Finalist for the 2018 Philip K. Dick Award A ragtag crew of humans and posthumans discover alien technology that could change the fate of humanity… or awaken an ancient evil and destroy all life in the galaxy. The shady crew of the White Raven run freight and salvage at the fringes of our solar system. They discover the wreck of a centuries-old exploration vessel floating light years away from its intended destination and revive its sole occupant, who wakes with news of First Alien Contact. When the crew break it to her that humanity has alien allies already, she reveals that these are very different extra-terrestrials… and the gifts they bestowed on her could kill all humanity, or take it out to the most distant stars. File Under : Science Fiction [ Adrift Liar Liar Golden Spiders Bridge the Void ]

Shortlisted for the 2018 Philip K Dick Award

“Fun, funny, pacy, thought-provoking and very clever space opera - a breath of fresh air.”
– Sean Williams, author of Twinmaker

"Ridiculously fun with a well-thought-out space opera setting and lots of fancy reveals, and most of all a nice romance between two women who are there for each other when the alien brain spiders start swarming."
– Charlie Jane Anders, author of All the Birds in the Sky

“Pratt’s worldbuilding fascinates, and the plot serves up action and big ideas in equally tasty helpings. This is definitely a series to watch.”
– Publishers Weekly Starred Review

“Through his wit, dialogue, and vast, diverse world, Tim Pratt has created a space opera for today–one filled with diverse characters and cultures that feel nuanced enough to be real–while still delivering the sense of wonder that made you love the genre in the first place. It yanks readers through the wormhole and refuses to let them go. When’s the sequel out?”
– Barnes & Noble Sci-Fi & Fantasy Blog

“Pratt gives all his characters and his galactic civilizations depth, his action sequences are page-turners, and the tone stays light-hearted (and sometimes even meta) despite the high stakes. I don’t use the word “rollicking” often, but it applies here.”
– Book Riot

“Brilliantly fun space opera that reminds me of Killjoys but with more Weird Alien Cool Shit.”
– Liz Bourke for Locus

“Bloody hell, but The Wrong Stars is an amazingly good, extremely fun, very satisfying novel… The Wrong Stars is vital, visceral, energetic pulp. The characters are enormously engaging, especially Callie and Elena, whose slow-build romance and mutual uncertainty over does she like me? and developing friendship are, by me, the emotional heart of the book... The Wrong Stars stands out, and right now, for me, stands alone.”
– Locusmag

“Expansive world building, great movement coupled with interesting characterization and a story line that is not only intriguing but brings back the grande space fairing odyssey.”
– Koeur’s Book Reviews

“The Wrong Stars gets five stars hands down. A blistering, imaginative javelin of a sci-fi novel which paves the way for even better sequels.”
– Alan Brenik Fantasy Author

“The Wrong Stars is pure entertainment, science-fiction pulp at its best.”
– City on the Moon

“The Wrong Stars is a charming and breezy space opera with some big action, a looming galactic threat, and a whole lot of fun.”
– Nerds of a Feather

“Fast-paced action scenes, ridiculously strange aliens with a brilliantly twisted and hilarious approach to first contact with humanity, and wise-cracking crew members… Tim Pratt’s first space opera is a very enjoyable ride.”
– Intellectus Speculativus

Autorentext
Tim Pratt is a Hugo Award-winning science fiction and fantasy author, and has been a finalist for World Fantasy, Sturgeon, Stoker, Mythopoeic, and Nebula Awards, among others. He is the author of over twenty novels, most recently The Deep Woods and Heirs of Grace, and scores of short stories. His work has been reprinted in The Best American Short Stories, The Year's Best Fantasy, The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror, and other nice places. Since 2001 he has worked for Locus, the magazine of the science fiction and fantasy field, where he currently serves as senior editor. He lives in Berkeley, CA with his wife and son.

timpratt.org
twitter.com/timpratt

Klappentext

Philip K. Dick Award Finalist: A ragtag crew discovers alien technology that could change the fate of humanity-or awaken an ancient evil and destroy all life in the galaxy

The shady crew of the White Raven run freight and salvage at the fringes of our solar system. They discover the wreck of a centuries-old exploration vessel floating light years away from its intended destination and revive its sole occupant, who wakes with news of First Alien Contact. When the crew informs her that humanity has alien allies already, she reveals that these are very different extra-terrestrials-and the gifts they bestowed on her could kill all humanity, or take it out to the most distant stars.

File Under: Science Fiction [ Adrift | Liar Liar | Golden Spiders | Bridge the Void ]

Zusammenfassung
A ragtag crew of humans and posthumans discover alien technology that could change the fate of humanity... or awaken an ancient evil and destroy all life in the galaxy in this Philip K Dick Award-finalist space opera.

Leseprobe
Chapter 1  
Callie floated, feet hooked over a handrail in the observation deck, and looked through the viewport at the broken ship beyond. The wreck hung motionless, a dark irregular shape – a bit of human debris where no such debris should be. Was this a crisis, or an opportunity? Every unexpected event could be one or the other, and sometimes they were both.
The dead ship was long and bullet-shaped, pointlessly aerodynamic, apart from a bizarre eruption of flanges, fins, and spikes at one end that looked like the embellishments of a mad welder. The wrecked craft was far smaller than Callie’s own ship, the White Raven, a fast cruiser just big enough for her crew of five people (or four, or maybe six, depending on how you defined “people”) to live comfortably along with whatever freight or prisoners they had to transport. If the White Raven was a family home, the wreck was more like a studio apartment.
Ashok floated into the compartment, orienting himself with tiny puffs of air that burst from his fingertips and heels – showy and unnecessary, but he had a gift for turning simple things into engineering problems he could solve in complicated ways. He hovered with his head near hers, sharing her view – though it probably looked a lot different to him. “Oh captain, my captain.”
She glanced at his complex profile and grunted. “You got new eyes?”
He shook his head. “These are wearables, not integrated. I’m giving them a test run before I implant them.”
“That’s almost cautious, by your standards.”
He grinned, insofar as he was physically able. One of the lenses on the array attached to his face rotated and lengthened toward the viewport. “So do we get to crack the mystery ship open and see what’s inside?”
She went hmm, pretending she hadn’t already decided. “Last time I let you clamber into a wreck, you lost an arm.”
Ashok held up his current prosthetic. The translucent diamond housing revealed glimpses of the mechanical motion within as he flexed his hand, which was really more like a nest of tiny, versatile manipulator arms. “That was just an opportunity for an upgrade, cap. I say we fly over with…