Pioneers
About this ebook
Ape-like and with one arm replaced by a claw, the not-quite-human Angelo and his beautiful female partner Ariadne are genetically bred rescuers programmed to travel vast distances through space in suspended animation to bring back Pioneers - explorers sent out from Earth generations ago to settle other planets. The latest mission is to rescue Pioneer Murray from the planet La Plage and to return to Earth where - as usual - decades have passed while they have been travelling between the stars.
But Earth itself has gone through a catastrophic collapse from which its burnt-out civilization is trying to recover. And amongst the remnants of a sterile and despairing humanity, there is less room than ever before for such strange creatures as Angelo.
Combining rich and weird alien environments with exciting deep-space adventure, Pioneers is a brilliant novel of love and alienation in a strange and poignant future.
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About the author
Phillip Mann (1942 - 2022) Phillip Mann was born in Yorkshire in 1942. He studied at Manchester University and in California and worked for the New China News Agency in Beijing for two years following the Cultural Revolution. From 1969 to 1998, he taught at Victoria University, Wellington, New Zealand, where he was professor of Drama. Following his retirement, he divided his time between New Zealand, France and England while writing, teaching and directing theatre. His first novel, The Eye of the Queen, was first published in 1982 and translated into German, French, Italian and Portuguese. It was followed by eight others - all published by Gollancz in print and by SF Gateway as ebooks. Many of his books and plays have been produced for RNZ Radio New Zealand. The Disestablishment of Paradise (2013) was shortlisted for the Arthur C Clarke Award and the John W Campbell Award. His An Old Fashioned Story was included in the recent Big Book of Cyber Punk ( Vintage 1923). Phillip's final novel, Chevalier & Gawayn: The Ballad of the Dreamer, was published by Quentin Wilson Publishing shortly before his death in 1922 and has now been released by SF Gateway as an ebook.