity has spread outward, colonizing all the way to the asteroid belt, and mutations have caused a social divide between those who can survive only in freefall, Fallers, and those who need exposure to gravity to survive, Grounders. There are also Floaters, people who have one of each gene, and can survive in freefall or gravity fine.

This division has caused resentment and outright war between Earth and the colonies, the latest manifestation of which was the Brief War, a conflict ended by the heroic efforts of the Skyrider, who broke through enemy lines to deliver information about the Earth Company's misbehavior to the President. The War is over, but the tension is still very much present...

In the first stage of space colonization, Earth built huge artificial space colonies. With the discovery of malite and faster-than-light travel, these were left behind for the colonies of Mars and the Belt, and forgotten. Now, Earth denies their very existence- and the supplies they need to live, forcing them to scavenge what supplies they can from debris.

A scavenger ship from the forgotten colony of Diadem, a society of religious dedicates, unintentionally rescues a soldier at the point of death when it takes a badly damaged shuttle from the battlefield during the Brief War conflict. The soldier is badly out of place in the pacifist society of Diadem, but when Diadem's only scavenger ship is impounded by the Earth Company Patrol, he may be the forgotten colony's only hope.

Melacha Rendell, the Skyrider, has earned a limitless credit account to boot after her role in ending the Brief War- small compensation for what she lost, but enough to keep her going, until she loses the credit account in a bet, fair and square. During the shopping spree to use as much as she can before she has to turn over the account, she encounters Company Patrol ships ganging up on a tug with an unrecognized registration and an uncomfortably familiar pilot she's sure she never met before.

The Skyrider offers her assistance to get medicine for a colony suffering from plague- but when the Pirate Prince and his crew begin taking goods meant for the Colonists of Mars and the Belt, she's forced to decide where her loyalties lie.

Similar to Athyra in Steven Brust's Vlad Taltos series, this is a third-person POV book in a first-person POV series. And it works. This book may be more about the Pirate Prince than it is the Skyrider, but like Athyra, it gives us a chance to see a little more of the world and the protagonist from different perspectives. There is a bit of headhopping, but the transitions are smooth enough that it's not too irritating.

The story also has a bit more complexity with the different POVs, with many different subplots of various importance and impact. This book is necessary to read before going on to book five, as several minor characters show up again in the next book, Floater Factor, which is also a return to the Skyrider's first-person POV.… (más)