Fearless

“Fast-paced, gripping hard SF with death in hard vacuum waiting at every turn.” — Arthur C. Clarke Award winner Adrian Tchaikovsky

AD 2118. Humanity has colonised the Moon, Mars, Ceres and Europa. Captain Ellisa Shann commands Khidr, a search and rescue ship with a crew of twenty-five, tasked to assist the vast commercial freighters that supply the different solar system colonies.

Shann has no legs and has taken to life in zero-g partly as a result. She is a talented tactician who has a tendency to take too much on her own shoulders. Now, while on a regular six-month patrol through the solar system, Khidr picks up a distress call from the freighter Hercules…

FLAME TREE PRESS is the new fiction imprint of Flame Tree Publishing. Launched in 2018 the list brings together brilliant new authors and the more established; the award winners, and exciting, original voices.

Allen Stroud is a lecturer and researcher at Coventry University. Stroud completed a Ph. D. at the University of Winchester entitled 'An Investigation and Application of Writing Structures and World Development Techniques in Science Fiction and Fantasy'. He has worked in computer games, roleplaying games, novels, short stories and scripts. He currently runs the Creative Futures research project with the Defence Science Technology Laboratory (DSTL).

Stroud was a founding host of Lave Radio, an Elite: Dangerous fan podcast that started in February 2013 and ran the annual convention Lavecon. His novel set in the Elite: Dangerous game world, called Elite: Lave Revolution was successfully funded on Kickstarter and published in late 2014, with a second edition published in 2015. Stroud then supported Spidermind Games in developing the Elite Dangerous Roleplaying Game. Stroud worked on Chaos Reborn with Snapshot Games and has worked on Phoenix Point, released in 2019.

Stroud was the 2017, 2018 and 2021 chair of Fantasycon, the annual convention of the British Fantasy Society, which hosts the British Fantasy Awards. In June 2019, he became Chair of the British Science Fiction Association, taking over from Donna Bond. Stroud continues to write academic papers, reviews, articles and fiction in science fiction, fantasy and horror. He lives in a messy house with three cats and his partner, Karen.

ISBN: 9781787585409
Format: Paperback
Pages: 368
Publisher: Flame Tree Publishing
Published: September 08, 2020

“Fast-paced, gripping hard SF with death in hard vacuum waiting at every turn.”"Gripping, intense, military SF. Stunning and urgent."“Space battles, sabotage, and treachery envelop a gripping whodunit, as Captain Ellisa Shann strives to identify a murderer among her crew and save her ship, the Khidr, from imminent destruction. Fearless is a fabulous read from a writer who knows how to deliver.”“Fearless is a brilliant achievement, and one of the best science-fiction novels I have read in a very long time.""The depths of outer space test the strength of a dynamic heroine’s inner resolve in Stroud’s smart, introspective space opera set in the year 2118. [...] With an attention to detail that will please hard science fiction fans, Stroud raises fascinating questions about the politics of space exploration. This is one to be savored."Rigorous hard SF with a powerful but flawed protagonist and a fascinating historical background, 'Fearless' is a treat for just about any Analog reader."“A wonderful, modern, inclusive and clever science fiction that deserves to be a part of anyone’s collection.”"[Allen Stroud] also brings a Clarkian feel that grounds the story in the best tradition of science fiction. He keeps the action going, and does a fine job of showing the difficulties of conflict in space. Highly Recommended.”“Allen Stroud tells a hard sf tale with white knuckle stress that doesn’t let up till the end. I want more.”“With a large cast of characters, lots of suspects, space battles and plenty of action to keep even the most ardent fans of sci-fi thoroughly entertained. Brilliant.”“Allen Stroud’s Fearless has elements of those classics of an earlier era. He takes science seriously. The plot is gritty and full of twists.”“Fearless offers the reader a great piece of smart science fiction that fans of space opera and spaceship battles will enjoy immensely. Expect lots of tension and a group of characters you soon get invested in.”