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Jackaroo #0.6
City of the Dead
On a distant world littered with the ruins and artifacts of vanished civilisations, a small-town sheriff finds herself in the middle of a fight over ownership of an enigmatic - and deadly - biological mystery.
- GenresScience Fiction
34 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 1, 2008
6 people are currently reading
31 people want to read
About the author
Paul McAuley
229 books423 followersSince about 2000, book jackets have given his name as just Paul McAuley.
A biologist by training, UK science fiction author McAuley writes mostly hard science fiction, dealing with themes such as biotechnology, alternate history/alternate reality, and space travel.
McAuley has also used biotechnology and nanotechnology themes in near-future settings.
Since 2001, he has produced several SF-based techno-thrillers such as The Secret of Life, Whole Wide World, and White Devils.
Four Hundred Billion Stars, his first novel, won the Philip K. Dick Award in 1988. Fairyland won the 1996 Arthur C. Clarke Award and the 1997 John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best SF Novel.
A biologist by training, UK science fiction author McAuley writes mostly hard science fiction, dealing with themes such as biotechnology, alternate history/alternate reality, and space travel.
McAuley has also used biotechnology and nanotechnology themes in near-future settings.
Since 2001, he has produced several SF-based techno-thrillers such as The Secret of Life, Whole Wide World, and White Devils.
Four Hundred Billion Stars, his first novel, won the Philip K. Dick Award in 1988. Fairyland won the 1996 Arthur C. Clarke Award and the 1997 John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best SF Novel.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
April 6, 2017
A great little short story in McAuley's "Jackaroo universe". Good characters, clever plot and pacing, and fills in some good information about Jackaroo motives and internal divisions.
Get it for $1 or so from Amazon to Kindle.
Jackaroo stories so far -
“Dust” (2006)
“Winning Peace” (2007)
“City Of The Dead” (2008)
“Adventure” (2008)
“Crimes And Glory” (2009)
“The Choice” (2011)
“Bruce Springsteen” (2012)
“The Man” (2012)
"Something Coming Through" (full novel, 2015)
"Into Everywhere" (full novel, 2016)
“Something Happened Here, But We’re Not Quite Sure What It Was” (2016)
Get it for $1 or so from Amazon to Kindle.
Jackaroo stories so far -
“Dust” (2006)
“Winning Peace” (2007)
“City Of The Dead” (2008)
“Adventure” (2008)
“Crimes And Glory” (2009)
“The Choice” (2011)
“Bruce Springsteen” (2012)
“The Man” (2012)
"Something Coming Through" (full novel, 2015)
"Into Everywhere" (full novel, 2016)
“Something Happened Here, But We’re Not Quite Sure What It Was” (2016)
September 1, 2017
Excellent story, probably the best place to start reading about McAuley's great and expanding Jackaroo universe. Gives a fine preview of the frontier culture of the planet First Foot, a barbed gift to humanity from the mysterious Jackaroo. 4.5 stars. Read twice.
Also reprinted in the Dozois Year's Best #29: http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cg...
And William has a nice Jackaroo checklist, nearby.
Also reprinted in the Dozois Year's Best #29: http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cg...
And William has a nice Jackaroo checklist, nearby.
May 14, 2015
Another excellent story in the Jackaroo series. There have been about eight or so stories so far, and recently the first novel, in this series and all I have read have been first rate. Paul McAuley is one of our best SF writers and always worth reading.
January 3, 2018
Please give my Amazon review a helpful vote - https://www.amazon.com/review/R2M6UD4...
This is an engaging and well-written science fiction story. It is something longer than a short story and something shorter than a novella, but it packs a lot of background, characterization, and plot into its length.
The setting is the outback of First Foot where a handful of humans scratch out a living among the tombs of alien dead, where people can get rich with the occasional find. Humanity is on First Foot thanks to the alien Jackaroos, who rescued humanity after World War III in a deal that gave them most of the Solar System and gave humans interstellar travel and 15 extra-solar planets.
Marilyn is the sheriff of Joe's Corner and Ana is studying the naked Hive Rats that are the dominant life form in the outback. Marilynn is approached by thugs who want something that Ana has discovered. The rest proceeds with action, comedy, bluffs, and surprises.
It's a well-written story and worth the reader's investment.
This is an engaging and well-written science fiction story. It is something longer than a short story and something shorter than a novella, but it packs a lot of background, characterization, and plot into its length.
The setting is the outback of First Foot where a handful of humans scratch out a living among the tombs of alien dead, where people can get rich with the occasional find. Humanity is on First Foot thanks to the alien Jackaroos, who rescued humanity after World War III in a deal that gave them most of the Solar System and gave humans interstellar travel and 15 extra-solar planets.
Marilyn is the sheriff of Joe's Corner and Ana is studying the naked Hive Rats that are the dominant life form in the outback. Marilynn is approached by thugs who want something that Ana has discovered. The rest proceeds with action, comedy, bluffs, and surprises.
It's a well-written story and worth the reader's investment.
December 7, 2019
A good introduction to the Jackaroo universe. Too short for a long development of course, so it is less interesting than the two main novels in the sequence, "something coming through" and "into everywhere", but a good introduction nonetheless if you want an taste of what the rest is about.
Well worth reading.
Well worth reading.
May 30, 2019
I put it down. It had such potential in the set-up - space aliens, multiple strange worlds, worm-hole travel and engaging characters in mysterious situations - but I lost interest waiting for something interesting to happen.
May 23, 2022
How i miss good sf. Now I have to read the other stories in this universe.
February 17, 2025
the frontier culture of the planet First Foot, a barbed gift to humanity from the mysterious Jackaroo.
A woman studies Hive Rats and....
A woman studies Hive Rats and....
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews