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Unstoppable - Promises Stronger Than Darkness

E-BookEPUBePub WasserzeichenE-Book
496 Seiten
Englisch
Titan Bookserschienen am04.05.2023
The conclusion of the mind-blowing intergalactic Unstoppable series, the sequel to the Locus Award-winning Victories Greater Than Death and Dreams Bigger Than Heartbreak, from the international-bestselling author of All the Birds in the Sky. THEY'RE THE GALAXY'S MOST WANTED - AND OUR ONLY HOPE When Elza became a space princess, she thought she'd be spending her time at the palace, wearing gorgeous couture and soaking up everything there is to know - but instead, she's on the run, with everyone hunting for her and her friends. Rachael followed her best friend Tina on the adventure of a lifetime - but now Tina's gone, and Rachael's the only one keeping her friends together, as they go on a desperate quest to save everyone from an ancient curse. Rachael, Elza and their friends have found one clue, one shining mysterious chance to stop the end of the world. And that takes them back to the second-to-last place they'd want to be: enlisting the aid of Captain Thaoh Argentian, the woman who stole Tina's body (and who now seems to be relishing a second chance at teenage chaos and drama, instead of living up to her legacy of an intrepid heroic commander). With only a ragtag band of misfits, crewmates, earthlings, friends, lovers (and one annoying frenemy), the Unstoppable Crew are up against the universe--and they soon find that in order to survive, they may have to cross a line they vowed never to cross.

Charlie Jane Anders is the author of the Unstoppable trilogy, which begins with Victories Greater Than Death. Her previous novels include, All the Birds in the Sky - which appeared on Time Magazines list of 10 best novels of 2016 and won the Nebula, Crawford, and Locus Awards - and Choir Boy, which won a Lambda Literary Award. She's also the author of a short story collection called Even Greater Mistakes. Her short fiction has appeared in Tor.com, Boston Review, Tin House, Conjunctions, The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, Wired Magazine, Slate, Asimov's Science Fiction, Lightspeed, ZYZZYVA, Catamaran Literary Review, McSweeney's Internet Tendency and tons of anthologies. Her story 'Six Months, Three Days' won a Hugo Award, and her story 'Don't Press Charges And I Won't Sue' won a Theodore Sturgeon Award. With Annalee Newitz, Charlie Jane also co-hosts the three-time Hugo Award-winning podcast Our Opinions Are Correct.mehr
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TaschenbuchKartoniert, Paperback
EUR13,00
E-BookEPUBePub WasserzeichenE-Book
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Produkt

KlappentextThe conclusion of the mind-blowing intergalactic Unstoppable series, the sequel to the Locus Award-winning Victories Greater Than Death and Dreams Bigger Than Heartbreak, from the international-bestselling author of All the Birds in the Sky. THEY'RE THE GALAXY'S MOST WANTED - AND OUR ONLY HOPE When Elza became a space princess, she thought she'd be spending her time at the palace, wearing gorgeous couture and soaking up everything there is to know - but instead, she's on the run, with everyone hunting for her and her friends. Rachael followed her best friend Tina on the adventure of a lifetime - but now Tina's gone, and Rachael's the only one keeping her friends together, as they go on a desperate quest to save everyone from an ancient curse. Rachael, Elza and their friends have found one clue, one shining mysterious chance to stop the end of the world. And that takes them back to the second-to-last place they'd want to be: enlisting the aid of Captain Thaoh Argentian, the woman who stole Tina's body (and who now seems to be relishing a second chance at teenage chaos and drama, instead of living up to her legacy of an intrepid heroic commander). With only a ragtag band of misfits, crewmates, earthlings, friends, lovers (and one annoying frenemy), the Unstoppable Crew are up against the universe--and they soon find that in order to survive, they may have to cross a line they vowed never to cross.

Charlie Jane Anders is the author of the Unstoppable trilogy, which begins with Victories Greater Than Death. Her previous novels include, All the Birds in the Sky - which appeared on Time Magazines list of 10 best novels of 2016 and won the Nebula, Crawford, and Locus Awards - and Choir Boy, which won a Lambda Literary Award. She's also the author of a short story collection called Even Greater Mistakes. Her short fiction has appeared in Tor.com, Boston Review, Tin House, Conjunctions, The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, Wired Magazine, Slate, Asimov's Science Fiction, Lightspeed, ZYZZYVA, Catamaran Literary Review, McSweeney's Internet Tendency and tons of anthologies. Her story 'Six Months, Three Days' won a Hugo Award, and her story 'Don't Press Charges And I Won't Sue' won a Theodore Sturgeon Award. With Annalee Newitz, Charlie Jane also co-hosts the three-time Hugo Award-winning podcast Our Opinions Are Correct.
Details
Weitere ISBN/GTIN9781789095470
ProduktartE-Book
EinbandartE-Book
FormatEPUB
Format HinweisePub Wasserzeichen
FormatE101
Erscheinungsjahr2023
Erscheinungsdatum04.05.2023
Seiten496 Seiten
SpracheEnglisch
Dateigrösse2280 Kbytes
Artikel-Nr.11941590
Rubriken
Genre9201

Inhalt/Kritik

Leseprobe

1
ELZA

. . . 300 Earth days left until all the suns go out forever

Of course the heist went sideways. What did anyone expect?

The Undisputed Training Bra Disaster had made it to the supergiant planet made of pure diamond without being detected because Elza had done her part: she d learned all the details of the planet s defenses from the Ardenii, the ancient supercomputers that speak to her through the crown she wears: a silver filigree that casts an amber light.

Their party had managed to sneak all the way under the glittery surface without falling into any of the gravity traps or force fields, because Damini and Zaeta s soul-deep connection made them the best pilots alive.

Everything was going perfectly.

And now? Elza, Yiwei, Kez, and Wyndgonk hang inside a living net that keeps saying sarcastic things to them, like: Oh, it s such a privilege to have these distinguished visitors caught in my fibers, I m practically fraying with excitement. Oh wait, I m not fraying at all, you re completely trapped. Sucks for you!

Their captor s footsteps approach-the Great Alucian (she/her).

Elza can t turn her head far enough to see the Great Alucian, but the Ardenii are bombarding her with every fact there is to know about this scary lady who s one of the richest people in the entire galaxy. She s wealthy in ways that go beyond just money: rare items, secrets, influence.

You thought you could steal from me? The Great Alucian chuckles.

Yes. Wyndgonk (fire/fire) breathes a gout of red flame. We don t just think we can, we know we should. It s our duty to rob you. You have too much stuff for one person. Wyndgonk looks a lot like a fire-breathing beetle the size of a sofa, with a thick iridescent shell, hooked mandibles, and long segmented legs ending in tiny claws.

We need that chalice more than you do, says Kez (he/him). Kez has stopped wearing his gold-threaded junior ambassador uniform. Instead, he sports a red-and-yellow-swirled shirt and crimson pants from Miscreant Station, which set off his dark brown skin and high cheekbones.

Ahh, the Great Alucian sighs. You came to steal the chalice that no lips have ever touched. Of course you did. It s the rarest item I own, and that is a high distinction.

Elza can t concentrate. The net whispers strange insults to her. The Ardenii fill her head with terrible information (armies of refugees fleeing their doomed stars, a small child who just watched their parents freeze to death in a blightstorm on an asteroid colony). But mostly, she s too full of grief to think about anything else. Grief siphons the life out of her, and it never seems to let up.

This heist went wrong because the person who made everything go right wasn t here to help: Tina.

Look. Just let us borrow the chalice. Kez puts on his most reasonable negotiator voice, the one he practiced in diplomat school. We promise we ll bring it right back, and we won t let our lips touch it, so you won t have to change the name or anything. We believe that chalice is the key to saving all of the worlds from the Bereavement.

So you re telling me that the chalice is even more invaluable than I already thought, says the Great Alucian. Hardly a strong argument for me to lend it out.

The Great Alucian comes around the side of the net and Elza sees her face. She s a Makvarian, a tall humanoid with shimmering purple skin and big round eyes, and she wears jewels embedded in her cheeks and jawline. According to the Ardenii, the Great Alucian rejected all of Makvaria s teachings about taking care of each other, and chose to become totally selfish.

For just a moment, the Great Alucian looks just like Elza s girlfriend Tina. A needle-thin blade goes all the way inside Elza s heart.

Elza blinks, and the Great Alucian is just another Makvarian, wearing a dark cowl and a diamond-studded black cape.

Listen, Yiwei says. See our friend here? She s a princess. She will guarantee on her royal honor that she ll bring the chalice back to you. Yiwei has let his black hair grow out into a shaggy mane around his lean baby face, but he still has the cockiness of a Royal Fleet cadet. This doesn t have to turn ugly. Elza, tell them.

Elza snaps out of her reverie, and realizes Yiwei is talking about her. Right, she says. On my honor. I guarantee it.

Or, says the Great Alucian, I could keep the chalice here, and be the only collector in the galaxy to have an actual princess as part of my collection of rarities. Why, that sounds so much better!

We re going to have so much time to get to know each other, whispers the net.

This can t be how everything ends. The suns are dying, the galaxy is ruled by a monster, and Elza s going to be stuck in the collection of some rich egomaniac who would fit right in among the São Paulo elite. Come on, get your head right, Elza tells herself.

But the Ardenii have more facts to share: a city just died. A tree murdered all its friends.

Take them to the immobilizing chamber, the Great Alucian says to the net. Once they re frozen, I ll figure out where to place them inside my vault.

Wyndgonk, Kez, and Yiwei are all yelling at the Great Alucian that she s making a mistake. The net is already lifting them off the polished diamond floor, carrying them toward the immobilizing chamber. Elza knows there s got to be a way out of this, but the Ardenii are giving her nothing but unthinkable thoughts.

Ummm, says a barely audible voice from below them. Umm. I m uh, I m here to challenge you. To a game. If I win, uh, then you have to let my friends go and we borrow the chalice. If you win, we stay here. Okay? I heard that s one of your things. A small human girl with a round face and curly reddish-brown hair stands, cradling a robot monkey.

Rachael sounds so shy, so tentative, her challenge somehow feels even more brave.

Oh, you heard correctly, the Great Alucian says. I love a challenge, and since you are free of my net, you have the right to issue one. Very well, I accept! If you defeat me, you may take the chalice and your friends. If you lose, I keep you all, forever. What game do you choose?

Rachael steps forward-face bright red, fists balled. How about, she mumbles, we play a little game of WorstBestFriend?

*   *   *

A cycle later, Elza and her friends trudge onto the Undisputed Training Bra Disaster, and Rachael cradles the chalice that no lips have ever touched. It looks like . . . a big cup. Made of some tarnished alien metal, like brass or bronze. (Even the Ardenii don t know who made it, or what it s made of.)

Thanks for saving us down there. Yiwei shoots Rachael a look that obviously puts a warm flutter inside her. Elza feels a stab of jealousy.

Uh. Thanks. Rachael squirms and looks at the paint on the wall, the way she always does when somebody tries to tell her how heroic she is. I guess all that time I spent in Gamertown paid off after all.

Don t worry, Yiwei says. Not going to try and give you a medal or anything. Dinner later?

Um, yeah. Rachael turns and smiles back at her boyfriend. I just remembered something I have to do. See you soon. She wanders away.

Elza wants to go back to her tiny quarters and stare at the floor. But Yiwei follows her down the hallway covered with murals (including a heartbreaking new one by Rachael: a flagon of snah-snah juice with comets and stars floating on the surface, surrounded by wildflowers like the ones Tina used to wear on her uniform sleeve).

Can I talk to you for a moment? Yiwei asks.

She wants to say no, but she nods. Neck spasm.

The Ardenii give Elza an update about the resettlement of all the Irriyaian refugees: it isn t going well.

Listen, I know you re still grieving for . . . for what happened to Tina, says Yiwei. But what in the thousand flaming lakes was that just now? We nearly got turned into part of that egomaniac s collection, and you weren t even paying attention. We need you focused on the mission, or we re all doomed.

What happened to Tina.

Meaning the thing where Tina s mind-her whole personality-was erased, and she transformed into an arrogant jerk named Thaoh Argentian. Elza bottles up a scream.

You ought to be the biggest asset to our team. The Unstoppables, or whatever we re calling ourselves this week, Yiwei is saying. You have a direct line to the super-advanced computers that know everything there is to know. But you re not helping. I m sorry to put pressure...
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Autor

Charlie Jane Anders is the author of the Unstoppable trilogy, which begins with Victories Greater Than Death. Her previous novels include, All the Birds in the Sky - which appeared on Time Magazines list of 10 best novels of 2016 and won the Nebula, Crawford, and Locus Awards - and Choir Boy, which won a Lambda Literary Award. She's also the author of a short story collection called Even Greater Mistakes. Her short fiction has appeared in Tor.com, Boston Review, Tin House, Conjunctions, The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, Wired Magazine, Slate, Asimov's Science Fiction, Lightspeed, ZYZZYVA, Catamaran Literary Review, McSweeney's Internet Tendency and tons of anthologies. Her story "Six Months, Three Days" won a Hugo Award, and her story "Don't Press Charges And I Won't Sue" won a Theodore Sturgeon Award. With Annalee Newitz, Charlie Jane also co-hosts the three-time Hugo Award-winning podcast Our Opinions Are Correct.