From Publishers Weekly
British author and critic Stableford adds a fifth novel to his Emortality series (Inherit the Earth, etc.) with this heavily speculative tale that puts the "science" in science fiction. Expanding on the episode of humanity's first extrasolar colony from The Fountains of Youth (2000), he devises an entire biosystem based on a dual coding genome rather than Earth's sole replicator molecule, DNA. That changes everything, as the colonists learn, from reproductive strategies and lifecycles to the basic taste (mildly unpleasant) of native food. Cultural as well as scientific conflicts afflict the passengers of the colony ship Hope, whose crew members seek to expand their mission to include other stars so that they can declare the colony self-sufficient. Unfrozen from suspended animation, Matthew Fleury, an ecologist and televangelist, must solve both the mystery of a murder and the mystery of life itself down on the planet called Ararat. Weaving the two plot lines together is the suggestion that the murder was committed by intelligent humanoid natives, builders of the abandoned city in which the crime took place. After talking with every faction on ship and planet, Matt travels by boat to the unexplored great plains downriver, and the novel picks up speed as his team adventures among the native flora and the very lively fauna. Despite his reputation as "an arrogant son of a bitch" and an "egomaniac," Matt is ultimately a sympathetic hero, whose intellectual and emotional leaps of faith justify the reader's belief in him. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.


From Library Journal
In the 29th century, the generation ship Hope reaches its destination, a habitable planet suitable for colonization. Awakened out of cryonic sleep, ecologist Matthew Fleury discovers that serious problems face a successful seeding of the new world with human colonists. As Fleury tries to solve the murder of one of the planet's early explorers, he confronts the possibility that the new world still contains an intelligent species and that a conspiracy exists to prevent the new colonists from building the world of their dreams. The fifth installment in Stableford's epic future history (e.g., Inherit the Earth) brings humanity to the stars and tells, in the process, a story of one man's singular dedication to the dream of populating the galaxy. Combining the best of hard science and visionary speculation, this sf drama belongs in most libraries. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.


From Booklist
Dispatched as one of four new Noah's arks from a plague-devastated Earth facing ecological collapse in the early twenty-second century, the Hope discovers a suitable, purplish-tinted planet in 2814. Three years later, one of the designated leaders of the expedition, media celebrity, prophet, and ecological genomicist Matthew Fleury, is taken out of the suspended animation he has been in since the Hope's voyage began. He and policeman Vincent Solari are to investigate the mysterious murder of Fleury's friend, rival, and role model, Bernal Delgado. Some evidence points to the possible existence of intelligent indigenous life on the planet, and two factions of colonists and crew have formed in reaction to the news. One wants to search for another world, and the other wants to give this one more time. The fifth book of Stableford's Future History, which began with Inherit the Earth (1998), should please the series' fans and interest newcomers in previous volumes. Bryan Baldus
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved


Review
“This novel may be the best story in one of the great series of the last decade.” –Midwest Book Review



Review
“This novel may be the best story in one of the great series of the last decade.” –Midwest Book Review



Review
“This novel may be the best story in one of the great series of the last decade.” –Midwest Book Review



Book Description
Dark Ararat is the fifth novel in an overarching masterpiece. It extends into interstellar space Brian Stableford's ambitious ongoing future history series begun in Inherit the Earth and continued in The Architects of Emortality, The Fountains of Youth, and The Cassandra Complex.

Hundreds of years in our future, humanity is expanding out into the galaxy in gigantic colony ships. Slower than light speed, the ships are filled with long-lived people who are, nevertheless, in suspended animation for all or much of the voyage. One ship has reached a promising world and begun a colony, but not everyone has yet been awakened.

Matthew Fleury is shocked to learn that he has been revived from suspended animation to replace a colleague who has been murdered.

Is the planet still inhabited by the alien race that left ancient ruins of great cities? And who killed the eminent scientist leading the investigation of the ruins? If the aliens survive, then the planet becomes off limits to humans, and the ship must find another planet to colonize. There are some colonists who would kill to leave. And some who would kill to stay.



From the Back Cover
Praise for Brian Stableford:

"This is cerebral science fiction of a high order . . . with ample rewards for readers willing to stay the course."--The New York Times on The Fountains of Youth

"The excellently drawn characters of Inherit the Earth dance through a plot that never gives them a chance to catch their breath."--David Drake

"A master at creating true science fiction enigmas--his characters are endearingly colorful and the mystery satisfyingly complex."—Starlog on The Architects of Emortality

"Tough, gritty, and ultimately hopeful, you can't do much better than Inherit the Earth."--David Brin



About the Author
Brian Stableford lives in Reading, England.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

"Hundreds of years in our future, humanity is expanding out into the galaxy in gigantic colony ships. Slower than the speed of light, the colony ships are filled with long-lived people who are, nevertheless, in suspended animation for all or much of the voyage. One ship has reached a promising world and begun a colony, but not everyone has yet been awakened. Matthew Fleury is shocked to learn that he has been revived from suspended animation to replace a colleague who has been murdered." Is the planet still inhabited by the alien race that left ancient ruins of great cities? And who killed the eminent scientist leading the investigation of the ruins? If the aliens survive, then the planet becomes off limits to humans, and the ship must find another planet to colonize. There are some colonists who would kill to leave. And some who would kill aliens, or humans, to stay.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

British author and critic Stableford adds a fifth novel to his Emortality series (Inherit the Earth, etc.) with this heavily speculative tale that puts the "science" in science fiction. Expanding on the episode of humanity's first extrasolar colony from The Fountains of Youth (2000), he devises an entire biosystem based on a dual coding genome rather than Earth's sole replicator molecule, DNA. That changes everything, as the colonists learn, from reproductive strategies and lifecycles to the basic taste (mildly unpleasant) of native food. Cultural as well as scientific conflicts afflict the passengers of the colony ship Hope, whose crew members seek to expand their mission to include other stars so that they can declare the colony self-sufficient. Unfrozen from suspended animation, Matthew Fleury, an ecologist and televangelist, must solve both the mystery of a murder and the mystery of life itself down on the planet called Ararat. Weaving the two plot lines together is the suggestion that the murder was committed by intelligent humanoid natives, builders of the abandoned city in which the crime took place. After talking with every faction on ship and planet, Matt travels by boat to the unexplored great plains downriver, and the novel picks up speed as his team adventures among the native flora and the very lively fauna. Despite his reputation as "an arrogant son of a bitch" and an "egomaniac," Matt is ultimately a sympathetic hero, whose intellectual and emotional leaps of faith justify the reader's belief in him. (Mar. 27) Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

KLIATT

Hundreds of years and hundreds of light-years from Earth, Matthew Fleury is awakened from cold sleep to help colonize the new clone-Earth world called Ararat. But something has gone wrong during the long voyage: the recently thawed colonists and the ship-born crew members are at odds, a rebellion is forming, and Matthew is to replace another scientist who was murdered on the surface. Is the murder related to the rebellion, or to the discovery of the remains of a city, which indicates an extinct sentient race...or maybe not so extinct? The murder is incidental in this fifth book in Stableford's future history series, with the interactions of humans with the environment, and humans with each other, as the focus. A spellbinding addition to the series. (Emortality series). KLIATT Codes: SA*; Exceptional book, recommended for senior high school students, advanced students, and adults. 2002, Tor, 352p., Root

Library Journal

In the 29th century, the generation ship Hope reaches its destination, a habitable planet suitable for colonization. Awakened out of cryonic sleep, ecologist Matthew Fleury discovers that serious problems face a successful seeding of the new world with human colonists. As Fleury tries to solve the murder of one of the planet's early explorers, he confronts the possibility that the new world still contains an intelligent species and that a conspiracy exists to prevent the new colonists from building the world of their dreams. The fifth installment in Stableford's epic future history (e.g., Inherit the Earth) brings humanity to the stars and tells, in the process, a story of one man's singular dedication to the dream of populating the galaxy. Combining the best of hard science and visionary speculation, this sf drama belongs in most libraries. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews