Dreams of an Unseen Planet [Mass Market Paperback]

The colonies on the planet Gaea have been established as the last bright hope of a deeply troubled Earth. Their inhabitantsenthusiastic young scientistshave weathered enough troubles from the first days, when the surface of the planet proved uninhabitable and all communications with Earth were inexplicably lost. After seven years, a cold war continues between the Americans and their Soviet and Chinese counterparts, and the American governing board is hiding other failures from its citizens. Cellular biologist Miera Tull delves beneath the obvious human infertility to find that vital crops and animals are also dying off. Her empathetic, almost telepathic connection with Gaea offers the one chance for survival. This well-written first novel neatly melds the '80s social dilemma of regulating biological clocks with the venerable SF imagery of a sentient red planet, ambiguously threatening or promising.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

"A dreamy, extraordinary sensual debut..." -- Kirkus

"Plowright says a lot about what's wrong with the earth right now..." -- Fantasy Review

As threats of global war and pollution loom larger, the governments of the world select an educated elite to establish colonies on the red planet Gaea. This chosen group will use their knowledge to attempt to preserve and cultivate the human species. But in the colony Ventura, something goes horribly wrong. The ideal community becomes a sterile, desolate place; the chosen group hopelessly obsessed with procreation as the birthrate falls to zero. Miera Tull finds herself more and more alienated from the obsessive sexuality of the colony. Instead, she is assaulted by mysterious sensual dreams dominated by the colour red. Slowly, she begins to understand that the planet Gaea may have a message for her - a message of hope in an otherwise hopeless world.

Teresa Plowright is the author of Dreams of an Unseen Planet and Into That Good Night. She lives on Bowen Island in British Columbia, Canada with her husband and sons.