Space opera with a bang, as a young rogue from a noble family is caught up in an interstellar war.DISOWNED IN A HARSH GALAXY Cast out by his family and exiled from the Rimward Commonwealth, Simon Forrester must make a new life for himself as an apprentice to the powerful Commerce Guild.  But others aboard the merchant vessel Stacked Deck have a hidden agenda that might lead directly to interstellar war. Now when rising tensions between the Commonwealth and the neighboring League of Democracies threatens to erupt into open war, Simon finds himself forced to choose between old and new loyalties, with the fate of an empire at stake! About Shooting the Rift: 'Stewart makes his [faster than light travel] technology as accessible and relevant as the neuroware, genetic engineering, anti-gravity, and other assorted techno-furniture of the milieu. His various venues . . . are limned with vigor, vividness and vivacity. The personages are all true-to-life, delivering fine banter and plot-propelling dialogue, arising out of fully believable motivations and drives and desires. . . . the best of what ambitious adventure SF has always done and can plainly continue to do.''Locus 'Stewart writes with sly wit. He pokes fun at modern science fiction tropes. His clever writing even satirizes science fiction satire. He combines this with rollicking adventure, original plot twists and unexpected revelations and endings. Shooting the Rift is fun to read. Better still it promises a sequel.''Galveston County Dailey News Read Less