Birthright (Resnick)

This brilliant science fiction novel constructs a blueprint of mankind’s history - social, political, economic, scientific, and religious - for the next 18,000 years. Through a series of adventures, it illustrates clear, focused ideas about our birthright and our destiny. Since this 1982 debut, Mike Resnick has emerged as one of the most honored science fiction authors of his time, picking up 40-odd Hugo and Nebula nominations and awards. He has set 25 novels and a novella in the future that was outlined in this book.

He has no bank account on any world, no financial or property holdings that anyone has been able to trace. His planet of origin is unknown. Many men have served him; all but seven are dead, and none of those seven have ever seen him. He is a fugitive. His name is Conrad Bland and he is, for the moment, safe. But someone has sent an assassin to find him - and end him. Chief Detective John Sable is caught between his badge and his conscience as the two most famous executioners of all time prepare to do battle in his territory.

Bandit, murderer, known to all, seen by none...has he killed a thousand men? Has he saved a dozen worlds? His legend is as large as the Rim itself, his trail as elusive as a wisp of starlight in the empty realms of space. The reward for him is the largest in history.

The date is 1966 of the Galactic Era, almost three thousand years from now, and the Republic, created by the human race - but not yet dominated by it - finds itself in an all-out war. They stand against the Teroni Federation, an alliance of races that resent Man's growing military and economic power. The main battles are taking place in the Spiral Arm and toward the Core. But far out on the Rim, the Theodore Roosevelt is one of three ships charged with protecting the Phoenix Cluster.

Seeking to find a new life for themselves, Cole and comrades remake the Teddy R. as a pirate ship and set sail for the lawless Inner Frontier. There, powerful warlords, cut-throat pirates, and struggling colonies compete for survival in a game where you rarely get a second chance to learn the rules. But military discipline is poor preparation for a life of pillaging and plundering.

The life of a mercenary is not always predictable. Circumstance now pits Captain Wilson Cole and the Teddy R. against the former Pirate Queen, Valkyrie. Soon the fragile trust that has grown between these two legends is put to the test as they find themselves on opposite sides of a job.

The date is 1968 of the Galactic Era, almost three thousand years from now. The Republic, dominated by the human race, is in the midst of an all-out war with the Teroni Federation.

Almost a year has passed since the events of Starship: Mercenary. Captain Wilson Cole now commands a fleet of almost 50 ships, and he has become the single greatest military force on the Inner Frontier.

The date is 1970 of the Galactic Era, almost 3,000 from now, and the Republic, created by the human race but not yet dominated by it, finds itself in an all-out war against the Teroni Federation, an alliance of races that resent Man's growing military and economic power. The rebel starship, the Theodore Roosevelt, under the command of Wilson Cole, is preparing to lead Cole's ragtag armada into the Republic, even though he is outnumbered thousands to one.

Thousands of years after mankind has become extinct, a party of alien archeologists try to learn the mysteries of mankind as they excavate in a gorge on Earth. This Hugo and Nebula Award winning novella by Mike Resnick is a gripping exploration of human origins and motivations.