Boneyards [Paperback]

Kristine Kathryn Rusch (Author)

Book Description

Release date: January 24, 2012

The novellas in the Diving universe have won three Asimov's Readers Choice Awards.

When multiple Hugo Award winner Kristine Kathryn Rusch decided to put her stamp on classic space opera, readers wanted more. Now Rusch's popular character Boss returns in a whole new adventure, one that takes her far outside her comfort zone, to a sector of space she's never seen before.

Searching for ancient technology to help her friends find answers to the mystery of their own past, Boss ventures into a place filled with evidence of an ancient space battle, one the Dignity Vessels lost.

Meanwhile, the Enterran Empire keeps accidentally killing its scientists in a quest for ancient stealth tech. Boss's most difficult friend, Squishy, has had enough. She sneaks into the Empire and destroys its primary stealth tech research base. But an old lover thwarts her escape, and now Squishy needs Boss's help.

Boss, who is a fugitive in the Empire. Boss, who knows how to make a Dignity Vessel work. Boss, who knows that Dignity Vessels house the very technology that the Empire is searching for.

Should Boss take a Dignity Vessel to rescue Squishy and risk losing everything to the Empire? Or should Boss continue on her mission for her other friends and let Squishy suffer her own fate?

Filled with battles old and new, scientific dilemmas, and questions about the ethics of friendship, Boneyards looks at the influence of our past on our present and the risks we all take when we meddle in other people's lives.

Boneyards is space opera the way it was meant to be: exciting, fast moving, and filled with passion.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A fugitive from the Enterran Empire, Boss makes her living by "diving"—exploring derelict spaceships in search of lost technology. When her friend Squishy sneaks into Empire territory to destroy an Enterran research base and gets trapped before she can escape, Boss undertakes a dangerous rescue mission. While her rare ability to operate a Destiny Vessel, which uses an old stealth technology sought by the Enterrans, may help Boss save her friend, she also risks losing her ship. Rusch's latest addition to her "Diving" series (Diving into the Wreck; City of Ruins) features a strong, capable female heroine and a vividly imagined far-future universe. VERDICT Blending fast-paced action with an exploration of the nature of friendship and the ethics of scientific discoveries, this tale should appeal to Rusch's readers and fans of space opera." --Library Journal

Praise for Diving into the Wreck

"This is classic sci-fi, a well-told tale of dangerous exploration... . Compellingly human and technically absorbing, the suspense builds to fevered intensity, culminating in an explosive yet plausible conclusion." --RT Book Reviews Top Pick

Praise for City of Ruins

"An excellent novel that combines adventure and excitement with solid world building and subtle narration. By the time you turn the final page, you'll be very eager to find out where Kristine Kathryn Rusch is going to take this series next." --Tor.com

About the Author

Bestselling, multi-award-winning writer Kristine Kathryn Rusch publishes fiction under several names and in many genres. She has won science fiction's prestigious Hugo Award twice and has been nominated three times for mystery's highest award, the Edgar. Her work has received readers' awards from Asimov's, Analog, Science Fiction Age, and Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine. Three of those readers' awards went to novellas set in the Diving universe. Asimov's readers chose another novella set in this universe as one of the top ten stories of the year. Over the next three years, her entire backlist, including her awardwinning short fiction, will come back into print. In addition to the Diving series, her most recent novels include Anniversary Day: A Retrieval Artist Novel and three novels under her pen name Kristine Grayson. Visit her online at divingintothewreck.com.

Product Details

• Paperback: 301 pages
• Publisher: Pyr (January 24, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1616145439
• ISBN-13: 978-1616145439
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.9 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #726,525 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars If you have not yet fallen for this space opera series, hurry up January 5, 2012

By Gilly

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

A highly skilled author, Rusch, makes this third book in the series sing. Please read the first two, since this one builds. On the characters of the others. High space opera, not much romance, strong female lead, universe and friendship building, are all featured here. This one splits the focus into two narrators, but the series remains Boss' story and progression. The evil empire gets meaner, space gets bigger, and war looms. Come along for the ride

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Love this series January 21, 2012

By J. Jones VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Boneyards continues the story started in Diving into the Wreck and City of Ruins. I really like this series and Boneyards did not disappoint. Boss is back and so is the Dignity Vessel and crew she found in the last book. Coop, the Captain of the Dignity Vessel Ivoire, is looking for clues to location of the Fleet. He and Boss are exploring the locations of Sector Bases that were under construction when he and his crew got caught in foldspace and sent 5000 years back in time.

Coop wants to find the direction Fleet was traveling and hopes follow even if it will be years and a totally new crew when they catch up with the Fleet.

The Enterran Empire is still trying to find how to build the ancient stealth tech that was on Fleet vessels. They are looking at everything wrong and keep killing the people doing the research. Squishy was once part of that research and wants to put an end to people being accidently killed. Unknown to Boss she puts together a team to wipe out the Empire's research.

Both of these actions collide with unexpected results. This was written so that it could be the last book in the series but I hope it is not. Boneyards is good old-fashioned space opera. There is action, suspense, great characters, and wonderful plot lines. The ending allows for further action or as a resolution for some of the characters. I will just have to wait and see if there will be further books.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Can't wait for more in this series! January 29, 2012

By Kevin Bayer

Format:Paperback

The latest installment in the Diving series, Boneyards by Kristine Kathryn Rusch, finds wreck-diver Boss now the leader of a huge corporation researching the science behind Dignity Vessels and profiting from their discoveries. The Lost Souls company still seeks out wrecks of ancient Dignity Vessels, in part to keep them out of the hands of the Enterran Empire, and to rebuild them is possible for their own use.

Coop, the commander of a Dignity Vessel lost in time, returns with most of his crew and has Boss helping him track down the Dignity Fleet, if it still exists. Boss and Coop's crews work together in an uneasy relationship because they know the technology they're using can be deadly in the wrong hands.

Boss started as a solitary wreck-diver, exploring long-abandoned starship wrecks or leading tourists through them. With her exposure to Stealth Tech - Dignity Vessel technology - she's grown into the head of a large corporation and often has to rely on her team and people who know more than she does. She's still Boss though, no matter who she puts in charge of certain aspects of the company. Even though she tends to want to do everything herself, she knows her own weaknesses and struggles with letting others have control.

Diving into the Wreck, the first novella in this series was fan-freaking-tastic, followed by City of Ruins, another good novel. Boneyards is good, not as good as those first two - but still a fun read and I want more in this universe. There are some short stories that I need to track down. Boneyards seems to be one of those bridging the story novels that sets up the next book that I'm sure will be another excellent entry in this series.

Like City of Ruins, Boneyards features two concurrent stories. One plot line follows Boss and Coop as they eventually find the titular Boneyard. The second storyline features Squishy, a former crewmate of Boss, as she returns to the Enterran Empire's Stealth Tech research program in order to destroy their data and prevent more lives from being lost.

The initial transition to Squishy's story seemed abrupt to me. There was a chapter end and an obvious new section starting, but it still felt like the transition could have been smoother. I'm not sure why I feel that way: City of Ruins had alternating story lines and I didn't have a problem with it there.

Squishy's storyline also moves back and forth between the current time and various periods in her past that have relevance to what she's going through now. That, too, kinda bothered me, but not enough to keep me from enjoying the book overall.

The two storylines come together explosively at the end. The Boneyard awaits. I like the play in the title of this book. The Boneyard is the place Coop and Boss are trying to find; Boss has also spent most of her life diving the boneyards that are the wrecked ships she explores.

Boneyards, by Kristine Kathryn Rusch, was provided to me by the publisher for review.