| Rimrunners is a science fiction novel set in C. J. Cherry's Union-Alliance universe, chronologically after Downbelow Station.
Veteran Fleet Marine Master Sergeant Elizabeth "Bet" Yeager is one of those left behind on Downbelow Station when Conrad Mazian is forced to launch his battle fleet on an unsuccessful coup attempt against Earth prematurely. With the Fleet outlawed by all three human space powers, Bet is constantly on the run, using fake identities to get work on freighters. All she wants is a permanent berth somewhere, anywhere. Bet ends up stranded on a decaying, dead-end space station. She is reduced to sleeping with a sleazy bartender to avoid starvation, but has to kill him when he becomes too controlling and suspicious. Desperate to get off the station before his body is found, she signs up with the only available ship in port. Loki isn't your average, legitimate, family-run freighter, but rather a "spook" in the business of selling information. Her crew consists of unrelated personnel who have formed cliques. Bet falls in love with an outcast (a sullen younger man named Ramey) and makes friends and enemies. When the officers learn that she was a Fleet Marine, Bet's loyalties are questioned, especially since Loki is presently engaged in hunting down a very dangerous Fleet ship. When the shooting starts, however, she proves herself and earns a secure place aboard Loki. | ||
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Plot & Themes FANTASY or SCIENCE FICTION? - science fiction story Romance Yes Romance plotlets: - two lovers coping with tough mission Is this an adult or child's book? - Adult or Young Adult Book Descript. of chases or violence - 30 % planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 10 % Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 40 % Descript. of society, phenomena (tech), places - 20 % Main Character Identity: - Female Profession/status: Age: - long lived adults Setting Spaceship setting: - a space station - futuristic human freighter/transport Takes place in spaceship? Yes Writing Style Accounts of torture and death? - generic/vague references to death/punishment scientific jargon? (SF only) - some scientific explanation Sex in book? Yes What kind of sex: - vague references only How much dialogue? - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog |
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