Learning the World

An ancient starship from Earth reaches its destination after four hundred years of travel and makes a life-changing discovery in this compelling space opera.

“MacLeod . . . delivers perhaps the finest novel of first contact since Vernor Vinge’s A Deepness in the Sky. . . . This is contemporary SF at its best.”—Publishers Weekly

Humanity has spread to every star within five hundred light-years of its half-forgotten origin, coloring the sky with a haze of habitats. Societies rise and fall. Incautious experiments burn fast and fade. On the fringes, less modified humans get on with the job of settling a universe that has, so far, been empty of intelligent life.

The ancient starship But the Sky, My Lady! The Sky! is entering orbit around a promising new system after a four-hundred-year journey. For its long-lived inhabitants, the centuries have been busy. Now a younger generation is eager to settle the system. The ship is a seed-pod ready to burst.

Then they detect curious electromagnetic emissions from the system’s Earth-like world. As the nature of the signals becomes clear, the choices facing the humans become stark.

On Ground, second world from the sun, a young astronomer searches for his system’s outermost planet. A moving point of light thrills, then disappoints him. It’s only a comet. His physicist colleague Orro takes time off from trying to invent a flying-machine to calculate the comet's trajectory. Something is very odd about that comet's path.

They are not the only ones for whom the world has changed . . .

At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

“Highly entertaining.” —Locus 

“MacLeod continues to dazzle readers with vividly rendered landscapes of technological splendor and fascinating yet plausible visions of humanity’s future.” —Booklist

1113734010
Learning the World

An ancient starship from Earth reaches its destination after four hundred years of travel and makes a life-changing discovery in this compelling space opera.

“MacLeod . . . delivers perhaps the finest novel of first contact since Vernor Vinge’s A Deepness in the Sky. . . . This is contemporary SF at its best.”—Publishers Weekly

Humanity has spread to every star within five hundred light-years of its half-forgotten origin, coloring the sky with a haze of habitats. Societies rise and fall. Incautious experiments burn fast and fade. On the fringes, less modified humans get on with the job of settling a universe that has, so far, been empty of intelligent life.

The ancient starship But the Sky, My Lady! The Sky! is entering orbit around a promising new system after a four-hundred-year journey. For its long-lived inhabitants, the centuries have been busy. Now a younger generation is eager to settle the system. The ship is a seed-pod ready to burst.

Then they detect curious electromagnetic emissions from the system’s Earth-like world. As the nature of the signals becomes clear, the choices facing the humans become stark.

On Ground, second world from the sun, a young astronomer searches for his system’s outermost planet. A moving point of light thrills, then disappoints him. It’s only a comet. His physicist colleague Orro takes time off from trying to invent a flying-machine to calculate the comet's trajectory. Something is very odd about that comet's path.

They are not the only ones for whom the world has changed . . .

At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

“Highly entertaining.” —Locus 

“MacLeod continues to dazzle readers with vividly rendered landscapes of technological splendor and fascinating yet plausible visions of humanity’s future.” —Booklist

1.99 In Stock
Learning the World

Learning the World

by Ken MacLeod
Learning the World

Learning the World

by Ken MacLeod

eBookFirst Edition (First Edition)

$1.99  $11.99 Save 83% Current price is $1.99, Original price is $11.99. You Save 83%.

Available on Compatible NOOK devices, the free NOOK App and in My Digital Library.
WANT A NOOK?  Explore Now

Related collections and offers

LEND ME® See Details

Overview

An ancient starship from Earth reaches its destination after four hundred years of travel and makes a life-changing discovery in this compelling space opera.

“MacLeod . . . delivers perhaps the finest novel of first contact since Vernor Vinge’s A Deepness in the Sky. . . . This is contemporary SF at its best.”—Publishers Weekly

Humanity has spread to every star within five hundred light-years of its half-forgotten origin, coloring the sky with a haze of habitats. Societies rise and fall. Incautious experiments burn fast and fade. On the fringes, less modified humans get on with the job of settling a universe that has, so far, been empty of intelligent life.

The ancient starship But the Sky, My Lady! The Sky! is entering orbit around a promising new system after a four-hundred-year journey. For its long-lived inhabitants, the centuries have been busy. Now a younger generation is eager to settle the system. The ship is a seed-pod ready to burst.

Then they detect curious electromagnetic emissions from the system’s Earth-like world. As the nature of the signals becomes clear, the choices facing the humans become stark.

On Ground, second world from the sun, a young astronomer searches for his system’s outermost planet. A moving point of light thrills, then disappoints him. It’s only a comet. His physicist colleague Orro takes time off from trying to invent a flying-machine to calculate the comet's trajectory. Something is very odd about that comet's path.

They are not the only ones for whom the world has changed . . .

At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

“Highly entertaining.” —Locus 

“MacLeod continues to dazzle readers with vividly rendered landscapes of technological splendor and fascinating yet plausible visions of humanity’s future.” —Booklist


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781466842823
Publisher: Tor Publishing Group
Publication date: 03/26/2024
Sold by: Barnes & Noble
Format: eBook
Pages: 384
Sales rank: 3,131
File size: 563 KB

About the Author

Ken MacLeod holds a degree in zoology and has worked in the fields of biomechanics and computer programming. His first two novels, The Star Fraction and The Stone Canal, each won the Prometheus Award; The Cassini Division was a finalist for the Nebula Award; and The Sky Road won the British Science Fiction Association Award and was a finalist for the Hugo Award, as were his next two novels, Cosmonaut Keep and Dark Light. His most recent novel is Newton's Wake. Ken MacLeod lives near Edinburgh, Scotland, with his wife and children.

Table of Contents

1The Ship Generation17
2Aeronautical Research26
3Spectral Lines41
4A Moving Point of Light53
5Fast Probes66
6The Queen of Heaven's Daughters79
7Television95
8Security Concerns106
9Red Sun Circle120
10Above Top Secret136
11Alien Space Bats151
12View from a Height168
13Contact Clause181
14The Extraordinary and Remarkable Ship195
15Hollow Spaces of the Forward Cone207
16The Anomalies Room224
17Fire in the Sky238
18Sabreur253
19A Full and Frank Exchange of Views268
20Second Contact282
Interlude: White Air296
21But the Sky, My Lady! The Sky298
From the B&N Reads Blog

Customer Reviews