Iron Gods

by Andrew Bannister

  And finally, we found Vess, the stoical one, unfailingly honest in his hatred of insects and therefore, paradoxically, the one human we could trust with our young.

  We the Vut fled here on the ship that became our friend.

  We the Vutvess followed. And we will remember.

  Acknowledgements

  Thanks to Lara, for stupid much, and to that talented writer L. J. Frances, for being a buddy.

  About the Author

  Andrew Bannister grew up in Cornwall. He studied Geology at Imperial College and went to work in the North Sea before becoming an environmental consultant. A specialist in sustainability and the built environment, he presently works on major construction contracts for public bodies in the UK and internationally. He has always written, initially for student newspapers and fanzines before moving on to fiction, and he has always read science fiction. These things finally came together in his debut novel, Creation Machine, set in an artificial cluster of stars and planets called the Spin. Andrew Bannister lives in Leicestershire.

  To find out more, visit andrewbannister.com

  Also by Andrew Bannister

  Creation Machine

  TRANSWORLD PUBLISHERS

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  www.penguin.co.uk

  Transworld is part of the Penguin Random House group of companies whose addresses can be found at global.penguinrandomhouse.com

  First published in Great Britain in 2017 by Bantam Press

  an imprint of Transworld Publishers

  Copyright © Andrew Bannister 2017

  Cover photographs: Alamy and Shutterstock

  Cover design by Stephen Mulcahey/TW

  Andrew Bannister has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.

  This book is a work of fiction and, except in the case of historical fact, any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

  Every effort has been made to obtain the necessary permissions with reference to copyright material, both illustrative and quoted. We apologize for any omissions in this respect and will be pleased to make the appropriate acknowledgements in any future edition.

  A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

  Version 1.0 Epub ISBN 9781473527195

  ISBN 9780593076507 (hb)

  9780593076514 (tpb)

  This ebook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorized distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.

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