 First edition cover Cover art byBarclay Shaw | |
| Author | Charles Sheffield |
|---|---|
| Series | Heritage Universe |
| Genre | Science fiction |
| Publisher | Gollancz Books |
Publication date | April 1990 |
| ISBN | 978-0-575-04761-7 |
| Followed by | Divergence(1990) |
Summertide (1990) is ascience fiction novel by American writerCharles Sheffield, the first of his series ofHeritage Universe.
The story takes place millennia in the future, with humans having extensively colonized ourspiral arm of theMilky Way and having encountered a number of intelligentalien races. Littered throughout thegalaxy are hundreds of massive abandoned engineering projects built by a mysterious race, referred to as The Builders, extinct for three million years. An eclectic group of scientists and opportunists are descending upon one such artifact at a time when its surrounding environment is extremely dangerous to study an unusual phenomenon.
The novel includes excerpts from theLang Universal Artifact Catalog (Fourth Edition), describing several Builder artifacts.
Divergence is the next book in the series.
Kirkus Reviews calls it an "above-average space opera",[1] whilePublishers Weekly states that the "'series stands on its own, even though many threads are left dangling."[2]
 | This article about a 1990s science fiction novel is astub. You can help Wikipedia byadding missing information. See guidelines for writing about novels. Further suggestions might be found on the article'stalk page. |
