When Belle Song's mother becomes pregnant the family journeys to Tharsis City so she can consult a specialist, and see the sights of the capital; but when Belle's android Melody, and her wolfdog Raider, disappear she is confronted by the deep human prejudice against robots--and an escaped Water Raider.
Twelve-year-old Belle Song and her family moved to Mars because they were offered good jobs, only to find that the jobs have disappeared--her father, Yun, is unwilling to return to the worn-out Earth, so, to the horror of his city-raised daughter, he buys a farm in the "Wild West" area of Mars, and Belle does her best to adapt to a life which is filled with difficulties and danger.
When Belle Song goes to investigate a "meteor" which crashed near her family's Martian farm what she finds is an escape pod holding two alien refugees fleeing a civil war; but while the politicians of Mars debate what to do about the Oirryn in general, Belle is determined to help these two refugees, particularly as one of them is about to give birth--even if helping means hiding them from her own parents.
Now in seventh grade Belle Song has settled into her life on Mars; she has a new baby sister, her android Melody, her wolfdog Raider, and her friends, the human Lucas, and the Nabian, Taal--but when she and Taal uncover some ancient ruins which the Nabians claim are a sacred site, Belle finds herself plunged into a tricky world of extraterrestrial politics and religion that threatens her relationship with Taal.
Belle Song and her friends are on a seventh-grade camping trip to Mount Olympus, and when Belle injures her leg it turns out that she has discovered a rare and valuable mineral used to make space travel more efficient but which almost kills her--the BAMCorp claims that the mineral belongs to them, but mining it could poison Mars's precious water supply and soon tensions rise between the officials of Mars and protesting farmers.
This reprint offers a faithful reproduction of the original edition of The Icknield Way, preserving its historical and literary significance. Readers can expect an authentic experience of the text as it was first presented, making it a valuable addition for enthusiasts of classic literature or those interested in the heritage of the Icknield Way. The unchanged format ensures that the original content and style are maintained for contemporary audiences.