Looking for title of sci-fi novel involving empaths and climate change

November 4, 2020 8:09 AM

There was a sci-fi novel I read around 1997. I don't remember the title, but it involved empaths, climate change, orbital stations, and blind navigators. Also had an Israel-related plot arc.

There was a woman who was trained in reading social and physical cues (that's the empath), and there's a blind Israeli space navigator. I remember one of the story elements was that because of climate change, Israel had become a breadbasket nation (very fertile, etc.) while much of world was desert. Also had a lot of plot arcs involving privately owned orbital stations.

posted by jibberish to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (6 answers total)

I know this misses a lot of points you mention, but Dar Tellum has empaths, climate change and orbital stations (iirc). I do not remember if it had blind navigators or an Israel-related plot.
posted by Sassyfras at 11:15 AM on November 4, 2020

Parable of the Sower?
posted by Toddles at 10:39 PM on November 4, 2020

I remember this! The navigator wasn't just blind, he had just blank skin where his eyes were supposed to be, right?
posted by atchafalaya at 10:08 AM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Yes, that's the navigator! The ship navigators had smooth, blank skin where their eyes were supposed to be. It was a physical modification made so piloting was easier. I'm so happy to hear that I didn't just imagine this novel, you're the first person who has ever known anything about it.
posted by jibberish at 7:45 PM on November 12, 2020

Best answer: Is it Hot Sky at Midnight by Robert Silverberg? (I haven't read this and the book doesn't sound familiar but I'm curious so I've gone down a research rabbithole.)
posted by cheesegrater at 11:42 AM on November 20, 2020

Response by poster: OMG, that's it! It's even a familiar author. I read it probably 1999 or so.
posted by jibberish at 3:36 PM on December 23, 2020