Part of Alex Benedict, book 7
First published 2014
Alex Benedict stares at an ancient space artifact found in dead collector Garnett Baylee's home. For decades, Baylee searched for relics from humanity's first space missions, lost when Earth's oceans rose and civilization collapsed. Now Benedict and pilot Chase Kolpath must trace Baylee's secret discovery back to its source. Their investigation leads them to Earth, but the trail goes cold. Benedict faces an impossible choice. The starship Capella, missing for eleven years in a dimensional rift, will soon emerge from its temporal prison. Twenty-six hundred passengers wait aboard, including Gabriel Benedict, the uncle who raised Alex. The rescue window lasts only hours. Benedict cannot pursue both missions. He must choose between solving the mystery of humanity's lost heritage and saving the man who shaped his life. Time runs short, and each decision carries the weight of history.
Genres: science-fiction, adventure, mystery, thriller
Vibes: fast-paced, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, time-crunch
Setting: Earth, Capella
Period: 11 years
386 pages · Kindle Edition · Ace