Book 4 of The Queendom of Sol
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In the conclusion to this epic interstellar adventure by Nebula Award nominee Wil McCarthy, humanity stands at a crossroads as the heroes who fashioned a man-made heaven must rescue their descendants from eternal damnation….
Once the Queendom of Sol was a glowing monument to humankind’s loftiest dreams. Ageless and immortal, its citizens lived in peaceful splendor. But as Sol buckled under the swell of an immorbid population, space itself literally ran out….
Conrad Mursk has returned to Sol on the crippled starship Newhope. His crew are the frozen refugees of a failed colony known as Barnard’s Star. A thousand years older, Mursk finds Sol on the brink of rebellion, while a fanatic necro cult is reviving death itself. Now Mursk and his lover, Captain Xiomara “Xmary” Li Weng, are sent on a final, desperate mission by King Bruno de Towaji–one of the greatest terraformers of the ages–to literally crush the moon. If they succeed, they’ll save billions of lost souls. If they fail, they’ll strand humanity between death–and something unimaginably worse….
Awards, Citations, Etc.
Locus “New and Notable”
#9 on Discover Magazine “Best 10 Science Fiction Planets”
Finalist for the Philip K. Dick Award
Finalist for the Nebula Award
Reviews
“A first-rate talent, [with a] whimsical sense of humor and wildly inventive mind. Scientifically plausible, even elegant… like the best work of the masters. McCarthy has consistently topped himself in each installment of this idiosyncratic joyride of a space opera, and the present volume is no exception. Why deprive yourself of the pleasure?” — Paul Whitcover, SciFi.com
“Thrilling. Scintillating. Cheeky and playful. The prose is clever [and] the story is satisfying on multiple levels. This is what 21st century science fiction ought to be..” — Rich Horton, Locus
“The book is a brilliant and satisfying climax. The setting, the science, and the events are as strange and charming and mysterious as a subatomic particle. The writing is witty and urbane, but the tale is one of great deeds and great woes. Hard SF simply does not come better than this.” — John C. Wright, author of The Golden Age
“Outer space noir science fiction with a gothic feel. TO CRUSH THE MOON is cutting edge science fiction at its very best.” — Harriet Klausner, The Book Forum
“McCarthy’s books are effervescent.” — Robert Folsom, The Kansas City Star
“It’s got attitude, and McCarthy’s speculations are beyond astounding.” — Clay Evans, The Boulder Daily Camera
“Equal measure of advanced science, wry humor, and considered philosophizing [that] has real relevance in a time of runaway technological progress. Both realistic… and optimistic.” — Cheryl Morgan, Emerald City
“[McCarthy’s] utopia… reaches its end. A fun, cautionary tale..” — Henry Leon Lazarus, The Philadelipha Weekly Press
“A gripping and surprisingly tidy conclusion to the saga of the Queendom of Sol.” — Regina Schroeder, Booklist
“A human and engaging story, hung on plausible but boggling technologies. The author has done his math [and] the major characters are realized well, with fears and hopes and regrets enough to make them seem rounded.” — The San Diego Union Tribune
“Just about as good as SF can get. His science is apparently impeccable, but what’s always impressed me the most about these books is how human his characters are.” — Michael H. Payne, SFWA Circulating Book Plan
“Excellent. Witty. A great novel for many reasons. I fell in love with the wonderful mix of character development and hard SF that Wil McCarthy provides.” — Daniel Roy, Alt-Shift.com
“Top notch. Tightly written. The writing shows a variety of dry humor and satiric wit. Despite being the fourth installment in a series, the story is fully comprehensible, no more strange than picking up a copy of Neuromancer for the first time. McCarthy seems to be a member, along with others like David Brin, Vernor Vinge, and Joan Slonczewski, of a third group: scientists who can write. “ — Stacie Haines, The New York Review of Science Fiction
“The author has created a story worthy of Tolkien and Niven. It’s terrific stuff and McCarthy should be proud of the whole thing. I was happy to have some closure, to find that even for the immorbid, stories have an end. Highly recommended.” — Ernest Lilley, SFRevu