Building Harlequin’s Moon

Get in the xigxag app
Already purchased

Click to open directly in the xigxag app.

This book is not purchasable in your country. Please select another book. Pre-order Buy Now £{{ price }} Send as a gift

Listen to a sample

What to expect

The first interstellar ship, John Glenn, fled a solar system populated by rogue AIs and machine/human hybrids, threatened by too much nanotechnology, and rife with political dangers. The John Glenn’s crew intended to terraform the nearly pristine planet Ymir in hopes of creating a utopian society that will limit intelligent technology, but by some miscalculation they have landed in the wrong system. Short on the antimatter needed to continue to Ymir, they must shape nearby planet Harlequin’s moon, Selene, into a new, temporary home and rebuild their store of antimatter through decades of terraforming.

Gabriel, the head terraformer, now leads this nearly impossible task; his primary tools the uneducated and nearly illiterate children of the original colonists, born and bred to build Harlequin’s moon into a virtual antimatter factory. With no concept of the future and with life defined as duty, one girl, Rachel Vanowen, begins to ask herself, what will become of the children of Selene once the terraforming is complete?

Critics Review

“Niven and Cooper have crafted a multigenerational, star-spanning epic with intriguing, fast-paced action. Against a backdrop of mind-boggling technology, the authors ask important questions about how far science should go and its impact on social structures and human rights. Niven and Cooper are playing God on a grand scale.”

Brian Herbert, New York Times bestselling author

“Fans of both hard and softer, psychological SF will welcome veteran Niven and newcomer Cooper’s well-written tale…Niven and Cooper provide complicated characters, particularly the AI, which struggle with realistic moral dilemmas.”

Publishers Weekly

“Exploiting Niven’s classic flare for world building, he and Cooper craft an entertaining epic with subtexts concerning cultural obsessiveness and the fear and worship of science.”

Booklist

“Recent astronomy hints at a beautiful but stark vision of the solar systems around us. Building Harlequin’s Moon is the best fiction I’ve seen based on this vision.”

Vernor Vinge, Hugo Award–winning author

“Larry Niven and Brenda Cooper’s colonization novel is a hugely ambitious, meticulously rendered feast for both head and heart. I can’t wait to see what they do next!”

Steven Barnes, Hugo-nominated author

“Larry Niven and Brenda Cooper have accomplished that most difficult of tasks, a novel full of real, hard science but character-driven from the first page. The scope is enormous, but the focus is intimate, with characters who live and breathe. A marvelous read!”

Louis Marley, Endeavor Award–winning author

Building Harlequin’s Moon is a big tale, well told. Wonderful world-building and characters you can care about.”

Syne Mitchell, nationally bestselling author

About xigxag

Experience the best audiobooks with xigxag, an innovative and user-friendly audiobook platform designed for seamless discovery, purchase, and enjoyment of your favorite titles. Our flexible pricing model offers bestselling audiobooks for less, providing affordable prices and the best audiobook deals without requiring a subscription. Perfect for gifting, xigxag also features convenient audiobook gift cards and in-app audiobook gifting options.

 

Beyond the listening experience, xigxag stands as an exciting alternative to big tech, embodying a strong commitment to sustainability and ethical practices. As the only B Corp certified UK audiobook service, we ensure a guilt-free listening experience from a leader in audiobook innovation.

 

Effortlessly search audiobooks, access honest audiobook reviews that evaluate both the content and narration, and easily discover hidden gems. Whether you prefer to download or stream top audiobook titles, xigxag provides the best possible listening experience anytime, anywhere, on the UK’s best independent audiobook app. Discover the future of audiobooks today.