''Singularity's Ring'' is the debut
science fiction book by
Paul Melko. The novel was published on February 5, 2008 by
Tor Books.
Plot
The story is set in a future after a
singularity event, which caused the bulk of humanity to disappear. The focus of this event was a huge
space station
A space station is a spacecraft capable of supporting a human crew in orbit for an extended period of time, and is therefore a type of space habitat. It lacks major propulsion or landing systems. An orbital station or an orbital space station i ...
which rings the
Earth, and which remains uninhabited after the singularity. Humans who remained on Earth have maintained an industrial technological base, and are working to re-enter space. The majority of humans are now
genetically engineered to form ''pods'', groups of 2 to 5 individuals with the ability to form an emergent personality from those individuals.
The story follows a young pod named ''Apollo Papadopulos'' who is training to become the captain of a new starship which is to be launched soon. ''Apollo Papadopulos'' is composed of five teenagers; Strom, Meda, Quant, Manuel and Moira. The story moves between the points of view of each of these individuals, and that of ''Apollo Papadopulos'' itself.
Awards
The novel was awarded the
Compton Crook Award The Compton Crook Award is presented to the best English language first novel of the year in the field of science fiction, fantasy, or horror by the members of the Baltimore Science Fiction Society at their annual science fiction convention, Baltic ...
for 2009 by the
Baltimore Science Fiction Society as well as the
Locus Award for Best First Novel in the same year.
Publication history
*2008, United States, Tor Books , Pub date February 2008, Hardcover
*2009, United States, Tor Science Fiction , Pub date April 2008, Paperback
References
External links
Reviewby
Gwyneth Jones
2008 American novels
American science fiction novels
Tor Books books
Debut science fiction novels
2008 debut novels
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