Poor Man's Sky

Rich Man's Sky #2

by Wil McCarthy

THE LUNAR MONASTERY TAUGHT PEOPLE HOW TO LIVE IN SPACE . . . AND THEN ONE OF ITS STUDENTS WAS MURDERED

Who owns the future?

Homicide detective Raimy Vaught is a losing contestant on the biggest reality show the colonization of Mars. Brother Michael is a Benedictine monk who just wants to help the future happen. Andrei Bykhovski is an asteroid miner desperately escaping indentured servitude. Bridget Tobin is a hydroponic farmer studying the greenhouses of Luna.

But when a fellow Mars contestant drops dead at a Lunar monastery, these four souls will find themselves on a collision course with forces far beyond the control of trillionaires or nation states. As labor disputes erupt across cislunar space, the actions of individual people will determine whose future will prevail . . . and whose will perish.

Praise for Poor Man's Sky :

“ Full bore show-your-work SF and a tense lunar mystery! A thrilling read.” —Max Gladstone, Hugo and Nebula Award-winning author

“Wil McCarthy’s skill at crafting a believable, deeply science-grounded future is on full display. He brings us the mother of all locked-room mysteries wrapped in a vision of lunar colonization that rings a bit more true than we might be comfortable with. Small, gritty moments of inspired futurism pepper Poor Man’s Sky and remind us that no matter where we go, our human nature follows.” —Kimberly Unger, author of The Extractionist and Nucleation

About Rich Man's Sky :
“Action SF built on a hard foundation of cutting-edge science.” —Walter Jon Williams

“An action-crammed story that darts at hyper-speed from Burning Man, Nevada, to Suriname to a convent on the Moon to an orbiting colony that’s clearly up to something. A jam-packed adventure fizzing with mind-blowing concepts, and a great read!” —Connie Willis

“A hard science fiction tour de force, populated by memorable characters in a tale of intrigue, adventure, and irresistible market forces.” —Linda Nagata

About
“. . . gripping and . . . grounded in archaeology.” — Publishers Weekly

“. . . plenty of verisimilitude . . . superbly intriguing and captivating . . . bravura historical recreations, full of conjectural material. . . . Presenting us with a colorful cast of characters from across the millennia who have thick and rich existences, and affirming that the cosmic stream of life flows forcefully despite all small blockades, McCarthy has written a novel that looks both forwards and backwards, thus making a stellar return to the field.” — Locus

About Wil
“McCarthy is an entertaining, intelligent, amusing writer, with Heinlein’s knack for breakneck plotting and, at the same time, Clarke’s thoughtfulness.” — Booklist

“Imagination really is the only limit.” — The New York Times

“The future as McCarthy sees it is a wondrous place.” — Publishers Weekly

“A bright light on the SF horizon.” —David Brin

“Wil McCarthy demonstrates that he has a sharp intelligence, a galaxy-spanning imagination, and the solid scientific background to make it all work.” —Connie Willis

“In nearly every passage, we get another slice of the science of McCarthy’s construction, and a deeper sense of danger and foreboding . . . McCarthy develops considerable tension.” — San Diego Union-Tribune

“An ingenious yarn with challenging ideas, well-handled technical details, and plenty of twists and turns.” — Kirkus

"McCarthy's writing is prescient and engaging. Always a great read!" —Tim Akers

Genres: Science Fiction, Mystery

352 pages, Hardcover

First published January 3, 2023

About the author

Science fiction author and Chief Technology Officer for Galileo Shipyards


Engineer/Novelist/Journalist/Entrepreneur Wil McCarthy is a former contributing editor for WIRED magazine and science columnist for the SyFy channel (previously SciFi channel), where his popular "Lab Notes" column ran from 1999 through 2009. A lifetime member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, he has been nominated for the Nebula, Locus, Seiun, AnLab, Colorado Book, Theodore Sturgeon and Philip K. Dick awards, and contributed to projects that won a Webbie, an Eppie, a Game Developers' Choice Award, and a General Excellence National Magazine Award. In addition, his imaginary world of "P2", from the novel LOST IN TRANSMISSION, was rated one of the 10 best science fiction planets of all time by Discover magazine. His short fiction has graced the pages of magazines like Analog, Asimov's, WIRED, and SF Age, and his novels include the New York Times Notable BLOOM, Amazon.com "Best of Y2K" THE COLLAPSIUM (a national bestseller) and, most recently, TO CRUSH THE MOON. He has also written for TV, appeared on The History Channel and The Science Channel, and published nonfiction in half a dozen magazines, including WIRED, Discover, GQ, Popular Mechanics, IEEE Spectrum, and the Journal of Applied Polymer Science. Previously a flight controller for Lockheed Martin Space Launch Systems and later an engineering manager for Omnitech Robotics, McCarthy is now the president and Chief Technology Officer of RavenBrick LLC in Denver, CO, a developer of smart window technologies. He lives in Colorado with his family

Reviews

[Howard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Poor Man's Sky is book 2 in the Rich Man's Sky series by Wil McCarthy. I want to thank Baen for providing me with this eARC, in return for an honest review. For a synopsis I suggest you go to Amazon or Goodreads.

I did not find it to be a handicap not having read book one. The set up is a future with space colonization beginning within the solar system. There are already communities on the moon, some space stations, and a competition to be part of a planned community on Mars.

Poor Man's Sky story revolves around the apparent murder of one of the competitors for the Mars trip on the moon. It so happens that one of the contestants is a former Navy diver, attorney, and a current police officer, and he is asked to investigate the death as one of the few with the skill set to investigate on the moon. This story is a compelling police procedural, and exploration of the difficulties of life on a lunar community.

The book is excellent at detailing what it means to travel in space, live on the moon, and what Mars might be like. The author is extremely knowledgeable, and is able to explain things through the police procedural in a way which neatly fits into the narrative.

Another interesting aspect of the book is the social political, which seems driven by current aspects of our society. There are four trillionaires (the four horsemen) that are driving space exploration. The idea that space exploration and space communities are playthings of the extremely wealthy is discussed in a way which is not overly pedantic. (I would guess that this idea is more fully addressed in the first book in the series.)

Clearly another book in the series is anticipated. Not sure whether any of the characters will continue (beyond the four horsemen).

So to recap, the book is an engrossing police procedural, a fascinating exploration of the nitty gritty of space travel, and a continuing philosophical discussion of the morality of scientific progress driven by economic elites. Highly recommended.

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first 1/3 to 1/2 of this book was extremely tedious, but it gets a lot better. The tedious beginning somewhat served a point for the plot, but it was extremely tedious and would have caused a smarter reader to just abandon the book.

Definitely inferior to the first book, and doesn't recap enough of the first book to completely make sense for a reader who hasn't recently read the first book. Some libertarian themes, but not "preachily" so; mostly about different groups and their different motivations all working together in the end through the magic mediation of commerce and free trade.

The writing was extra-tedious due to the main character's focus on inherently tedious topics (race, sex) in a few places, made worse by a somewhat-plodding audiobook version, but the underlying plot was solid. I think this entire (unfinished as of now) trilogy could have been one really good single novel, given a good editor.

[Howard Brazee]

This is a Sequel to Rich Man's Sky, but the two books don't need to be read in order.

There are trillionaires running businesses in orbit they are not seen as much in this book as in the first book. This book has more of the employees living in orbit and on the moon.

Plans for colonizing Mars. Lots of people are in the queue to be in the first colonizing ship. One person who is at the top of his queue is murdered on the moon. The main plot is investigating the murder.

These books have lots of detail on the technologies needed. Along with an appendix.

[Robert Williscroft · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author, Wil McCarthy, clearly knows his engineering and science. On top of that, he tells a great story and is a good writer. If you like hard science fiction, Poor Man’s Sky will please you greatly. Even if you are not a fan of hard science fiction, Poor Man’s Sky is still a good read—just skip over the sciencey parts.

This is the second book in the Rich Man’s Sky Series. The underlying premise is that four trillionaires (the Four Horsemen) control virtually all access to space. One is setting up a Mars colony to be populated by 46 men and 46 women, each vying for a slot on the mission. Something akin to modern social media followers who make financial contributions to their causes determine their ultimate participation. Another Horseman is deeply occupied on the Moon, another at ESL1 (Earth-Sun Lagrange point 1), and the fourth in a controlling position in cislunar space.

A first-place contender for one slot on the Mars mission dies on the Moon under questionable circumstances. Raimy Vaught, a black Colorado Springs cop and third place contender for Male Administrator of the Mars mission, is hired to solve the matter. Vaughn is not your typical square-jawed, swashbuckling hero. He’s a good detective, but he’s flawed, and he knows it. While following Vaught to the Moon, the reader earns about the Moon, Mars, and space operations in general. Author McCarthy takes us not only to the Moon and the Catholic monastery near the Moon’s South Pole where the death happened, but also to Lunar headquarters, cislunar and Earthside operations.

Poor Man’s Sky is a great read with a satisfying ending that opens the door to future stories in this series.

[Horhe · Rating 5 out of 5]

My review of the first book in the series was less than complimentary. However, the sequel fixes much of what was wrong with the first one. The dialogue is much better, the characters are more interesting and the plot and pacing are much more competent. Raimy is simply a better character than whatshername Alice. Overall, I liked this book much better and the monastery in space angle was very interesting. Unfortunately, this places the series in an odd situation, because what is happening here is only a chronological sequel, but the action has little to do with the characters and plot from the first book. I guess the third one will tie them together. Nevertheless, it is odd to have such a quality seesaw from one book to another and I will read the third book with some trepidation. I also found it funny that the book has zero sex in it after the two scenes plus an orgy in the first one, but it takes place mostly in a monastery.

PS Michael is still so cringe when he writes these letters.

[Lawrence Schoen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Delighted to see an author make proper use of the Carrot & Stick idea. My faith in humanity is redeemed.

[Bill · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good hard science fiction detective story that complements its predecessor, Rich Man's Sky, very well.

[MARK F RUTH · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a fun story continuing the science and setting of "Rich Man's Sky" with a really interesting murder mystery (and cover up) thrown in.

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read Poor Man’s Sky, by Wil McCArthy, out now from Baen. I’ve always wanted to read a Baen book, but for some reason I kept putting it off. I’m glad I picked up McCarthy’s latest. It’s part of a three book series and while I think I missed some points because I hadn’t read book one in that series, overall I think it stood alone pretty well. Here’s what I liked:

Characters- I really liked Michael, the prior of the Catholic mission on the moon base. He was smart without being pretentious and he clearly knew things based on experience from real life, not academia. I think that makes the best ministers, whatever the denomination or religion. I’m not Catholic myself, but I found myself liking Michael quite a bit and would love to get to know his character more. I also liked Raimy, the MC and detective. He is realistic, has flaws that both contribute and don’t contribute to the story, and he isn’t immediately poised to save the day. I like him quite a bit.

What I didn’t like:
I first thought that Baen had intended to release these books in quick succession due to the sort of jolt toward the end of the book that signaled the teaser to the next novel in the series. I get that. I’m just about ready to go get book three myself. However, there are some things lost in that suddenly, as the book is being tidied up at the end, the bad person is found out, and the arrest is being made, I’m being jolted toward the next book. That felt a little unsettling, especially since that pull wasn’t necessary for the current plot. Not a deal breaker per se, but it was annoying.

Once again, I liked the book and I’m glad I got it. 4 of 5 stars.

[Jim Henderson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an enjoyable book, but veers from the main plot of settlement to pursue a murder mystery. This goes fairly well and makes for a pretty good mystery. There are, however, a few scenes that seem dubious and the main character's background is hard to believe.

Aside from the story, the narrator wasn't ideal. He seemed perfect for the main character, but he didn't do very well with other voices. In some cases, he'd be voicing a character with a Russian accent but would then slip into a totally different voice. Perhaps because of the problem with diverse voices, the dialogue all used a LOT of dialogue tags which got to be pretty annoying.

I recommend the book and the series, but this book wasn't as good as the first.

[Frank Hagen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meanders around for a while and then the whole story happens in like 100 pages.