Although their music-guided propulsion systems have allowed them to mine the mazelike nebula known as Caerdroia, the colony space stations of the New World Federation are dying, with no actual New Earth in sight.
But Jude Aberdeen is more than just a Federation guitarist; he’s a believer. Like his grandfather before him, Jude sees visions of a Green Place when he resonates with his music, a New Earth somewhere out beyond Caerdroia’s coils. To survive an expedition no one but his offbeat drummer and illicit-AI bassist believes in, he’ll need to win the Federation’s legendary Battle of the Bands and secure this year’s grand prize: a ship up to the challenge of the nebula’s dangers. And he’ll need to do it without losing himself to the fame and fortune, sponsors and competitors that turn out to be their own kind of dangerous, and soon.
Because the colonies aren’t the only thing that is dying.
