Children of the Comet

In the very far future, on top of a gigantic tree rooted in the ice ball of a comet, a young man's rite-of-passage journey leads to unexpected encounters that threaten to destroy his native civilization

In this brand-new cosmic adventure by the author of The Genesis Quest and The Jupiter Theft, Torris, son of the Facemaker, knows only his small community at the base of the great Tree and his daily struggle for survival, harvesting frozen air to keep breathing, dodging web beasts and flutterbeasts and hunting meatbeasts for food. When it comes time for his vision quest to the top of the Tree, he is completely unprepared for what he finds: first, a thieving and hostile fellow quester; then, Ning, a female hunter from a neighboring tree-bearing comet, who has catapulted across empty space in search of food to save her family; and ultimately, alien visitors in a massive starship that has spent billions of years crossing the galaxy.

Forced to kill a fellow human and then banished for it, shocked at the cultural differences between his home and Ning's, and stunned by the changes precipitated by the arrival of the spaceship, Torris must learn quickly, adapt even faster, and face an uncertain and rapidly changing future unlike anything he has ever imagined.

Donald Moffitt has created a fast-paced epic that delivers galaxy-sized surprises, an inventive and unique environment, and an astonishing prophecy for the future of mankind.