This book might be about women's lib or is it polygamy? Women need to play the main role in space travel and especially colonization. This SF series presents many issues to ponder and suggests some inventions needed for space travel. The series starts in todays world and through forced invention gets mankind into space colonization to save the human race. Most of the science presented is in some stage of development now. If you want to travel for months in space and then create a colony on an empty planet, you need more women than men. On a spaceship, or in a scientific laboratory, women can do what a man would do. The man may be better at leadership because women tend not to want to lead, but in reading this series you might agree with the author about the makeup of the crew. There are a number of morale issues.
This is the 2nd book in the Ancient Destiny saga. Book 1 describes the threat to Earth and the SHIP that has taught the great scientists of Earth. Book 2 is the escape from Earth with many scientific concepts for space travel, explorations for new earthlike planets, the escape and journey to new planets, establishing colonies on new planets. Book 3 adds new crewmembers as replacements, new science concepts, searches for knowledge on other planets, visiting Earth years after its destruction, encountering an enemy, finding who built SHIP and the so called, Library of Atlantis, more Martian history and first contact with the Galactic Alliance.
Martians left Mars prior to an interstellar collision that created the Rift Valley on Mars and blew away most of their atmosphere. They created Atlantis, but once again had to evacuate to go to another solar system before Atlantis was destroyed. The rock that destroyed Mars is coming to Earth in a few thousand years so the Martians left behind a powerful small ship to train the survivors on Earth in science to once again evacuate Earth. SHIP picks its own captains to advance science. In the past SHIP chose Aristotle, Tesla, and others, but science had wars instead of scientific advancement. Now time is almost up and SHIP chooses a young college freshman as its last captain. Volume one deals with his training and his advancement on Earth. SHIP allows him to select a female as first mate on SHIP to help with the mission to evacuate some of humanity to the stars.
Volume two deals with Craig's brief courtships with the additional five women. The six women experts in their fields promote various areas of science to push humanity toward space travel. Craig and his polygamous family explore space to find suitable planets to establish colonies. All the advanced nations of Earth complete a small number of spaceships. SHIP and Karen work together to train 140,000 colonists as Dawn develops the spaceships; as Jill develops kits for oil drilling rigs, refineries, ore smelting machines; as Estera studies the plants found on new planets and ensures the ships will carry Earth plants for the colonies; as Sandy studies animals found on the new planets; as Shelby develops training on the chemistry needed for producing plastics, clothing, fuel, pharmaceuticals and other things from petroleum and coal found on the new planets. This book compares the SHIP in history to God in history, considers political issues for a new colony, and well, read it yourself.
