They Shall Have Stars: James Blish

2018 AD: The Cold Peace, worse than the Cold War. The regimes which rule from Washington and Moscow are the same in their passion for total repression. But in the West, a few dedicated individuals still struggle to find a way out of the trap of human history. Behind the screen of official research, their desperate project is nearing completion. Then Colonel Paige Russell, back from deep space with some soil samples to deliver, talks his way past the receptionist and into the laboratory...Cover art by Chris Foss