Meru

Description

One woman and her pilot are about to change the future of the species in an epic space opera about aspiration, compassion, and redemption by Hugo and Nebula Award finalist S. B. Divya. For five centuries, human life has been restricted to Earth, while posthuman descendants called alloys freely explore the galaxy. But when the Earthlike planet of Meru is discovered, two unlikely companions venture forth to test the habitability of this unoccupied new world and the future of human-alloy relations. For Jayanthi, the adopted human child of alloy parents, it's an opportunity to rectify the ancient reputation of her species as avaricious and destructive, and to give humanity a new place in the universe. For Vaha, Jayanthi's alloy pilot, it's a daunting yet irresistible adventure to find success as an individual. As the journey challenges their resolve in unexpected ways, the two form a bond that only deepens with their time alone on Meru. But how can Jayanthi succeed at freeing humanity from its past when she and Vaha have been set up to fail? Against all odds, hope is human, too.

S. B. Divya is a Hugo- and Nebula-nominated author whose work includes Machinehood, Runtime, and the short-story collection Contingency Plans for the Apocalypse and Other Possible Situations. Her stories have been published in various magazines, such as Analog and Uncanny; on Tor.com; and in several anthologies, including Seasons Between Us and Rebuilding Tomorrow. She holds degrees in computational neuroscience and signal processing, and she worked for twenty years as an electrical engineer before becoming an author. A lover of science, math, fiction, and the Oxford comma, she enjoys subverting expectations and breaking stereotypes whenever she can. For more information visit www.sbdivya.com.

Praise for S. B. Divya "Divya has created a richly imagined and eerily familiar world...confronting urgent questions about humans' place in a society increasingly run by AIs." -Kirkus Reviews "This stunning near-future thriller from Divya (Runtime) tackles issues of economic inequality, workers' rights, privacy, and the nature of intelligence...Crack worldbuilding and vivid characters make for a memorable, page-turning adventure, while the thematic inquiries into human and AI labor rights offer plenty to chew on for fans of big-idea sci-fi. Readers will be blown away." -Publishers Weekly (starred review) Praise for Meru "The world presented here is rich and complicated, the love story, plus plenty of jaw-dropping space scenes, will reward readers." -Kirkus Reviews "Empathy convincingly overcomes anxiety in this thoughtful, inventive, and impressively understated space opera from Divya, [who] filters the immensity of outer space through the lens of close personal relationships, crafting compassionate and responsible characters (whatever their physical forms may be) that will surely win over readers." -Publishers Weekly (starred review) "This is a thrilling combination of traditional SF space travel and forward-thinking examinations of what 'humanity' will mean in the future." -Library Journal "Divya's latest (after Machinehood, 2021) is full of twists and turns to keep readers glued to the pages, with rich worldbuilding that will truly invest them in the character's fates. Meru transcends genres and will appeal to fans of science fiction, philosophy, and fantasy." -Booklist "Meru is a thought-provoking and imaginative future. With an intrigue spanning across interstellar distances, it still manages to be an intimate portrait of love." - Mary Robinette Kowal, Hugo Award-winning author "A breathtaking epic tale that challenges our views of humanity and how two individuals can bond. Again, S. B. Divya forges a new trail into what science fiction can be, follow her and be amazed." - Mur Lafferty, Hugo and Nebula award finalist