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Falling sky
2014
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Author Notes
Rajan Khanna is the author of Falling Sky and Rising Tide. A writer, narrator, and blogger, his columns and articles regularly appear on Tor.com and LitReactor.com. He has narrated fiction for markets such as Podcastle, Escape Pod, Starship Sofa, Lightspeed Magazine, and Beneath Ceaseless Skies. His short fiction has appeared in Lightspeed Magazine, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, and several anthologies including The Way of the Wizard and Dead Man's Hand (both edited by John Joseph Adams).
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Library Journal Review
Starred Review. Ben Gold flies salvage missions for an outpost of scientists, trying to help keep virologists such as Miranda safe from both raiders and ferals as she tries to come up with a cure for the Bug. His vehicle of choice is his dirigible, The Cherub, and it's also his home, his legacy, and the only thing he really cares about. When raiders attack the scientists' base and steal The Cherub, Ben will do anything to get it back, but somewhere along the line he discovers he has other things to live and fight for. VERDICT Postapocalyptic sf is a heavily traveled genre, as is steampunk, but debut novelist Khanna combines both quite well here, as the airships help to keep humanity safe from the infected ferals on the ground in a world where the action never stops, leaving room for more adventures. [Previewed in Eric Norton's sf/fantasy feature, "A Multiplicity of Realms," LJ 8/14.-Ed.]. (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publishers Weekly Review
This solid and memorable debut is set in a world where a disease has turned most people into quasi-zombies called Ferals. Those who retain their faculties eke out a living in secluded communities or in the sky, scavenging what they can from the ruins of the previous civilization. Scavenger Ben Gold, captain of the airship Cherub, occasionally transports scientists who are trying to understand and cure the Ferals. When his ship is stolen by pirates, he'll stop at nothing to get it back. He acquires a few reluctant allies and infiltrates the flying city of Gastown, where disturbing revelations force him to make a profoundly difficult decision regarding his future. Khanna's vision of a ruined world, populated by human monsters on the surface and desperate survivors in the air, is bleak but compelling. Ben is a flawed, selfish hero in the spirit of Han Solo, always on the lookout for number one until a greater cause catches his conscience. Though the pace drags a little, this postapocalyptic adventure is a fine start to Khanna's career. Agent: Barry Goldblatt, Barry Goldblatt Literary. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Summary
Ben Gold lives in dangerous times. Two generations ago, a virulent disease turned the population of most of North America into little more than beasts called Ferals. Some of those who survived took to the air, scratching out a living on airships and dirigibles soaring over the dangerous ground. Ben, a lone wolf, has reluctantly agreed to use his skills and his airship to help an idealist scientist, Miranda, on her search for a cure. Protecting her from Ferals is dangerous enough but when power-mad raiders run rampant, Ben finds himself in the most dangerous place of all--the ground. Ben's journey leads him to Gastown, a city in the air recently conquered by belligerent and expansionist pirates. Old friends and new enemies are drawn into a struggle that quickly becomes a fight for the fate of the world. Ben must decide to focus on his own survival or risk it all on a desperate chance for a better future.
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