The Steps of the Sun

In the grim future of the 2060s, Walter Tevis's "The Steps of the Sun" paints a stark picture of an Earth teetering on the brink of collapse. Resource scarcity has plunged the world into a new dark age, where firewood is a luxury, skyscrapers stand as empty shells, and energy laws have effectively paralyzed modern life. The United States itself has devolved into a second-rate power, controlled by organized crime, and space travel – humanity's last great frontier – is strictly forbidden. With a new Ice Age rapidly approaching, the world's desperate plight calls for an extraordinary hero. This role falls to Ben Belson, a man of immense wealth, audacious courage, and a touch of madness, who dares to defy the law and build his own spaceship. His mission: an illegal, interstellar journey to find a new energy source, not for personal gain, but to pull humanity back from the precipice of environmental disaster and societal decay. Tevis delivers a compelling narrative of survival, ambition, and the sheer audacity of hope against overwhelming odds.