Mystican
October 10th, 2010, 02:38 PM
Hey everyone,
Hoping someone will know this book that I, for the life of me, can't remember the name of. I read it about 14 years ago, give or take a year, but the book itself may have been far older. I've tried asking owners of science fiction & fantasy-focused bookstores, have tried googling, have tried many things... but the book still eludes me; I will be eternally grateful to anyone who can bring it back into my life, identifying information and all.
Unfortunately, I don't remember any character or place names, but I do remember the following: The story is (I'm almost sure) set on a colonized outer planet of our solar system, and gigantic freight ships coming from Earth with supplies and luxury goods are mentioned several times. The main character manages the household/estate of someone I believe is his stepbrother (the main character having been taken in or adopted or somehow cared for by the other man's late father) and there is the question of an intentionally "misplaced" will and wrongful inheritance. One of the biggest themes in the book is actually of these two men as "Cain and Abel" equivalents, and several other characters in the book tell the main character to ask himself "Am I my brother's keeper?"
There's also an important female character who gets introduced later, a woman who stowed away on one of the freight ships from Earth and is, for some reason or another, not supposed to be there. The main character gets involved with her in some way, against his better judgment... but I don't remember how the relationship ends. I do remember, though, that prior to his meeting her, one of his biggest preoccupations seems to be the idea of importing real grass from Earth for his master's estate, thereby improving his status on this water-starved, desert colony. (But no, the book is not Dune, I know that much.)
-Mystican
Hoping someone will know this book that I, for the life of me, can't remember the name of. I read it about 14 years ago, give or take a year, but the book itself may have been far older. I've tried asking owners of science fiction & fantasy-focused bookstores, have tried googling, have tried many things... but the book still eludes me; I will be eternally grateful to anyone who can bring it back into my life, identifying information and all.
Unfortunately, I don't remember any character or place names, but I do remember the following: The story is (I'm almost sure) set on a colonized outer planet of our solar system, and gigantic freight ships coming from Earth with supplies and luxury goods are mentioned several times. The main character manages the household/estate of someone I believe is his stepbrother (the main character having been taken in or adopted or somehow cared for by the other man's late father) and there is the question of an intentionally "misplaced" will and wrongful inheritance. One of the biggest themes in the book is actually of these two men as "Cain and Abel" equivalents, and several other characters in the book tell the main character to ask himself "Am I my brother's keeper?"
There's also an important female character who gets introduced later, a woman who stowed away on one of the freight ships from Earth and is, for some reason or another, not supposed to be there. The main character gets involved with her in some way, against his better judgment... but I don't remember how the relationship ends. I do remember, though, that prior to his meeting her, one of his biggest preoccupations seems to be the idea of importing real grass from Earth for his master's estate, thereby improving his status on this water-starved, desert colony. (But no, the book is not Dune, I know that much.)
-Mystican