It was just before Summertide, when the planet Quake would orbit closest to its sun, subjecting itself to vast tidal forces. It was to be the most violent Summertide ever, creating something that only happened every 350,000 years.
Access to the unstable Quake was supposed to be prohibited, but some very insistent travelers were determined to make the trip. Professor Darya Lang, who studied artifacts left by the long-vanished aliens called the Builders, had a hunch that she might find the Builders themselves. And Councilor Julius Graves was hunting murderers. Planetary Administrators Hans Rebka and Max Perry had no choice but to go to Quake, risking their lives to protect the others—and to learn, just maybe, the secret of Summertide and the Builders.
Charles Sheffield (1935–2002) was a mathematician, physicist,
and author of both nonfiction and science fiction. For his novel Brother to Dragons, he won the 1992
John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best Science Fiction Novel. He won the
Nebula Award in 1993 and the Hugo Award in 1994 for his novelette Georgia on My Mind. He was a president
of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America and of the American Astronautical
Society. He served as chief scientist of Earth Satellite Corporation, a company
that processed remote sensing satellite data. He was a distinguished lecturer
of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and a board member of
the National Space Society. Born and educated in England, he held bachelor’s
and master’s degrees in mathematics and a doctorate in theoretical physics.View all by Charles Sheffield
