Goldilocks

by Laura Lam

Overview

A gripping science fiction thriller where five women task themselves with ensuring the survival of the human race; perfect for readers of The Martian, The Power, and Station Eleven.

Despite increasing restrictions on the freedoms of women on Earth, Valerie Black is spearheading the first all-female mission to a planet in the Goldilocks Zone, where conditions are just right for human habitation.

It's humanity's last hope for survival, and Naomi, Valerie's surrogate daughter and the ship's botanist, has been waiting her whole life for an opportunity like this - to step out of Valerie's shadow and really make a difference.

But when things start going wrong on the ship, Naomi begins to suspect that someone on board is concealing a terrible secret - and realizes time for life on Earth may be running out faster than they feared . . .

Goldilocks is The Handmaid's Tale meets The Martian - a bold and thought-provoking new high-concept thriller.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780316462860
Publisher:	Orbit
Publication date:	05/05/2020
Pages:	352
Product dimensions:	6.50(w) x 1.50(h) x 9.50(d)

About the Author

Originally from sunny California, Laura Lam now lives in cloudy Scotland. She is the author of the near-future space thriller, Goldilocks, feminist space opera Seven Devils (co-written with Elizabeth May), BBC Radio 2 Book Club section False Hearts, the companion novel Shattered Minds, and the award-winning Micah Grey series: Pantomime, Shadowplay, and Masquerade. Her short fiction and essays have appeared in anthologies such as Nasty Women, Solaris Rising 3, Cranky Ladies of History, Scotland in Space, and more. She lectures part-time at Edinburgh Napier University on the Creative Writing MA.

Editorial Reviews

02/10/2020

Lam (Seven Devils) makes the personal political in this tense near-future family drama that’s fueled by the climate crisis. Dr. Naomi Lovelace, a botanist working with alien soils and seeds, joins her foster mother Valerie Black’s all-women team of astronauts in stealing humanity’s first starship, the Atalanta. Fleeing an Earth scarred by climate change and a rising tide of misogyny, tech entrepreneur Valerie plans a better world on Cavendish, a habitable exoplanet 10 light-years away. As the women learn the inner workings of their stolen ship, Naomi discovers Valerie has a hidden agenda and is keeping her own secrets from her foster brother, Evan, their contact back on Earth. Though the exodus plan presents plot holes aplenty, Lam expertly evokes the claustrophobia of both tight spaces and taut relationships in the evolving struggle between Naomi and Valerie for the soul of the mission. This deeply felt space opera will please those who like their sci-fi to focus more on the characters than the science. Agent: Juliet Mushens, Caskie Mushens. (May)

Publishers Weekly

"It's bold and explosive, equal parts heartfelt and harrowing. Lam's unflinching prose interrogates you, asking what prices you'd be willing to pay for the future of humanity. It's a book that demands your attention."— Alex White, author of A Big Ship at the Edge of the Universe

From the Publisher

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