Variable Star: A Novel (Tor Science Fiction)

Variable Star is an unfinished science fiction novel by Robert A. Heinlein, completed by Spider Robinson, author of The Stardance Trilogy and a Hugo Award winner. Joel Johnston loves Jinny Hamilton, but lacks the means to support a family. When Jinny reveals she is actually Jinny Conrad, granddaughter of the solar system's wealthiest man Richard Conrad, her family offers Joel a position in the Conrad empire and the chance to establish a dynasty. Unexpectedly, Joel refuses and embarks on a prolonged bender, waking aboard a colony ship bound for space. He resolves to build a new life among the stars and forget Jinny. However, Joel's plans and those of billions of others are disrupted by a cosmic catastrophe of such magnitude that humanity must marshal all its strength and ingenuity merely to survive. An outline for Variable Star was discovered among Heinlein's papers, and Robinson was commissioned to complete the work, resulting in a science fiction novel drawing on the talents of two major figures in the genre.