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Lifeline
When war destroys life on Earth, three space colonies must continue the human race in this science fiction adventure from two bestselling authors.
"A taut, expertly researched techno-thriller." —Gregory Benford, author of Timescape
In shock and grief, the last remnants of the human race watched from space as the holocaust of war raged across the face of the Earth. Now the future rested in the hands of three fragile space
Aguinaldo—The Philippine L-five colony whose brilliant biochemist engineered a limitless supply of food.
Kibalchich—The Soviet space exploration platform that harbors a deadly secret.
Orbitech one—The American space factory whose superstrong weavewire could be a lifeline to link the colonies—or a cutting-edge weapon of destruction.
As allies, they could unite to rebuild a better world. As enemies, they could destroy mankind's last hope for survival.
"Fanatics, autocrats, scientists, and peacemakers wage their own battle of wills in the isolation of space in this well-written first novel." — Library Journal
"A taut, expertly researched techno-thriller." —Gregory Benford, author of Timescape
In shock and grief, the last remnants of the human race watched from space as the holocaust of war raged across the face of the Earth. Now the future rested in the hands of three fragile space
Aguinaldo—The Philippine L-five colony whose brilliant biochemist engineered a limitless supply of food.
Kibalchich—The Soviet space exploration platform that harbors a deadly secret.
Orbitech one—The American space factory whose superstrong weavewire could be a lifeline to link the colonies—or a cutting-edge weapon of destruction.
As allies, they could unite to rebuild a better world. As enemies, they could destroy mankind's last hope for survival.
"Fanatics, autocrats, scientists, and peacemakers wage their own battle of wills in the isolation of space in this well-written first novel." — Library Journal
489 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 1, 1990
23 people are currently reading
240 people want to read
About the author
Kevin J. Anderson
1,033 books3,112 followersYes, I have a lot of books, and if this is your first visit to my amazon author page, it can be a little overwhelming. If you are new to my work, let me recommend a few titles as good places to start. I love my Dan Shamble, Zombie P.I. series, humorous horror/mysteries, which begin with DEATH WARMED OVER. My steampunk fantasy adventures, CLOCKWORK ANGELS and CLOCKWORK LIVES, written with Neil Peart, legendary drummer from Rush, are two of my very favorite novels ever. And my magnum opus, the science fiction epic The Saga of Seven Suns, begins with HIDDEN EMPIRE. After you've tried those, I hope you'll check out some of my other series.
I have written spin-off novels for Star Wars, StarCraft, Titan A.E., and The X-Files, and I'm the co-author of the Dune prequels. My original works include the Saga of Seven Suns series and the Nebula Award-nominated Assemblers of Infinity. I have also written several comic books including the Dark Horse Star Wars collection Tales of the Jedi written in collaboration with Tom Veitch, Predator titles (also for Dark Horse), and X-Files titles for Topps.
I serve as a judge in the Writers of the Future contest.
My wife is author Rebecca Moesta. We currently reside near Monument, Colorado.
I have written spin-off novels for Star Wars, StarCraft, Titan A.E., and The X-Files, and I'm the co-author of the Dune prequels. My original works include the Saga of Seven Suns series and the Nebula Award-nominated Assemblers of Infinity. I have also written several comic books including the Dark Horse Star Wars collection Tales of the Jedi written in collaboration with Tom Veitch, Predator titles (also for Dark Horse), and X-Files titles for Topps.
I serve as a judge in the Writers of the Future contest.
My wife is author Rebecca Moesta. We currently reside near Monument, Colorado.
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
March 3, 2017
An interesting story about four early space colonies that do whatever they have to in order to survive once Earth is no longer able to assist them. Has plenty of technology and biochemistry those that like it. The space opera action keeps the plot flowing and the characters are OK. The ending is a bit weak - doesn't resolve a lot satisfactory. About on par with other Anderson / Beason collaborations.
unexamined
February 20, 2017Doesn't seem to be a bad book, but I am nearly a tenth of the way in and just not interested in the characters, and while the worldbuilding suggests something that will be cool right now it feels like all set-up. Setting this one aside.
October 30, 2017
My Book Review Number 153:
This review is on Lifeline by Kevin J. Anderson and Doug Beason. I read this story as part of a Box Set called Death Before Defeat from BundleRabbit. It is one of 10 Sci-Fi stories written by different authors.
The story starts out with nations on Earth destroying each other in nuclear war. Communications with Earth goes dark and all that remains of human civilization are three space station colonies orbiting Earth and a Moon Base. They are called Aquinaldo, a Philippine station; the Kibalchich, a Soviet station; the Corbitech 1, an American colony station; and Clavius, a moon base. They all have been operating pretty much independently in the past. Now they must find a way to work together if they hope to have any chance of surviving in space without Earth nation’s support.
The Prologue describes life onboard the Aquinaldo when Dr. Luis Sandovall and President Magsaysay first meet five years ago on the Aquinaldo to start bioengineering research and other science experiments. This colony is in stable orbit at L-4 near the Moon. Their mission is to develop and grow crops that can feed humanity in the future.
Tension mounts quickly in the space station colonies as the extent of the holocaust on Earth becomes known. People begin to panic as they realize their survival depends on their limited food supplies and the number of people that must be feed in the coming months.
Events begin to spin out of control on all the colonies and moon base. Soon, a “Lifeline” must be thrown to all four colonies or they will perish.
I give this book Four Stars because the story is original and well thought out. The story is long and slow moving in parts, but the plot takes surprising turns at appropriate times. The characters are well developed and become more familiar as the story unfolds. The writing and dialogue are excellent. There are a lot of technical details in the story, which I found in some cases to be a little farfetched. All in all, an interesting Sci-Fi story told by two outstanding authors.
Keep reading good science fiction and let me know when you find an interesting novel or author.
This review is on Lifeline by Kevin J. Anderson and Doug Beason. I read this story as part of a Box Set called Death Before Defeat from BundleRabbit. It is one of 10 Sci-Fi stories written by different authors.
The story starts out with nations on Earth destroying each other in nuclear war. Communications with Earth goes dark and all that remains of human civilization are three space station colonies orbiting Earth and a Moon Base. They are called Aquinaldo, a Philippine station; the Kibalchich, a Soviet station; the Corbitech 1, an American colony station; and Clavius, a moon base. They all have been operating pretty much independently in the past. Now they must find a way to work together if they hope to have any chance of surviving in space without Earth nation’s support.
The Prologue describes life onboard the Aquinaldo when Dr. Luis Sandovall and President Magsaysay first meet five years ago on the Aquinaldo to start bioengineering research and other science experiments. This colony is in stable orbit at L-4 near the Moon. Their mission is to develop and grow crops that can feed humanity in the future.
Tension mounts quickly in the space station colonies as the extent of the holocaust on Earth becomes known. People begin to panic as they realize their survival depends on their limited food supplies and the number of people that must be feed in the coming months.
Events begin to spin out of control on all the colonies and moon base. Soon, a “Lifeline” must be thrown to all four colonies or they will perish.
I give this book Four Stars because the story is original and well thought out. The story is long and slow moving in parts, but the plot takes surprising turns at appropriate times. The characters are well developed and become more familiar as the story unfolds. The writing and dialogue are excellent. There are a lot of technical details in the story, which I found in some cases to be a little farfetched. All in all, an interesting Sci-Fi story told by two outstanding authors.
Keep reading good science fiction and let me know when you find an interesting novel or author.
November 12, 2018
I really enjoyed this one. Apocalyptic, sprinkle at little dystopia add some science and interesting yet flawed characters. Most books discussing humanity after much of it is gone I find interesting, it shows us at our most desperate. This was no exception, this time just set in space. A little sappy at the end but otherwise a solid and enjoyable reach.
January 26, 2024
Fantastic hard sci-fi techno thriller. Global war breaks out on Earth and inhabitants of three orbital space stations and a Moon base have to figure out how survive without help and supplies from down below. The book goes deep into the concept. Various psycho-social aspects as well as technological ideas are brought up. A very engaging and highly recommended read!
October 3, 2017
Great sci fi adventure story.
Good old human drama combined with science is always a win. This is my second time reading lifeline and I enjoyed it as much the second time as the first.
Good old human drama combined with science is always a win. This is my second time reading lifeline and I enjoyed it as much the second time as the first.
October 25, 2019
3.5, really. It was a bit more technical than character or plot driven, but enjoyable nonetheless.
January 22, 2020
..something about the characters and their out of the box ingenuity pushed this novel about a 3.
October 1, 2020
Very well written...an enjoyable read
did-not-finish
May 15, 20225/15/2022
I hate doing this, but I'm bailing at 17%. It's not bad, just a little too slow and too many characters to keep track of.
I hate doing this, but I'm bailing at 17%. It's not bad, just a little too slow and too many characters to keep track of.
March 2, 2008
It is the future and there are 3 space stations (plus one being built) in orbit at the L4 and L5 points around earth as well as a small one on the moon. Along comes a war down on the planet which while it may only kill off half the earth's population, is guaranteed to cause enough damage to leave the space stations on their own, with no way to get people back to the planet. The story is one of desperation as well as unselfishness between the four factions which find themselves at odds with each other in space as well as having a complete dependence upon one another.
February 11, 2013
This story was okay. The writing was pretty good and the science parts were great, very well-researched (or maybe one of the writers is a professional scientist), but the characters weren't very compelling to me. That wouldn't be that bad, except a lot of time was devoted to the characters' personal lives, and not very successfully. It made the story drag. And the parts that should have been very exciting and tense usually weren't. It was a great premise and seems like it would have been a really good movie. It wasn't much of a page turner for me, though.
July 17, 2016
As the second novel from the writing of Anderson and Beason I enjoyed the continued engagement with human political dynamics, technology in space, and writing about various human challenges. I liked that they addressed such issues as rage, desire for power, efficiency vs humanity and the importance of having dreams and goals to work towards that extend beyond survival. This was a new take on post apocalyptic survival in an age when man is just moving beyond short trips into space, but beginning to establish more permanent colonies and push beyond.
November 15, 2011
Lots of action and lots of drama make for a good read and this is one.
August 16, 2012
A fun book about the end of the world and those left in orbit around the earth.
August 12, 2015
Очень жаль, что книга до сих пор не переведена на русский язык.
July 28, 2024
It's kind of funny how this book which shows that the Soviet Union is still a thing in some sort of future was released just before the Soviet Union ceased to exist.
Read
January 14, 2018Though I’m a big Kevin Anderson fan, this book was slow and very disjointed.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews