First published 1982
Earth's three major power blocs send representatives to Jem, a newly discovered world that promises relief from their planet's dwindling resources. The delegates arrive expecting to find salvation for their resource-starved civilizations. Instead, they encounter a planet populated by multiple intelligent alien species. Rather than cooperating to build the utopia they envisioned, the human factions immediately begin exporting their bitter rivalries to this new world. The representatives find themselves recreating the same destructive competition that plagued Earth, but now with alien civilizations caught in the crossfire. As tensions escalate between the power blocs, their presence threatens to corrupt what could have been humanity's fresh start. The subtitle "The Making of a Utopia" takes on bitter meaning as the humans prove incapable of leaving their conflicts behind, even when faced with the opportunity for renewal on an alien world.
Genres: fiction, science-fiction, adventure, political-thriller
Vibes: fast-paced, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: fish-out-of-water, power-struggle
Setting: Jem
Period: 20th-century
312 pages · Paperback · Bantam Books (NY)