From the Aurora Award-winning author of Marseguro (DAW Books) comes a fast-paced space opera about first contact – with a difference.

When Art Stoddard, civilian information officer of the generation starship Mayflower II, is kidnapped by a secret military organization determined to overthrow the power of the Captain and Crew, he becomes embroiled in a conflict that tests everything he believed to be true, forced to choose between preserving social order and restoring the people’s right to know.

Art's problems only escalate when he is ripped from the safety of his ship by the mysterious residents of Peregrine. He becomes a pawn in a game that will determine the fate of ship and planet alike. As he and his newfound friends rush to save both, he faces questions of courage, loyalty and moral responsibility.

EDWARD WILLETT is the author of more than sixty books of science fiction, fantasy, and nonfiction for readers of all ages. Marseguro (DAW Books) won the Aurora Award (honouring Canadian science fiction and fantasy) for Best Long-Form Work in English; his young adult fantasy Spirit Singer won a Saskatchewan Book Award. Several other of his books have been shortlisted for those and other awards.

Ed's most recent novel is the far-future humorous outer-space adventure The Tangled Stars (DAW Books). Other recent titles include Star Song, a finalist for both the Aurora Award and Saskatchewan Book Award for Young Adult Literature, published by Shadowpaw Press; Blue Fire (written as E.C. Blake), also from Shadowpaw Press; and the Worldshapers series (Worldshaper, Master of the World, and The Moonlit World) from DAW. His nonfiction runs the gamut from science books to biographies to history. He hosts Aurora Award-winning podcast The Worldshapers podcast (theworldshapers.com), in which he talks to other science fiction and fantasy authors about their creative process, and has Kickstarted several Shapers of Worlds anthologies featuring guests of the podcast.

In addition to being a writer, Ed is a professional actor and singer who has performed in numerous plays, musicals, and operas, and sung in several auditioned choirs, including the Canadian Chamber Choir. He lives in Regina, Saskatchewan, with his wife, Margaret Anne Hodges, P. Eng., a past president of the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Saskatchewan. They have one daughter, Alice, and a black Siberian cat, Shadowpaw. You can find Ed online at www.edwardwillett.com.

Edward Willett's profile page

"(A) space opera/action-adventure novel in the grand tradition, full of interplanetary intrigue, chases through the abandoned bowels of giant spaceships, and shootouts with everything from shotgun shells to beam weapons. Oh, and there's an army of evil robot spiders..."- Ty Black, Dark Futures Fiction

“An inspiring tale of redemption and courage, set in an all too plausible future in space. Well done!” – Julie Czerneda, author of The Clan Chronicles

“In Falcon’s Egg, Edward Willett takes on the notion of heroism itself, exploring the casualties of war and the results of battle on the psychology of the protagonist who has endured the traumas of war. Falcon’s Egg is a text of revolution, a war narrative with a bit of frontier ideologies since it is set on an alien world that is in conflict with the more technologically developed centrist planets. However, unlike most exploration, war, revolution, and adventure narratives who uncritically cast the hero as a figure who is above trauma, Willett’s narrative explores the toll that heroism takes on the mind of the hero as well as the toll that it takes on human lives and society.” – Derek Newman-Stille, Speculating Canada

“Falcon’s Egg by Edward Willett is space opera/action-adventure novel in the grand tradition, full of interplanetary intrigue, chases through the abandoned bowels of giant spaceships, and shootouts with everything from shotgun shells to beam weapons. Oh, and there’s an army of evil robot spiders. This book is a fun, easy read, and I got through it in two nights.” – Ty Black, Dark Futures Fiction

“…a wildly entertaining read…the novel had romance, an ego-maniacal supporting antagonist, family drama, intrigue, and plenty of action…if you want a fun and rollicking SF yarn that I found to be pretty suitable for most age groups, Right to Know is a great selection.” – Jon Guenther, SF Revu

“This is a fast-paced SF novel, with jailbreaks, rocket-rides and wilderness adventures on a strange planet. It also features clear themes. Freedom of the Press is foremost, and the need to prioritize freedom over security plays a part, too…Recommended for anyone who likes SF with a rapid pace and a clear message.” – Timothy Gwyn