Marooned in Realtime

This sequel to Vinge's novel The Peace War leaps forward 50 million years to a time when all of humanity numbers some 300 people, and those few are bitterly divided. In the midst of an extended debate over how best to survive, one of the leading planners, Marta Korolev, is murdered. Ex-cop Wil Brierson soon finds evidence of sabotage and zealously pursues his investigation with the aid of star explorer Della Lu. At times the setting might be any Silicon Valley suburb where the class distinctions are between high- and low-tech. As a mystery, this is a bust, in large part because only a few central characters are more than stick figures. Some of Vinge's sidelights are much more intriguing, particularly Marta's diary of her 40-year exile and the hotly contested question of what caused man's extinction in the 23rd century. (September)