In Yalda's universe, light has no universal speed and its creation
generates energy.
On Yalda's world, plants make food by emitting their own light into the
dark night sky.
As a child Yalda witnesses one of a series of strange meteors, the
Hurtlers, that is entering the planetary system at an immense,
unprecedented speed. It becomes apparent that her world is in imminent
danger--and that the task of dealing with the Hurtlers will require
knowledge and technology far beyond anything her civilization has yet
achieved.
Only one solution seems tenable: if a spacecraft can be sent on a
journey at suffi ciently high speed, its trip will last many generations
for those on board, but it will return after just a few years have
passed at home. The travelers will have a chance to discover the science
their planet urgently needs, and bring it back in time to avert
disaster.
Orthogonal is the story of Yalda and her descendants, trying to survive
the perils of their long mission and carve out meaningful lives for
themselves, while the threat of annihilation hangs over the world they
left behind.
Skyhorse Publishing, under our Night Shade and Talos imprints, is proud
to publish a broad range of titles for readers interested in science
fiction (space opera, time travel, hard SF, alien invasion, near-future
dystopia), fantasy (grimdark, sword and sorcery, contemporary urban
fantasy, steampunk, alternative history), and horror (zombies, vampires,
and the occult and supernatural), and much more. While not every title
we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller, a national bestseller,
or a Hugo or Nebula award-winner, we are committed to publishing quality
books from a diverse group of authors.
