Oratorio in Ursa Major now in hardback, paperback, and Kindle format



A global catastrophe has returned earth to the Iron Age and killed six billion people. Even the billionaires were tricked and eliminated. An Oxford intelligentsia have taken over the planet. Can such smart people rebuild the world in a better way? With help from the galactic federation, perhaps there is hope. But first, earth's new elite must retrieve from the past some things that were destroyed long ago — ways of thinking and living that can avoid a fatal reawakening of the delusions bequeathed to us by Rome. Jake Janaway — young, modest, handsome, and scared — is selected for a dangerous mission into the pre-Roman past. Jake has no idea why he was chosen. Jake has a lot to learn. But perhaps no one in the galaxy ever had better teachers, or was more loved.








Cover illustration by Duncan Long.





The story begins: Fugue in Ursa Major


Jake is young, and his life seems boring. Phaedrus is old, and his life seems empty. Phaedrus seems to think that a nightmare is about to happen. Jake just wants to go on dreaming. Does Phaedrus really know something? Or is he just a broken old man? Jake must choose. If Phaedrus is right, then Jake’s life is going to change, and Jake will have to rethink everything he ever knew.

Fugue in Ursa Major is post-apocalyptic science fiction in the brainy tradition of Isaac Asimov. Author David Dalton says that Asimov's Foundation series was one of the inspirations for Fugue in Ursa Major. 

“It’s often said that nothing ever happens in the Foundation books,” said Dalton. “Asimov takes the intelligence of the reader for granted, and Asimov understands that people read science fiction not only for a story, but also for ideas. Well, lots of things happen in Fugue in Ursa Major, but there also are many conversations — it might be better to call it Socratic dialogue — in which the characters grapple with ideas. The ideas they grapple with are far from abstract, though. As with Asimov’s Foundation, the ideas in Fugue in Ursa Major are all about our civilization — where it came from and where it is going. Where did we go wrong? Can it be fixed? The ideas in Fugue in Ursa Major may seem radical and heretical to some. But it’s obvious that nothing would ever change if people just went on thinking what they’ve always thought. I dare to imagine alternatives. That's what science fiction is for.”

“Yes, there's a setup for a sequel,” said Dalton. “Jake’s adventures are just beginning.”

Fugue in Ursa Major is available in all popular formats. You can buy the paperback or Kindle version on Amazon. The Apple iBooks version is available in the iBooks store. The Nook version is available from Barnes & Noble. Booksellers can order the paperback edition through their usual distributor. Ask your local bookstore to carry it!

The ISBN number for the paperback version is 978-0-9916132-0-5. For the digital editions, the ISBN number is 978-0-9916132-1-2.





 
 

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