Commander Josh Logan is dead. Piloting his powerless burning jet fighter away from a town, he ejected too late. But from a voice that only he hears, he is offered a new life with a mission to save the earth from collision with a comet two years hence. He wakes in a hospital with enhanced abilities but with no name, no identity, and no funds. From this start, aided only by a faithful nurse and a mysterious voice that answers his questions with other questions, he must persuade elements of government and industry to build a weapon powerful enough to deflect the comet.
His problems are immense. How does a person with no identity gain a security clearance? How does he launch a super-secret billion-dollar project when he has no funds? How does he divert the nation’s best minds from their own priority work to support his project? And how long can he keep the project advancing without jealous managers of other projects discovering it and blowing its cover? In David E. Stevens’ skillful development, the novel proceeds step by step from one danger to another to reach a fitting climax.
Yet the book is no ordinary thriller. It is populated by a variety of interesting characters with lifelike concerns. In a rare and subtle authorial feat, Stevens gives his hero thought patterns that accurately reflect those of men who have experienced combat.
Stevens also infuses the novel with scientific and philosophical depth, but he does so without slowing the narrative. From time to time he presents the reader with concepts from philosophy and quantum physics, but he does so in terms that are readily understood. And, still keeping the narrative readable, he explores the boundaries between physics and metaphysics. Astute readers will also find added depth in the names of his characters.
This novel is one of the most readable and rewarding works of fiction that I have ever read. And the best news of all is that it is the first novel of a trilogy. I look forward to the pleasure of reading its sequels.
