The Wandering Earth

The Wandering Earth, Cixin Liu, Amazon Digital Services Inc, 2012

This novella is about Earth being on the move - literally.

Astronomers have determined that the Sun is using up its supply of fuel much faster than expected. It will explode, and turn into a red giant, swallowing the Earth, in approximately 400 years.

For most of that time, humanity has built giant rocket engines, powered by rocks and debris from Earth's mountains, pointing into the sky. The intention is to stop Earth's rotation, and then to send the whole planet to its new home, in the Proxima Centauri system, more than four light years away.

It is not simply a case of turning on the engines, and sending Earth out of the solar system. A number of years are needed to get Earth's orbit more and more elliptical, to make it possible to break out of orbit. The floods, earthquakes and the trip through the asteroid belt have laid waste to the entire surface of the Earth. What's left of humanity has long since moved into giant underground cities.

Nearing the edge of the solar system, many people take one last look at the Sun. They can't help but notice that it looks exactly like it did 400 years ago. Where's the red giant star that the Sun was supposed to become? Is it possible that the worldwide Unity Government has pulled off the biggest con job in human history?

This story has lots of ideas, and lots of possibilities. The author does a very good job at this length. There is a longer novel version available. I look forward to reading it.