The basics of this thriller involves the Russian and American space programs, with, as the title suggests, some unsavory characters and some outright murder during a race to get astronauts to the Moon.
The major difference between this and most books is that the author has been in space, and hence the background is authentic. Besides technology, the author understands the character of those who go to space and can easily imagine the flaws and pressures that lead to criminal acts.
This book is an excellent example of how to make a thrilling story that is set in a scenario with realistic science. While what I write involves more speculative science, it is a very interesting model to follow. It is also well-written and exciting.
1973: a final, top-secret mission to the Moon. Three astronauts in a tiny module, a quarter of a million miles from home. A quarter of a million miles from help.
As Russian and American crews sprint for a secret bounty hidden away on the lunar surface, old rivalries blossom and the political stakes are stretched to breaking point back on Earth. Houston flight controller Kazimieras 'Kaz' Zemeckis must do all he can to keep the NASA crew together, while staying one step ahead of his Soviet rivals. But…
This is non-fiction, essentially a history of the Flavian Imperators. It starts with the death of Nero, and the chaos that followed in the year of the four Emperors. It covers Vespasian, Titus, Nerva, Trajan and Hadrian, the Roman empire essentially over-reaching itself under Trajan, and pulled back by Hadrian.
Two of my novels are set during the times of Tiberius, Caligulae and Claudius, and having carried out the research into those times I found it fascinating to see what had changed in the way Romans behaved and what had not.
The book is very well-written, and shows how Rome held on, even though only just at times, while the indications of future problems are there.
The definitive history of Rome's golden age - antiquity's ultimate superpower at the pinnacle of its greatness
The Pax Romana has long been revered as a golden age. At its peak, the Roman Empire stretched from Scotland to Arabia, and contained perhaps a quarter of humanity. It was the wealthiest and most formidable state the world had yet seen.
Beginning in 69AD, a year that saw four Caesars in succession rule the empire, and ending some seven decades later with the death of Hadrian, Pax presents a dazzling history of Rome at the height of its power. From the gilded…
What struck me about this book in the first place was it never occurred to me that prisoners stuck in Colditz could spy for the British. Quite remarkably, they somehow convinced the Germans they were really German sympathizers and were then allowed out periodically to wander around Germany.
Apparently, good information got back to Britain. The main attraction for me to the story was that besides being true, it was so unexpected.
It was also interesting that at the end of the war, Nazi sympathizers in Germany, including “Lord Haw Haw”, were promptly put on a trial that lasted a day then they were hung essentially the next available day. Compare that with what followed at Nürnberg and we see this was angry revenge, not justice.
To hide their failure to properly service a spaceship, Captain Jonas Stryker is prosecuted but saved from imprisonment by a dying man, who hires Stryker to collect asteroids for their mineral content.
Stryker soon finds he must stop a shadowy corporate group called The Board, who employ space piracy, terrorism, and even weaponized asteroids to overthrow the Federation government. Set in Lagrange points, space stations, the Moon, and outback Australia, it is a fast-moving story with some speculative future technology.
If you were interested in the NASA attempt to alter the orbit of the asteroid Dimorphos, you might be interested in this story of greed, corruption, and honor, together with the science of asteroids.
