Clarke County, Space

By Allen Steele

More information to be announced soon on this forthcoming title from Penguin USA

• Language: English
• Publisher: Penguin Group
• Release date: Dec 1, 1990
• ISBN: 9781440672866

Allen Steele

Before becoming a science fiction writer, Allen Steele was a journalist for newspapers and magazines in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Missouri, and his home state of Tennessee. But science fiction was his first love, so he eventually ditched journalism and began producing that which had made him decide to become a writer in the first place. Since then, Steele has published eighteen novels and nearly one hundred short stories. His work has received numerous accolades, including three Hugo Awards, and has been translated worldwide, mainly into languages he can’t read. He serves on the board of advisors for the Space Frontier Foundation and is a member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. He also belongs to Sigma, a group of science fiction writers who frequently serve as unpaid consultants on matters regarding technology and security. Allen Steele is a lifelong space buff, and this interest has not only influenced his writing, it has taken him to some interesting places. He has witnessed numerous space shuttle launches from Kennedy Space Center and has flown NASA’s shuttle cockpit simulator at the Johnson Space Center. In 2001, he testified before the US House of Representatives in hearings regarding the future of space exploration. He would like very much to go into orbit, and hopes that one day he’ll be able to afford to do so. Steele lives in western Massachusetts with his wife, Linda, and a continual procession of adopted dogs. He collects vintage science fiction books and magazines, spacecraft model kits, and dreams. 

Reviews for Clarke County, Space

[buffalogr · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Steele does a wonderful job with details of the logistics, economics, and demographics of Clarke County, a recreational world in space. Writing style is witty and one must dig through that to get to the stories. The omniscient characters are annoying and distract from the scifi whodunit, which I think is the point? Some say that it ends poorly, but I wouldn't know because I never got there. Boring in the middle and I've got better things to do than spend time in that dimension. This two star rating is going downhill from the last 3 star rating of book #1; thus, I'm thinking that this "Near Space" series is done for me.