Legend of a Burning Star — R.B. Banfield

The world Harax Pras is facing problems with its terraforming, and Tarron Rees dreams of leaving to find a better planet to live. When he is invited to a ceremony honouring his grandfather Jupe Beggs, one of his planet's notable heroes, he is drawn into the mystery of who he was and what became of him. He finds that some are enraged at his memory, and some who claim to have been his friend, and some who deny ever knowing him. With his world beginning to fall around him, Tarron goes in search of the truth. He is helped by the enigmatic Freefall Calp, who has abandoned a family fortune to pursue dreams of his own. A page-turning thriller set in the early days of galactic colonisation, when the race is on to get out into the universe by any means possible. The sixth of the series of nine novels about the far-reaching influence of people who were only ever looking out for themselves.