Across the Sea of Suns
Gregory Benford
Kindle $6.64

Some months back I reviewed In the Ocean of Night, the first volume in Gregory Benford’s Galactic Center series.  Across the Sea of Suns takes place a number of years later, and it’s just as good as the first volume in the series.

The Lancer is a deep space ram ship that scouting nearby stars for possible Earth-like planets.  The target is a nearby star with only a catalog number that has since been christened Ra.  Signals have been detected coming from that star.

Aboard is Nigel Walmsley, the protagonist from Ocean.  He’s a bit older, but more cantankerous than ever.  He doesn’t get along with Ted Landon, the bureaucrat in charge.  After the events in Ocean, Nigel doesn’t exactly think like everyone else.  This causes friction between him and Ted because Ted is very  much a bureaucrat.  It doesn’t help that Nigel is usually right.  Too bad Ted doesn’t listen very well. Continue reading →