Starport — John Bowers

by John Bowers, the author of the Fighter Queen sagaAskelon, the most advanced world in the Trimary System, is facing unprecedented economic disaster. It's election year; President Muriel Enza is challenged by Barry Boyd, a hugely popular member of the Senate. Boyd's campaign platform is simple-the office of President is just too stressful for a woman to handle. Enza faces an uphill battle; with only eight weeks until the election, the economy is in a nosedive and the cost of energy is skyrocketing. The nearby world of Environ, Askelon's primary energy supplier, is under siege by insurgents who have captured Environ's hydroleum conversion facility, reducing exports by 70%. Unless the insurgents can be overthrown, Askelon will face unprecedented economic disaster. To make matters worse, a terrorist bomb destroys the hydroleum storage tanks on Starport 1, further depleting Askelon's fuel reserves; and the Orbital Dock Workers Union threatens to strike, freezing all cargo shipments leaving the planet. Unless Enza can turn things around quickly, Askeloni civilization will slip into decline…but certain men in high places will do anything to stop her. What do they care if the economy collapses?it's only politics. StarportYou've never read anything remotely like it. Rated "R"106,400 words (equivalent to 398 pages in mass market paperback format)