Captain Tory Sabin knows all too well the dangers of the anacapa drive, and that sometimes ships enter foldspace never to return. The ships simply disappear, taking their crews with them.
Responding to a distress call from Captain Jonathan "Coop" Cooper, Sabin knows she must race against time to find him and his ship. Because although the Ivoire becomes the latest ship to enter foldspace and not return, she refuses to give up hope. She resolves to find the Ivoire. But her search for answers will lead to truths that will change her life forever.
Winner of the Asimov's Readers Choice Award for best novella, The Application of Hope adds a rich layer to the complex story about foldspace and the anacapa technology that drives the Fleet.
"The Diving Universe, conceived by Hugo Award-winning author Kristine [Kathryn] Rusch is a refreshingly new and fleshed out realm of sci-fi action and adventure. And the latest offering…doesn't disappoint."
—Dave Dickinson, Astroguyz on Skirmishes
"A combination of first-person and third-person narrative and flashback segments makes this a complex and compelling story. It's like having three tales in one, with an added peek into the bad guys' activities, all of them intriguing, classic science fiction. It leaves the reader eager to explore this universe again and see what will happen next with these characters."
—RT Book Reviews on Skirmishes
"…there's wreck diving, space battling, and even a bit of romance here. Throw in plenty of suspense and several plot twists, and you have adventure SF in the old tradition."
—Bill Crider's Pop Culture Magazine on Skirmishes
"The latest Diving Universe science fiction (see City of Ruins, Diving Into The Wreck and Boneyards) is a fabulous outer space thriller that rotates perspective between the divers, the Alliance and to a lesser degree the Empire. Action-packed and filled with twists yet allowing the reader to understand the motives of the key players, Skirmishes is another intelligent exciting voyage into the Rusch Diving universe."
—Midwest Book Review on Skirmishes
