On an Earth that barely survived a nuclear holocaust, visionaries who dream of reaching for the stars attempt to revive the forbidden technology that once destroyed their world

Centuries ago, humankind was nearly destroyed in a nuclear apocalypse.  Many generations have passed since that terrible time, and the remnants of civilization have re-formed into separate, vastly different societies. The dominant culture of a widely diminished Earth, the ecologically sensitive Maurai hold fast to their belief that “non-green” science is an unacceptable evil. But the reborn dream of space flight harbored by a forward-thinking few could herald the revival of the nuclear technology that once ravaged the planet and its people—and the powerful Maurai Federation will take every step necessary, no matter how drastic, to prevent doomsday from dawning again.
 
An enthralling work of speculative fiction, Poul Anderson's Orion Shall Rise is a feat of world-building and a sobering view of tomorrow by one of the twentieth century's most revered science fiction masters. Anderson's monumental tale combines science, anthropology, philosophy, and global politics with breathtaking action and adventure, offering an ingeniously unique and provocative vision of humankind's all-too-possible destiny.
 
This ebook includes the bonus story “The Sky People.”