The Dark Beyond the Stars (signed by the author)

New York; (1991): TOR. First Edition. Octavo. . 408 pages. Signed and dated by the author. Robinson reinvents the Heinleinesque conceit of the generational starship gone awry. For 2,000 years the Astron has been searching for other forms of life in the galaxy. Since the now-legendary Launch, more than 100 generations of crew members have been born, performed their duties of ship maintenance and planetary exploration and gone to the "Reduction" vats for recycling; only the single-minded Captain Kusaka has been kept intact, like an immortal Ahab, to oversee a mission that has yet to find anything even vaguely resembling a living creature. Bit by bit, the very fabric of the ship is falling apart. Not surprisingly, there are grumbles of rebellion among the crew, who think that it is time to turn around and return to Earth. Mr. Robinson gives Kusaka a worthy antagonist in the person of Sparrow, a young crewman whose loss of memory after a suspicious accident conceals a deeper mystery about his identity. By watching over Sparrow's shoulder as he learns the truth about himself and the ship, the reader comes to appreciate the sense of urgency that quickens both sides in the debate. A remarkable parable about the preciousness of life. He was also speechwriter and advisor to Harvey Milk, San Francisco Supervisor, who was assassinated in 1978. A fine bright copy bound in blue paper covered boards, spine lettering black, in a fine unclipped pictorial dust jacket. Very nice. [Anatomy of Wonder (2004) II-911].