On Earth, some want to launch a pre-emptive strike against the Outers while others wish to exploit the talents of the gene wizards. It is clear that the fragile detente between the two branches of humanity is breaking down and they may be heading towards war . . .
GARDENS OF THE SUN
The Quiet War is over.
A century of enlightenment, rational utopianism and exploration of new ways of being human has fallen dark.
But victory is fragile, and riven by vicious internal politics. While seeking out and trying to anatomise the strange gardens abandoned in place by Avernus, the Outers' greatest genius, the gene wizard Sri Hong-Owen is embroiled in the plots and counterplots of the family that employs her. The diplomat Loc Ifrahim soon discovers that profiting from victory isn't as easy as he thought. And in Greater Brazil, the Outers' democratic traditions have infected a population eager to escape the tyranny of the great families who rule them.
After such a conflict only one thing is clear. No one can escape the consequences of war - especially the victors.
Born in Gloucestershire, Paul McAuley has a Ph.D in Botany and worked as a researcher and lecturer in various universities, including Oxford, St Andrews and the University of California, Los Angeles. His first novel won the Philip K Dick Award; his fifth the Arthur C. Clarke and John. W. Campbell Awards. His novels and stories have also won the British Fantasy, Sidewise and Theodore Sturgeon Awards. Although he lives in London, he spends as much time as possible getting lost in the woods.You can find his website at: www.unlikelyworlds.co.uk