OT: Recommend fiction based on Project Orion type nuclear propulsion?

[mbar]

I have been surfing for info about Project Orion ever since watching the SyFy mini-series Ascension. I hadn't realized just how close we were to actually building one of these ships. I always thought it was just a concept idea ever since I first heard about it on Carl Sagan's Cosmos TV show.

Can anyone recommend any good books or stories that have ships based on this technology? It would be great to find an alternate history story where Project Orion didn't get cancelled.

Thanks in advance!

[Harry2]

"Footfall" by Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle

Note that the Orion type spacecraft in this novel is not a major part of the storey until near the end (which it is vital in bringing about). However, since these are two of the very best SF writers in the business, if you like SF then "Footfall" is a great read even if it had no Orion type ship in it.

Regards

[CyclopsSlayer]

John Ringo's 'Troy Rising' series. They use Orion type propulsion to move their asteroid bases around. Not a major part of the story, but there.

Live Free or Die

Citadel

The Hot Gate

[ReadeB]

The Martian by Andy Weir

Puts the whole "colonization" technology into perspective.

[mbar]

Thank you all! I've been checking out all of these books you've suggested and they look like great stories. Footfall looks just about perfect with the Michael battleship.

(I had made a design very similar to Michael in the game Space Engineers. It had a large shield in front with the weapons just peaking over the top of the forward shield. I also arranged the decks perpendicular to the engine direction to simulate the thrust being used as gravity. I found schematics for Michael here. It was gratifying to see my design verified in Michael as I had not seen it before.)