Эрик Браун - Starship Fall

I prefer to think that what she told me, on the plain before the caverns, was the truth: “I looked into the future, and I saw us together, but what I felt when I met you… what I feel for you now… that can’t be denied, David.”

But all I do know, for certain, is that I miss Carlotta Chakravorti-Luna like hell.

Maddie emerged from the crowd and headed our way. “David,” she said, her expression compassionate as she looked down at me. She reached out, and I took her hand.

She pulled me upright. “Come,” she ordered. She linked an arm through mine and squeezed.

Kee joined us, taking Hawk’s hand as we walked toward the nearest floating sphere. I felt his arm about my shoulders.

They steered me towards the sphere, and then Matt himself, the creator, smiling as he joined us, took Maddie’s hand.

“What’s it called, Matt?” I asked, pointing towards the sphere.

He said, “I call it, The Love of Friends , David.”

All around, the assembly had paused to watch us, and I felt a sudden tightness in my chest, the result of some unnameable emotion, part grief, part loneliness, part love.

Together we approached the light.

Novels:

Meridian Days◦– Pan Macmillan, 1992

Engineman◦– Pan Macmillan, 1994

Penumbra◦– Orion, 1999

New York Nights◦– Gollancz , 2000

New York Blues◦– Gollancz , 2002

New York Dreams◦– Gollancz , 2004

Helix◦– Solaris , 2007

Kethani◦– Solaris , 2008

Necropath◦– Solaris , 2008

Xenopath◦– Solaris , 2009

Cosmopath◦– Solaris , 2010

Novellas:

The Web: Untouchable◦– Orion Dolphin , 1997

The Web: Walkabout◦– Orion Dolphin , 1999

A Writer’s Life◦– PS Publishing , 2001

Approaching Omega◦– Telos Publications , 2005

The Extraordinary Voyage of Jules Verne◦– PS Publishing , 2005

Revenge◦– Barrington Stoke , 2007

Starship Summer◦– PS Publishing , 2007

Starship Fall◦– NewCon Press , 2009

Gilbert and Edgar on Mars◦– PS Publishing , 2009

Collections:

The Time-Lapsed Man and other stories◦– Pan Macmillan , 1990

Blue Shifting◦– Pan Macmillan , 1995

Parallax View (with Keith Brooke)◦– Sarob Press , 2000

Deep Future◦– Cosmos Books , 2001

The Fall of Tartarus◦– Gollancz , 2005

Threshold Shift◦– Golden Gryphon , 2006

Starship Fall copyright © 2009 by Eric Brown

Introduction copyright © 2009 by Tony Ballantyne

Cover Art copyright © 2009 by Dominic Harman

All rights reserved.

Also available as ISBN:

978-1-907069-02-4 (hardback)

978-1-900679-03-1 (softback)

Cover illustration by Dominic Harman

Cover layout and design by Andy Bigwood

Book layout by Storm Constantine

eBook design by Tim C. Taylor