Published by Tor, 1993.
paperback, 352 pages, $4.99, ISBN: 0-812-51992-2

Godspeed brings sci-fi back into the adventure mode with a tale of a sharp teenager figuring out a multitude of gizmos, taking him from the isolated colony of Erin to deep space and beyond.

The sudden collapse of interstellar trade limits humanity to traditional in solar-system travel between the various stations on asteroids and planets--the "40 worlds" as they are known. And yet, young Jay Hara, whose mother owns a boarding house/brothel for spacers, always figured on reaching space himself and finding the legendary "Godspeed" drive that would restore intergalactic mobility. Along the way, Jay discovers how to use a variety of devices brought to him by a kinder, gentler spacer, and his intelligence and curiosity get him a ticket on a spaceship.

Sheffield paces the adventure with measured grace, placing the wide-eyed innocence of Hara against a tougher backdrop of asteroid miners and other rough-and-tumble spacers out for wealth. While not exactly an original premise, the book sails along with some pinache as Jay attempts to locate a Godspeed base, and this interplay of altruism versus selfishness spurs the plot and the characterizations.