# Science Fiction novel where Earth isn't united **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** books-writing-myths\ **Created:** [March 31, 2025, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/science-fiction-novel-where-earth-isnt-united/1016366 "2025-03-31T00:32:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2025, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/science-fiction-novel-where-earth-isnt-united/1016366/41 "2025-04-01T22:29:24Z")
Earth: the Mauritius of this sector of our galaxy. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2025, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/science-fiction-novel-where-earth-isnt-united/1016366/42 "2025-04-02T00:36:12Z")
The [Frontline series by Marko Kloos](https://www.goodreads.com/series/125903-frontlines) fits this category, and is also pretty good, IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2025, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/science-fiction-novel-where-earth-isnt-united/1016366/43 "2025-04-02T13:26:40Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > I just remembered the sequels to Rendesvous with Rama, in which the planetary government from the first book collapses in the late 21st century and the old nation-states (including the Soviet Union) reassert themselves. > > I’m now going to proceed to forget them again, because the sequels were **terrible**. There was no FTL in the Rama sequels. And I agree, they were terrible, because they were 90% written by Gentry Lee. ---
**Author:** ![LoneRhino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lonerhino/32/1311_2.png) [@LoneRhino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LoneRhino)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2025, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/science-fiction-novel-where-earth-isnt-united/1016366/44 "2025-04-02T22:32:38Z")
> [@Dr.Strangelove](#): > > In Alastair Reynolds’ _Chasm City_, there’s no FTL travel but there are interstellar ships (and aliens). We don’t learn much about Earth but the ships of the flotilla are called the Santiago, Palestine, Brazilia, Islamabad, and Baghdad. We don’t find out for sure, but the ships are in intense competition and it suggests that they were launched by their respective nation-states (though with some cooperation, since the designs are identical). This one sounds interesting. Also, I probably should have said interstellar travel. The method they use isn’t important. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2025, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/science-fiction-novel-where-earth-isnt-united/1016366/45 "2025-04-02T22:44:08Z")
I like Reynolds’ stuff, particularly that in the _Revelation Space_ universe. If you’re in a flotilla of identical ships launched at the same time, and there’s a major advantage to getting to the destination _first_… what would you do? ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2025, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/science-fiction-novel-where-earth-isnt-united/1016366/46 "2025-04-02T22:59:41Z")
Plot spoiler? (I haven’t read the series or any reviews) Simple: sabotage the other ships. It doesn’t have to be anything major, perhaps simply degrade their engines enough that they can’t go as fast as your ship. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2025, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/science-fiction-novel-where-earth-isnt-united/1016366/47 "2025-04-02T23:05:18Z")
Kinda major spoilers if you figure it out, but I’ll still keep it vague. There’s some sabotage but that’s not the major factor. Consider that you can decelerate later (i.e., remain at top speed for longer) if you can do it harder. And if your engine has a fixed thrust, the only remaining variable is mass. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/science-fiction-novel-where-earth-isnt-united/1016366.md?page=2)