Runner

Runner, William C. Dietz, Ace Books, 2005

In the far future, mankind has spread throughout the galaxy, via a system of portals between star systems. Now their location has been forgotten, so mankind is reverting back to a state where magic becomes very important, and each star system is on its own. The little interstellar travel that is left is handled by a rapidly diminishing fleet of aging ships. Only the brave, the foolhardy or professional couriers called runners make such journeys.

Jak Rebo's mission is to deliver a young boy to a faraway planet, to find out for sure if he is a legitimate religious apostle (based on present-day Buddhism). This religion has two sects, and members of the other sect have plenty of reason for wanting to make sure that Rebo and his human cargo never reach their destination.

Things get more complicated when a female "sensitive," (a clairvoyant and channeler) named Lanni Norr joins the group. With the reverting of mankind away from interstellar travel, science has been reduced to the level of a religious cult. Milos Lysander, the long-dead founder of the Techno Society, seems to have chosen Norr as his way to communicate with this world. The present-day members of the Society want Norr very much, because they think that Lysander has the secret to the location of the long-lost interstellar travel portals. If necessary, they are more than willing to kill anyone who gets in their way.

First of a series, this one is very good. The author has written a number of military/action SF novels in the past, so he very much knows what he is doing. This novel does a fine job of keeping the reader's interest.