This Virtual Night — C.S. Friedman

Returning to the universe of New York Times Notable book This Alien Shore comes a new space opera from an acknowledged master of science fiction.

Millenia ago, an overcrowded Earth developed the Hausman Drive, which allowed humans to travel faster than light and colonize the galaxy. Too late, it was discovered that the technology damaged the DNA of those who used it, causing the children of colonists to be born with mutations. Fearful of contagion, Earth cut off all contact with the colonists, leaving them stranded and alone as they struggled to come to terms with what they had become.

Now, in the Second Age of Human Expansion, a new galactic civilization has been established. This time it is based on space stations clustered around natural transit points: the outworlds. One Variant race, the Guerans, has made it a personal mission to locate any surviving colonies and bring them back into the human fold. But ancient bitternesses die hard, and there is no love lost between Terrans and their Variant cousins.

It is technology that unites humanity now. The brainware that each person receives at birth allows direct mental communication with a computer network spanning the outworlds: the outernet. But with that technology comes great risk.