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Near Space #2
Clarke County, Space
The future of an orbiting space colony is threatened by a fugitive and the assassin on her trail in this science fiction adventure from three-time Hugo Award winner Allen Steele Skycorp has always expected the near-Earth space colony Clarke County to serve as a cash cow, bringing the corporate behemoth a substantial return on its investment through food production and tourism. Now that the Church of Elvis is planning a major revival meeting on the colony, the execs anticipate that the devout and the curious alike will be rocketing to Clarke County in droves. Its residents, however, would prefer to be left alone, and there has even been some dangerous talk of freedom and independence from Earth. It’s Sheriff John Bigthorn’s job to keep the peace on the colony, but his work may prove more difficult than usual in the upcoming days—especially following the unexpected arrival of a frightened young woman carrying money and important data she’s stolen from her gangster ex-boyfriend. With an ice-cold assassin called the Golem on the runaway’s tail, the holy “Living Elvis” stirring up the faithful, and revolution in the wind, Bigthorn will have to lay off the peyote and stay particularly sharp if he hopes to prevent total chaos and bloodshed . . . and perhaps even save his floating artificial world.
326 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 1, 1990
19 people are currently reading
252 people want to read
About the author
Allen M. Steele
235 books416 followersBefore becoming a science fiction writer, Allen Steele was a journalist for newspapers and magazines in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Missouri, and his home state of Tennessee. But science fiction was his first love, so he eventually ditched journalism and began producing that which had made him decide to become a writer in the first place.
Since then, Steele has published eighteen novels and nearly one hundred short stories. His work has received numerous accolades, including three Hugo Awards, and has been translated worldwide, mainly into languages he can’t read. He serves on the board of advisors for the Space Frontier Foundation and is a member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. He also belongs to Sigma, a group of science fiction writers who frequently serve as unpaid consultants on matters regarding technology and security.
Allen Steele is a lifelong space buff, and this interest has not only influenced his writing, it has taken him to some interesting places. He has witnessed numerous space shuttle launches from Kennedy Space Center and has flown NASA’s shuttle cockpit simulator at the Johnson Space Center. In 2001, he testified before the US House of Representatives in hearings regarding the future of space exploration. He would like very much to go into orbit, and hopes that one day he’ll be able to afford to do so.
Steele lives in western Massachusetts with his wife, Linda, and a continual procession of adopted dogs. He collects vintage science fiction books and magazines, spacecraft model kits, and dreams.
Since then, Steele has published eighteen novels and nearly one hundred short stories. His work has received numerous accolades, including three Hugo Awards, and has been translated worldwide, mainly into languages he can’t read. He serves on the board of advisors for the Space Frontier Foundation and is a member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. He also belongs to Sigma, a group of science fiction writers who frequently serve as unpaid consultants on matters regarding technology and security.
Allen Steele is a lifelong space buff, and this interest has not only influenced his writing, it has taken him to some interesting places. He has witnessed numerous space shuttle launches from Kennedy Space Center and has flown NASA’s shuttle cockpit simulator at the Johnson Space Center. In 2001, he testified before the US House of Representatives in hearings regarding the future of space exploration. He would like very much to go into orbit, and hopes that one day he’ll be able to afford to do so.
Steele lives in western Massachusetts with his wife, Linda, and a continual procession of adopted dogs. He collects vintage science fiction books and magazines, spacecraft model kits, and dreams.
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
July 19, 2020
Rereading this after a decade or so, I am struck by how clever this novel is. Clarke County, Space is a large space station habitat, consisting of multiple linked toruses, and the first to be inhabited by 'normal' people; functioning as a true space colony. The year is around 2050. Some of the inhabitants are with the 'Ark', a neo-Amish group in charge of agriculture. The main powers on the station are the Ark representatives and various corporate entities with a vested interest in the project. Clarke County attracts a strange variety of humanity-- tourists, hackers, settlers, and in this book, the Church of Elvis.
There are several integrated subplots, the most prominent being the 'moll' of a nasty crime boss, Macy, who fled to Clarke County with the real records of his business dealings; enough to put him away for life. She does not get away clean, and both the mob boss and the FBI knows where she is going. The mob boss sends the 'golem', his best hit man, to kill her and retrieve and/or destroy the records. What little police presence there is on the station consists of a sheriff (Bigthorn, a big American Indian introduced in Orbital Decay) and six deputies. The FBI know of Macy's flight, and alert Bigthorn about it, but when the police try to take her into protective custody, she pulls a rabbit, and eventually ends up with the Elvis crew as cover. The Church of Elvis is on Clarke County to stage a revival that will be broadcast to Earth. The founder of the Church of Elvis is basically a con man living on the donations of his followers (in the guise of Elvis's second material manifestation). Another character is the mysterious narrator, McCoy, who tells the events of Clarke County to a journalist off Cape Canaveral for posterity's sake.
In a way, Clarke County is something of a slapstick comedy-- I mean, the Church of Elvis?-- and it is laced with humor. Yet, there is also a serious side, with Clarke County about to stage a debate on leaving the US and becoming independent, using the USA's own declaration of independence as its manifesto. What is the proper balance between corporate and public interests plays no small role, as does the cynical quest for power among certain people. Further, I consider this a 'hard' science fiction novel, as Steele really did his homework concerning possible space stations and what they might be like in the near future. The plot is clever, and leaves you guessing until the end. Since this was written in the 1980s, some of the tech is very dated, but the tech is secondary to the main plot in any case.
There are several integrated subplots, the most prominent being the 'moll' of a nasty crime boss, Macy, who fled to Clarke County with the real records of his business dealings; enough to put him away for life. She does not get away clean, and both the mob boss and the FBI knows where she is going. The mob boss sends the 'golem', his best hit man, to kill her and retrieve and/or destroy the records. What little police presence there is on the station consists of a sheriff (Bigthorn, a big American Indian introduced in Orbital Decay) and six deputies. The FBI know of Macy's flight, and alert Bigthorn about it, but when the police try to take her into protective custody, she pulls a rabbit, and eventually ends up with the Elvis crew as cover. The Church of Elvis is on Clarke County to stage a revival that will be broadcast to Earth. The founder of the Church of Elvis is basically a con man living on the donations of his followers (in the guise of Elvis's second material manifestation). Another character is the mysterious narrator, McCoy, who tells the events of Clarke County to a journalist off Cape Canaveral for posterity's sake.
In a way, Clarke County is something of a slapstick comedy-- I mean, the Church of Elvis?-- and it is laced with humor. Yet, there is also a serious side, with Clarke County about to stage a debate on leaving the US and becoming independent, using the USA's own declaration of independence as its manifesto. What is the proper balance between corporate and public interests plays no small role, as does the cynical quest for power among certain people. Further, I consider this a 'hard' science fiction novel, as Steele really did his homework concerning possible space stations and what they might be like in the near future. The plot is clever, and leaves you guessing until the end. Since this was written in the 1980s, some of the tech is very dated, but the tech is secondary to the main plot in any case.
August 3, 2017
This was an enjoyable read, if not too deep. It was written in the early '90s, so it was interesting to see how technology was expected to have advanced. Quite a bit of what's described we're well past, particularly in the field of computers, but others we seem to be behind where things were expected to be at. Some of the more intriguing science in the story wasn't explained at all.
Anyway, the story was enjoyable. The characters were pretty simple, although interesting. The 'plot twist' at the end was a little predictable, too. Like many of Steele's other novels, this is pretty close to a story that could easily have been set on Earth in contemporary times (or in the recent past), but there are a few elements that make this sci-fi rather than just fiction. There are also a few themes, like homesteading, corporate greed, government corruption, religious fanaticism, etc. that I've seen in several of Steele's other books, too. They weren't too blatant here though. So while I enjoyed the book and didn't feel like it was a chore to read, it wasn't an outstanding book that I couldn't put down, either.
Anyway, the story was enjoyable. The characters were pretty simple, although interesting. The 'plot twist' at the end was a little predictable, too. Like many of Steele's other novels, this is pretty close to a story that could easily have been set on Earth in contemporary times (or in the recent past), but there are a few elements that make this sci-fi rather than just fiction. There are also a few themes, like homesteading, corporate greed, government corruption, religious fanaticism, etc. that I've seen in several of Steele's other books, too. They weren't too blatant here though. So while I enjoyed the book and didn't feel like it was a chore to read, it wasn't an outstanding book that I couldn't put down, either.
March 3, 2017
Excellent (as in very plausible) descriptions of an orbital habitat, but only three characters are developed enough to make the reader care about them. As always, Allen Steele gets the science right, builds a compelling intrigue, but the ending seems a bit rushed, and I have to read the rest of the novels in the Near Space series to see if the final revelation pays off somewhere along the way. Nice twist, anyway. And a very enjoyable read, in all.
November 2, 2017
This is the second book in Allen Steele's Near Space series. This book is about mankind's first space colony. It is in cislunar orbit about 200,000 miles from Earth. It is called Clarke County and was named after Arthur C. Clarke. Clarke County has decided to declare it's independence from Earth. Into this turmoil comes a woman running from a notorious gangster. She is being chased by a hitman out to kill her and retrieve some tapes she has stolen which could send the gangster to prison for life. Meanwhile the Church of Elvis is holding it's convention at Clarke County and one of it's more zealous members has the codes to send a nuclear missile to destroy Clarke County. It is up to the local sheriff to save the girl and catch the killer while a mysterious man named McCoy and Clarke County's A.I. try to stop the missile. This book is a great read with plenty of action and I recommend it.
May 24, 2025
Enjoyable, although it seems a bit derivative of The Moon is a Harsh Mistress. And I have a quibble with the science:
Mr. Steele talks about the "long night" and phrases it as if the station experiences hours of darkness every day as it passes through Earth's shadow. He also states the station orbits from 100,000 to 200,000 miles above the Earth (the latter putting it almost out to Lunar orbit). That far out, the entire width of the Earth's shadow would represent a tiny fraction of the station's orbit. It would take between 2 and 3 weeks to orbit the Earth (according to online Earth Orbit calculators), and spend no more than several hours in the shadow. "Night" would be an infrequent event, and I'd be surprised if it wasn't a regular excuse for partying.
Other than that, though, it was worth reading.
Mr. Steele talks about the "long night" and phrases it as if the station experiences hours of darkness every day as it passes through Earth's shadow. He also states the station orbits from 100,000 to 200,000 miles above the Earth (the latter putting it almost out to Lunar orbit). That far out, the entire width of the Earth's shadow would represent a tiny fraction of the station's orbit. It would take between 2 and 3 weeks to orbit the Earth (according to online Earth Orbit calculators), and spend no more than several hours in the shadow. "Night" would be an infrequent event, and I'd be surprised if it wasn't a regular excuse for partying.
Other than that, though, it was worth reading.
November 14, 2019
I read this book back in the 1990's shortly after it was released. It was set in the future at a date of about now. There's an assassin on the loose and that puts this pleasant low-profile near-future space colony on high alert. They just want to be left alone but the situation does not allow for it.
Steele's early books are wonderful to read. He knows how to depict true Blue collar characters and he has a keen sense of how to illustrate the impact future science has on the lives of his characters. Very Astounding/Analog of him. Quite a good book.
Steele's early books are wonderful to read. He knows how to depict true Blue collar characters and he has a keen sense of how to illustrate the impact future science has on the lives of his characters. Very Astounding/Analog of him. Quite a good book.
October 18, 2018
Steele riffs on The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, with some different elements which don't add much and, unfortunately, repeating the most implausible aspect of Heinlein's book with even less satisfying effect. It's still a decent poolside read for SF fans, but not one that will stick with you once you put it down.
February 24, 2019
One of the first Steele books I read. (This was my 3rd time through). Love the grittiness of his first bunch of books before Sci-Fi culture seeped in. Still one of my favourite authors of Sci-Fi but as he refined his subject it lost its edge of realism (Orbital Decay and Lunar Descent come to mind).
January 25, 2024
4.5/5
Medium SciFi. Not super hard, not so light as to be unbelievable. Populated by people that feel real and lived in. Also, the author lives in or lived in New Hampshire and very slight local things keep popping up, which was nice.
A few things didn't seem plausible like the Soviet Union still existing and the deus ex machina at the end. But a nice enjoyable sci fi book.
Medium SciFi. Not super hard, not so light as to be unbelievable. Populated by people that feel real and lived in. Also, the author lives in or lived in New Hampshire and very slight local things keep popping up, which was nice.
A few things didn't seem plausible like the Soviet Union still existing and the deus ex machina at the end. But a nice enjoyable sci fi book.
September 8, 2020
Admittedly, this novel has a limited audience, but if you are a member of that audience, it will satisfy.
It's the perfect confection for STEM-oriented folks born during the cold war, who spent their adolescence with their head in Earth orbit, but who kept current with popular culture.
It's the perfect confection for STEM-oriented folks born during the cold war, who spent their adolescence with their head in Earth orbit, but who kept current with popular culture.
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February 8, 2023A sheriff on a space station has to handle terrorists and a cult devoted to Elvis. A lot is happening in this novel. Most of it interesting. This Steele's first work and one can see the need for polishing. The church of Elvis is hysterical. Its OK but Steele has written better.
June 14, 2019
I found, like most of Steele's writings, things dragged for what seemed an over-long time. It seemed apparent to me that Steele too, had partaken of various of Carlos Castenada's writings.
October 12, 2023
In order to complete the adventure, we had both a god AI and a time traveler. And that's after foreshadowing with a vision quest. Sigh.
January 30, 2014
This was one of the most absolutely delightful books I've ever read! I love Allen Steele! What a story!
The story begins with a older, veteran writer being approached by a stranger who wants to tell him the "real" story of Clarke County, a constructed space colony which I think is near the moon. In this story, you meet the Church of Elvis and its con man mastermind, a rich girlfriend of a mobster on the run with cash and important computer disks that he'll kill to recapture, the hit man sent after her, the Indian police chief of Clarke County, and many other interesting characters.
We first meet John Bighorn taking peyote so he can have interpretive dreams. When he wakes, he finds the wife of one of the local politicians who wants to bed him. He declines. We're then transported to the transport bringing the girlfriend in first class, and the assassin and the church in third class, where they're frozen "zombies" for the trip. Upon waking, the assassin talks with the Living Elvis and it's pretty funny. The FBI is involved, if only to ask Bighorn to keep an eye out for and on the girl, which he does. He finds "the golem," (the assassin) and warns him away, thus gaining his eternal enmity. Meanwhile, someone has distributed via the electronic bulletin boards a call for Clarke County to declare its independence from Earth and become a self sustaining nation, which elicits a great deal of controversy. In fact, this mysterious person can apparently appear in electronic form just about anywhere and while he plays some pranks at times, he's quite useful to Bighorn throughout the book.
The Church of Elvis is onsite for a televised revival, to grab more members and fill the coffers. The girlfriend, Macy, hides out as a cultist with these people, only to be spotted on TV by the golem, who goes after her. She's abducted by the police first to put her under protection, but there are only seven policemen for the entire colony and they don't even have lethal firearms, just tasers. Suffice it to say there's a great shoot out scene and a showdown between the golem and Bighorn, but the book also brings into play a nuclear warhead that's been hanging in space for awhile and which an Elvis hacker has broken into to and sent toward Clarke County. Zounds!
The story ends in a satisfying manner and we're taken back full circle to the beginning of the novel, where we find the two men talking. And we discover the topic of time travel. Interesting, and unexpected. If I could give this book 10 stars, I would. I just thoroughly enjoyed it and I strongly recommend it.
The story begins with a older, veteran writer being approached by a stranger who wants to tell him the "real" story of Clarke County, a constructed space colony which I think is near the moon. In this story, you meet the Church of Elvis and its con man mastermind, a rich girlfriend of a mobster on the run with cash and important computer disks that he'll kill to recapture, the hit man sent after her, the Indian police chief of Clarke County, and many other interesting characters.
We first meet John Bighorn taking peyote so he can have interpretive dreams. When he wakes, he finds the wife of one of the local politicians who wants to bed him. He declines. We're then transported to the transport bringing the girlfriend in first class, and the assassin and the church in third class, where they're frozen "zombies" for the trip. Upon waking, the assassin talks with the Living Elvis and it's pretty funny. The FBI is involved, if only to ask Bighorn to keep an eye out for and on the girl, which he does. He finds "the golem," (the assassin) and warns him away, thus gaining his eternal enmity. Meanwhile, someone has distributed via the electronic bulletin boards a call for Clarke County to declare its independence from Earth and become a self sustaining nation, which elicits a great deal of controversy. In fact, this mysterious person can apparently appear in electronic form just about anywhere and while he plays some pranks at times, he's quite useful to Bighorn throughout the book.
The Church of Elvis is onsite for a televised revival, to grab more members and fill the coffers. The girlfriend, Macy, hides out as a cultist with these people, only to be spotted on TV by the golem, who goes after her. She's abducted by the police first to put her under protection, but there are only seven policemen for the entire colony and they don't even have lethal firearms, just tasers. Suffice it to say there's a great shoot out scene and a showdown between the golem and Bighorn, but the book also brings into play a nuclear warhead that's been hanging in space for awhile and which an Elvis hacker has broken into to and sent toward Clarke County. Zounds!
The story ends in a satisfying manner and we're taken back full circle to the beginning of the novel, where we find the two men talking. And we discover the topic of time travel. Interesting, and unexpected. If I could give this book 10 stars, I would. I just thoroughly enjoyed it and I strongly recommend it.
March 30, 2016
Allen Steele is the best writer of realistic SF, a fact that can be seen clearly in this novel.
We are at Clarke County (a clear homage to Arthur C. Clarke), a Bernal type station orbiting the Lagrange point 5.
We are witnessing some lives intertwined in a crucial moment for the colony:
* the sheriff began a relationship with the wife of the most important man of Clarke County,
* a woman is on the run from her lover unaware to bring along vital information;
* believers of a new sect that sees Elvis Presley as their god meet on the train for a special event,
* a mysterious man controls events by communicating with artificial intelligence that controls the station.
There is a lot of irons in the fire (perhaps too much), though the characters are very human and plausible even in the context of terrestrial space, a setting very believable and charming, which is the strong point of the novel.
Unfortunately the plot is resolved in a quick thriller, which although well managed, is a bit disappointing. The ending then takes the reader to a further degree of Suspension of disbelief that frankly I struggled to reach
I trust more in the other novels of the cycle, hoping that they are at the level of Orbital Decay Orbital Decay.
We are at Clarke County (a clear homage to Arthur C. Clarke), a Bernal type station orbiting the Lagrange point 5.
We are witnessing some lives intertwined in a crucial moment for the colony:
* the sheriff began a relationship with the wife of the most important man of Clarke County,
* a woman is on the run from her lover unaware to bring along vital information;
* believers of a new sect that sees Elvis Presley as their god meet on the train for a special event,
* a mysterious man controls events by communicating with artificial intelligence that controls the station.
There is a lot of irons in the fire (perhaps too much), though the characters are very human and plausible even in the context of terrestrial space, a setting very believable and charming, which is the strong point of the novel.
Unfortunately the plot is resolved in a quick thriller, which although well managed, is a bit disappointing. The ending then takes the reader to a further degree of Suspension of disbelief that frankly I struggled to reach
I trust more in the other novels of the cycle, hoping that they are at the level of Orbital Decay Orbital Decay.
November 15, 2019
Steele, Allen. Clarke County, Space. Near Space No. 2. Century, 1991.
Rereading this novel about life and crime on a Lagrange point orbital habitat, I was struck by the semi-seriousness with which Steele takes the idea of a cult based on a pop icon like Elvis. He uses the developing character of the station AI to deepen the trope. The AI itself has unaccountably identified itself with Bob Dylan—if he had a body, he says, young Bob is the body he would like to have. When he is concealing his identity and his new consciousness, he adopts the screen name Blind Boy Grunt that Bob used early in his career when he was working as a studio session man. Interestingly, Grunt communicates through onscreen messages that resemble tweets. It goes to show you, there are at least two kinds of prescience.
Rereading this novel about life and crime on a Lagrange point orbital habitat, I was struck by the semi-seriousness with which Steele takes the idea of a cult based on a pop icon like Elvis. He uses the developing character of the station AI to deepen the trope. The AI itself has unaccountably identified itself with Bob Dylan—if he had a body, he says, young Bob is the body he would like to have. When he is concealing his identity and his new consciousness, he adopts the screen name Blind Boy Grunt that Bob used early in his career when he was working as a studio session man. Interestingly, Grunt communicates through onscreen messages that resemble tweets. It goes to show you, there are at least two kinds of prescience.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 26, 2015
Steele does a wonderful job with details of the logistics, economics, and demographics of Clarke County, a recreational world in space. Writing style is witty and one must dig through that to get to the stories. The omniscient characters are annoying and distract from the scifi whodunit, which I think is the point? Some say that it ends poorly, but I wouldn't know because I never got there. Boring in the middle and I've got better things to do than spend time in that dimension. This two star rating is going downhill from the last 3 star rating of book #1; thus, I'm thinking that this "Near Space" series is done for me.
August 10, 2016
The author Allen Steele got his master's at the University of Missouri and few small details of this story made it seem rather close to home for me, St. Louis ganster mob boss bad guy, Stephen's College co-ed mistress on the run...the flavor of Steele's world building reminds me of Varley, the plot twists and character development are completely engrossing, a very tight spacer tale. Steele's Native American lead character Sheriff Bigthorn comes off as very real, his connection with the mystical Coyote majorly fortuitous for Clark County.
April 2, 2023
Almost two different cohabitating plots here, which taken separately may have amounted to something, but shoved together like this? Well, meh... The sheriff is one of those almost classic Sam Spade type of characters I can almost like, but he is so out of place in a setting like this it borders on the absurd. Blind Boy Grunt held some promise, but hardly lived up to early built expectations. And the all too stereotypical crime-family moll bias with little in the way of brains just .... well just didn't.
May 31, 2015
This is one of the best novels in Steele's Near-Space sequence. It embraces Lunar sociological themes that Heinlein explored (without the dogmatic politics!), Native-American mysticism in space, time travel, and blue-collar life in orbit. All the aspects are neatly mixed together, wrapped in a familiar framework of journalistic exploration, and a compelling story with realistic characters results. This is a good one!
October 28, 2011
Set in the same universe as Orbital Decay and Lunar Descent, this novel is set in an orbital habitat. It lacks any of the things that made the first two books good.
http://www.books.rosboch.net/?p=1309
http://www.books.rosboch.net/?p=1309
January 10, 2011
This one was better than the first which hopefully means the next three will be even better!
February 23, 2012
Fast reading adventure story, simular to "A Moon is a Harsh Mistress" by Heinland but without the politics. Am going to re-read Moon to make sure.
November 6, 2013
Good old style near earth space colony book just great reading has spies - gangsters - Navaho cops - time travels and old space dogs
February 8, 2015
Starts well, ends poorly.
June 2, 2015
A good hard scifi piece. Good characters with defined needs.
February 20, 2016
Good read
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Thanks. Nineteen more words required. Get get grew kinds nieces hi-tech I'm f s Gregg hatch hefty hotdog :) hui
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August 23, 2008isbn,original
August 12, 2017
quite a boring book. I thought the plot was about a revolution, turns out it's about, well nothing really. maybe I thought too shallow for this book, but it seemed to be scattered everywhere, focusing on too many groups of people and never getting to anything that mattered. I dreaded picking up this book and had to force myself to finish it so I could move on to something else.
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