Slow Train to Arcturus

1. Eric Flint has co-written three NYT's best-sellers.2. Flint's 1632 was a smash hit, with over 95,000 copies sold, and an 88% sell through in mass market from 02/01 to date. 3. Flint and Freer's earlier collaborations have had strong sell throughs, including 76% in mass market from 02/03 to date for their Pyramid Scheme.4. Freer's A Mankind Witch garnered rave reviews, such as a starred review in Publishers Weekly, "...rip snorting action and an ingenious plot..."5. Large distribution of ARCs6. Trade advertising7. Ads in Locus, Kliatt, more8. Teaser chapter in Pyramid Power mass market9. Special backlist discounts for Eric Flint titles10. Featured title on Baen.com11. Co-op availableThe planet Miran had sent a spaceship to rendezvous with the enormous vessel that was approaching their star system. The vessel’s design was odd—a multitude of separate globular habitats in a framework—and most of the alien team that entered one of the habitats were slaughtered by savage creatures called “humans.” One alien had barely managed to escape to another habitat where the humans were more friendly, if rather technologically backward. But he needed to get back to his spaceship, and he would need one human’s help to do that. They would have to travel through several more habitats, each one isolated from the other, each with its own bizarre dangers and customs. And friendliness toward strangers was not one of those customs. . . .

The planet Miran had sent a spaceship to rendezvous with the enormous vessel that was approaching their star system. The vessel's design was odd—a multitude of separate globular habitats in a framework—and most of the alien team that entered one of the habitats were slaughtered by savage creatures called “humans.” One alien had barely managed to escape to another habitat where the humans were more friendly, if rather technologically backward. But he needed to get back to his spaceship, and he would need one human's help to do that.

They would have to travel through several more habitats, each one isolated from the other, each with its own bizarre dangers and customs. And friendliness toward strangers was not one of those customs. . .

Publishers Weekly

Flint and Freer's latest collaboration (after 2007's Pyramid Power) doesn't bring anything original to space opera, but its fast pace and pulpy premise make for an engaging if shallow adventure. When a vast relic made up of massive bubbles approaches a star system inhabited by sentient space-faring aliens, a team of researchers is sent to investigate. Soon after the inquisitive aliens enter one of the bubbles, they're attacked by its murderously insane human inhabitants. Alien xenobiologist Kretz barely escapes into another bubble, and in order to get safely back to his ship, he must somehow traverse numerous virtually inaccessible environments, all populated by divergently evolving human societies. Flint and Freer's action-packed, often humorous story ultimately lacks substance but makes it up in fun. (Oct.)

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Sending a spaceship to rendezvous with an enormous vessel made up of a series of globular habitats approaching its star system, the aliens find a savage race calling themselves "humans" who promptly slaughter the exploration team, except for a single survivor who escapes to another habitat, where he finds more friendly humans whose help he requires to get back to his own ship.