Runner is a distinct break in stride for author William Dietz, who is best known for hard-bitten military SF. Rather than fleets, armies, combat and camaraderie, this story is set in a far future where a despotic empire has collapsed, leaving its component planets to crumble into a dark age. Interstellar travel is still in place, carried on by sentient ships which are themselves dying for lack of proper maintenance. No more are being built, so when a ship stops appearing, the worlds it served are cut off from humanity.

(Source: Ace Books)