"Gentry Lee - 01 - Bright Messengers" - читать интересную книгу автора (Lee Gentry)

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BRIGHT
MESSENGERS
BY.
GENTRY LEE
A Novel Set In The Rama Universe




To Stacey,
My wife and best friend.




ACKNOWLEDGMENTS



I would like to thank all those people who offered me support and encouragement during the
writing of this novel, especially my wife, Stacey, and my editor, Jennifer Hershey, both of whom listened
patiently to me on hundreds of occasions. I would also like to thank Stacey and my seven sons— Cooper,
Austin, Robert, Patrick, Michael, Travis, and Hunter—for filling my life with love, joy, and richness,
thereby making it easier for me to find the self-discipline necessary to immerse myself in the world of my
imagination.
Jennifer Hershey has played a major role in shaping this novel. Her outstanding insights have
undoubtedly improved the quality of the book. Also, her unwavering belief in Bright Messengers has
helped me over more than one tough hurdle.
Thanks also go to Janis Dworkis, an enthusiastic friend whose comments on drafts of the novel
were very much appreciated, and to Arlene Jacobs, with whom I discussed some of the medical issues
associated with the birth of Mana.
My final thanks go to my mentor and friend, Arthur C. Clarke, whose generosity made it possible
for me to begin a writing career rather late in my life.




INTRODUCTION



When I finished reading Bright Messengers, I felt like an aviation instructor who had just sent a
pupil up into the sky on his first solo flight, and then watched, openmouthed, as he performed a series of