Melisa Michaels (1946–2019)

In the future, humanity has spread outward, colonizing all the way to the asteroid belt, and mutations have caused a social divide between those who can survive only in freefall, Fallers, and those who need exposure to gravity to survive, Grounders. There are also Floaters, people who have one of each gene, and can survive in freefall or gravity fine. This division has caused resentment and outright war between Earth and the colonies before, and it's about to again.

Earth has made what show more appears a major concession to the Colonists: with the Redistribution Act, homesteaders and residents in the Asteroid Belt have finally being granted the right to own the property they have lived on for generations, property that has belonged to Earth since the end of the Colony War... and all they have to do is come and register their claim at the nearest Earth Company office.

Sound too good to be true? It is. As soon as the Belters leave their rocks, the Company swoops in and occupies them- and fights off or even kills Belters trying to get home.

The long-boiling tension between Earth and the Colonists spills over into outright war, and the Skyrider, who sat out the first Colony war, is forced to take sides this time and join the rag-tag Colony fleet, along with her wingmate Jamin and her cousin Michael, both veterans of the first war. But there's a chance that she can stop the war, if only she can get through the battle lines to Earth, to let the President know what's really going on with the Redistribution Act...

This is the third Skyrider book, and it's again a well-paced, tense first-person POV read. A certain tragic event near the end made me angry with the book, the characters, and the author, and I initially rated it lower because of that. I've reconsidered. Any book that makes me care that much about what happens to the characters must be doing something right.

Though the ending of this one feels like an ending, there are two more books in the series, Pirate Prince and Floater Factor. Both are well worth tracking down, though I found them harder to get ahold of than the first three. show less

This is a very good series, and it's a shame that they aren't better known. There are five books in all, great, fast reads with plenty of dramatic twists and turns, a tough, likable female protagonist (and, all too rare to find, no trite romance or sex subplots, just straightforward action!).

In the future, humanity has spread outward, colonizing all the way to the asteroid belt, and mutations have caused a social divide between those who can survive only in freefall, Fallers, and those who show more need exposure to gravity to survive, Grounders. There are also Floaters, people who have one of each gene, and can survive in freefall or gravity fine. This division has caused resentment and outright war between Earth and the colonies.

As our story begins, several years after an uneasy truce has been established, an Earth space liner has been sabotaged by colonists intent on provoking Earth back into war, and it's slowly falling into the sun. The automatic docking systems have been destroyed, and Melacha Rendell, the Skyrider, is the only one crazy enough- and skilled enough- to shuttle a liner pilot out there to rescue it. For the right price, of course.

That pilot is Jamin, an arrogant Faller forced to live under medication in the constant agony of gravity for his adopted Grounder son Collis, who can't tolerate freefall due to a medical condition. Jamin's wife, Collis' mother, was killed in the war with Earth, in which Jamin also participated.

The story follows Melacha as she tries to overcome survivor's guilt from an accident that killed her lover Django, guilt from sitting out the first war with Earth, and the sometimes overwhelming impulse to punch Jamin in the face so she can reach the stranded liner and prevent the incident from blowing up into all-out war.

The not-too-distant future setting is well fleshed out, with details like Ford and Chevy branded shuttles and Melacha's discomfort with the wind on a visit to Earth (in space, wind means an air leak and impending death). There are no aliens, but the setting doesn't suffer for it, and the first-person writing, a feature which usually turns me off in a book, is tight and the protagonist engaging. Highly recommended, all five of them. show less

In the future, humanity has spread outward, colonizing all the way to the asteroid belt, and mutations have caused a social divide between those who can survive only in freefall, Fallers, and those who need exposure to gravity to survive, Grounders. There are also Floaters, people who have one of each gene, and can survive in freefall or gravity fine. This division has caused resentment and outright war between Earth and the colonies, and the tenative truce established is still unstable...

A show more summit to establish better relations between Earth and the colonies goes wrong when terrorists kidnap the VIPs' families- including Jamin's son Collis, and the family of Michael, the Skyrider's cousin. It's up to the Skyrider, Michael, and Jamin to get them back safe and alive.

This is more of the same from the first Skyrider book, and not in a bad way. It's a fast-paced read with a tightly-written first-person point of view, a tough female protagonist, and a satisfying amount of twists and character development without being bogged down by trite romance subplots. show less

Surprisingly Norton-esque, and very enjoyable. Unfortunately it doesn't look like there's any sequel, or other books in this universe. Ugly is fascinating, and she doesn't get to magically overcome her upbringing (well, OK, she does eventually. But it's not a quick and easy task, even after she's found). Hawke is also interesting, though I don't like his coping mechanisms as much. And the insight into the two of them at the end is lovely - two solitaries who have to figure out how to be a show more pair (that's not a spoiler, it's obvious they'll be together. I did say it was Norton-esque). Friend is neat, too, if a trifle too convenient at times. An interesting universe that we don't get to see much of, because the story is focused very small - just casual mentions of Terrans ruling planets across the galaxy, the People and other aliens (aliens? They're extremely humanoid...), varied cultures among the Terrans, etc. I enjoy her Skyrider series, this is entirely different and very well done. show less