Kindle
$7.99
Available instantly
Audible Logo Audiobook
$0.00
with membership trial
Hardcover
$18.00
Paperback
$5.61
Kindle Price: $7.99

Save $2.00 (20%)

Promotions apply when you purchase

These promotions will be applied to this item:

Some promotions may be combined; others are not eligible to be combined with other offers. For details, please see the Terms & Conditions associated with these promotions.

Audiobook Price: $21.83

Save: $14.34 (66%)

Read with our free app
You've subscribed to ! We will preorder your items within 24 hours of when they become available. When new books are released, we'll charge your default payment method for the lowest price available during the pre-order period.
Update your device or payment method, cancel individual pre-orders or your subscription at
Your Memberships & Subscriptions

Buy for others

Give as a gift or purchase for a team or group.
Learn more

Buying and sending eBooks to others

  1. Select quantity
  2. Buy and send eBooks
  3. Recipients can read on any device

These ebooks can only be redeemed by recipients in the US. Redemption links and eBooks cannot be resold.
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Amazon book clubs early access
Loading your book clubs
There was a problem loading your book clubs. Please try again.
Not in a club? Learn more
Amazon book clubs early access

Join or create book clubs

Choose books together

Track your books
Bring your club to Amazon Book Clubs, start a new book club and invite your friends to join, or find a club that’s right for you for free.
Explore Amazon Book Clubs

Follow the author

Vonda N. McIntyre
+ Follow
More books from this author
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

Superluminal Kindle Edition

by Vonda N. McIntyre (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 75 ratings
See all formats and editions
A novel of star-crossed love from the New York Times–bestselling author of Nebula and Hugo Award–winning novel Dreamsnake.
 
In a future where space travel moves at faster-than-light speed, starship crews can only survive transit if drugged nearly to death. Then there are those like Laenea Trevelyan, who want to become pilots so badly they will go through years of training and major surgery to free themselves of biological rhythms. But though they become literally heartless, their emotions are just as human as before.
 
Laenea discovers this herself when she immediately falls for crewman Radu Dracul upon her early release—some might say escape—from the hospital after her procedure. She is not unknown to Radu; Laenea was the first offworlder he ever saw when she and her crew delivered a vaccine for the cryptovirus that decimated his family and his planet.
 
However, their intense attraction cannot last. Laenea’s modifications will not survive in close proximity to Radu’s biorhythms, which are too strong to allow him to become a pilot.
 
But even in the vastness of space, where ships and hearts can be lost, fate—and danger—can have a hand in bringing two people together again . . .
 
“Smoothly told . . . with the sturdy character conflicts snugly worked into the hyperspace-navigation backdrop.” —Kirkus Reviews
Read more Read less
Previous page
  1. Print length
    337 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publisher
    Open Road Media Sci-Fi & Fantasy
  5. Publication date
    October 12, 2021
  6. File size
    4231 KB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
    Enabled
  9. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  10. See all details
Next page
Add a debit or credit card to save time when you check out
Convenient and secure with 2 clicks. Add your card

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Vonda Neel McIntyre was an American science fiction author.



The small town where Rachel Evans and her husband are raising two daughters is close to Toronto's theaters and shopping yet still near to forests and fields where the very active family loves to mountain bike, hike, and ski. When not outdoors, Rachel likes to read historical novels and contemporary literature.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B09DPKK6DS
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Open Road Media Sci-Fi & Fantasy (October 12, 2021)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ October 12, 2021
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 4231 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 337 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 75 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Vonda N. McIntyre

Vonda N. McIntyre

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read author blogs and more

Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 out of 5
75 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Seth
5.0 out of 5 stars Great classic sci-fi
Reviewed in the United States on August 5, 2019
Verified Purchase
Superluminal was referenced in a paper and I thought it sounded interesting. Great classic sci-fi. Nice blend of pulp and issues. Loving it!
4 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Always Cogitating
4.0 out of 5 stars Fun SF romance with interesting ideas
Reviewed in the United States on January 27, 2012
In order to be a "faster than light" pilot, you have to remove your heartbeat by getting a continuous rotary pump in place of your heart. (perhaps inspired by the rotary Mazdas that don't seem to be around any more.)
But what happens when you achieve the much coveted status of Pilot with a successful transformation, and then meet an intriguing guy that you really like/love who has an extremely strong time sense...?
I read it many years ago, more than once, as much for the romantic attraction as for the drama and speculation about how we might modify the human body for various uses, from deep sea living to space travel... I think there's a sequel that continues the characters.
4 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Tess Duberville
5.0 out of 5 stars Man from Atlantis
Reviewed in the United States on March 23, 2014
Verified Purchase
I like that part of the civilization of mankind had decided to use technology to return to the ocean, with a nod to the 1978 tv show 'Man from Atlantis.'
2 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Susan F
5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic adventure––thoughtful and fascinating
Reviewed in the United States on March 8, 2022
Vonda McIntyre is one of the true masters of science fiction. Her ideas are unique and her writing is evocative and flawless. Superluminal involves voyages through space, time, dimensions, cultures, and, most compellingly, the human heart. And it's really fun to read, too!
One person found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
J Lee
5.0 out of 5 stars I rebought this just because of how amazing Orca's voice is.
Reviewed in the United States on April 7, 2017
I downloaded this audiobook because of the namecheck in Haraway's Cyborg Manifesto which, along with the fact that McIntyre did the novelization of Star Trek IV: The One With the Whales (AKA The Best One), should give you a pretty good idea of the theme and tone of the book. It's wonderful in that there's not much antagonism aside from orthodoxy and it has the distinction of being a transhumanism book with animal/human cyborgs. The beginning is either an excuse to get the Generic McProtagonist, a dolphin girl choosing to work in conditions incompatible with her natural body, and a pilot who replaced his heart hoping to explore spacetime unseen all in a position where they can decide how they want to evolve; or is just markedly worse than the rest of the book.

Some of that might be because the main protagonist has, just, the worst voice I've ever heard which is disappointing because once it finishes setting up his motivation it switches to several viewpoints, including the dolphin cyborg Orca who has what would seem to be a gratingly high voice but totally sells the book, especially in her soliloquys near the end. Seriously, if it's a choice, choose the audible version for that reason alone.
3 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Kindle Customer
3.0 out of 5 stars Not Free SF Reader
Reviewed in the United States on September 3, 2007
In Vonda N. McIntyre's Superluminal, a woman has to undergo bodily augmentation and alteration in order to cope with the pressures of being a starship pilot, e.g. the ability to go superluminal.

Don't want to be a cyborg? Then this is not the job for you, the whole flying around in space thing. You won't have to worry about getting a pacemaker though.
5 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report

Top reviews from other countries

KM
2.0 out of 5 stars Goes on and on but does not get anywhere...
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 7, 2013
Verified Purchase
A friend recommended me thing book.
His preivious recommendations have been good so I listened to him. I should not have in this case.

This book is a very very average sci-fi book.
It takes a long while to get a bit interesting (it does manage to do it for a awhile) then goes back to mediocrity.
In the second half of the book you keep waiting for something exciting to happen but it never does.

So overall: don't bother - there are a lot better books out there to lose yourself in.
Report
Report an issue

Does this item contain inappropriate content?
Report
Do you believe that this item violates a copyright?
Report
Does this item contain quality or formatting issues?
Report