Starfall

A novella. Cover art by Tomislav Tikulin.

From Stephen Baxter, an exciting new episode in his acclaimed Xeelee future history: Starfall, a tale if war between the Empire of Sol and its scattered stellar colonies, with sinister turns of fate waiting in the wings... For nine hundred years, a dynasty of Empresses all named Shira — apparent descendants of a refugee from a nightmarish future epoch — has governed Earth and all the new worlds of humankind. But now rebellion looms last. In Alpha Centauri System, a visionary named Flood has assembled a fleet, armed with ferocious weapons, its mission to attack the Empire and force its surrender. Flood is prepared to bombard Earth in submission if need be, smashing its cities, killing billions... Why? What is at the root of his singular fanaticism?