by Larry Niven
First published 1986
Brennan works as a smuggler in the asteroid belt, part of a fiercely independent society that calls the outer reaches of space home. The Belters live by their own rules, rebels who answer to no authority. When tracking stations detect an incoming alien vessel, Brennan sees opportunity. He plans to reach the mysterious ship before anyone else can claim it. The craft belongs to Phssthpok, a Pak who has spent thirty-two thousand years traveling through space. His mission drives him forward: locate and protect the Pak breeders who departed their homeworld two and a half million years earlier. When Brennan intercepts the ancient ship, he vanishes completely. Those who knew him never see him again. Two alien purposes collide in the vastness of space, setting forces in motion that will reshape everything.
Genres: science-fiction, adventure, action, aliens
Vibes: fast-paced, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: first-contact, found-family
Setting: Asteroid Belt, Space
Period: 32,000 Years Ago, 2.5 Million Years Ago
224 pages · Mass Market Paperback · Del Rey