The Sky So Big and Black

The Sky So Big and Black is a science fiction novel by John Barnes that was published in 2002. The title itself refers to the clear sky as seen from the surface of Mars, to the nearness of the Martian horizon because Mars is a much smaller planet, and to the abrupt absence/darkness of many overhead satellites that occurs at a key point in the story. The whole story takes place on Mars, which was first settled around 2030 in the timeframe of this series (see Barnes's novels Orbital Resonance and Kaleidoscope Century). This novel takes place in (the mid-to-late 2090s) when humans have settled en masse, in at least three large waves of settlement.