SOJALS rating:

Very good (4/5)

I first read this in June 2000 and most recently in April 2001

This is the sequel to "Firestar" and it's a very good sequel indeed.

All her life, Mariesa van Huyten has been terrified about the arrival of another dinosaur-killer asteroid. She knows that one day such an asteroid will come and destroy all human life on Earth, and that currently no human technology exists to defend against such an event.

She's dedicated her life and the vast resources of her corporate empire to the encouraging and developing the appropriate technologies.

Of course, if you've read "Firestar" (which you must), then you'll know all this, so let's move onto "Rogue Star":

Mariesa, now in her forties, continues the implementation of her grand plan. Mariesa's struggles with political machinations and tough moral choices. Styx pursues her personal vendetta against Mariesa . Forrest leads the crew on the FarSight trip to the asteroid, and what he finds there is very surprising indeed. The same characters plus a few new ones continue to play their unwitting parts.

This is not quite as good "Firestar", but who cares? I just wanted to know what happened next after Firestar. Don't even think of reading this book until you have read Firestar.

What's it got? SSTO, space-stations and finally a hint of aliens!