This is my first Science Fiction book since Hero! twenty years ago. It is almost a sequel, in that I have re-used some themes. But I used them in different ways and made a very different book. (And science has changed in those years, which is always a problem.)

Pock's World, long settled by humankind, is accused of being infected by humanoid aliens. It has been quarantined and may have to be sterilized.

Five people are chosen to go there and examine the evidence: saintly but ruthless Father Andre; Ratty Turnsole, muckraking reporter ripe for romance; ambitious politician Athena Fimble; manipulative bureaucrat Millie Backet; and shady billionaire Linn Lazuline. They all have their own agendas and some of them carry grudges.

Pock's World surprises them all. Nothing is what they expect. Quickly entangled in love, politics, religion, and deceit, they discover that the clock is already ticking and the fate of humanity itself is at stake.

[The cover art for Pock's World was created by my friend and neighbor, Doug Levitt. He is a very successful artist, but this was his first book cover, and my first chance to work with an artist on such a project. I think he did a stupendous job, and hope you agree.]