Birth of Fire

Last updated
First edition, cover artist Kelly Freas. BirthOfFire.jpg
First edition, cover artist Kelly Freas.

Birth of Fire is a science fiction novel by American writer Jerry Pournelle. It was first published by Laser Books in 1976, and later reprinted by Baen Books. It is related to the books Exiles to Glory and High Justice , and with those two, form a starting point for the CoDominium series. [1]

Contents

Plot

The book starts out in a year sometime between 2000 and 2050. It begins with Garrett Pittson, a respected gang member who has not found his path in life, caught in the middle of a gang war and then caught by the police. He is sentenced to prison for twenty years but takes up his lawyer's offer of being shipped out to a colony on Mars where the conditions are rough and the pay unfair.

Once arriving the events stir up and he ends up playing a prominent role in a revolution led by a group of farmers out on the rim of a large crater in Mars southern hemisphere. Garrett is noticed as an excellent student by Commander Farr, who tells him to go to the city, and wait for someone to find him. Someone comes up to him and gets him suited to a P-Suit, he learns to farm and the two travel to a friend's farm where they meet Erica. Garrett has private time with her and they kiss, before she says they should wait, after multiple more trips, the two spend more time together and fall in love.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jerry Pournelle</span> American writer and scientist (1933–2017)

Jerry Eugene Pournelle was an American scientist in the area of operations research and human factors research, a science fiction writer, essayist, journalist, and one of the first bloggers. In the 1960s and early 1970s, he worked in the aerospace industry, but eventually focused on his writing career. In an obituary in Gizmodo, he is described as "a tireless ambassador for the future."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Larry Niven</span> American science fiction writer (born 1938)

Laurence van Cott Niven is an American science fiction writer. His 1970 novel Ringworld won the Hugo, Locus, Ditmar, and Nebula awards. With Jerry Pournelle he wrote The Mote in God's Eye (1974) and Lucifer's Hammer (1977). The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America gave him the 2015 Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award.

<i>The Martian Chronicles</i> 1950 novel by Ray Bradbury

The Martian Chronicles is a science fiction fix-up novel, published in 1950, by American writer Ray Bradbury that chronicles the exploration and settlement of Mars, the home of indigenous Martians, by Americans leaving a troubled Earth that is eventually devastated by nuclear war.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Baen Books</span> American science fiction and fantasy publisher

Baen Books is an American publishing house for science fiction and fantasy. In science fiction, it emphasizes space opera, hard science fiction, and military science fiction. The company was established in 1983 by science fiction publisher and editor Jim Baen. After his death in 2006, he was succeeded as publisher by long-time executive editor Toni Weisskopf.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles Sheffield</span> English-American mathematician, physicist and science fiction writer (1935–2002)

Charles Sheffield, was an English-born mathematician, physicist and science-fiction writer who served as a President of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America and of the American Astronautical Society.

<i>The Mote in Gods Eye</i> 1974 novel by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle

The Mote in God's Eye is a science fiction novel by American writers Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle, first published in 1974. The story is set in the distant future of Pournelle's CoDominium universe, and charts the first contact between humanity and an alien species. The title of the novel is a reference to the Biblical "The Mote and the Beam" parable and is the nickname of a star. The Mote in God's Eye was nominated for the Hugo, Nebula and Locus Awards in 1975.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dalton Gang</span> Group of outlaws in the American Old West

The Dalton Gang was a group of outlaws in the American Old West during 1890–1892. It was also known as The Dalton Brothers because four of its members were brothers. The gang specialized in bank and train robberies. During an attempted double bank robbery in Coffeyville, Kansas in 1892, two of the brothers and two other gang members were killed; Emmett Dalton survived, was captured, and later pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, although he later asserted that he never fired a shot during the robbery. He was paroled after serving 14 years in prison.

<i>Footfall</i> 1985 science fiction novel by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle

Footfall is a 1985 science fiction novel by American writers Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle. The book depicts the arrival of members of an alien species called the Fithp that have traveled to the Solar System from Alpha Centauri in a large spacecraft driven by a Bussard ramjet. Their intent is conquest of the planet Earth.

<i>Inferno</i> (Niven and Pournelle novel) 1976 novel by Larry Niven

Inferno is a fantasy novel written by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle, published in 1976. It was nominated for the 1976 Hugo and Nebula Awards for Best Novel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jim Baen</span> American science fiction publisher and editor

James Patrick Baen was a U.S. science fiction publisher and editor. In 1983, he founded his own publishing house, Baen Books, specializing in the adventure, fantasy, military science fiction, and space opera genres. Baen also founded the video game publisher, Baen Software. In late 1999, he started an electronic publishing business called Webscriptions, which is considered to be the first profitable e-book vendor.

<i>Lucifers Hammer</i> 1977 science fiction novel by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle

Lucifer's Hammer is a science fiction post-apocalypse-survival novel by American writers Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle that was first published in 1977. It was nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Novel in 1978. Two issues of a planned six-part comic book adaptation were published by Innovation Comics in 1993.

<i>The Prince</i> (anthology) 2002 novel by Jerry Pournelle

The Prince is a science fiction compilation by Jerry Pournelle and S. M. Stirling. It is part of the CoDominium future history series. The Prince is a compilation of four previously published novels: Falkenberg's Legion, Prince of Mercenaries, Go Tell The Spartans, and Prince of Sparta. Of the original novels, the first two were written by Pournelle alone; the last two were cowritten with Stirling. Pages 174–176 of the printed edition are new to the compilation. The Prince was published by Baen Books in hardcover (ISBN 0-7434-3556-7) in September 2002.

<i>High Justice</i> 1974 collection of science fiction short stories by Jerry Pournelle

High Justice is a 1974 collection of science fiction short stories by American writer Jerry Pournelle. It was republished in an omnibus edition with Exiles to Glory in 2009 as Exile—and Glory.

Clarence Howard "Bud" Webster was an American science fiction and fantasy writer who is also known for his essays on both the history of science fiction and sf/fantasy anthologies as well. He is perhaps best known for the Bubba Pritchert series, which won two Analytical Laboratory readers' awards from Analog Science Fiction and Fact magazine. Farewell Blues was featured on the cover of the January/February 2015 issue of The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction. Webster is also known for his survey of Groff Conklin's contribution to science fiction in 41 Above the Rest: An Index and Checklist for the Anthologies of Groff Conklin.

John Francis Carr is an American science fiction editor and writer as well as the executor of the literary estate of H. Beam Piper.

<i>Tom and Jerry: Blast Off to Mars</i> 2005 American film

Tom and Jerry: Blast Off to Mars is a 2005 American animated science fiction comedy-adventure film starring the cat-and-mouse duo Tom and Jerry. Produced by Warner Bros. Animation and Turner Entertainment Co., it is the second made-for-video Tom and Jerry film.

The Citizen's Advisory Council on National Space Policy was a group of prominent US citizens concerned with the space policy of the United States of America. It is no longer active.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Wizard of Karres</span> 2004 novel by Mercedes Lackey, Eric Flint and Dave Freer

The Wizard of Karres is a novel by Mercedes Lackey, Eric Flint, and Dave Freer that was published by Baen Books in 2004, as a sequel to The Witches of Karres by James H. Schmitz.

This is the complete list of works by American science fiction author S. M. Stirling.

This is a complete bibliography by American science fiction author Larry Niven:

References

  1. "Internet Book List :: Book Information: Birth of Fire". Archived from the original on 2013-03-23. Retrieved 2012-08-09.

Sources