Mothership

by John Brosnan

Overview

Shrewd, devious, cunning and a born liar - but as a Court Jester, Jad's a disaster. So when he's sent off with the warlord's son, Prince Kender, on a spying mission, he's hoping that his less desirable traits will actually save his life. Since the Day of Wonder, when all the electric lights stopped working, there have been rumours of unrest in the neighbouring domains . . . and no one has seen hide nor hair of any of the Elite, the ruthless technocrat class that have ruled Urba for centuries. What most of the inhabitants don't realise is that their world of Urba is actually a giant spacecraft, an ark built more than a thousand years ago to save as much of the Earth's population as possible before the sun went nova. The Elite were originally the ship's crew, and as a social experiment, the ship's population were forced to live a pseudo-mediaeval life . . . and as the centuries passed, the Elite became decadent, corrupt and cruel and the truth about Urba became hidden. And now Jad and his courageous - if thick - Prince are about to find out what happened to the Elite - and what's happening to the people of Urba . . .

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780575094635
Publisher:	Orion
Publication date:	12/21/2012
Sold by:	Hachette Digital, Inc.
Format:	eBook
File size:	420 KB

About the Author

John Brosnan (1947 - 2005)
John Raymond Brosnan was born in Perth, Australia, in 1947 but lived in London for all his adult life. He wrote most of the film entries in the first edition of The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction, and his influential books on the movies, include the seminal The Horror People, Future Tense: The Cinema of Science Fiction and The Primal Screen: A History of Science Fiction Film, as well as a number of acclaimed fantasy and SF novels. He died in 2005.

John Brosnan (1947 - 2005)
John Raymond Brosnan was born in Perth, Australia, in 1947 but lived in London for all his adult life. He wrote most of the film entries in the first edition of The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction, and his influential books on the movies, include the seminal The Horror People, Future Tense: The Cinema of Science Fiction and The Primal Screen: A History of Science Fiction Film, as well as a number of acclaimed fantasy and SF novels. He died in 2005.

Editorial Reviews

Raised aboard the Mothership Urba, launched hundreds of years before to escape a dying Earth, the inhabitants of the space ark have forgotten their origins and believe that the ship is their homeworld. When a calamity later termed the "Day of Wonder" causes the ruling Elite to lose their quasimagical powers, the population rises up against them, and society is thrown into turmoil. Amid this tumult, two young men, Prince Kender and his childhood friend Jad, the court jester, strike out to unknown lands to find out why the Elite have fallen. Brosnan's (the "Sky Lord" trilogy) latest novel is both a coming-of-age story featuring two likable if somewhat gullible heroes and a quest into the unknown. Along the way, the author injects a hefty amount of humor and a hint of youthful romance. A good choice for most adult or YA sf collections. Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal

Britisher Brosnan (The Sky Lords, 1991, etc.) takes a crack at an old SF chestnut: the multigenerational starship whose inhabitants don't know they're on a starship. The haughty, cruel Elite, with their aircars and miraculous weapons, ruled Urba's medieval patchwork of contending states-until the Day of Wonder when the power failed, aircars tumbled from the sky, and the Mundanes vengefully fell upon the Elite survivors. Proud, bold young Prince Kender and his reluctant sidekick, Jad the failed court jester, undertake to travel to the Elite Citadel and try to learn exactly what befell their erstwhile rulers. Posing as mercenaries intent on joining Lord Camarra's army, Ken rescues a distressed damsel. Ken falls instantly and hopelessly in love with tough, resourceful Alucia-an Elite. Equally curious as to why the power failed, Alucia plays along with Ken's obsession while educating the smarter Jad concerning Urba's true nature. After various adventures they reach the Citadel, though as Camarra's prisoners; the conqueror takes all three for Elite, therefore they're expendable. Ken, Jad, and Alucia must lead an expedition inside the Citadel, urged on by Camarra's surly troops. Once they're inside, the power comes on, and hordes of scorpion-like machines-not Elite devices-scuttle forth to shred the troops! The three evade the scorpion-things and arm themselves with Elite weapons, but thoughts of further resistance evaporate when a second wave, this time of huge scorpions, emerges to destroy the rest of Camarra's army and devastate Urba. What's going on? Has Urba itself been invaded by aliens? Snappy and amusingly picaresque, with plenty of puzzles to keep readers coming back for more: whilethis one's satisfyingly complete, sequels will follow.

Kirkus Reviews