Seas of Venus

By Drake, David

Book Id: WPLBN0000625331
Format Type: PDF eBook:
File Size: 1.27 MB
Reproduction Date: 2004

Title:	Seas of Venus
Author:	Drake, David
Volume:
Language:	English
Subject:	Science fiction, Fantasy & science fiction, Pulp literature
Collections:	Science Fiction Collection, Baen Library Collection
Historic Publication Date:	2002
Publisher:	Baen Publishing Enterprises


Citation APA MLA Chicago Drake, B. D. (2002). Seas of Venus. Retrieved from http://gutenberg.cc/

Description
Description: Earth is a dead cinder beyond the dense clouds. On a terraformed Venus the land is ruled by savage plants and the even more savage beasts that prey on them, while monsters out of nightmare swim though the globe-girdling seas. Mankind huddles in domed underwater Keeps, living a purposeless static existence—dedicated to pleasure but destined for oblivion later if not sooner.

Summary
Summary: Only the Free Companions, the mercenaries who fight proxy wars for the Keeps, live on the surface of Venus. Their warships course the seas, battling one another in struggles to decide victory or defeat for one day, life or death for a few individuals. The Free companions live till they die with the searing thrill of danger, and their deeds bring excitement and color to the bored residents of the Keeps; but Mankind is doomed unless something changes. Few are willing to risk their lives for that change, battling both the terrifying environment and the ruthless oligarchs for whom the status quo means a lifetime of luxury. But there are a handful of courageous visionaries in the Keeps and in the Free Companies where death is a way of life!

Excerpt
Excerpt: Introduction: sea stories for my thirteenth birthday, my parents gave me a collection of sf (bought from a guy who was entering the navy) which included the astounding science fiction anthology. Among many other great stories in the volume, it was John Campbell's own distillation of golden age sf, after all, it was clash by night by Lawrence O'Donnell. Excerpt: Nuclear power and weapons were banned, as guns had been banned in Japan during the Shogunate. The ban was enforced with absolute ruthlessness. Domed cities were vulnerable to conventional weapons of the simplest sort. A dome which was believed to harbor nuclear experiments was cracked so that water pressure crushed its inhabitants into the ooze before they could drown. Apart from that, war on Venus was fought on the surface, and by warriors.