The Sudden Star (36 page)

James was pulling at her arm. "That's the star," he said, pointing at the pinprick of light just above the black hills on the horizon. "Was it really so big you could see it in the day?"

"That's what everyone says."

"What're the people going to do when the bush comes back?"

"I don't know," she answered. "That's up to them. It's up to us."

She felt a cold wave wash over her; the hot summer air was suddenly damp and icy. She peered into the darkness beyond the porch. A shadowy figure stood there, outlined by a fading purple aura. She rose, picked up her lantern, and thrust it toward the shadow. She saw Simon's skull. It glowed under his skin, then faded. His eyes gleamed, reflecting the lantern's light. Coils of rope were draped around his neck.

He said, "I'm leaving."

"I know where you're going," she said.

"Then do something for me, Ildico. When it's over, cut the rope."

"I will. Take my word." She put down the lantern and went to Paulette, taking her from Gus. She went down the steps to Simon, holding the child out to him. Simon lifted a hand, then let it drop. Paulette started to cry, burying her face against Ildico's arm.

"Some day," Simon said, "she may be stronger than you. She may push you out of the way."

"You didn't hear my story."

"I heard your story."
      

"Then you didn't understand it."

"Goodbye, Ildico." He turned and began to walk toward the hill.

She held Paulette and looked up at the sky. Pale ghostly fingers stroked the black dome, obscuring stars. She lowered her eyes to the horizon. A mist shimmered above the hills, sending out a gauzy tendril which drifted up, then looped down again, trapped by the earth. Encircled by the mist, the sudden star winked out.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Pamela Sargent sold her first published story during her senior year in college at the State University of New York/Binghamton University, where she earned a B.A. and M.A. in philosophy and also studied ancient history and Greek.
 
She is the author of several highly praised novels, among them
Cloned Lives
(1976),
The Sudden Star
(1979),
The Golden Space
(1982),
The Alien Upstairs
(1983), and
Alien Child
(1988).
 
Her novel
Venus of Dreams
(1986) was selected by The Easton Press for its “Masterpieces of Science Fiction” series; writer and physicist Gregory Benford described it as “a sensitive portrait of people caught up in a vast project.
 
It tells us much about how people react to technology’s relentless hand, and does so deftly...One of the peaks of recent science fiction.”
 
Venus of Shadows
(1988), the sequel, was called “a masterly piece of world-building” by James Morrow and “alive with humanity, moving, and memorable” by
Locus
.
 
The Shore of Women
(1986), one of Sargent’s best-known books, was praised as “a compelling and emotionally involving novel” by
Publishers Weekly
; Gerald Jonas of the
New York Times
said about this novel: “I applaud Ms. Sargent’s ambition and admire the way she has unflinchingly pursued the logic of her vision.”
 
The
Washington Post Book World
has called her “one of the genre's best writers.”
 

Sargent is also the author of
Earthseed
(1983), chosen as a Best Book for Young Adults by the American Library Association, and the short fiction collections
Starshadows
(1977) and
The Best of Pamela Sargent
(1987).
 
Her novels
Watchstar
(1980),
Eye of the Comet
(1984), and
Homesmind
(1984) comprise a trilogy.
 
She has won the Nebula Award, the Locus Award, and has been a finalist for the Hugo Award and the Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award.
 
Her work has been translated into French, German, Dutch, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Swedish, Japanese, Polish, Chinese, Russian, and Serbo-Croatian.
 

Ruler of the Sky
(1993), Sargent’s epic historical novel about Genghis Khan, tells the Mongol conqueror’s story largely from the points-of-view of women.
 
Gary Jennings, bestselling author of the historical novels
Aztec
and
The Journeyer
, said about
Ruler of the Sky
: “This formidably researched and exquisitely written novel is surely destined to be known hereafter as the definitive history of the life and times and conquests of Genghis, mightiest of Khans.”
 
Elizabeth Marshall Thomas, anthropologist and author of
Reindeer Moon
and
The Animal Wife
, commented: “Scholarly without ever seeming pedantic, the book is fascinating from cover to cover and does admirable justice to a man who might very well be called history’s single most important character.”

Sargent is also an editor and anthologist.
 
In the 1970s, she edited the Women of Wonder series, the first collections of science fiction by women; her other anthologies include
Bio-Futures
and, with British writer Ian Watson as co-editor,
Afterlives
.
 
Two anthologies,
Women of Wonder, The Classic Years: Science Fiction by Women from the 1940s to the 1970s
and
Women of Wonder, The Contemporary Years: Science Fiction by Women from the 1970s to the 1990s
, were published in 1995;
Publishers Weekly
called these two books “essential reading for any serious sf fan.”
 
With artist Ron Miller, she collaborated on
Firebrands: The Heroines of Science Fiction and Fantasy
(1998).

Her novel
Climb the Wind: A Novel of Another America
was published in 1999 and was a finalist for the Sidewise Award for Alternate History.
 
Gahan Wilson, writing in
Realms of Fantasy
, calls this book “a most enjoyable and entertaining new alternate history adventure...which brings a new dimension to the form,” while
Science Fiction Chronicle
describes it as “a first class work from a first class writer.”
 
Child of Venus
, the third novel in Sargent’s Venus trilogy, was published in 2001, completing a trilogy
Publishers Weekly
has termed “masterful...as in previous books, Sargent brings her world to life with sympathetic characters and crisp, concise language.”
 
Two collections,
The Mountain Cage and Other Stories
and
Behind the Eyes of Dreamers and Other Short Novels
were published in 2002, and a third collection of fantasy stories,
Eye of Flame
, came out at the end of 2003.
 
Michael Moorcock has said about her writing: “If you have not read Pamela Sargent, then you should make it your business to do so at once.
 
She is in many ways a pioneer, both as a novelist and as a short story writer...She is one of the best.”

Her more recent publications include 2004's
Conqueror Fantastic
, an anthology of original stories, and
Thumbprints
, a collection of Sargent’s short fiction with an introduction by James Morrow.
 
In 2007, Tor Books reissued
Earthseed,
along with a new novel for younger readers,
Farseed
, which
Voice of Youth Advocates,
in a starred review,
calls “extremely well-done. Sargent is a significant figure in modern science fiction…and this novel is a fine example of her work.”
Farseed
was also
selected by the New York Public Library for their 2008 Books for the Teen Age list of best books for young adults. A third novel,
Seed Seeker
, was published by Tor in 2010;
Publishers Weekly
said about the book: “
With prose as spare as the unadorned clothes and tools of her characters, Sargent digs down to the raw emotional roots below the contentment of a materially satisfied life.”
Earthseed
was recently optioned by Paramount Pictures.
 

Pamela Sargent lives in Albany, New York.